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Feb 20, 2005 19:05:27 GMT -1
Post by Blackbird on Feb 20, 2005 19:05:27 GMT -1
I've just very proudly turned a loaf of spelt bread out of the tin - the first I've ever tried making and it's come out really well.
It has a lovely flavour and I think the grain is more nutritious than modern wheat varieties.
Do any of you like experimenting with ancient recipes and ingredients? Or do you know of any good sources for that kind of thing?
We're lucky here, the local mill does spelt flour - all organic too.
One thing I like doing is playing about with old wine recipes - I have a very good book on the subject called 'A Sip Through Time' by Cindy Renfrew. Some of them are a bit impractical, but most can be adapted for modern ingredients and brewing methods.
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Feb 20, 2005 23:56:09 GMT -1
Post by siaron on Feb 20, 2005 23:56:09 GMT -1
Mmmmm....spelt bread. Sounds great!
I do love trying ancient/traditional recipes, but have trouble sourcing them. My daughter has a cookbook (somewhere!) that had some great recipes that we made for Beltane feast last year...one was a roast chicken basted with honey and orange juice (yum!) and we also made classic soda bread (yum again!) I love these kinds of recipes because they are so basic and wholesome...and delicious.
If anyone has a source, I would be interested in it...
Bendition,
Siaron
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Feb 21, 2005 15:25:47 GMT -1
Post by goldenhand on Feb 21, 2005 15:25:47 GMT -1
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Feb 23, 2005 7:51:15 GMT -1
Post by Blackbird on Feb 23, 2005 7:51:15 GMT -1
I've got one of those, the Maggie Black one. I also have a translation of Apicus, which is fascinating. I've not tried any of the recipes from that yet though.
I've seen a copy of the prehistoric cook book - but I can't remember the title or author either.
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Mar 2, 2005 14:38:57 GMT -1
Post by blackwitch on Mar 2, 2005 14:38:57 GMT -1
i love coookijg too where can you get spelt folur from? i've not heard of it before. bb, Moira
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Mar 24, 2005 15:54:42 GMT -1
Post by Brochfael on Mar 24, 2005 15:54:42 GMT -1
Sam made some honey cakes using spelt wheat ground on site with a hand quern at Flag Fen in February. Tasted Fabulous!
Spelt, Einkhorn and Emmer wheat (all ancient strains) all have significantly higher protein content than modern wheat (17.5, 19 and 20 % against the 12 or so of modern varieties.
Progress? PAH!
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Apr 3, 2005 21:11:47 GMT -1
Post by kern on Apr 3, 2005 21:11:47 GMT -1
Spelt? Can you find that here in the USA?
Does any one have a recipe for roasted rabbit/hare or any good deer recipes.?
I think I need to try that chicken recipe.Can I get the directions and recipe for that?
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Post by Brochfael on Apr 4, 2005 6:37:21 GMT -1
Do bear in mind that Rabbits were not native to the British Isles and that Hares were probably sacred.
As for deer, I can heartily reccomend against spitroast venison having tried it a t an Iron Age feast which would have been an unmitigated disaster but for our guests presenting us with a sheild covered with hams, hazelnuts cheeses and other delights.
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Post by Brochfael on Apr 4, 2005 6:38:39 GMT -1
Incidently THE book on prehistoric cookery is written by Jacqui Wood (There is a link to her website from Caer Feddwyd) and is published by Tempus.
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Post by Blackbird on Apr 4, 2005 7:08:44 GMT -1
lol, what went wrong with the venison? Was it the cooking time? By the way, would you and Sam mind sharing the recipe for the honey cakes?
Bran yr Onnen - no idea on getting spelt in the USA, I'm afraid. I get it from our local mill. I have no problem eating rabbit - but as Brochfael says, the rabbit wasn't introduced here 'til Norman times. Personally, I wouldn't eat hare, but that's down to my own beliefs.
