Medieval Cookery Seminar

[Umbran]

I didn't start the thread to defend his conclusions, just report my recollections as requested by Mark CMG.

Fair enough. It helps that I wasn't so much asking you to defend him as offering some questioning tidbits for consideration.

I highly recommend http://www.godecookery.com/

We picked up a copy of "A Book of Gode Cookery" only last week (at Pennsic). One of the major assets of this book is that it shows you that what counts as a "recipe" has undergone a major change over time. The number one difference - an almost complete lack of standard measures. No cups, pounds, or ounces. Everything is "some" or "enough"...

 

[Inferno!]

Did he say anything about brewing or winemaking?

No he didn't address that subject

 

[tarchon]

We picked up a copy of "A Book of Gode Cookery" only last week (at Pennsic). One of the major assets of this book is that it shows you that what counts as a "recipe" has undergone a major change over time. The number one difference - an almost complete lack of standard measures. No cups, pounds, or ounces. Everything is "some" or "enough"...

Some of that stems from the greater variability of the ingredients. Even with modern flour, you have to adjust a little for the age, moisture, gluten, and such. Modern recipes don't even start with "sift the flour" anymore.

 

[Inferno!]

One of the major assets of this book is that it shows you that what counts as a "recipe" has undergone a major change over time. The number one difference - an almost complete lack of standard measures. No cups, pounds, or ounces. Everything is "some" or "enough"...

This is something he did comment on at length. He said many of the cookbooks he's read were handed down generation to generation. The speculation was that older cooks passed down the measures by supervising younger cooks, or the younger cooks watched their elders to get an idea of what measure to use. Standardized measures are a relatively new occurance. I have some of my grandmother's recipes that don't give any measurements. She was born in 1900.

Another problem he mentioned was a lack of standardized spelling. Sometimes deciphering the text is could be tricky.

 

[Mean Eyed Cat]

A great book that details culinary dishes and dietary habits by regions and time periods is Food in History. I've used this book in my games - lots of details and lore about food.

 

[Steverooo]

While ice for cooling foods has been around since Roman times, the typical man on the street didn't have a way to keep milk cold in the Middle Ages. That's kind of what cheese is for - preserving the nutritive value of milk. Plus, your common joe was rather likely to have a cow or goat that'd need to be milked every day - you don't need to keep it cold if you've got a continuous supply.

"Behold, the power of... Immortal Milk!"

Let's not forget the root cellar, though. Pretty much any Joe with a shovel and a strong back could have one, and the foods stored within it would stay about 60 degrees F, all year 'round. Furthermore, if you lived near tall mountains, and/or got snowfall sometime during the year, you could pack the snow into the root cellar, making your own refrigerator. Many cheeses were just kept in cold, damp caves, however (there's even that legend about how the first bleu cheese was "discovered")!

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

Yes, cheese: milk's stab at immortality.

So, cheese is just Milk with an Undead Template tacked on?

So is Vampiric Milk Cheddar?

Mummified Milk Romano?

Zombie Milk those nasty Kraft Singles?

 

[isoChron]

I think it may have been common for a village to build a massive stone building around a spring (if present). That way the temperature was quite constant along a year with around 6° Celsius. Of course it was also very humid inside.

Tea could be made from leaves of herbs and plants found in the vicinity.
There is a famous book on herbs from Hildegard von Bingen, a nun in medieval germany. But it's more about medical purposes.

 

[Mark CMG]

There is a famous book on herbs from Hildegard von Bingen, a nun in medieval germany. But it's more about medical purposes.

Do you you mean Hildegard von Bingen's Physica : The Complete English Translation of Her Classic Work on Health and Healing? If so, looks good.