Title: tasting-tabls-msg
Subject: Introducing people to medieval foods using food samples and tasting tables.
Author: Edited by Mark S. Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: medieval, SCA, food, taste, sample, encourage

tasting-tabls-msg - 10/17/14

Introducing people to medieval foods using food samples and tasting tables.

NOTE: See also the files: practice-fsts-msg, pot-luck-fsts-msg, dayboards-msg, easy-p-recip-msg, finger-foods-msg, pot-lck-ideas-msg.

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NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

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Thank you,
    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2004 10:45:05 -0400
From: Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise <jenne at fiedlerfamily.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] tasting boards
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

> Interesting. I've never heard of anyone trying this before. I've tried
> to use the usual pot luck dinners, both inside and outside of the SCA,
> to introduce folks to period foods, but I've not heard of this. How are
> these set up? Similar to the food sampling tables that show up in the
> modern grocery stores on Saturdays?

Well, a more period looking version, yeah. We give out the serving stuff
and have people serve their own, or serve it up and press it upon them 
if they are shy. :)

> Or are these more formal, such as
> small classes? How many different food items are presented/sampled?

Depends on the event and what people bring; we've had as few as 4 and as
many as about 20 items.

> All at one spot? Or different spots around an event?

All at one spot.

>> I'm very proud of myself: I cooked millet (with chicken broth), a
>> civey of chicken, and a simple salat for the last one.
> Again, all at once? or at different times? I assume all at once, or at
> least at the same event, from your last comment.

Well, there was some delay. I had heated up the chicken civey while
cutting up the herbs and dressing the salat; then in the same pot I 
cooked the millet.

The setup was pretty basic: a 10x10 sunshade near the fighting field, a
display table with a small cloth on it, my feastgear box on which I had
put my small gas stove/grill, and a cooler and a basket of 
cooking/serving stuff.

People brought up chairs and we had discussions and a class there also.

I usually put out comfits because once I get started making comfits I tend
to forget to stop (it's that Band-Aid Feed the World thing, you know), so
I have plenty and they travel well.

I usually put out ginger-lemon drink but instead I mixed some pomegranate
molasses with brown sugar and water. Juliana brought Clarea de Agua.

>> We've had some excellent other recipes make their appearences too.
> Such as?

Aesa made mutton meatballs and a mutton and chicken dish at Landsknecht. I
had mustards at that one. I've cooked Cormary, Jewish Dish of Chickpeas,
Roast from Sabrina Welserin, Stuffed Eggs from the Anonymous Andalusian
Manuscript, and other things (I'm reading off the recipes database on the
EK cooks yahoogroup and realizing that we haven't kept it up to date.

> Some interesting ideas.
>
> Hmmm. I wonder if different comfits could be used to introduce folks to
> different medieval spices?

Yup, that's one of the things I do at my spices class. :)
-- 
-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net 

Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2004 10:17:04 -0600 (MDT)
From: Linda Peterson <mirhaxa at morktorn.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] tasting boards
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On Wed, 7 Jul 2004, Stefan li Rous wrote:
>> tasting boards. :)
> these set up? Similar to the food sampling tables that show up in the
> modern grocery stores on Saturdays? Or are these more formal, such as
> small classes? How many different food items are presented/sampled? All
> at one spot? Or different spots around an event?

The Stewpot (Outlands cooks guild) sets up tasting tables at events, with
perhaps a half dozen items. Having recipe cards to hand out with the food
seems to go over pretty well, and encourages more people to try more
period food. It started as a way to fight the "period food is icky"
syndrome and also advertised the guild as an activity and a resource.

Mirhaxa

Date Wed, 7 Jul 2004 10:29:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: Samrah <auntie_samrah at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] was tasting boards now spice class
To: jenne at fiedlerfamily.net, Cooks within the SCA
	<sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise <jenne at fiedlerfamily.net> wrote:
> Hmmm. I wonder if different comfits could be used to introduce folks to
> different medieval spices?

Yup, that's one f the things I do at my spices class. :)
-- 
-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net

I set out a similar table for a spice identification class I teach.  
Usually about 35 herbs & spices, set out in whole & ground forms 
grouped as they would possibly be used (not alphabetical or botanical), 
with butter, cream cheese, non-dairy margarine, sugar, hard-boiled 
eggs, and bread or crackers and tiny portions of saffron tea (for those 
who have not tasted saffron).  Students check off a list as to what 
they like and dislike.  Basically, it gives the newcomers to spices a 
chance to taste before they buy or go to the trouble of making a whole 
recipe with a spice they may later decide tastes horrid to them.  Many 
of them also get more courage to blend the spices this way. We talk a 
bit about the plants, where spices come from & what spice goes with 
what...

Samrah who adores most things to do with spice, particularly 
cardamom....

Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:25:36 -0500
From: "Sharon Gordon" <gordonse at one.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] January 2009 MK Cooks Challenge
To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

<<< Suggest only ONE or TWO possible items that might serve as acceptable
"tasting"  topics for a 1-hour session as a class or discussion panel.  
For example:
-- salts from around the world, beyond common table and sea sea salt.
-- olive oils, especially those commonly available in the grocery store. >>>

--A variety of mustard recipes
--Bread with either a variety of ingredients or the same ingredients handled
in different ways (slow rise, faster rise, wood fired oven, dutch oven
baked, electric oven)

Sharon

Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:04:20 -0500
From: ranvaig at columbus.rr.com
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] January 2009 MK Cooks Challenge
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>,
	mk-cooks at midrealm.org

<<< Suggest only ONE or TWO possible items that might serve as acceptable
"tasting"  topics for a 1-hour session as a class or discussion panel. >>>

Various vinegars and verjuice.  red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, sherry vinegar, rice vinegar, sugar cane vinegar,  cider vinegar, malt vinegar, alegar, balsamic vinegar (both the real thing and a cheap one), white balsmic vinegar, raisin vinegar, cane vinegar, date vinegar, honey vinegar  The differences between mass produced vinegar, artisan vinegars, aged vinegars, and home made vinegars.  Then there is the difference between vinegar brewed from fruit wine, and fruit flavored vinegar.  We could discuss which ones are most like period vinegar, and how vinegar effected the humors.  Taste both straight vinegar and in a period recipe.  The same recipe with vinegar and with verjuice. I think this could draw non-cooks too.

And I'm working on developing a class for the various sauces found in Rumpolt:  Pepper sauce, apple gesharb, almond gesharb, pobrat sauce, sour cherry sauce, and others.  Hopefully, I will present it this summer.

Ranvaig

Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:00:13 +0000
From: "Debra Hense/Kateryn de Develyn" <nickiandme at att.net>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] period finger/party foods
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org (Group-SCACooks)

Stefan writes:
<<How is distributing the recipes handled? Is there just a centralized  stack
of recipes/redactions that someone has printed off?  Is there a  separate
stack of recipes at each dish? >>

We have created little recipe cards for the most part (sometimes full page with color photographs) which we then place in front of or to the side of each dish.  

For the Ladies of the Rose ceremony the cook's guild creates a little booklet of the recipes used (this is especially nice as a memento of the occasion.

For the ToC (Taste of Calontir) at Lilies - we have done recipe booklets for each country/region presented.  Because here we form teams and usually have four or five tables each representing a different country/region. Each table then presents from five to ten items of food to be tasted in bite-sized pieces.  I like this one best because you can compare/contrast the different regions by their flavors/seasonings used.

For the upcoming Jubliee Celebration in Three Rivers - the guild is creating a small cookbook of the 50 recipes presented. 

Kateryn de Develyn - presenting three of the recipes - Perfect Cookies, Marzipan Peach Pits (from here on this list :-), and Lucian Sausages (in a breakfast link size.)  

Date: Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:25:58 +0000
From: "Debra Hense/Kateryn de Develyn" <nickiandme at att.net>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Calontir's Jubliee Celebration
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org (Group-SCACooks)

Well, we had so much food for our taste of Calontir table that we couldn't set it all out at once.  We ended up setting up Reigns 1 thru 25 in the morning and the Reigns 26 thru 50 in the afternoon.  It was wonderful!

There were people lined up to taste things.  Quite a few folks got to taste things because the cooks are getting smarter about cutting into small single to two-bite sized servings.  But, a single bite of 25 different foods still ends up being a meal in and of itself.  

I saw the cookbook - but I believe it needed some more recipes as some people didn't get them sent in on time to be included.  I'll poke a bit to see if we can't get those last few included and make it available for everyone.

Kateryn

Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:14:06 -0600
From: "Kathleen A Roberts" <karobert at unm.edu>
To: SCA-Cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Tasting Table at Crown - sans rotten meat

Well, we had quite the successful medieval tasting table 
at Outlands Crown Tourney this Saturday in al-Barran. 
Spearheaded by Mistress Monika von Zell, our A and S 
Officer (who brought me along for the ride as a 
coordinator), we provided a bounty of dishes, 97% medieval 
(and a few close enough for government work) and all 
tasting delicious.

We had three homemade cheeses (honey and pomegranate, 
dill/mustard seed, and plain), home made butter, oat 
bread, florentine pork, five-spice pork, venison/beef 
stew, pea soup, egg drop soup, melon with mint, carrots in 
same dressing as melon, salad with olive oil, wine and 
onion (chopped red), two forms of stuffed dates, one 
stuffed with ingredients and brushed with powdered gold (a 
bit different from apicius, but much neater in the 
situation) and one stuffed with almonds and simmered in 
wine, pizzelles, persian peach dessert, apple cake, littiu 
(oatmeal pudding with dried cherries and currants), 
chicken/cheese tarts, rissoles, Rumpbolt pickled beets... 
okay, so the rolls were store bought.  People came out of 
the woodwork to cook, some for their first try at medieval 
food (using Master Huen's site to good advantage).

We raised almost $300.00 for the travel fund, and had 
people going by all day, eating and commenting on the 
food, how good it was and how wonderful it was to have 
such a thing.  Mistress Monika assembled recipe books 
which were sold for $2.00 (cover printing costs).  We ran 
out of copies and were asked to provide more at later 
events.  It was a great day.

Mistress Aldyth and Mistress Gwen Kat from this list 
participated as well.

Thus proving that medieval food can indeed be.... da da da 
da datada... good eats.

Cailte

<the end>

Edited by Mark S. Harris	tasting-tabl-msg	 of