TMO wrote:

>
>...and then there were the servants of 18th century littoral New England on
>several occasions revolting against the practice of being fed on lobster,
>then the cheapest of seafood products.



I've read this for years in secondary sources. Anyone ever found a primary
source that said this?

Andy Smith

>
>I have not seen it in a primary source. My memory of the account I did
>see was that it was a contract in which A was borrowing B's indentured
>servants, and agreeing not to feed them lobster more than X days a week.
>
>--


I've heard a similar story for sturgeon, i.e. loggers signing contracts for
eating sturgeon only three days a week. Don't recall seeing a primary source on
this story either...

Andy Smith

In article >, ASmith1946
> wrote:

> >
> >I have not seen it in a primary source. My memory of the account I did
> >see was that it was a contract in which A was borrowing B's indentured
> >servants, and agreeing not to feed them lobster more than X days a week.
> >
> >--
>
>
> I've heard a similar story for sturgeon, i.e. loggers signing contracts for
> eating sturgeon only three days a week. Don't recall seeing a primary source
> on
> this story either...
>
> Andy Smith
I'm afraid that this exists as a tale in the Uk, too, with both salmon
and oysters.

Lazarus

--
Remover the rock from the email address

Lazarus Cooke wrote:
>
> In article >, ASmith1946
> > wrote:
>
> > >
> > >I have not seen it in a primary source. My memory of the account I did
> > >see was that it was a contract in which A was borrowing B's indentured
> > >servants, and agreeing not to feed them lobster more than X days a week.
> > >
> > >--
> >
> >
> > I've heard a similar story for sturgeon, i.e. loggers signing contracts for
> > eating sturgeon only three days a week. Don't recall seeing a primary source
> > on
> > this story either...
> >
> > Andy Smith
> I'm afraid that this exists as a tale in the Uk, too, with both salmon
> and oysters.
>
> Lazarus
>
> --
> Remover the rock from the email address

Here both student and apprentice riots on these issues in the middle
ages are fairly well documented. Lucky buggers! In my day we could
barely afford a cheese butty and pint of Newcastle Brown Ale at 11p a
pint in the college bar! Salmon & oysters! Cor!
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

In article >, Kate Dicey
> wrote:

> Here both student and apprentice riots on these issues in the middle
> ages are fairly well documented.

Hi Kate. Are you sure? I've always heard it but I'm filled with a
horrible fear that it might be one of those stories....

L

--
Remover the rock from the email address

Lazarus Cooke wrote:
>
> In article >, Kate Dicey
> > wrote:
>
> > Here both student and apprentice riots on these issues in the middle
> > ages are fairly well documented.
>
> Hi Kate. Are you sure? I've always heard it but I'm filled with a
> horrible fear that it might be one of those stories....
>
> L
>
> --
> Remover the rock from the email address

Both my long departed dad and Big Sis read history at university. First
time I heard about this was when they were discussing it. I can't
remember the references after 20+ years, but you need to dig into court
rolls and the like and see who was brought before the courts for riotous
behaviour and assault. Oxford and Cambridge both suffered, and some of
the older colleges have accounts in their documents, I think.

My grandmother lived next door to one of the girls who gutted the
herring catch in the little coastal fishing villages of Fife in the
early 20th C, and she used to tell tales of having fish fights, when
there were so many herring everyone got sick of them and used them as
ammunition in local disputes! YEKK! Tired ole herring STINKS!

I wish I had time to look into this more fully, but I'm just taking a
break from bridesmaid outfits and a sewing machine on the fritz!
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

>>>> I have not seen it in a primary source. My memory of the account I did
>>>> see was that it was a contract in which A was borrowing B's indentured
>>>> servants, and agreeing not to feed them lobster more than X days a week.
>>> I've heard a similar story for sturgeon, i.e. loggers signing contracts
>>> for eating sturgeon only three days a week. Don't recall seeing a
>>> primary source on this story either...
>> I'm afraid that this exists as a tale in the Uk, too, with both salmon
>> and oysters.
> Here both student and apprentice riots on these issues in the middle
> ages are fairly well documented.

Show us the documentation, then.

I have read some primary sources on student riots in the Middle Ages
and I don't believe you.

========> Email to "j-c" at this site; email to "bogus" will bounce <========
Jack Campin: 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU; 0131 6604760
<http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/purrhome.html> food intolerance data & recipes,
Mac logic fonts, Scots traditional music files and CD-ROMs of Scottish music.

bogus address muttered....

