[Sca-cooks] salt trenchers

[tudorpot at gmail.com]

It's amazing what you can find with google books. After reading a two 
word reference to salt trenchers made from bread in the article on 
feasts, which sadly I can't recall which one, I did some google 
searching which was not too conclusive.
After reading my email before dinner, I decided to do some more 
research. Found a few sources. This might be an interesting
A& S project. I need to get hold of the full texts - using google books 
today.

Antiquitates culinariae or Curious tracts relating to the culinary 
affairs ...

By Richard Warner, pp 103

The head of the page says "The inthronization of Archbishop Nevill page 103


When you have carved your firft frefhe mate, be it fythe or flethe, then 
make faltes on this maner. Firft uncover your Salt. Then with our brode 
Knyfe take a little Salt, and plane it on your Trencher tyll it be a 
even. Then with your brode Knyfe cut your Salt quadrant, and lay it 
before the three principal Trenchers upon your foure quadrant Trenchers, 
and in the meane tyme the courfe is ferved to the rewarde and feconde 
meffe.

Then the Salt muft be fereved at the rewarde, and at the feconde meffe a 
ftandyang Salt is fet without a cover, besydes the fmall Slates, which 
is made of bread properly triangled on halfe Trenchers.


There is also a mention of cubes of bread either hollowed out or a 
depression being made to hold salts for those other than the head table, 
it appears that quotes are taken from Menagier.
*Early French Cookery: Sources, History, Original Recipes and Modern 
Adaptations* By D. Eleanor Scully, Terence Peter Scully, pp 44

Theadora