illusion-fds-msg - 11/7/04
Medieval foods disguised look like other foods. These are different from sotelties which may or may not be edible and do not necessarily look like other food. Sometimes called Warners.
NOTE: See also these files: gingerbread-msg, sotelties-msg, sugar-paste-msg, Warners-art.
************************************************************************
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.
The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.
Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
************************************************************************
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Feast Format
From: hairy at sloth.equinox.gen.nz (Phil Anderson)
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 93 23:42:27 GMT
akatlas at athena.mit.edu writes:
> there is a dish made of batter-covered dried fruits (such as dates,
> raisins, etc) put on a string and cooked. They are supposed to
> resemble intestines. And so
Ah, haslet. This one brings back memories. Some years ago we held a
(non-SCA) feast at my flat for a dozen or so people. One gentleman had
generously supplied venison, rabbits and trout. When the fifth course
was brought out, the organiser explained to him that it was traditional
for the hunter to be presented with the cooked entrails of his prey, and
produced the haslet. The brave hunter looked greatly disturbed, and was
most reluctant to partake of the delicacy, even when pressed. He relaxed
a bit when he recognised a date under the batter...
A most delicious dish, but unpleasantly messy to make, according to its
cook.
Edward the Discalceate
----------------------------------------------
Phil Anderson *** hairy at sloth.equinox.gen.nz
From: Mark Schuldenfrei <schuldy at abel.MATH.HARVARD.EDU>
To: sca-cooks at eden.com
Subject: Re: sca-cooks - subtleties
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 13:48:16 -0400 (EDT)
Another friend makes great illusion eggs by blowing out the real egg,
rinsing the shell thoroughly, waxing over the hole in the bottom and
filling the shell with an almond milk concoction that sets up a la Jello
into a translucent jiggly texture just like hard boiled egg white. Only
sweet and almond flavored. They're great!
Ahhh. This is one I have made. Recipe and notes follow: My results were
slightly different, I suspect because I make them to the period receipt as
exactly as I possibly could.
Tibor
Copyright Mark Schuldenfrei, 1995
Eggs in Lent ("Eyroun in Lenten", Harleian MS 279, # 39)
Sources found in "Take a Thousand Eggs or More", Cindy Renfrow, 1991.
-----
Eggs in Lent
"Eyroun in lentyn. Take Eyroun, & blow owt (t)at ys with-ynne atte o(th)er
end; (th)an waysshe (th)e schulle clene in warme Water; (th)an take gode
mylke of Almaundys, & sett it on (th)e fyre; (th)an take a fayre canvas,
& pore (th)e mylke (th)er-on, & lat renne owt (th)e water; (th) take it
owt on (t)e clo(th)e, & gader it to-gedere with a platere; (th)en putte
sugre y-now (th)er-to; (th)an take (th) halvyndele, & colour it with Safroun,
a lytil, & do (th)er-to pouder Canell; (th)an take & do of (th)e whyte
in the ne(th)er end of (th)e schulle, & in myddel (th)e yolk, & fylle
it vppe with (th) whyte; but not to fulle, for goyng ouer; (th)an sette
it in (th)e fyre & roste it, & serue forth."
1 package blanched almonds saffron
1 dozen jumbo eggs cinnamon
box kosher salt 1 cup of sugar (approx)
Cheesecloth string
SHARP knife Pastry bag (optional)
Grind the almonds in a food processor, as finely as you can. This should
make 2 3/4 cups of almonds. Mix with 1 1/2 cups of water in a saucepan, and
boil until it is a little less thick than cream of wheat cereal.
Line a tall container with cheesecloth. Pour the almond milk into the
cheesecloth, gather it together, and tie the end with string. Use the
string, and some chopsticks or pencils, to suspend the bag of almonds in the
container. Let it cool, and drain. You can twist the bag to strain more
liquid out when it is cool. Mix in the sugar, making it not so thick that
you can't get it into the eggshells, later.
Take about a third of the almonds, and mix with saffron colored water and
some cinnamon. Boil and drain again. Mix in a bit more sugar, until you
can mold the result like a yolk.
