SCA cooking judgement

[bunnyjadwiga]

an interesting point that I've been thinking about lately, because I've been reading books with other people's interpretations of pre-1650 recipes in them again.

In the SCA-cooks world, we try to limit ourselves to recipes that are fully documented, specifically ones that start with a known, extant recipe written down before 1650, and which we 'redact' (i.e., recreate in modern measurements) as exactly as we can and with great care to ingredients.

But I find myself fussing in certain ways about what people do in their redactions and in their service, and in different ways about what I do, and what corner-cutting or accomodations to modern life I find acceptable for me to do.

I, for instance, tend to fuss about modern spicing and modern expectations of textures being accomodated in redacting and menu choices. But then I smack myself about serving modern crudites in my dayboards, and my tendency to serve certain sauces to be eaten with bread. (I haven't found good sauce on bread documentation, though many of the veggies I serve in sauce are meant to be served OVER bread, such as buttered worts...)

And then there's the drinks. Infusions of herbs and jalabs of sugar syrup are very popular in my kingdom, and I've helped to make them so. But I wonder if anyone routinely drank cold mint tea or cold lavender tea rather than small beer or small mead? What about my lemon-ginger syrup jalab? I serve that at events, and people think I'm being very
period-- but I made that recipe up, using the proportions in a modern sekanjabin recipe, and I have to keep admitting it. That recipe has escaped out into the SCA cooking world and has a separate existence. People think it is period because they've had it at feasts that were full of redactions from period recipes.

I've served Vanilla pizelles in place of period wafers with something, because that's what I had time and people would eat, and comforted myself with the idea that Vanilla is the modern equivalent of rosewater. But my pizelles weren't from a period recipe, and they had vanilla in them!

And yet, I'm still cranky at Constance Hieatt because in Pleyn Delit she recommends allspice in a recipe, though the allspice can't be documented as a regularly used spice in our period, and because her cameline sauce is based on a completely obscure version, which, if tweaked by unsuspecting cooks, comes out as a raisin-nut stuffing...

Do I hold a double standard? Am I really judging my work by similar, if not the same, standards I judge others? I've served bananas at a dayboard, and will do it again. Is it right for me to complain so bitterly when someone serves Bigos/Hunter Stew with tomatoes in it at a feast?

Comments

[aeddie.livejournal.com]

I don't think so. I think there is a difference between a dayboard and a feast. Here in Caid dayboards, if they are done, are generally Baronial pot-luck lunches so the period-ness is rather minimal.

People have higher expectations from feasts, or at least I do.

[amykb.livejournal.com]

Another thing you have to think of is taking into account people's allergies--and you are very good at doing that.

And yes, people may not have drank the syrup drinks that we do, but we can't serve beer or mead--or at least not bought with SCA funds. Another practicality that our ancestors didn't have to consider.

And yes, that hunter's stew should have been complained about. Also the chocolate volcano cakes that were served as a desert at the same feast.

[rani23.livejournal.com]

You know, I think it's about documentation.

So, you're serving pizelles -- but you have a reason for doing so and explain why. You're not doing it out of ignorance. The people who are serving hunters stew with tomatoes is doing it out of lack of understanding.

As for Pleyn Delit -- again, using allspice and a obscure version of cameline sauce without an explaintion is not very good either.

[landverhuizer.livejournal.com]

just read a period recipe with bananas in it today... you just reminded me of that! will have to go back and ponder it again.

I feel right guilt ridden for feeding people something not completely documented, mostly because people expect what I make must be period. It gets doubly frustrating when teaming up with other people who care a bit less *shrug*
The non-alcoholic drink thing makes sense but because there is a demand for it not because such things were common beverages through the periods we cover. On the other hand, it sure beats all water, frozen pink lemonade and iced-tea. It even beats sekanjabin, if that is all we are seeing.... will have to admit to having a little peeve towards the gazillions of syrup based drinks all based on the one sekanjabin recipe ;P

Dunno though, think I would cringe greatly to a tomato stew at feast... if tomatoes must be done, then I would expect them prepared according to what we know of their preparation within the groups period.
I am still twitch at modern decorated cakes showing up at events but don't say anything about it (well, until now).

