Med-Kitchens-lnks

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Med-Kitchens-lnks – 10/1/06

Links to info on medieval kitchens by Dame Aoife Finn of Ynos Mon.

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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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From: liontamr at ptd.net

Subject: Links: Medieval Kitchens

Date: July 2, 2004 8:26:54 PM CDT

To: StefanliRous at austin.rr.com

Greetings my faithful readers!

This episode of the Links List is about Medieval Kitchens--not the food

itself, but the place where it was prepared.

How was it organized? Where was it built? Who worked there? What did it look

like? All valid questions, and ones I find fascinating, as I hope you will,

as well. There is little to find, web-wise, on this subject. Much of what I

did find was from Aethelmearc's Dame Katja Orlova--so thanks Katja for not

only suggesting this topic but also for being a good source of information.

As always, please pass the Links List along to those who will find it

interesting, and refrain from sending it to those who do not. This weekly

list of medieval webpages on a common theme relies on the premise of "pay it

forward" rather than pay it back---no one makes any money from it, and we

are all enriched from reading what is contained therein.

Cheers

Aoife

Dame Aoife Finn of Ynos Mon, OL

Riverouge

Endless Hills

Aethelmearc

A Study of Cooking Tasks, Methods, and Equipment in the Renaissance Kitchen

by Dame Katja Orlova (copyright Chris Adler)

http://www.geocities.com/katjaorlova/MedievalKitchenEquipment.htm

(Site Excerpt) Judging from these menus of foods selected not only for their

taste and texture but also their color and smell, a meal prepared in the

high Middle Ages for nobility was a lavish experience for all the senses.

But these menus also beg the question to the modern cook: how ever did a

cook of that time prepare this variety of elaborate dishes in a kitchen with

dirt floors, a wood- or coal-fired heating source, no running water, and no

modern appliances such as food processors or spice grinders? As history

buffs and cooks, we look at period recipes and try to figure out how to

recreate them. We rarely really think about how those recipes were prepared

back then - not the proportions of ingredients and the timing of the

cooking, but actually what equipment was used! The answer might surprise

you - both descriptions in period recipes and depictions in period artwork

reveal that the kitchen of a manor or palace was a well-organized and

meticulously coordinated operation with up to dozens of servants assigned to

specific tasks (often in several different rooms).

ThinkQuest Medieval Kitchen

http://library.thinkquest.org/10949/fief/medkitchen.html

Site is brief. Excerpt:) The medieval kitchen was where all the dishes for

the castle's meals were prepared. It was usually set away from the great

hall, where most of the meals were served. This was to prevent a fire in the

kitchen from spreading to the great hall. Fires happened often because all

food was cooked over a fire or in an oven. However, because the kitchen was

built away from the great hall, food often got cold on the trip from the

kitchen to the great hall. Thus, an enclosed passageway of wood or stone

would be constructed between the two. This would help to keep out the wind

and keep the food warm on the trip. The kitchen itself could be constructed

of wood or stone.

Meideval/Renaissance Food Pages--Clip art from Medieval Kitchen illustrations

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/food-art/

You may have to pick and choose, but do look at them all. Several of the

gif/pdf, for instance, have background detail that is interesting.

The Medieval Kitchen (a camp-kitchen with photos from a re-enactment group)

http://www.fightmasters.com/KnightsInBattle/Kitchen.htm

Gode Cookery: A Feast for the Eyes

A Medieval and Renaissance Food and Feast Image Colelction

Kitchens and Cooking Equipment

http://www.godecookery.com/afeast/kitchens/kitchens.html

52 images of cooks and kitchens. Notice that no. 44 has a portable oven and

proof of pretzels in medieval cuisine!

Coventry City News: Bid to reveal medieval kitchen's secrets Nov 11 2002

http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/page.cfm?objectid=12354356&;method=full&siteid=50003

(Site Excerpt: Note: Copy-paste long URLs to the web browser window)

A £1 million project will unveil a medieval cooking place for the first time

since World War Two at Coventry's St Mary's Guildhall. Coventry City

Council looks set to submit a Heritage Lottery bid to raise half the

estimated costs of restoring the ancient kitchen which is hidden behind a

modern one. The project will be submitted for council Cabinet approval later

this month and if it gets the green light, work would start next year to

strip away the modern equipment to reveal the wonders underneath....

Riksantikvarieambetet Casatle (a re-enactment site with a photo of a

kitchen)

http://www.riksantikvarieambetet.se/glimminge_eng/program.asp

Extant/restored Medieval Kitchen with child in the fireplace!

http://songhome.com/photos/2003/081.shtml

Penn State Center for Medieval Studies: The Kitchen Garden

http://www.psu.edu/dept/medieval/kitchengarden.html

Balleyport Castle, Co. Clare, Ireland

http://www.tourismresources.ie/cht/ballypor/ballyort2.htm

Photo of a restored kitchen for modern use (faucet installed on medieval

stone sink!)

Kitchens at Hampton Court Palace

http://www.peartree12.freeserve.co.uk/hamptonkit.html

Map, detailed photos of Tudor Kitchen

Acanthus Books ( a book sale page, see other listings as well)

The Medieval Cookpot

http://store1.yimg.com/I/acanthus-books_1798_7979902

(Site excerpt) OXFORD SYMPOSIUM ON FOOD & COOKERY

1988 PROCEEDINGS

Museum of London Saxon Cookpots and other implements

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/frames.shtml?http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/ceramics/pages/publication.asp?pub_id=115990

(Note: Copy-paste wrapped URLs. ) Click on underlined aquisitions numbers to

view images of items.

Skeletons dug up in kitchen at Holyrood

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1066232002

(Site Excerpt) THE skeletons of eight people have been discovered under the

Queen's kitchen in The Palace of Holyroodhouse. The origin of the remains

puzzle experts, although it is believed they were probably townsfolk who

lived near a monastery which once stood on the site of the palace. Police

were alerted on Monday after gas workers laying new mains under the kitchen

found the skeletons.

The Tudor Kitchen

http://www.thecaveonline.com/APEH/renaissancekitchen.html

(Site Excerpt) Few people today can even think of England's Henry VIII

without conjuring up images of turkey legs and vast feasts. Historically,

this image is not far from the actual truth. Once Henry took over Hampton

Court from his former minister Cardinal Woolsey , the king installed a staff

of nearly 1600 people to cater to his kingly whims. Foremost among these was

the process of feeding the King and his court..

Renaissance Kitchen Accessories

http://www.kitchenkapers.com/rekiac.html

(Just for laughs---I couldn't resist! See the "Renaissance banana tree!" Hee

hee... pseudo-history at it's finest--or worst, depending on your point of

view :)