Beatrice Hopkinson wrote: > I would think that the fat would go rancid after a time, depending on > outside temperature, and affect the product below. > Once exposed to air, the food itself would of course be affected. > Yes, it would, though a hard fat such as lard would last a long time in cool conditions. The topping would probably be discarded anyway. This is really a method of preservation that works long enough to get food to market where transport is slow. Another, which avoids having to use a dish, is to cook the food in a large pie made of hard flour-and-water 'huff paste', which again would be discarded or thrown to the dogs. For example, the lampreys that were an expensive delicacy in medieval England (and of which King Henry I died of a surfeit), and which are highly perishable, were transported inland in pies. RH ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the ANCIENT-FOOD-TECH list, click the following link: https://listserv.dartmouth.edu/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=ANCIENT-FOOD-TECH