[Sca-cooks] Leftovers, questions and discussion [long]

[Terry Decker]

> I remember reading somewhere (in a book about period cookery, not some
> random place, but I cannot remember where) that the lower classes would
> basically put all their food in one pot (vegetables, grain, bacon etc) and
> boil it up, and then the next day just add some more to whatever was left
> over and so on and so on. The 'pease porridge in a pot nine days old' 
> rhyme
> was quoted in support of this. This seemed rather dubious to me at the 
> time,
> not to mention a recipe for serious food poisoning.
>
> Angharad

For this style of cooking, the hot pot never leaves the fire.  The contents 
are kept hot enough to kill bacteria and below boiling.  Add water to thin. 
I would suspect that for the lower classes, the contents consisted mostly of 
grains, legumes and vegetables.  Any meat would probably be left from 
roasting and would be uncommon.

The missing information is how often the pot would be emptied and cleaned 
and the materials used to construct the pot.

Bear