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

[JIMCHEVAL at aol.com]

In fact, as it turns out, the "unsavory" is one of those unfortunate  
interpolations by a translator. The original simply refers to a "slice [or  
square] of cheese from Toulouse":
 
http://books.google.com/books?id=LMB7N-TJio4C&pg=PA420&dq=Martial++cheese+qu
adra&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zjULVKWWCoHpoAT4qYGYAg&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=fals
e
 
It's the context, a litany of unpleasant and, yes, unsavory things that  
establishes the poor nature of this Gallic cheese.
 
Tangentially, there seems to be a whole sub-genre of literature of guests  
whining about how they were received. The bishop-poet Fortunatus complains 
in  one poem about how long he's been made to wait for his food. I'd bet 
there's  something in Juvenal along the same lines.
 
 
Jim  Chevallier
_www.chezjim.com_ (http://www.chezjim.com/) 

Comparing prices in  medieval France
_http://leslefts.blogspot.com/2014/08/comparing-prices-in-medieval-france.ht
ml_ (http://leslefts.blogspot.com/2014/08/french-cities-of-dark-ages.html) 







In a message dated 9/6/2014 6:33:29 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
ranvaig at columbus.rr.com writes:

>The  Romans certainly imported lesser quality versions of some  foods.
>Martial writes of "unsavory Toulouse cheese"

That could  mean an aged cheese or even a blue cheese, not necessarily 
lesser  quality.