Greetings unto the populace of Couer d'Ennui
A
s the weather turns colder and the leaves begin to change, so too change comes to Couer d'Ennui. It is the beginning of a new era for us. Here is to the hope that it is a time of prosperity and joy for our fair Barony.W
innifred and I will do all that is within our power to help this be a time of learning, growth, and happiness. However, we are but two and you, the populace of Couer d'Ennui, are many. We have a barony filled with a variety of skilled persons. Some have skills in the arts, some in sciences, some in service and others in fighting. We have always worked together and we have accomplished much as a barony. Our hope is that we all continue to work together and accomplish even more in the future.T
here will be several changes taking place over the next few months. We have officers stepping down and their replacements to be found, new plans for monthly meetings, several items we would like to see built for baronial regalia, and numerous other small changes. Please feel free to speak to us if you have an idea of new things you would like to see. Also, please be tolerant of us during this time of change. We are new to this and it will take some time for us to work out details so that things may continue to run smoothly.W
e would like to thank all of you that supported us in this endeavour. For those who supported other candidates, thank you. Thank you for taking part in the process of selecting the new Baron and Baroness. You followed your heart and that is all we will ever ask of anyone.L
et us now come together, as we have always done, to ensure the continued success of our fine Barony.Long live Couer d' Ennui!
Greetings from the Autocrat of the Pas d’Armes
.I
wanted to officially thank all those who helped out, attended, or participated in the Pas. I had originally typed in everything everyone had done, but the list was too long. If I leave someone out...I am sorry.T
hanks to:Ysoria, Edward, Nakano, Jaquemette, Brihtwynn, Arnevaz, Kalliope, Kateryn, Monizcha, Diana, Mairin, Gracye, Angus, the musicians, Hildebold, Tatiana, Gracye's Husband, Agnes, Jacqueline, Hugh, Cassie, the kitchen helpers, the troll helpers, Lisel, Luther, Cassandra, Ilya, Duncan, Ceanntigern, Kjarten, Brendan, Etoain, Mave, Cullen, Lessa, and Mave. (yes, I'm sure I misspelled Mave)
E
veryone I have talked to had a great time, which tells me event was a success.In service,
Winnifred
Yule Court Update from the Autocrat.
Y
ule Court is scheduled for December 29, in the new lodge at Jester Park. The feast will be a potluck. Scheduled activities so far include an A&S competition: Your Oldest Unfinished A&S Project; and a Bardic competition: Stories from Coeur d'Ennui's Past. If the weather is amenable, we can have fighting, but this will be impromptu only. I am asking people to let me know what the intend to bring for the potluck, I am not asking for period foods, but would like to avoid 17 types of potato salad :) If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know.Thank you. Moniczka
Greeting from Moniczka Poznanska, Minister of Arts & Sciences!
T
he largesse project mentioned at the September meetings continues with a few changes. We will not be doing scrolls as part of the project. November A&S night will still be Kumihim (Japanese Braiding), doing cords in each of the kingdom colors. In December, we will be doing beaded necklaces and maybe earrings, also in kingdom colors. January will be finishing up any largesse that isn't completed yet. I will be teaching the kumihim with help from Grayce, Clemence and Petra. Jacqueline will be teaching the jewelry making, if you would like to help her, please let her know. As always, please let me know what you have been doing, and if you have a special request for A&S night, let me know, it's a great way to show off what you know!!!
Greetings from Her Excellency.
A
nna, Chatelaine, and Clemence, deputy Chatelaine have decided to step down from their positions. We would like to thank them for their service to the Barony.T
he position of Chatelain is now open. The one who holds the office should be a very outgoing person, friendly, and not afraid to speak to folks about the organization. The officer should also be fairly well versed on the organization, its traditions, and rules. If you are interested in this position please give a brief note to either Magnus or I by email or in hard copy. We will announce a time for the interviews soon.In Service,
Winnifred
A Sweet History: Sugars in Period
By Kateryn de Develyn
G
etting started with cookery and working with sweets is tough on the new cook if all you are used to is the standard white, brown, dark brown sugar on the supermarket shelves. I have extracted a list of the many types of sugar referred to in medieval recipes from my research notes. I have also tried to explain what if any substitution can be made. Of course, all of this is subject to change dependent on more research. But, it should be enough to get you started.Barbary
Barbary sugar is sugar grown in the Barbary States of Northwest Africa, principally Morocco. Indications are that it was a sugar of secondary quality, below Maderia sugar but better than brown sugar.
Beet
The process to make beet sugar was introduced in 1793 by Franz Carl Achard.
Black/Blake
"Black sugar" is the result of the first boiling and skimming of juice from the crushed cane, similar to Mexican pilon or piloncillo or panela (which are produced by boiling down sugar cane juice in an iron kettle). The product is a molasses laden sugar which resembles fudge.
Brown
Some sugars called brown are period although period recipes almost never call for them. So, unless the recipe specifies otherwise, to use unbleached sugar. Today's brown sugar is processed white sugar with molasses added. Period brown sugar would have been more on the order of the brown sugar cones you can buy in Mexican markets called 'piloncillo'. These really are unrefined sugar, with all the molasses left in. They're not typically very big, and the texture is about what you'd expect for solidified cooked-down cane juice, fairly hard and uniform.
Caster
Castor or caster sugar is somewhat coarser than icing sugar (confectioner's sugar) and the nearest American equivalent to castor sugar is superfine sugar. Larousse says that in Britain castor sugar is mostly boiled to a small crystal size, not crushed or ground.
