feastgear-msg - 3/24/08
Obtaining feastgear for use in the SCA. Cleaning wooden feastgear.
NOTE: See also the files: p-tableware-msg, p-kitchens-msg, utensils-msg, ovens-msg, pottery-msg, glasswork-msg, nefs-msg, forks-msg, spoons-msg, tablecloths-msg.
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Subj: Re: Feast Gear
Date: 7 Feb 92
From: trifid at agora.uucp (Roadster Racewerks)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Organization: Open Communications Forum
This brings up the subject of what-to-do when you've forgotten your feast gear.
Several of my friends in the Macflandry Guards came to what turned out to be a
feast not knowing it was one (mixup in communications) so our Adjutant Katherine
FitzAlan and I decided to go on a quick shopping trip in the local area, where
we bought enough "cannonball" bread loaves to make trenchers for all (half a
loaf per person) plus buying a couple of paring knives for those whose belt
knife wouldn't serve. Not only are trenchers very period, you eat them afterward
instead of washing them! (Not too good for soup, though. :-) Any good, hard
crust loaf of bread will serve two people. *Don't* cut off the upper crust to
make it flat, though, as it will leak later on. We found it unecessary in any
case...
So well did it work that when we travelled a great distance to Twelfth Night,
we repeated the strategy, and even got complimented! (And, if you have the
misfortune to attend a "feast" that skimps on food, you have an entire half a
loaf of bread, in any case! Not a problem at either feast mentioned, BTW...)
NicMaoilan, who *is* a Scot, after all... :-)
Subj: Re: feast gear
Date: 7 Feb 92
From: whheydt at pbhya.PacBell.COM (Wilson Heydt)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA
jeff at math.bu.EDU (Jeff Suzuki) writes:
>Cup: Anyone who brings a glass or porcelain cup to an event has my
>admiration; they are obviously dextrous enough to protect it against
>any of a zillion dangers. Wood or steel is best. Warning about
>pewter: it contains lead, and acidic drinks will leach the lead out.
*Some* pewters contain lead. Buy pewter from a reputable manufacturer
(i.e. one that explicitly tells you it doesn't contain lead). For
instance, Kongetinn flatware is made with a non-lead pewter for the
handles, and the jewelry company that had the Jefferson cups made in
the '70s used a lead-free pewter.
There is also Armetal. You can get cups, mugs, plates and bowls.
It's the stuff that looks like pewter, but isn't. (It's harder and
tougher.)
I grant that these options aren't the cheap ones--but what's it worth
to avoid lead poisoning?
--Hal
Hal Ravn, Province of the Mists, West Kingdom
Wilson H. Heydt, Jr., Albany, CA 94706, 510/524-8321 (home)
Subj: Re: feast gear
Date: 11 Feb 92
From: habura at vccnorthb.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie Habura)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY
I have used metal goblets in the past; I can't say that I like them. Most
drinks available at feasts, alcoholic or non, are acidic...if you let the
liquid stand in a metal goblet (other than stainless steel) for more than 20
minutes, you get a very nasty surprise with your next mouthful.
I have been using a glass goblet for about two years now. It's irregularly-
colored blue glass, and reminds me of an 18th century cup my mom has (OK, it's
OOP, but it looks old.) I picked it up for $6 at a Pier 1 Imports, and I know
that they still carry them. The glass is thick enough that I've never had
problems with breakage; I just wrap it in a piece of scrap cloth before I
put it in the feast basket.
One other thing I've been using, which isn't standard feast gear. I get very
thirsty at events, and sometimes the lemonade or whatever doesn't make it to
the feast table until 20 minutes after the bread does. I made myself a leather
cover for a 1-liter soda bottle (I generally don't drink 2 liters all by
myself). The body of it is thin tooling leather (with a figure representing
Youth that I copied from a 13th century sarcophagus tooled on it), and the
top is doeskin, with grommeted holes and a drawstring. There's a little
cylindrical cap tied to the drawstring. The top is drawn tight around the
neck of the bottle, and covers it completely. It isn't period, I know, but
it's a solution for times when I forget to make mint drink the night before
the event. The cover itself is modeled on a 14th century leather case.