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Post by Midori on Apr 4, 2005 9:44:59 GMT -1
Venison isa very 'dry' meat, it would need a lot of basting and long, slow cooking to avoid it drying out even more. I saw Ray Mears ( the Bushcraft guy) cook a haunch in a fire pit over hot stones using Sphagnum Moss to cover it and covering the whole thing with soil to keep in the heat. It took several hours. I would think that only the haunch and maybe the shoulder would be good done this way. All other cuts are best braised or stewed. To spit roast a Red Deer stag would probably take more than 24 hours on a rotisserie over a camp fire. Smaller species would naturally take correspondingly less. Another point to consider is the age of the animal. Old stags and bucks are very tough, also had the meat been 'hung'? All these factors need to be taken into consideration when cooking game of any kind.
BB Midori
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Apr 4, 2005 10:26:42 GMT -1
Post by Brochfael on Apr 4, 2005 10:26:42 GMT -1
I'll have word with her about the recipe but I think she ground the flour, mixed it with honey and cooked on a hot stone by the fire.
I had some mutton pressure cooked in hole in the ground courtesy of a couple of nice gentlemen wearing beige berets It was lovely and the accompanying rabbits were even better (nutty tasting).
I would like to see Mr Mears do a much longer programme on Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.
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Apr 4, 2005 12:08:55 GMT -1
Post by kern on Apr 4, 2005 12:08:55 GMT -1
Thanks everyone on the tip about Hare,yeah I was aware that rabbits are not native,I just mentioned them because we do have them and I would have to use rabbit in a hare recipe instead. I had knew it was a sacred animal of Eostre but how so to Celts?I'll make another thread about sacred animals. I would still like to have a deer recipe if possible though. Pob Bendith! Bran yr Onnen
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Apr 4, 2005 14:10:38 GMT -1
Post by Brochfael on Apr 4, 2005 14:10:38 GMT -1
Correction!
Samantha has vouchsafed to me that they were in fact oatcakes and involved "bog standard cheap oats", nut or raisins and Honey mixed well to a good texture, rolled into balls and (in a 21st century kitchen) placed in a frying pan with a very small quantity of oil.
Tastes great!
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Apr 4, 2005 14:22:12 GMT -1
Post by siaron on Apr 4, 2005 14:22:12 GMT -1
Spelt? Can you find that here in the USA? Does any one have a recipe for roasted rabbit/hare or any good deer recipes.? I think I need to try that chicken recipe.Can I get the directions and recipe for that? Well, I'd like to make that recipie again too....but my daughter has mislaid our cookbook! If I come across it again, I'll post it. Bear in mind it was probably from later times (obviously oranges would have been extremely hard to come by, even with the trade routes). But soooooo yummy!
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Apr 4, 2005 17:15:39 GMT -1
Post by Blackbird on Apr 4, 2005 17:15:39 GMT -1
Wonderful, thanks for the recipe, Brochfael I'll be camping for about three weeks solid over May, and they will be great on my little stove ;D Midori - thanks for the venison info I've only ever tried cooking small steaks. I like steak to be quite rare, so we didn't have a problem with the dryness. I wonder if it would cook well wrapped in bacon? Pheasant is good like that.
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Apr 4, 2005 18:07:55 GMT -1
Post by kern on Apr 4, 2005 18:07:55 GMT -1
Well, I'd like to make that recipie again too....but my daughter has mislaid our cookbook! If I come across it again, I'll post it. Bear in mind it was probably from later times (obviously oranges would have been extremely hard to come by, even with the trade routes). But soooooo yummy! Okay thanks!No Hurries.
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Apr 4, 2005 18:12:10 GMT -1
Post by kern on Apr 4, 2005 18:12:10 GMT -1
I dont know how Brits usually eat deer,but here grinding it up and cooking it in chili,cooking deer steaks on the grill(while basting it with a steak sauce) or using it ground up as Burgers is common.Yum Yum Yum.
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Apr 5, 2005 14:05:39 GMT -1
Post by Blackbird on Apr 5, 2005 14:05:39 GMT -1
It's not very popular over here, and tends to be very expensive It has begun to take off, along with other 'alternative' red meats such as ostrich, since the BSE thing. But still expensive enough for it to be a real treat for me. Easily three times the price of good beef steak. When I do get it, I tend to just cook it very simply - it's exciting enough on its own ;D
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