Francis C. writes: Please do post something about food myths – the one regarding medieval people heavily spicing their food to hide the fact that it was rotten is still around!
My pleasure, Francis. But never mind my words–here is Bill Bryson, trying to debunk this myth in his newly published book, At Home: “The only people who could afford most spices were the ones least likely to have bad meat, and anyway spices were too valuable to be used as a mask. . . people used them carefully and sparingly, and not as a sort of flavorsome cover-up.”
Because they came from so far away–the aptly named Spice Islands, aka the East Indies–spices were very expensive and, for many centuries, only for the richest Westerners. Not the sort of people who ate rotten meat.
To add to Mr. Bryson’s apt analysis, I would mention that the “rotten food” card is heavily overplayed in history-telling. Most diligent researchers will find that, by the middle of the 18th-Century, wholesome food is commonplace. The references to tainted food are most commonly found in a wartime (and often overtly military) context,…a fact of circumstances that the modern U.S. Military finds itself faced with in the middle east!
A good rule of thumb is this: If someone writes something down, it is because it is notable. For it to be notable, there must be a standard of comparison. If food is generally bad, who would bother to write about it, except in a treatise for its improvement (none of which come to mind)?
Finally, my family has tried (very successfully) what are sometimes referred to as “Old World preservation methods.” Not only does the food keep well (often for very long), but it does not lose as many nutrients as with canning or freezing methods. And,…you’d be mighty surprised how much food that is now sold as “gourmet” is processed using commonplace techniques of the 18th-Century. [e.g. Salt-brined beef cuts, smoked meats, soaking in rum, lacto-fermentation, &c.]
Keep ‘em coming, MMT.
I’ve heard this but with regard to herbs from the herb garden, not imported spices. Regardless, the notion of rotted meat not being commonplace as I was led to believe is valuable information.