The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages - Hardcover

Scully, Terence

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0851156118 ISBN 13: 9780851156118

Publisher: The Boydell Press, 1995

Synopsis

The medieval kitchen revealed: the master cook who worked in the noble kitchens of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries had to be both practical andknowledgeable. His apprenticeship a[c]quainted him with a range of culinary skills and a wide repertoire of seasonal dishes, but he was also required to understand the inherent qualities of the foodstuffs he handled, as determined by contemporary medical theories, and to know the lean-day strictures of the Church. Research in original manuscript sources makes this a fascinating and authoritative study where little hard fact had previously existed.Numerous recipes, extracted from manuscript sources, indicate how rich and varied a choice of dishes the fifteenth century gastronome could enjoy. In this fascinating study Dr Scully examines both the theory and practice of medieval cooking, demonstrating their complex interdependence. During his apprenticeship the medieval master cook learnt a range of culinary skills using the standard facilities open fire, the mortar and the bolting-cloth to their best advantage. He had a large repertoire of preparations in order to accommodate the seasonal scarcity of certain foods and the lean-day strictures of the Church. He was also familiar with the inherent qualities of all the foodstuffs he handled, as determined by contemporary medical treatises, in order to ensure that he never imperilled the health of his master's household by an unsuitable choice of ingredients. With few exceptions, these ingredients are much the same as those used today. It is the how and why of their different treatment that makes the cookery of five centuries ago of such interest. TERENCE SCULLYis professor of French at Wilfred Laurier University, Ontario.

About this title

Review:

A compendium on practically all aspects of the art of cooking and dining... Because of the author's familiarity with all aspects of the subject we are offered this rara avis: a book which interests the specialist and the general reader; which allies common sense with scholarship; and which presents the theory and practice of medieval cooking for the scholar and the practitioner... has its place on the shelves of the practical cook as well as on those of the scholar: both can feed on it! HISTORYA much-needed, authoritative treatment of [its] subject. SPECULUM

Synopsis:

The cookery of the late Middle Ages has been unjustly neglected. Numerous sources exist showing what food was customarily eaten across Europe by the aristocracy of the time, but it is only recently that scholarly research has extracted a number of recipes from the manuscript sources and made them generally available. The 7000 or so recipes which survive indicate how rich and varied a choice of dish the wealthy gastronome could enjoy. This study examines both the theory and practice of medieval cooking, demonstrating their complex interdependence. The master cook who laboured in the kitchens of the 14th and 15th centuries was a culinary savant. During his apprenticeship under other masters, he learnt a wide range of culinary skills, allowing him to use the standard facilities - the open fire, the mortar and the bolting-cloth - to their best advantage; he would have gathered a large repertoire of preparations for all occasions, in order to accomodate the seasonal scarcity of certain foods and the lean-day strictures of the Church.

About this edition

• Publisher: The Boydell Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0851156118
• ISBN 13: 9780851156118
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 284