11.20.11 — Food in Medieval Times — the Acrostic

Swans and Peacocks by Melchior d'Hondecoeter

PECOK ROSTED

Take a Pecok, breke his necke, and

kutte his throte, And fle him, the skyn

and the ffethurs togidre, and the hede

still to the skyn of the nekke, And kepe

the skyn and the ffethurs hole togiders;

drawe him as an hen, And kepe the bone

to the necke hole, and roste him, And set

the bone of the necke aboue the broche,

as he was wonte to sitte a-lyve, And

abowe the legges to the body, as he

was wonte to sitte a-lyve; And whan

he is rosted ynowe, take him of, And

lete him kele; And then wynde the skyn

wit the fethurs and the taile abought

the body, And serue him forthe as he

were a-live; or elle pull him dry, And

roste him, and serue him as thou

doest a henne.

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Sunday, November 20, 2011

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon

Edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday’s delicious acrostic draws a quotation from Food in Medieval Times by Melitta Weiss Adamson.

The quotation: WHAT STANDS OUT IS… THE… THEATRICS, PEACOCKS, SWANS, AND PHEASANTS COOKED, … REDRESSED IN THEIR PLUMAGE AND MADE TO BREATHE FIRE, PIES FILLED WITH LIVE BIRDS… . PLAYING WITH FOOD, FAR FROM BEING DISCOURAGED, WAS ELEVATED TO AN ART… .

The author’s name and the title of the work: ADAMSON FOOD IN MEDIEVAL TIMES

The defined words:
A. Courses for beginners?, ANTIPASTI
B. Duty from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at sea, DOGWATCH
C. Curry flavoring also called “stinking gum”, ASAFETIDA
D. Relative of Jonathan and Granny Smith, MCINTOSH
E. Gobble or guzzle greedily, SNARF
F. Musician known for a tragic about-face, ORPHEUS
G. Pumpkin, pecan and turkey source (2 wds.), NEW WORLD
H. Have ants in one’s pants, FIDGET
I. Satisfied, and then some, OVERFED
J. How some beer is served (2 wds.), ON DRAFT
K. Bit of scullery equipment, DISHPAN
L. Baby; drink; humor, INDULGE
M. Tried to stop some growling?, NOSHED
N. Private dining area? (2 wds.), MESS HALL
O. Fit for the dinner table, EDIBLE
P. Unenlightened time (2 wds.), DARK AGES
Q. Kind of coffee or linen, IRISH
R. State of one possessed, ECSTASY
S. Cosmopolitan constituent, VODKA
T. Preprandial drive, APPETITE
U. Liquid offering to the gods, LIBATION
V. Fishmongering or butchery, e.g., TRADE
W. Frigorific fluid (2 wds.), ICE WATER
X. Feature with milk, possibly, MUSTACHE
Y. Pitcher with a big mouth, EWER
Z. Refreshing finale for a meal, SORBET

The full paragraph of the quotation: When we look at the way food was prepared in the later Middle Ages, what stands out is a predilection for color, spices, shapes, fine texture, a sweet-and-sour taste, and drama, lots of drama. If medieval cooks had had access to our modern food processors, they would have had a field day. Instead, kitchen staff spent hours and hours pounding ingredients in a mortar, or straining them through a sieve cloth to achieve the desired fineness that allowed for the perfect coloring or shaping of a dish. Spices, the more exotic and costly the better, were used extensively, both for their taste and their colors, and so were sugar and almonds, the two main ingredients in marzipan, a sweet-meat already popular in medieval time. To counteract the sweetness of a dish, wine, vinegar, or that tart juice of unripe fruits known as “verjuice” were frequently added. This seems to suggest that sweet-and-sour was the preferred taste in food. And then there were the food theatrics, peacocks, swans, and pheasants cooked and redressed in their plumage and made to breathe fire, pies filled with live birds, or a boar’s head colored in green and gold, to name just a few. Playing with food, far from being discouraged, was elevated to an art in aristocratic circles. So popular were these surprise dishes, they even had their own set place in the sequence of a fancy meal: after the fruits, potages and roasts, and before dessert, cheese, and breath mints in France, for example. ~ Conclusion of Food in Medieval Times

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Click on image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES — Crossword Puzzles and Games.