There's a widespread myth that medieval people used spices to cover up the taste of rotten meat.
The whole story traces back to one book. In 1939, a scientist named J.C. Drummond published The Englishman's Food and suggested that medieval recipes were so heavily spiced because the meat was frequently tainted. No evidence. Just an assumption. One sentence in one book published 85 years ago.
And it has been repeated as fact in classrooms and documentaries ever since. Here is the major problem with it.
The only people who could afford spices in medieval Europe were the wealthy. Pepper from Asia cost roughly ten times what it costs today and saffron ran about 183 pence per pound in 15th century London. Gold was 240 pence per pound. Saffron was nearly as expensive as gold. The idea that someone wealthy enough to buy saffron was also eating rotten meat makes no logical sense.
There's a story about a tang Dynasty empress who didn't allow white pepper into the palace because it was as expensive as gold and they didn't want to be seen as extravagant and lose the mandate of heaven to lord over the people.
Between climate change, WW3, and just stupidity in leadership positions in general, I fear spices will become a luxury again, along with basic food.
Professor Paul Freedman of Yale, who wrote the definitive academic study on medieval spices, called the rotten meat theory a compelling but false idea that constitutes something of an urban legend, a story so instinctively attractive that mere fact seems unable to wipe it out.
Medieval people did not eat rotten meat because they had no reason to. Livestock was slaughtered when needed, not stockpiled. Fish ponds were kept on estates specifically so fish could be caught and eaten the same day.
@griotspeak @globalmuseum If spice blends like jerk served purposes other than "this tastes really good," I could maybe see it as keeping bugs away while prepping the grill (since, iirc, capscaicin serves as a kind of natural bug repellant).
But, yeah, the general narrative is white-supremacist af. Treating spices as something aberrant that needs to be rationalized.
It's interesting that there is an unspoken idea that our forebears were so stupid that they couldn't make the connection between eating rotten meat and being sick afterward. Most animals are very good at avoiding food similar to what has sickened them previously.
Spices might be used to cover up a slightly unpleasant flavor, or a taste that suggests the food is about to spoil, but that situation is not necessarily the same as "rotten" food.
Interesting. I think I first heard the story from my grandfather who was post-British Raj, but only just. My first wife's family were from Burma (as was) and educated me about such nonsense, and also taught me pretty much all I now know about cooking with spices.
@globalmuseum Like viruses not being in the air. One book. One person's thought. That's it. Scientific evidence to the contrary be darned humans can't get over that first comment that gets traction.
It's very true that rumors make their way around the world before the truth can put its shoes on.
Yet another example of the #Chortlemuffin effect (as identified by Sonja Drimmer)
There's a good video debunking the myth on PeerTube: https://tube.kockatoo.org/w/5X1jpHscjz7GFMwJVZsRyj
People whose entire experience of meat starts in a supermarket should not be talking like authorities on this.
I grew up in a hunting community. "Gamey" tasting meat (tainted game iow) was commonplace--and often purposeful. To this day some still hang gamebirds to "age" (controlled decomposition). Same for meat--ever heard of "aged" meat? that is controlled decomposition. Meat has been hung out "tenderize" for ever. /1
Pepper. Really? Ever heard of HERBS? Here's some common medieval peasant herbs: angelica, anise, basil, betony, bistort, borage,chamomile, chicory, chives, coriander,dill, fennel, garlic, hyssop, horehound,lemon balm, lovage, marjoram, mint,oregano, parsley, purslane, rosemary,sage, savory, thyme, tarragon. To name a few more than capable to "cover" mildly tainted meats. Moreso than mere pepper, as any cook who has overseasoned a dish can attest. /2
Further, the ignorance of the medieval age is of fantastical proportions. Spontaneous generation (of mice and rats, of maggots and much more) was accepted fact. Germ theory was centuries away.
/3
"Slaughtered when needed"..please. Have you never heard of food preservation? Gods even Norwegian *fishing* villages preserved fish! Speaking of have you ever eaten ludefisk? Bleugh. Not to mention smoked meat and fish, dried meat and fish, salted meat and fish--pre-refrigeration, when "cool" meant a hole in the ground with a lid was beyond widespread.
/4
Last, there is a huge difference between "rotten" and "tainted". The former no one is going to eat and the latter is basically a taste issue--which is remediated, to this day, with seasoning.
/5
@globalmuseum
This never made sense to me either. I mean you're bound to get sick if you eat rotten meat so why would've the mediaeval people wanted to do that?
While it might not be life threatening today, considering the medieval medicine, it might have had grave consequences back then.
The same thing happened with a claim that you have roughly 100,000km of blood vessels in your body. One person apparently made the claim with no proof and it just sorta stuck. Check out this excellect Kurzgesagt video about that
@globalmuseum In case poor people are reading this: Vinegar. That helps to get even "not so fresh" meat down and doesn't need additional spices. Preferably already pouring the vinegar over the meat while cooking for best effect. Just close your eyes, imagine it's Sauerbraten and you can feel a bit less poor. It's yummy roast like the rich people have.
But keep your distance to the steam, as it's basically "acid fog". Don't want to inhale that. There are better ways to
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