[Sca-cooks] dormice

Johnna Holloway johnnae at mac.com
Wed Feb 27 13:19:11 PST 2013


Both the live ones and the stuffed ones in the museum at Snežnik Castle were not as large as a squirrel.
Wikipedia in the entry on the edible dormouse says 4.2-5.3 ounces which doubles right before hibernation. So the whole
animal weighs maybe 10.6 ounces. Fox squirrels weigh 1.1-2.2 pounds by comparison. Chipmunks can weigh as much as 
4.4 ounces according to National Geographic. The live pohl mother was about the same size as the fat chipmunk that
lives in my backyard. (Of course he gets fed peanuts so he's rather fat.)

If you are in Slovenia in the fall, you could probably find them to eat. I gather it is rather an acquired taste these days.
They were something of a staple during WWII and saved people from starvation. I gathered they slaughtered hundreds
of thousands during the course of the war.

Johnnae

On Feb 27, 2013, at 3:15 PM, Dama Antonia wrote:

> On 28/02/2013 4:27 a.m., Johnna Holloway wrote:
>> 
>> Why would one want to buy [a dormouse]? They are not very big, so cooking one or a group of them would not yield much meat. I've suggested in the past small squirrel or chipmunks or even hamsters for a substitute.
> 
> 
> I don't think quantity is exactly the point.  Why would you want to buy quails?  Poussins? Shrimp?
> At any rate, according to Wikipedia, the edible dormouse can reach 19cm in length (excluding the tail), which I think compares pretty well with a smallish squirrel, and would be bigger than a hamster or chipmunk.




More information about the Sca-cooks mailing list