[Sca-cooks] Peacock

Sam Wallace guillaumedep at gmail.com
Tue Apr 5 14:42:00 PDT 2011


The still life painter Pieter Claesz depicts both turkey and peacock pie 
done in this manner, although the paintings date from the early 17th 
century. From this we know the practice continued through the end of the 
16th century. Also, from working with 18th century works, I know that 
feathers, though not the entire skins, were used to mark what kind of 
bird was being served by placing one on the breast of the whole roast.

Peacock:
http://onfamiliarthings.blogspot.com/2008/09/pieter-claesz_27.html

Turkey:
http://www.oilpaintingfactory.com/english/oil-painting-96552.htm

I have been wondering about safety guidelines for using feathers in 
conjunction with food. I did a couple of internet searches, but did not 
find anything worthwhile. If I wanted to use feathers in a display 
piece, how might I do so safely?

Guillaume

"He notes that by the middle of the 1500s, the fashion of roasting a 
peacock on a spit and redressing it in its feathers came to an end.  
Peacock was now served in a pie but still sometimes decorated with the 
tail, wings, head and neck affixed to the top crust."



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