[Sca-cooks] Some very modern-sounding warnings about some very old food

[JIMCHEVAL at aol.com]

In her overview of early Medieval food, Kathy  Pierson writes:

"The lack of refrigeration meant that all communities  preserved meats 
through salting, smoking, or storing in fat. Fat could be used  to cook and 
preserve cuts of meat, sausages, and poultry in the same manner that  comfits 
are still made in rural France. Both the meats and the fats could be  used to 
add savor to stews and beans. Preservation would have enhanced sodium,  fat, 
or carcinogen levels in meats, depending on the method used."

So  were Medieval people aware, if only intuitively, that these 
preservation methods  were not absolutely safe?

At least one Belgian monk seems to have been;  in the fourteenth century, 
Brother Leonard discouraged the use of fatty, salty  and smoked foods - not 
to mention mixing wines:

A FOURTEENTH CENTURY  DIETETIC: 2. Brother Leonard on diet and  health
http://leslefts.blogspot.com/2014/02/this-is-one-of-severalposts-exploring.h
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Jim  Chevallier
www.chezjim.com

Les Leftovers: sort of a food history  blog
leslefts.blogspot.com