On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:31:58 GMT, Frogleg > wrote:

>Unless the food safety folk are talking through their
>hats, last night's unrefrigerated pasta and meat sauce miay be dubious
>as this morning's breakfast, much less lunch or dinner. Even with
>canned/preserved stuff, once the container is open, many items go
>'off' rather quickly.

The food safety folk (quite rightly) are being conservative in their
warnings. "When in doubt, throw it out".

There's also a difference between food left overnight on a counter in
a warm kitchen, and food put away in a cool cellar (or pickled or
potted). We know that medieval people did eat leftovers. There are
cookbooks with recipes that use cold roast meat, and other recipes
that say things like, "And this pie will keep for four days...".

Take a look at a household book, like that written by the Goodman of
Paris. (A 15th-century merchant, writing instructions for his
inexperienced young bride.) The food section of the book is online
at:
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Mediev.../Menagier.html

He says things like, "a hare is good for 15 days in winter, but 7 or 8
days in summer, if kept out of the sun". He also makes a lot of
references to salted meats.

Four centuries later, Mrs. Beeton is making similar statements.

"BUTTER may be kept fresh for ten or twelve days by a very simple
process. Knead it well in cold water till the buttermilk is extracted;
then put it in a glazed jar, which invert in another, putting into the
latter a sufficient quantity of water to exclude the air. Renew the
water every day."

"Have ready a large saucepan, capable of holding 3 or 4 quarts, full
of boiling water. Put the eggs into a cabbage-net, say 20 at a time,
and hold them in the water (which must be kept boiling) for 20
seconds. Proceed in this manner till you have done as many eggs as you
wish to preserve; then pack them away in sawdust. We have tried this
method of preserving eggs, and can vouch for its excellence: they will
be found, at the end of 2 or 3 months, quite good enough for culinary
purposes; and although the white may be a little tougher than that of
a new-laid egg, the yolk will be nearly the same. Many persons keep
eggs for a long time by smearing the shells with butter or sweet oil:
they should then be packed in plenty of bran or sawdust, and the eggs
not allowed to touch each other."

http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au...ton/household/


Robin Carroll-Mann
"Mostly Harmless" -- Douglas Adams
To email me, remove the fish