Alison MacDermot
*Ex Ungue Leonem*
Re: feast gear
21 Feb 92
From: hwt at bwdlh490.BNR.CA (Henry Troup)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Canada
In article <rsgs8yj at rpi.edu>, habura at vccnorthb.its.rpi.edu (Andrea Marie
Habura) writes:
|>I have used metal goblets in the past; I can't say that I like them. Most
|>drinks available at feasts, alcoholic or non, are acidic...if you let the
|>liquid stand in a metal goblet (other than stainless steel) for more than 20
|>minutes, you get a very nasty surprise with your next mouthful.
Pewter seems to work well for me. It's modern food grade lead free pewter,
and the goblets were made by a local craftsman. (They're not cheap! but
available at craft shows.)
We travel with a goblet and a tankard each, plus one glass tumbler for
hot drinks.
One learns not to drink anything hot out of a metal vessel! The tankards are
Wilton Armentale (tm). It takes engraving pretty well, is easily available -
and expensive! But the metal stuff lasts as long as you don't lose it.
Henry Troup - HWT at BNR.CA (Canada)
From: del at babel.DIALix.oz.au (D Elson)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Safe to drink from Pewter
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 93 13:04:38 GMT
Modern pewter from Australia is safe -- it contains no lead.
Pewter from Europe sometimes contains lead, and sometimes
doesn't. I have no experience of American pewter.
A quick test -- place your proposed pewter vessel under some
pressure (enough so that it begins to bend). If it _doesn't_
"crackle" slightly while being bent, it is not safe to drink
from. If it crackles a lot, it is probably lead free. Anywhere
in the middle, you pays yer money and you takes yer chances ...
Del
-----------------------------------+-------------------------------------
D Elson | del at DIALix.oz.au del at adied.oz.au
-----------------------------------+-------------------------------------
From: Alfredo <hopkins at dg-rtp.dg.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: A couple of EASY questions about swords..
Date: 1 Dec 1995 01:02:35 GMT
Organization: Data General Corporation, RTP, NC
Margaret (Gretchen Miller <grm+ at andrew.cmu.edu>) wrote:
>Excerpts from [...] Honour Horne-Jaruk at brege [Alizaunde]:
>
>> Therefore, while people who never polish an eating knife can get away
>> with using mineral oil as a rust-preventive, I really don't recommend it
[...]
>Ok, so what do you recommend? (I'm mostly interested for my wood, on
>which I currently use mineral oil, because that's what the manufactorer
>recommends)
Here's what I do with wooden feast gear:
At the end of a feast, I put it all in a plastic garbage bag.
I mean to wash it all right away, but sometimes leave it until just
before the next event.
I wash the woodware in warm water with Dawn dishwashing liquid,
taking care not to let the wood soak long enough to split.
I spread the woodware out on a towel to air dry.
When it's still a little damp, a spread olive oil all over,
then wipe away the excess.
So far, I haven't had any trouble with the oil going rancid (knock wood).
-- Alfredo
hopkins at dg-rtp.dg.com
From: iainranock at aol.com (IainRanock)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: A couple of EASY questions about swords..
Date: 1 Dec 1995 13:05:18 -0500
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
In article <49lk7b$ncj at dg-rtp.dg.com>, Alfredo <hopkins at dg-rtp.dg.com>
writes:
>Here's what I do with wooden feast gear:
>At the end of a feast, I put it all in a plastic garbage bag.
>I mean to wash it all right away, but sometimes leave it until just
>before the next event.
>I wash the woodware in warm water with Dawn dishwashing liquid,
>taking care not to let the wood soak long enough to split.
>I spread the woodware out on a towel to air dry.
>When it's still a little damp, a spread olive oil all over,
>then wipe away the excess.
>So far, I haven't had any trouble with the oil going rancid (knock wood).
>
>-- Alfredo
>hopkins at dg-rtp.dg.com
>
Well, I use regular salad oil, not much different from Olive Oil, on mine
and haven't had any problem, just don't leave excess amounts on the feast
gear. Mine date back to about 12-13 years to when I bought them while in
the Barony of Western Seas. Of course mine get used at least monthly and
often more than that (except during tax season).