>
>>>>> I have not seen it in a primary source. My memory of the account I
>>>>> did see was that it was a contract in which A was borrowing B's
>>>>> indentured servants, and agreeing not to feed them lobster more
>>>>> than X days a week.
>>>> I've heard a similar story for sturgeon, i.e. loggers signing
>>>> contracts for eating sturgeon only three days a week. Don't recall
>>>> seeing a primary source on this story either...
>>> I'm afraid that this exists as a tale in the Uk, too, with both
>>> salmon and oysters.
>> Here both student and apprentice riots on these issues in the middle
>> ages are fairly well documented.
>
> Show us the documentation, then.
>
> I have read some primary sources on student riots in the Middle Ages
> and I don't believe you.
>

Absent "evidence", the anecdotal accounts of discord among the small
servant class of New England over too much lobster and/or salmon and
similar tales from the UK remain quite credible. A semester or two in the
dormitories of my youth provide all the confirmation of "student reaction"
required.

Why, in 1957, the tuna and noodles in the Wll Rice College Commons had the
students marching on the President's home demanding relief...

The stories are too frequent, too reasonable and so well attuned to
observations of human nature today to have much deniability on the grounds
of "lack of evidence".

I find the tales as credible as my sincere belief that many/most/some of
mine and thine ancestry were adept at picking their noses (although little
documentary or graphic evidence of same is available).

I used to be fascinated by constant references to "pemmican" as a foodstuff
enjoyed by Native Americans. After actually trying some, I better
understood that AmerIndians (along with every one else) ate what was
available and like students, sailors and most others, complained loudly and
often about it. I suspect that boiled lobster gets old after daily doses
for a few weeks. I'd like to try, but will admit to once having tired of
beefsteak after two meals a day for 10 days.

Enough to make me desperately desire a bowl of grits, even without
butter....

.....and I've known merchant mariners, sailors and officers, who would never
eat any seafood of any sort...

TMO

On Wed, 04 Feb 2004 12:44:01 +0000, Kate Dicey
> wrote:

>Here both student and apprentice riots on these issues in the middle
>ages are fairly well documented. Lucky buggers! In my day we could
>barely afford a cheese butty and pint of Newcastle Brown Ale at 11p a
>pint in the college bar! Salmon & oysters! Cor!

at least with salmon and lobsters you get very tired of it after three
days repeating it.

I remember as a child we had a visit of some directors of St.Ann paper
mill in England where the people almost shouted by joy when my mother
announced they would get some meat dish for dinner. Then they had
either had lobsters or salmon for dinner every day for two weeks when
visiting other pulp industries in Norway.

On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 21:39:56 +0100, Alf Christophersen
> wrote:

>at least with salmon and lobsters you get very tired of it after three
>days repeating it.

It comes to my mind my mother telling about a terrible marriage
present. In the saummer after their wedding, they found outside the
hut a big basket with 200 lobsters. They had almost no idea about what
to do about, but had to drive home and give all neighbours some of
them, but of course did eat lobsters for several days themselves too.
This was back in 1939, so no fridge, nor freezer available at that
time except a ice block fridge which could be partly used at home.
They didn't eat lobsters for many years afterwards (many years after
war she told me)

Lazarus Cooke wrote:

>In article >, ASmith1946
> wrote:
>
>>>
>>>I have not seen it in a primary source. My memory of the account I did
>>>see was that it was a contract in which A was borrowing B's indentured
>>>servants, and agreeing not to feed them lobster more than X days a week.
>>>
>>>--
>
>
>>I've heard a similar story for sturgeon, i.e. loggers signing contracts for
>>eating sturgeon only three days a week. Don't recall seeing a primary source
>>on
>>this story either...
>
>I'm afraid that this exists as a tale in the Uk, too, with both salmon
>and oysters.

I have had a first-person account of not quite the same thing, for salmon.
A mathematical colleague of mine (Stepan Orevkov, now of the Universite
Paul Sabatier) fulfilled part of his military obligations to the
then-USSR as part of a group doing geodetic surveys in the Russian
Far East (I think the Kamchatka Peninsula, but am not sure). He
told me, one evening when we were dining in Toulouse and he had
declined the salmon appetizer at our chosen restaurant, that for
about three months he had eaten (fresh-caught) salmon at every meal,
and thereafter had never yet wanted to eat it again.

