On Fri, 08 Jan 2010 17:04:43 -0800, "Mr. Joseph Littleshoes Esq."
> wrote:

>
>
>Arri London wrote:
>>>3. Were spices used to mask (cover-up) spoiled food?
>>
>>
>> Never. Our ancestors knew perfectly well that foods past their prime
>> could cause illness. They didn't know why of course. That's why they
>> developed methods to preserve foods. Spices were luxuries for a very
>> long time, used to display one's wealth and status. They would never
>> have been wasted on food that was obviously 'bad'.
>
>I don't know where your getting your information but i you are way off.
>
>Most peasants ate better than aristocrats simply because they produced
>their own food. The aristos used to use all sorts of spices to cover up
>the unpleasant taste of rotting food. "Hung meats" are just one example
>of food that was allowed to rot before it was consumed.
>
>Louis XIV of France once commented that the only time he got hot food
>was when he was in camp and with his army. The kitchens at Versailles
>were, counting all the twists and turns of the palace about a mile away
>from where Louis dined.
>
>Red Escoffiers biography or MFK Fishers translation of Brillant Savarins
>"The Physiology of Taste" or the article on "hung meat" in the Larusse
>Gastronomique. What do you think got Louis Pasture motivated to make
>his discoveries?

I had no idea palace kitchens were so far away, JL. Live and learn.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.