The last, first...

[bytchearse.livejournal.com]

Tomatoes at a feast: Ix-nay OMHO. Bananas at a dayboard: not so bad.

Ditto all of the above :-)

You know my POV, that a feast is meant to be eaten. :-)

I'll bet you recall the reaming I took on teh Cook's Guild List when I dared served POTATOES based on Rumpolt's "ertepfel" recipe because Hanse in his whims declared that "meat and potatoes should be served at every feast".

This isn't a case of Do as I Say Not as I Do, but more like you acknolwedging that something you might make is not 100% period, but SCA usage (and EK usage as well) has made it acceptable. You're not trying to pass it off as period, only offering certain things as part of a board that does include period documented foods.

Of course, when I think that the orders of Pelican and Laurel have no real basis in period and were created of whole cloth for our usage, I can only smile.

You're doing fine, you're not a hypocrite, and anyone who feels that way about you or your food probably goes off-board for McDonald's anyhow :-P

[wombatgirl.livejournal.com]

If it's holding a double standard, it's a similar double standard to one I hold myself.

I think a lot of the question behind the substitutions comes from the intent. The intent behind serving drink syrups rather than small beer is a lot more understandable and comendable than the replacing of other spices with allspice. One is a change based on modern necessity and the other, who knows.

And tomatoes in a stew? There's nothing that would stop me complaining about that. I'm still going on about the chocolate pudding I ran into two years ago!

[northernwalker]

I will cop to being a novice on this, but I'd say there's a difference between a logical substitution and laziness. Bananas or vanilla might be a stretch for some periods, but aren't totally illogical. Tomatoes are only New World. There's no reason to have them other than sloppy thinking.

[madrun.livejournal.com]

Several people have said this already, but I agree so vehemently I want to reiterate the sentiment in my own words...

You are making reasonable conclusions and applying them.

This is what keeps me in perspective:
Nothing we ever do is "period". We don't cook over charcoal or wood most of the time. We are using modern varieties of vegetables. We are using way bioengineered domestic animals. We aren't cooking in the same pots, using the same cooking methods. Heck, just the lack of dirt and woodsmoke in our food probably makes it taste different, even if we could recreate all the other things. We must balance this with our own educated opinion of just how "authentic" we want to make our creations. We each have our own priorities when it comes to redactions, and we have to balance that aginst modern palates and food prejudices. I can always strive to make mine more "authentic" but I try not to beat myself up too badly when I fall short or have to make serious concessions to the audience I'm feeding.

[mistresshuette.livejournal.com]

I understand your angst. I have the same feelings also. I sometimes complain about people not even attempting period cookery, when there are times when I have cut corners, so to speak, in order to save time or effort when I am coming down to the wire/serving time. I too have served vanilla pizzelles instead of the more period wafers because I didn't have time to experiment with the period recipe and I wanted to serve something edible even if it wasn't period. However, when asked, I always tell the truth. I make no false claims to periodicity. I suppose there is the perception that because I am a cooking Laurel that everything that I make is period. That is what I try to do as a matter of course. But when I don't or can't, it bothers me. Like the last Royal luncheon that I did. The autocrat wanted a theme of following the silk road. I spent too much time researching and not enough time experimenting. The night before the event I tried making recipes that I should have experimented with weeks before. I was just too pressed for time and I started making mistakes and having disasters. But I adapted as best I could. When I couldn't get the samosa dough correct, but the filling was great, I went out and bought a lot of pita bread, and stuffed the filling in that instead. Not really period, but it saved my ass and everyone liked it. The same with the Chinese dish. I made most of it at home and was supposed to finish it up on site, but discovered when I got there that I had left at home half the ingredients I was supposed to use, and there was no time or convenient market to replace that which I had forgotten, so I improvised and turned it into a stir-fry dish. It tasted great, but it wasn't the period dish I was going to make. I think that questions like yours are only natural for concientious Laurels who are trying their best, but, at the same time, are human beings.