Is this what "four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie" refers to? Best Wishes, Helene --- Helène Whittaker Professor of Classical Archaeology and Ancient History Department of Historical Studies University of Gothenburg Room C422 email: [log in to unmask] Telephone: (+46) 0317864514 Från: Ralph Hancock <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Svara till: Ralph Hancock <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Datum: onsdag 4 februari 2015 01:08 Till: "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Ämne: Re: fat use and storage 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: http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/scripts/wa.exe?TICKET=NzM1NjYyIGhlbGVuZS53aGl0dGFrZXIudm9uLmhvZnN0ZW5AR1UuU0UgQU5DSUVOVC1GT09ELVRFQ0ggIMEGNK0e6RNe&c=SIGNOFF ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the ANCIENT-FOOD-TECH list, click the following link: https://listserv.dartmouth.edu/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=ANCIENT-FOOD-TECH