“Huff paste pies were big ugly utilitarian objects, the medieval equivalent of catering-size food cans, and would not have appeared on a fashionable table.”

So this may be behind a 19th century Wisconsin diary comment I read that described the apple pie as being big as a wagon wheel & twice as hard?

Trudy S. Kawami, PhD
Director of Research
Arthur M. Sackler Foundation
461 East 57th Street
New York, NY 10022
212-980-5400 X19
www.arthurmsacklerfdn.org

From: Cooking technologies of ancient Mediterranean cultures. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ralph Hancock
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2015 6:48 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: fat use and storage

Helene Whittaker wrote:
Is this what "four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie" refers to?

I think not in this case. Of course it doesn't make sense as it stands: people did eat blackbirds, but these couldn't have been baked and singing. But a dish with a blind-baked piecrust over live blackbirds would have been just the thing for a fancy showpiece at a nobleman's grand meal.

Huff paste pies were big ugly utilitarian objects, the medieval equivalent of catering-size food cans, and would not have appeared on a fashionable table. The contents would have been decanted and served more elegantly.

RH

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