Arri London wrote:

> sf wrote:
>>
>> 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.
>>
>>
>
> All large households, not just palaces. Same in monasteries, manor
> houses etc. Just made perfect sense to avoid the fire hazard, which
> was real and daily.

This was true in some places in the early US, just visit any southern
plantation house...


--
Best
Greg