website fun?

I never thought the website would take as long as it did. Here I thought a website would be the funner, easier option... yeah not so. Just as much research and easily twice the amount of editing. But I think the outcome was worth it!

It has been an exciting experiment, full of insightful information and hectic cooking fun. I would love to try cooking more over an open fire. Thinking about BBQ, and how different woods add amazing flavour combos to the food, it would be a delicious time trying to figure out just how the fire/smoke changes the flavours.

Status

I found it really interesting just how much status dictated life. There was this neat story a paper talked about how there was this rich young man who decided to eat whatever he wanted. So he chowed down on barely and porridge (the food of the lower class). Subsequently he turned into a robber and later, after being caught by the law, regretting partaking of the serf's food. The story so linked food into personality and how if you eat outside of your birthrights bad things will happen. As if you'd be breaking the laws of nature by eating it.

There was another neat story, where a god came down and stayed over night with different couples and nine months after his stay a baby was born. The poor couple produced an ugly, bent man, who ate dark bread.The noble couple produced a handsome, strong, brave soul who dinned on meat and wine. As if the food went hand in hand with all the personality components.

Website

Ok, so all my info is up there, I just have to site and source everything. SO maybe I can do that on thursday when we get together, and figure out if there is anythign that needs to be changed.
See you thursday.
Katie

Website. Almost done my additons to the website

I have added my recipe pages and working on the medieval equipment page. Getting there!!!

Project!

I will get a start on answering the research question for each recipe today and working on my portion of the report on Medieval cooking practices.
Talk to you all soon!!!1
Katie

Humoral Theory

When finding recipes for our project, the group loved th idea of having a parsley and onion salad that accompanied the salmon dish. We came across and problem that contradicted medieval cooking practices, but the recipe was found in a plethora of medieval recipe books.  The problem was that this parsley and onion salas was cold and not cooked, where the humoral theroy, that was prevalent int hat time, influenced the cooking of all ingredients that were ingested in the meal. All components wanted to be hot and extremley well mixed. Here is a short explanation of the humoral theory:

Dating back to the ancient Greek physician Galen, the Humoral Theory dominated early to mid-Medieval medicine (which was linked, by the theory, to cuisine). The concept that all living things contained four elements (blood, choler, phlegm, and melancholy – correlating to air, fire, water, and earth) corresponded in the kitchen to the cook's need to balance the four natures of these humors (hot, dry, wet, cold). The simplest and quickest explanation of this theory is that it was widely believed that food not prepared with its humors in mind would be unhealthy to eat… or even cause harm to the person who ate such food! Conversely, specific foods were specifically prescribed by the physician to treat ailments; the cook carefully planned meals to balance both his master's health and the various degrees of a dominant humor in each ingredient. A quick look through the Tacuinum Sanitatis and other health handbooks reveal detailed instructions as to how to prepare an ingredient, with what to serve it, and when during a meal to eat it. The Humoral Theory directly influenced the preferred cooking methods for certain foods: beef was boiled because it was "dry" and "cold," while pork was roasted to dry out its "wet" humor. The theory also influenced texture: many period dishes contained well-ground, minced, chopped, or sieved ingredients because those techniques would completely "mingle" the ingredients and thus ensure the dish was easily digested.Fish, for example, was considered to be dominated by the cold and wet humors, and thus generally was fried in order to warm up and dry it out so that it could be consumed without ill effect. (The importance of this theory in terms of food preparation waned in the 16^th and 17^th Centuries.)

Potage of ris

Hello all!
On Thursday night I attempted a recipe on my own: Potage of ris. This was a medieval version of The recipe:

4 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 to 2 cups rice, fully cooked
1/4 cup almonds, sliced
2 Tbsp. butter
pinch saffron, ground

Now, to compare a modern day rice pudding, that make often, I made a modern day version. This was to be able to taste test and compare the dishes side by side.

The medieval "rice pudding" was alot less creamy and less sweet, and less thick than the modern day version. This is probrably due to the inceasing need of our society for sugary non healthy alternatives. 
But on e bizarre addition to the medieval rice pudding is the safforn. Saffron does not add much flavor at all, when cooked so briefly. This is wy I postulate that the saffron was only used to make a statement; a statement about social class, and style. I have found that many igrediants in the medieval recipes have ingredients that do not have a purpose, or mix well with other ingredients. I think that the use of many ingredients such a safforn and other spices, was a display of  power an class. Those who could afford it could use it.