Lee Rudolph

Lee Rudolph wrote:
>
> Lazarus Cooke wrote:
>
> >In article >, ASmith1946
> > wrote:
> >
> >>>
> >>>I have not seen it in a primary source. My memory of the account I did
> >>>see was that it was a contract in which A was borrowing B's indentured
> >>>servants, and agreeing not to feed them lobster more than X days a week.
> >>>
> >>>--
> >
> >
> >>I've heard a similar story for sturgeon, i.e. loggers signing contracts for
> >>eating sturgeon only three days a week. Don't recall seeing a primary source
> >>on
> >>this story either...
> >
> >I'm afraid that this exists as a tale in the Uk, too, with both salmon
> >and oysters.
>
> I have had a first-person account of not quite the same thing, for salmon.
> A mathematical colleague of mine (Stepan Orevkov, now of the Universite
> Paul Sabatier) fulfilled part of his military obligations to the
> then-USSR as part of a group doing geodetic surveys in the Russian
> Far East (I think the Kamchatka Peninsula, but am not sure). He
> told me, one evening when we were dining in Toulouse and he had
> declined the salmon appetizer at our chosen restaurant, that for
> about three months he had eaten (fresh-caught) salmon at every meal,
> and thereafter had never yet wanted to eat it again.
>
> Lee Rudolph

I felt much the same for over a year after working in a chicken
processing factory for my 16th summer...
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!

On 4 Feb 2004 07:42:10 -0500, (Lee Rudolph) wrote:

>declined the salmon appetizer at our chosen restaurant, that for
>about three months he had eaten (fresh-caught) salmon at every meal,
>and thereafter had never yet wanted to eat it again.

reminds me about an episode back in 1971 when I visited my 2. cousin
at the farm where my grandmothers was born (they still have a quite
big part of the Kjerra-fishery in Numedalslågen, Norway) where some
guests was expected to arrive the day before I came there and they had
thawn a 18 kg piece of cured salmon for that meeting (expecting about
80 people). Since the meeting was annulled just before, they had
either to eat the salmon themselves or throw it. So I ate cured salmon
for breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening meal for four days and have
only once afterwards tried it. I was very happy when my mothers cousin
invited for a cafeteria dinner, eating meatballs and potatoes :-)

>> I have not seen it in a primary source. My memory of the account I did
>> see was that it was a contract in which A was borrowing B's indentured
>> servants, and agreeing not to feed them lobster more than X days a week.
> I've heard a similar story for sturgeon, i.e. loggers signing
> contracts for eating sturgeon only three days a week. Don't recall
> seeing a primary source on this story either...

And there is a similar urban legend about a contract for servants in
London in the 18th or 19th century, the fish being salmon. No primary
source I know of for that one, either.

========> Email to "j-c" at this site; email to "bogus" will bounce <========
Jack Campin: 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU; 0131 6604760
<http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/purrhome.html> food intolerance data & recipes,
Mac logic fonts, Scots traditional music files and CD-ROMs of Scottish music.

On 4 Feb 2004 11:08:16 GMT, (bogus address)
wrote:

>
>>> I have not seen it in a primary source. My memory of the account I did
>>> see was that it was a contract in which A was borrowing B's indentured
>>> servants, and agreeing not to feed them lobster more than X days a week.
>> I've heard a similar story for sturgeon, i.e. loggers signing
>> contracts for eating sturgeon only three days a week. Don't recall
>> seeing a primary source on this story either...

I have read in a history (secondary source) that apprenticeship
indentures in archives up and down the Connecticut River contain
clauses limiting the frequency of salmon servings. This was during
colonial times. The river was dammed and otherwise closed to salmon
before 1800.

Everything tastes better when it gets scarce and expensive. We happily
pay 10 USD for a pound of fresh codfish these days. I can remember
when almost all of it would go to canneries and drying facilities.



>
>And there is a similar urban legend about a contract for servants in
>London in the 18th or 19th century, the fish being salmon. No primary
>source I know of for that one, either.
>
>========> Email to "j-c" at this site; email to "bogus" will bounce <========
>Jack Campin: 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU; 0131 6604760
><http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/purrhome.html> food intolerance data & recipes,
>Mac logic fonts, Scots traditional music files and CD-ROMs of Scottish music.


Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a


Capsizing under chute, and having the chute rise and fill without tangling, all while Mark and Sally are still behind you

(ASmith1946) wrote in
:

> TMO wrote:
>>...and then there were the servants of 18th century littoral New
>>England on several occasions revolting against the practice of
>>being fed on lobster, then the cheapest of seafood products.
>
> I've read this for years in secondary sources. Anyone ever found a
> primary source that said this?

