[Sca-cooks] Reasons why period cakes aren't modern cakes

[David Friedman]

I've seen that claim, but I thought the only evidence was its use for 
other culinary purposes. Perhaps someone else here knows.

On 10/3/13 6:42 PM, lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:
> On 10/3/13 5:39 PM, lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:
>>> To me another significant difference is the lack of chemical leavening. There was what is now
>>> called Baker's Ammonia (Ammonium Carbonate), but that only works in fairly thin things -
>>> cookies, wafers, etc. (& it still is used in some northern European baking). There are late
>>> period cakes leavened with yeast, but they will have a VERY different texture than a modern
>>> chemically leavened cake. The things often called "cakes" in late period cookbooks are close to
>>> what we call "cookies".
> David Friedman queried:
>> Are you saying that Ammonium carbonate was used as a chemical leavening
>> in SCA period? I wasn't aware of it.
> Maybe i am misremembering, but ISTR hartshorn used as a leavening in late period and it is ammonium carbonate.
>
> Urtatim (that's oor-tah-TEEM!)
>
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-- 
David Friedman
www.daviddfriedman.com
http://daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/