Clean the shells of the eggs (as many as you think you can fill.) Cut the
wide end off with a sharp knife, stir the insides, drain and wash.
Fill the tip with some white, make a yolk with the yellow, and fill with
white again. You may use a pastry bag, but fingers and patience should
work. Don't overfill.
Finally, fill a small bread or meatloaf pan with the salt, set the "eggs"
open end up in them, and roast at 450 until it sets. Serve pointed end
up. I roasted for only half an hour. It should have been much longer.
[If you think this sounds yucky, check the Lenten Eggs recipe in "Ordinance
of Pottage" by Hieatt, made from swim bladders and eel.]
From: Mark Schuldenfrei <schuldy at abel.MATH.HARVARD.EDU>
To: sca-cooks at eden.com
Subject: Re: sca-cooks - subtleties
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 16:00:35 -0400 (EDT)
>Use the
>string, and some chopsticks or pencils, to suspend the bag of almonds in the
>container. Let it cool, and drain. You can twist the bag to strain more
>liquid out when it is cool. Mix in the sugar, making it not so thick that
>you can't get it into the eggshells, later.
What part are we keeping and mixing with the sugar? The stuff in the bag,
or the liquid that drains out?
Sorry. I followed the original, which said (in modern translation):
"Take a fair canvas, and pour the [almond milk] on it, and let the
water run out. Take it out of the cloth, and put it on a platter,
and add sugar to it."
So, I took the stuff left after the water ran away. And discarded the
water.
Please, though, give the original a careful reading, and see if you think it
might work the other way. Derdrui's friend made what sounded like an almond
flavored gelatin (like they serve for desert in some chinese restaurants).
That implies her friend used the liquid equivalent, and dumped the solid
almond bits.
So, as I alluded to in earlier posts, half the fun is figuring out what to
do. What do you think the original says? I'll repeat it here.
Tibor
"Eyroun in lentyn. Take Eyroun, & blow owt (t)at ys with-ynne atte o(th)er
end; (th)an waysshe (th)e schulle clene in warme Water; (th)an take gode
mylke of Almaundys, & sett it on (th)e fyre; (th)an take a fayre canvas,
& pore (th)e mylke (th)er-on, & lat renne owt (th)e water; (th) take it
owt on (t)e clo(th)e, & gader it to-gedere with a platere; (th)en putte
sugre y-now (th)er-to; (th)an take (th) halvyndele, & colour it with Safroun,
a lytil, & do (th)er-to pouder Canell; (th)an take & do of (th)e whyte
in the ne(th)er end of (th)e schulle, & in myddel (th)e yolk, & fylle
it vppe with (th) whyte; but not to fulle, for goyng ouer; (th)an sette
it in (th)e fyre & roste it, & serue forth."
From: Uduido at aol.com
To: sca-cooks at eden.com
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 21:54:25 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: sca-cooks - subtleties
In a message dated 97-04-10 16:40:09 EDT, you write:
<< So, I took the stuff left after the water ran away. And discarded the
> water. >>
I apologize if this has already been said but my server has been slow with
mail of late.
I n reading the above I was shocked, to say the least. The "water" that was
thrown away was ALMOND MILK. Since the description of making this "water" is
very similar to the method for making almond milk, I would, humbly suggest
that the wrong part was thrown away. As for thickening, if a thickening agent
wasn't specified, rys.....oops! > ;-) ....rice flour is very period and was
used almost universally when eggs were not. However, if the whites were mixed
with the almond milk and sweetened, this would have made a nice custard. Any
tho'ts about this??
Lord Ras the Reformed
From: dragon7777 at juno.com (Susan A Allen)
To: sca-cooks at eden.com
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 23:57:27 -0700
Subject: Re: sca-cooks - subtleties
>Actually, it was my friend and it was gelatinous. May have even used
>something as a gelling agent (rennet?)
You could use gelatin, (by product of boiling bones, especially the feet)
of cows, pigs, etc.) I would probably use the KNOX product, since
it is easier to make and keep. It will gel the almond milk very nicely.
