[Sca-cooks] Why bother to import the cheap stuff?

[Stefan li Rous]

Urtatim said:
<<< Since there are a rather limited number of recipes using rice, I wonder if perhaps they were getting broken rice from Persia. When I can, I'll go thru al-Warraq again and list all the mentions. >>>

Really? I assume by “broken rice” you mean broken kernels? I would also assume this means a lower quality of rice. But why would you spend the time and money to import less than the best?

That doesn’t seem to fit with other examples I’m aware of.

a) I’ve heard that almost all olive oil imported to the US from Italy is the prime, virgin quality. The second and third grade stuff stays in its home countries.

b) Molasses wasn’t imported to Europe from the sugar cane plantations in the New World until after the price of sugar had fallen tremendously from where it once was. It was certainly just as available earlier.

Urtatium, see what words he uses to describe the rice. Or whether he indicates that it needs to be ground or broken.  Maybe that step is assumed, but maybe it did come that way.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at gmail.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marksharris
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