In Service to the Society
Iain of Rannoch (Lost north of Sea March, Trimaris)
" Gebe mir Schokolade und niemand wirt verletzt !!!!!!!!!! "
From: afn03234 at freenet2.freenet.ufl.edu (Ronald L. Charlotte)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Wooden feast gear
Date: 11 Dec 1995 04:54:27 GMT
In <4adu2o$761 at news1.delphi.com>, RCMANN at delphi.com wrote:
> Quoting bjm10 from a message in rec.org.sca
> >Well, if you wanna plunk down the money or do the work, you could do
> >away with wooden feast gear altogether.
> >Bring REAL trenchers with you to feasts--the actual baked bread
> >trenchers. "Taco Bowl Salads" are a re-cycled idea, y'know...
> I've been thinking about doing this at the next event we go to. Is
> there anyone upon this bridge who has actually done this, or who can
> refer me to some reliable sources? What kind of bread? (Ie. white,
> wheat, etc.) What dimensions are period/preferable? Does it have to
> stale a bit before use? Should I make a bread "bowl" for soup, or
> would it be more period to use a wooden bowl for hot liquids?
> Should my lord and I share the bread trencher?
It's been done at events here a few times, usually for specific dishes.
Kind of bread? Pick your favorite, but should be a type that forms a
good thick crust especially when eggwhite glazed. Dimensions? Suit your
appitite. Staleness? The ones put before me at the feasts I've had
them at were baked onsite. I wouldn't do the bowl for soups, myself,
YMMV. Sharing? Quite period, but again a personal preference.
--
al Thaalibi ---- An Crosaire, Trimaris
Ron Charlotte -- Gainesville, FL
afn03234 at afn.org
From: jtn at newsserver.uconn.edu (Terry Nutter)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Wooden feast gear
Date: 11 Dec 1995 06:32:42 GMT
Organization: The University of Connecticut
Greetings, all, from Angharad ver' Rhuawn.
Al Thaalibi responds to a request for information on trenchers:
: > I've been thinking about doing this at the next event we go to. Is
: > there anyone upon this bridge who has actually done this, or who can
: > refer me to some reliable sources? What kind of bread? (Ie. white,
: > wheat, etc.) What dimensions are period/preferable? Does it have to
: > stale a bit before use? Should I make a bread "bowl" for soup, or
: > would it be more period to use a wooden bowl for hot liquids?
: > Should my lord and I share the bread trencher?
: It's been done at events here a few times, usually for specific dishes.
: Kind of bread? Pick your favorite, but should be a type that forms a
: good thick crust especially when eggwhite glazed. Dimensions? Suit your
: appitite. Staleness? The ones put before me at the feasts I've had
: them at were baked onsite. I wouldn't do the bowl for soups, myself,
: YMMV. Sharing? Quite period, but again a personal preference.
Practices no doubt varied from time to time and place to place.
According to John Russell's Boke of Nurture (a fifteenth century
English work, possibly derived from a fourteenth century predecessor,
that describes rules for serving in noble households, an edition of
which appears in Furnivall's _Early English Meals and Manners_,
a volume in the Early English Text Society's Old Series),
trenchers should be four-day-old bread. He does not otherwise
distinguish them from the fine bread that is served at table for
eating; it rather follows that they should be made in the same
way as payndemayne or manchet, of white bread (with perhaps some
wheat germ added back, and perhaps a _small_ admixture of whole
wheat, but not much).
Trenchers are sliced from the loaf, apparently in vertical layers,
four to a loaf, and squared: so they do not include crust. They
appear to be about the size of a normal dinner place, or perhaps
smaller.
Russell is clear that trenchers are to be placed one per diner, and
not shared. It is also clear that they are _not_ used for all dishes.
In particular, he instructs to butler to find out how many dishes of
pottage the Sewer has been instructed to prepare, and use that number
to know how many places to set and trenchers to cut. The pottage is
being set by the Sewer, not on trenchers, but in bowls. There are
also plate and bowls set on the cupboard and the ewer board, and it
is not entirely clear when they are and are not used. Some dishes are
specified as being served on saucers; and so forth.