Susan
From: Mark Schuldenfrei <schuldy at abel.MATH.HARVARD.EDU>
To: sca-cooks at eden.com
Subject: Re: sca-cooks Corn and Marzipan
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 15:45:12 -0400 (EDT)
I watched an interesting show on Marzipan and all the wonderful things
you can do with it (like a basket full of marzipan fruits - you couldn't
tell the difference!) anyone have any experience in working with it? I
may try my hand at a few marzipan carrots and maybe some Marzipan Men
(like Gingerbread Men) but if there is anything I need to know about
working with this material, I'm always looking to learn something new...
It is fun. If you make your own, grind the almonds super-fine, and remember
that modern recipes for marzipan call for ingredients that don't seem to
have been used back then. And that modern confectioners sugar has
cornstarch.
At a feast some years ago, when a close friend was being made a Laurel, the
Queen had announced that she loathed carrots. Carrots being on the menu, my
friend Franchesca had made a soteltie of carrots made of marzipan. Hoping
to impress the Queen.
My wife had made a soteltie too: a model of the Thrones of the East, with
the Monarchs seated on them, and our friend Aquel receiving his Laurel: All
of them wearing the same clothes they actually wore that day. It was
presented with a fanfare, an announcement, and was paraded around the hall
before the statues were presented to High Table. Just before the carrots.
Sigh. Francesca said "pooh".
Tibor
From: Beth Morris <bmorris at access.digex.net>
To: sca-cooks at eden.com
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 16:32:05 -0400
Subject: Re: sca-cooks Corn and Marzipan
Jeffrey Miller wrote:
> I watched an interesting show on Marzipan and all the wonderful things
> you can do with it (like a basket full of marzipan fruits - you couldn't
> tell the difference!) anyone have any experience in working with it? I
> may try my hand at a few marzipan carrots and maybe some Marzipan Men
> (like Gingerbread Men) but if there is anything I need to know about
> working with this material, I'm always looking to learn something new...
See Tibor(?)'s excellent comments on making your own. Or you can buy
the commercial stuff which comes either in cans or tubes (the way
commercial sausage comes in the plastic thing crimped at both ends).
Its usually in the gourmet/international section of a goodsized
grocery. A little goes a long way. The chief thing to realize is that
it is very sticky. Depending on what you use to color it, it can also
turn your hands truly interesting colors. The more you handle it, the
stickier it gets....
Back in our heyday of marzipan concocting, Jaelle & I used commercial
candy colors to color it, and molded it using everything available -
plastic candy molds, the PlayDoh pumper, hands, any available tools.
Enjoy!
Keilyn
From: Judy Gerjuoy <jaelle at access.digex.net>
To: sca-cooks at eden.com
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 17:16:41 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: sca-cooks Corn and Marzipan
On Thu, 10 Apr 1997, Beth Morris wrote:
<snip>
> Back in our heyday of marzipan concocting, Jaelle & I used commercial
> candy colors to color it, and molded it using everything available -
> plastic candy molds, the PlayDoh pumper, hands, any available tools.
Not to mention metal cookie cutters. You would be surprised what you can
use to model it!
There are some good books out there on marzipan modeling - although these
days I am trying to get into using period dyes for coloring it (provided
they are safe to eat - not all are).
Jaelle
jaelle at access.digex.net
From: Mark Schuldenfrei <schuldy at abel.MATH.HARVARD.EDU>
To: sca-cooks at eden.com
Subject: Re: sca-cooks - subtleties
Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 10:57:46 -0400 (EDT)
I n reading the above I was shocked, to say the least. The "water" that was
thrown away was ALMOND MILK. Since the description of making this "water" is
very similar to the method for making almond milk, I would, humbly suggest
that the wrong part was thrown away.
I threw away the almond "milk" because I didn't need it right then. You are
correct, however, that I threw away a good food.
The original recipe said (as far as I can tell) to use a cloth to sieve out
the liquid from the solid, and to mix one of them with sugar. From the
language, it talks about taking the part out of the cloth, and mixing it
with the sugar... I could be wrong. What do you think?
As for thickening, if a thickening agent
wasn't specified, rys.....oops! > ;-) ....rice flour is very period and was
used almost universally when eggs were not. However, if the whites were mixed
with the almond milk and sweetened, this would have made a nice custard. Any
tho'ts about this??