Cyprus Sugar
"Sugur cypre" appears in several recipes, always spelled that way, or in a similar manner more suggestive of the Isle of Cyprus. Cyprus was a major center for the sugar trade in medieval Europe. You'll find references to sugar from Cyprus in a lot of 14th-15th century English recipes, with perhaps an implication that while it isn't as fine as some of the more highly processed sugars from India or the MidEast, it's plenty fine enough for reprocessing in the form of candy.
Damaschino
'Damaschino', sometimes flat and sometimes pointed, is described as the least valuable of the loaf sugars, probably on account of the smallness of its loaves and the wastage that would result from its crumbling.
Demanara
Demerara sugar is pretty much like turbinado sugar, except maybe a little more golden. Nice stuff, but not worth paying extra over. The Demerara is a river in Guyana, whence this sugar originally came.
Grape
There are several preparations of concentrated grape juice used in Classical Roman cookery, and in both the medieval and modern Middle East. Also a sort of molasses made from dates. All of these products should be available in a good Middle Eastern grocery.
Mel Sucre/Mel de Calamele
Calemele is an old French word that is many cases denotes what we now call caramel, meaning semi-burnt or partially oxidized sugar. However the French "calamele" is derived from the Latin "calamus", meaning cane or reed, so mel de calamele is not caramelized, but rather a simple sugar syrup, of a similar gravity of thickness to honey.
Molasses
Molasses is the liquid part that is separated out from the solid sugar in the manufacture. It can be fairly light (close to the original cane juice, just cooked down) to 'blackstrap' (strong, black, and somewhat bitter in taste). It was originally used for medicinal purposes. At some point after sugar started to be refined (late 16th century) in England, the supply of molasses outgrew the medicinal demand and started to be used in cooking.
Mucchera/Maderia
The finest quality of loaf sugar produced at the time. It was double-refined, and was manufactured in small pyramid-shaped loaves weighing about a pound.
Muscovado
Muscovado is sugar which is more refined, but still retains some molasses. The derivation of the word is confusing. It is either Portuguese or Spanish. The Portuguese derivation would mean "less refined" or "impure". The Spanish derivation would mean "more refined." It was made in large loaves of up to seven pounds, and rounded at the top, and was popular among dealers, as it was easily broken into saleable quantities.
Panella Dolce
Mexican sugar in the form of a sort of pig ingot, called a panella dolce. It's a loaf of brown sugar, made more or less by boiling sugar cane sap into a thick brown syrup, and poured into a mold to solidify.
Powdered
Modern powdered sugar generally contains corn starch to make the sugar flow better and eliminate clumping. It is also ground exceedingly fine, much finer than probably could have been achieved with forceful grinding in a mortar and with sieving (searcing) through silk, fine linen, lawn, etc. There are period references to "powdered sugar" but research indicates that "powdered" referred to the crystals and small bits that fell off the cone, not to something as finely ground as we are accustomed to.
Raspings
Sugar raspings are gratings from a big lump or loaf of sugar. Granulated sugar makes a decent substitute, but if you can find a big chunk of light (in color and flavor) sugar, you'll need to grate it with the smallest side of a box grater, or a nutmeg grater, or a file or rasp, hence the name.
Sugar Crystal
The finest came from Cyprus and others of varying sized grains from Rhodes, Syria and Alexandria. The crystal, or, as it was sometimes called, "powdered sugar", was made from disintegrated loaves, and was often used to fill the spaces in the chests into which the loaves were packed for transport.
Treacle
Treacle (or spelled triacle closer to period), which is in consistency honey-like and is a cane or beet sugar refinement by-product. It is more 'treated' than molasses, though, and is not sulphured. Molasses will do as a replacement, but it's not precisely the same. It was used primarily in period by apothecaries, who used it to sweeten medicinal mixtures.
Turbinado
Turbinadois sometimes sold as 'raw sugar'. It has a larger crystal than the more processed sugars and have a slight molasses taste. Raw sugar in the market is a similar end product, but is usually made by a different process.
White
The Arabic cookbooks often call for white sugar, as well as specifying the use of raw "sweet cane". The latter seems to have been common enough that one could make a subtlety that looked like sweet cane but wasn't, and have it recognized. Receipts for sugar- based illusion foods specify 'the whitest and best' sugar to make simulated plates and glassware from what we would now call gum paste. These recipes clearly expect that the sugar is "white". In late period, it came in cones like modern piloncillo, perhaps a bit larger.
Please submit your artwork or articles before the respective month’s A&S night to Tatiana (tatianad1@juno.com). Question or corrections: Call Tatiana at 264-1364
Disclaimer
This is the Boar’s Snore, a publication of the Barony of Coeur d’Ennui of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. The Boar’s Snore is available from Shannon Ward, 1002 Osceola Ave. Des Moines, IA 50316, 515-264-1364. It is not a corporate publication of the SCA and does not delineate SCA policies. Copyright 2001, Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. For information on reprinting articles and artwork from this publication, please contact the editor, who will assist you in contacting the original author/artist. Please respect the legal rights of our contributors. Additional note on Reprint Information: Any article printed here by an SCA member can be assumed to be copyright protected. Editor’s note: All art and icons appearing in the Snore, not credited, come from copyright free sources. (You can pick up an article in its entirety as a whole or just by its text but you CANT copy the graphics for use by them selves elsewhere!)