The farmers of Prince Edward Island, well-known for its lobsters,
never ate them, but picked up beached ones and ground them into the
soil as fertilizer. Tourism made lobsters an industry commodity.

There's a related passage in the film Mystic Pizza where the daughter
of a lobster fisherman goes to dinner to the home of her new rich
boyfriend and lo and behold, they are serving a real treat...lobster.
When she sawthe rich people all agog over lobster, she burst out
laughing. The thing was, she ate lobster at home when there was no
real food because there was not enough money to buy food. To her, it
was poor people's food.

What is one man's meat...

--

"I'm the master of low expectations."

GWB, aboard Air Force One, 04Jun2003

Michel Boucher > nattered on
. 17:

> (ASmith1946) wrote in
> :
>
>> TMO wrote:
>>>...and then there were the servants of 18th century littoral New
>>>England on several occasions revolting against the practice of
>>>being fed on lobster, then the cheapest of seafood products.
>>
>> I've read this for years in secondary sources. Anyone ever found a
>> primary source that said this?
>
> The farmers of Prince Edward Island, well-known for its lobsters,
> never ate them, but picked up beached ones and ground them into the
> soil as fertilizer. Tourism made lobsters an industry commodity.

And how often did they riot over being required to eat them?


> There's a related passage in the film Mystic Pizza where the daughter

And this was a documentary, right?

"Bryan J. Maloney" > wrote in
93.32:

>> The farmers of Prince Edward Island, well-known for its lobsters,
>> never ate them, but picked up beached ones and ground them into
>> the soil as fertilizer. Tourism made lobsters an industry
>> commodity.
>
> And how often did they riot over being required to eat them?

They didn't. But then again, they considered the lobster to be
beneath the horizon of human consumption, as did many people in the
past, which may explain why the others rioted, if they felt they were
being fed with food they felt was not suitable. Like, get with the
program, already.

>> There's a related passage in the film Mystic Pizza where the
>> daughter
>
> And this was a documentary, right?

Yes, if it makes you happy. It's what we call in the history biz an
allusion which is a literary device used by people who have a modicum
of culture to help illustrate points. It is least likely to be
understood by those lacking said modicum of culture, or humourless
buffoons. Take your pick.

--

"I'm the master of low expectations."

GWB, aboard Air Force One, 04Jun2003

Michel Boucher > nattered on
. 17:

> Yes, if it makes you happy. It's what we call in the history biz an
> allusion which is a literary device used by people who have a modicum
> of culture to help illustrate points. It is least likely to be
> understood by those lacking said modicum of culture, or humourless
> buffoons. Take your pick.
>

Ah, you mean pathetic little pricks like you.

"Bryan J. Maloney" > wrote in
93.32:

> Michel Boucher > nattered on
> . 17:
>
>> Yes, if it makes you happy. It's what we call in the history biz
>> an allusion which is a literary device used by people who have a
>> modicum of culture to help illustrate points. It is least likely
>> to be understood by those lacking said modicum of culture, or
>> humourless buffoons. Take your pick.
>
> Ah, you mean pathetic little pricks like you.

Ouch. Boy, do I feel put in my place.

Bwahaha!!!!

--

"I'm the master of low expectations."

GWB, aboard Air Force One, 04Jun2003

> primary source that said this?
>
>The farmers of Prince Edward Island, well-known for its lobsters,
>never ate them, but picked up beached ones and ground them into the
>soil as fertilizer. Tourism made lobsters an industry commodity.

In Colonial America, the lobster was considered a hunger food. They were eaten
when necessary and were not considered a delicacy. BTW, there were early
reports of lobsters that were 6 feet in length, but one account claimed that
the smaller lobsters tasted better.

I have never understood why lobsters became so important during the 1950s in
America. They are essentially tasteless without sauces.

Oysters, on the other hand, were so common in New York during colonial times
that they were considered both a delicacy and food for the poor.

Andy Smith

"ASmith1946" > wrote

> I have never understood why lobsters became so important during the 1950s
in
> America. They are essentially tasteless without sauces.

Tasteless? I must demur. (Could the ability to taste the sublimity of
lobster be a genetic thing, perhaps?)

> Oysters, on the other hand, were so common in New York during colonial
times
> that they were considered both a delicacy and food for the poor.

Oysters in any form make me gag. As a kid I remember going to bed hungry one
night after refusing to eat an "oyster stew".