Baked meats are served, depending on the kind of the stuff inside,
either sliced and placed on the trencher, or in the crust (either
whole or pared in a variety of ways), or cubed with the bottom crust
still on and placed in saucers (specifically for custards), or so on.
The key seems to be that solids eaten by pricking with the knife go
on the trencher, and things eaten with spoons are presented in a
variety of other ways. (Russell is _very_ clear that nothing that
is too large to be put directly in the mouth should ever be put in
front of a diner. Things that come from the kitchen in large pieces,
such as birds cooked whole, or large bits of meat, should be carved
at table before being served.) What clearly goes on the trenchers
is sliced meat, fowl, and fish.
It is not clear that the trenchers were ever eaten. Indeed, Russell
distinguishes explicitly between bread that is to be eaten and trenchers.
One should also note that trenchers were not universally used: we know
that in many places, plate (especially of gold, silver, or pewter) was
used instead.
Cheers,
-- Angharad/Terry
From: jeffebear1 at aol.com
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Feast Utensils
Date: 8 Jan 1997 19:12:50 GMT
maxheadroom at clo.COM writes:
>I am looking for someplace in Toronto that might have appropriate gear(
>eating dishes,goblets/mugs,etc.) for the upcoming 12th Night feast. Any
>suggestions would be appreciated.
If you don't mind mail order DragonMarsh just got in a brand new shipment
of feastware. There is 2 new pewter patterns. One is pinecones and the
other is a reniasannce pattern design. Other patterns are plain and
grapes/vines. They are great and machine washable. Nothing like throwing
your feast gear in the trunk after an event and not having to worry if you
forget to wash it till Sun night.
DragonMarsh 3737 6th St Riverside, Ca 92501 (909) 276-1116
DRGONMARSH at aol.com
hope this helps
Morigianna
From: "Bill Schongar" <bills at lcdmultimedia.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Pewter Ware
Date: 7 Jul 1997 13:26:39 GMT
Organization: LCD Multimedia Creations
Alane of Elerslie wrote:
>My family and I are new to the SCA and are looking for pewter mugs and
>flatware to use at feasts and wars. Is there a mail order source
>available at "Reasonable" prices?
I'd recommend Hampshire Pewter, in Wolfeboro NH. I don't have their 800
number handy, but for some odd reason I have their number (local for me) on
my machine here at work: (603) 569-4944.
The prices are definitely not cheap, but the quality is extremely high and
everything is lead-free. If I had the money, I'd have a lot more of their
stuff than I do now..
-Bill
From: Brett and Karen Williams <brettwi at ix.netcom.com>
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Pewter Ware
Date: Mon, 07 Jul 1997 16:31:43 -0700
Bronwynmgn wrote:
> "Steven H. Mesnick ('Steffan ap Kennydd')" <steffan at erols.com> writes:
>
> >You may want to look into "Wilton Armetale" which is an alloy similar to
> >pewter, but cheaper.
>
> Wilton Armetale is based in Mt Joy, PA (near Lancaster) and has an 800
> number in the phone book here: 1-800-348-7184.
>
> Brangwayna Morgan
However, for the perenially change-challenged, there is a way to obtain
Armetale for less than retail: the Betty Crocker/General Mills catalog.
They admittedly have a limited selection of SCA-usable Armetale ware,
but the pieces suitable are nice ones-- the plough mug and related
bowls, plates, pitcher, charger plates and some serving dishes. For
someone who bakes a lot of bread like me, the collection of points
necessary to obtain the discount isn't a problem. :)
The phone number is available through 800 information; the catalog
itself is available free through a phone call or by mailing US$0.50 to
the address on one of the point coupons. Coupons are found on General
Mills products, usually on the box top.
ciorstan
From: osmansks at cvn.net (Mary Frey)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Help for a newcomer - Feast Gear
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 21:44:36 GMT
Wood is lighter weight. If your family is more than two people, and
you want to carry your feast ge