It also fails to mention thickening: yet so many recipes do explicitly
mention thickening (including recipes in this particular source). So, while
rice flour does make a good period thickener, it isn't called for in this
recipe. And, therefore, I did not use it.
You are correct about custards. However, this is a recipe for "Eggs in
Lent", meaning that because of Lenten restrictions, eggs would not be eaten.
So, I consider that to be irrelevant to the making of *this* dish. Although
it would be yummy. In fact, if one does not observe Lent, then I suspect
you could make a heck of a good custard with the "leavings" of this dish:
tha almond milk that I threw out, and the egg liquid that I disposed of.
I hadn't thought of that: and I'm glad you mentioned it. Next time I make
this, that is what I shall do.
My Lord Ras, you seem to be an excellent cook: I look forward to your
reply. I agree that your suggestions are marvelous, but I still doubt they
match the original recipe. But, I am still learning about redactions.
Tibor
From: kathe1 at juno.com (Kathleen M Everitt)
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 18:59:36 EDT
Subject: Re: SC - Feast themes
On Tue, 15 Apr 1997 12:15:07 -0700 Cossette
<cossette at kendaco.telebyte.com> writes:
>I would like to know
>what kind of "Theme feast" you good folks on the list have always
>wanted to do.
The niftiest "theme feast" that I've ever heard of was the most memorable
of all the feasts that I've attended in my 18+ years in the SCA. I didn't
cook it (I wish I had, it was wonderful.) It was cooked by Cindy Renfrew
(Take a Thousand Eggs or More). I've forgotten how you spell her SCA
name! And her kitchen crew at Hartshorn-dale here in the East. It was a
feast of Illusion. Everything served looked like something else. Eggs had
custard in them. Chicken skins were filled with a pork mixture, the
chicken was inside hollowed out loaves of bread, acorns were made into
salt and pepper shakers. Half the fun was trying to figure out what was
being served. And it was all delicious! I'd love to try something like
that, but I understand that everyone involved spent *hours* and *hours*
on preparation. I'm not sure I could find the staff crazy enough to try
it!
Julleran
From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 1997 23:43:53 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: SC - Various
Annejke lists, among her subtleties:
>1980 Peacock in full Pride (real bird)
Master Chiquart (1420) advises his readers to cheat by cooking a goose and
dressing it in a peacock's skin; he says peacock doesn't taste as good. Is
that consistent with your experience?
David/Cariadoc
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 01:17:41 -0400
Subject: Re: SC - Feast Themes
Par Leijonhufvud wrote:
> On Tue, 17 Jun 1997 Uduido at aol.com wrote:
> > Hasselets (Dried fruit srung on a string, dipped in batter, and deep fried) .
> > These look like a pile of guts when finished. Adamantius probably
> > has the souce if you grovel nicely since mine is lost in the clutter of the
> > current Will's preparation.
>
> IIRC the recipe is in the "Two 15th Century Cookbooks".
>
> /UlfR
Could be. The recipe I had mentioned to Lord Ras is in The Forme of
Cury:
195. Hastlets of fruyt. Take fyges iquarterid, raysouns hool, dates and
almaundes hoole, and ryne hem on a spyt and roost hem; and endore hem as
pomme dorryes, and serue hem forth.
Adamantius
From: renfrow at skylands.net (Cindy Renfrow)
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 1997 13:35:26 -0400
Subject: Re: SC - Feast Themes-Feast of Illusion (long)
>On Tue, 17 Jun 1997 08:47:54 -0500 (CDT) L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt
><liontamr at postoffice.ptd.net> writes:
>>I'd like to hear more about Mistress Sincgiefu's (sorry if I mangled that)
>>Feast of Illusion. That sounds lovely.
>>
>>Aoife
>><snip>
>Great event! That feast is probably the highlight of any that I have
>attended in over 19 years in the SCA! Not only was the food period and
>delicious, it was so entertaining! We had a great time speculating on the
>dishes as they came out and marvelling at the work that went into the
>feast. And I understand that it was a lot of work.
>
>Julleran