--
Bob
Kanyak's Doghouse
http://kanyak.com

> Oysters in any form make me gag. As a kid I remember going to bed hungry one
> night after refusing to eat an "oyster stew".
There's no excuse for stewing oysters

L

--
Remover the rock from the email address

On Fri, 6 Feb 2004 21:20:53 +0200, "Opinicus" >
wrote:

>> Oysters, on the other hand, were so common in New York during colonial
>times
>> that they were considered both a delicacy and food for the poor.
>
>Oysters in any form make me gag. As a kid I remember going to bed hungry one
>night after refusing to eat an "oyster stew".
>
To each his own.

My mother in law feels the same way, so you are not alone.





Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a


"Be careful. The toe you stepped on yesterday may be connected to the ass you have to kiss today." --Former mayor Ciancia

(ASmith1946) wrote in
:

> Oysters, on the other hand, were so common in New York during
> colonial times that they were considered both a delicacy and food
> for the poor.

The people living in the Sorel islands fished eels, not for local
consumption, because they thought it was a vile animal, but for sale to
the best restaurants of New York where it was considered a delicacy.
The railway linking New York to Montréal was built primarily to meet
the demand in eel flesh.

In the Sorel islands, the eel was only eaten by the poorest of the poor
when they had really hit rock bottom.

--

"I'm the master of low expectations."

GWB, aboard Air Force One, 04Jun2003

In article >, Michel
Boucher > wrote:

> (ASmith1946) wrote in
> :
>
> > Oysters, on the other hand, were so common in New York during
> > colonial times that they were considered both a delicacy and food
> > for the poor.
>
> The people living in the Sorel islands fished eels, not for local
> consumption, because they thought it was a vile animal, but for sale to
> the best restaurants of New York where it was considered a delicacy.
> The railway linking New York to Montréal was built primarily to meet
> the demand in eel flesh.
Hungry people, I can assure you, don't fuss that much. There are plenty
of populations where intelligent, sensitive people eat the same food
day in , day out, year in, year out, and are glad to get it.

L

--
Remover the rock from the email address

On 06 Feb 2004 16:11:03 GMT, (ASmith1946) wrote:

>
>I have never understood why lobsters became so important during the 1950s in
>America. They are essentially tasteless without sauces.

Maybe Florida rock lobsters. Certainly not true of New England
lobsters (_homarus_).

While it is customary to serve them with melted butter on the side, I
and others often forget to dip them.



Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a


"Be careful. The toe you stepped on yesterday may be connected to the ass you have to kiss today." --Former mayor Ciancia

On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 23:45:31 -0500, Rodney Myrvaagnes
> wrote:

>Maybe Florida rock lobsters. Certainly not true of New England
>lobsters (_homarus_).
>
>While it is customary to serve them with melted butter on the side, I
>and others often forget to dip them.

remember to get a sample when visiting old home country (but, it is
extremely expensive today :-( During the period of fishery (Oct. 1
till April 1.) you have to pay btw. 600 and 1000 NOK pr kg ($90-$140
pr kg)

On Tue, 17 Feb 2004 19:42:35 +0100, Alf Christophersen
> wrote:

>On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 23:45:31 -0500, Rodney Myrvaagnes
> wrote:
>
>>Maybe Florida rock lobsters. Certainly not true of New England
>>lobsters (_homarus_).
>>
>>While it is customary to serve them with melted butter on the side, I
>>and others often forget to dip them.
>
>remember to get a sample when visiting old home country (but, it is
>extremely expensive today :-( During the period of fishery (Oct. 1
>till April 1.) you have to pay btw. 600 and 1000 NOK pr kg ($90-$140
>pr kg)

Wow! I didn't know they grew there. I last visited in 1958, in
Aalesund. My uncle had a herring seiner and there was a codfish-drying
plant nearby. Whale meat was available in the market, but I don't
think I ever saw a lobster.

BTW, Alf, I am not a native Norwegian, in spite of my name. My father
came to the US in 1929. I was born in New York state.



Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

"Hawg Polo?" . . . "Hawg Polo"

On 06 Feb 2004 16:11:03 GMT, (ASmith1946) wrote:

>Oysters, on the other hand, were so common in New York during colonial times
>that they were considered both a delicacy and food for the poor.

Back in 1974/75 I worked as a teacher on an fisherman island about 70
km from shore in Northern norway. There were two fishing industries
where the fishermen could deliver their catches, but they didn't
accept salmon and trout because it was almost no market for it since
it would take far too long time to transport the fish before it could
be eaten, so it would be rather oxidiced before eaten. They got of
course salmon daily in their net, so the freezers was full of them in
almost every home and it was the only fish I would get for free if I
cared about eating them. I stopped eating free salmon after just a few
days :-) So I understand quite well farm workers in elder days
refusing to eat it because the farm could catch as much salmon daily
for free as needed for feeding the workers. But very few farms had
such rights. My grandmothers farm had, and has such a privilege still
as I know. (But now they sell the shares to sport fishermen)

On 04 Feb 2004 08:11:02 GMT, (ASmith1946) wrote:

>I've read this for years in secondary sources. Anyone ever found a primary
>source that said this?

The same applies to salmon in Norwegian farms. I once has seen a paper
telling the farm was not allowed to serve salmon daily to the
servants. :-) (The farm where my grandmother was born)

When ever I see lobster here, it makes me wonder about the first guy
who picked on of these up on the coast of Maine or somewhere, and
decided to eat it.

Think about it, , , , , ,



On 04 Feb 2004 08:11:02 GMT, (ASmith1946) wrote:

>TMO wrote:
>
>>
>>...and then there were the servants of 18th century littoral New England on
>>several occasions revolting against the practice of being fed on lobster,
>>then the cheapest of seafood products.
>
>
>
>I've read this for years in secondary sources. Anyone ever found a primary
>source that said this?
>
>Andy Smith

On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 11:55:30 -0800, Dr Pepper >
wrote:

>When ever I see lobster here, it makes me wonder about the first guy
>who picked on of these up on the coast of Maine or somewhere, and
>decided to eat it.

Never mind lobsters, what about raw oysters? I love 'em, but I can
easily imagine gnawing tree bark in preference to being the first
person to try one.

"Frogleg" > wrote in message
...

> >When ever I see lobster here, it makes me wonder about the first guy
> >who picked on of these up on the coast of Maine or somewhere, and
> >decided to eat it.

> Never mind lobsters, what about raw oysters? I love 'em, but I can
> easily imagine gnawing tree bark in preference to being the first
> person to try one.

I used to wonder the same thing about blue cheese...

--
Bob
Kanyak's Doghouse
http://kanyak.com

On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 08:47:07 +0200, "Opinicus" >
wrote:

>"Frogleg" > wrote

>> Never mind lobsters, what about raw oysters? I love 'em, but I can
>> easily imagine gnawing tree bark in preference to being the first
>> person to try one.
>
>I used to wonder the same thing about blue cheese...

Indeed. That's an item that occurred to me, too. Wasn't moldy bread
(penicillin) slapped on medieval battle wounds? Yet many bread molds
are toxic. How is it we treasure aged Stilton, and return packages of
molded cheddar to the supermarket?

In article >, Frogleg
> wrote:

> Wasn't moldy bread
> (penicillin) slapped on medieval battle wounds?

Was it? Can you give documentation?

L

--
Remover the rock from the email address

In article >, Frogleg
> wrote:

> Yet many bread molds
> are toxic.

Which?

L

--
Remover the rock from the email address

In article >,
Frogleg > wrote:
[... discussion of how someone first tried various foods. ...]
= How is it we treasure aged Stilton, and return packages of
= molded cheddar to the supermarket?

Interesting question. I've wondered about cheese mold. Is all
cheese mold safe to eat or are there some that are not (as you
commented about bread molds)?


--
Kind regards,

Charlie "Older than dirt" Sorsby Edgewood, NM "I'm the NRA!"
www.swcp.com/~crs USA Life Member since 1965

On Sat, 14 Feb 2004 22:25:29 GMT, Frogleg > wrote:

>On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 11:55:30 -0800, Dr Pepper >
>wrote:
>
>>When ever I see lobster here, it makes me wonder about the first guy
>>who picked on of these up on the coast of Maine or somewhere, and
>>decided to eat it.
>
>Never mind lobsters, what about raw oysters? I love 'em, but I can
>easily imagine gnawing tree bark in preference to being the first
>person to try one.

Whether the Brits ate them or not, I feel sure the French were pulling
lobsters out of the Channel long before Columbus.

Whoever ate mollusks and crustaceans first was probably a
hunter-gatherer who routinely ate grubs and bugs anyway. Think of the
trouble he saved if he could grab one huge arthropod instead of
hundreds of little ones.

Michener's novel Chesapeake begins with a young outcast from an Indian
tribe observing a Great Blue Heron stabbing and eating a crab. He
then decides to try one himself.



Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a


The sound of a Great Blue Heron's wingbeats going by your head