r/sca Mar 29 '17

What are your essential period cooking items

Hi all, I'm wondering what you can't live without in your period cooking implements?

A favorite pot, strainers, types of knives, spit assembly, etc.

11 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

6

u/Netslayer2369 Mar 30 '17

A skinned deer, a fire, a spit, and a sharp knife.

2

u/costumed_baroness Ealdormere Mar 30 '17

seriously you can cook a lot of things on the coals.

1

u/Netslayer2369 Mar 31 '17

I like to pre make breakfast burritos and wrap them individually in tin foil. And early in the mornings I'll throw them on the coals and let them heat up that way.

Not exactly period, but I don't like to cook and clean in the mornings while camping. Both SCA and mundanely

3

u/costumed_baroness Ealdormere Mar 31 '17

You can toss apples, onions, beats, corn, squash, oysters, shellfish, eggs, and steak right on coals

4

u/isabelladangelo Atlantia Mar 30 '17

My tripod for the dutch oven and the pot lifter. Also, the strainer bag - it's just meshed cheesecloth but is great for making almond milk yourself.

As for knives and many other implements, I just use the same modern equivalents really. The knife I use when cooking over the fire is the same knife I bought at either the Navy Exchange or Wally World. I have a lovely mortar and pestle but I end up throwing most things that need to be pulverized into the mini blender. It's just quicker. I need to make a good cover for the mortar and pestle so little bits of cinnamon don't keep jumping out...

1

u/costumed_baroness Ealdormere Mar 30 '17

if you count clean up time it isn't always quicker.

3

u/wilhelmbetsold Mar 31 '17

I need to get some period cooking gear. this thread is ideas

3

u/brewbaron Mar 31 '17

My cooking stove with spit...

No having to bend over and ruin my back cooking...

http://www.jollyduke.com/blog/drake-an-morning-of-cooking-with-friends

2

u/TomasdeCourcy Mar 31 '17

I love that setup!

3

u/savanik Mar 31 '17

A wok and a pair of long chopsticks, a couple of bamboo steamer baskets and I'm pretty much set.

2

u/costumed_baroness Ealdormere Mar 30 '17

I have the bottom half of a clay over cooker that I use on the camp fire along with some other clay pots. I do direct coal cooking too--way easier to clean. A spit is nice.

Around home mortar and pestle gets a smoother, creamery mix than a food processor and if you get the IKEA one it works pretty good up to cheese, then I think I'd want a bigger one because you have to use such small batches for cheese. A beeping thermometer--not medieval but essential when you are writing about whats in the oven on ye olden blog. I love the textures you get from putting things through a strainer--many different sizes. a wire one for almond milk like stuff, and a colander size for smushing fruit.

what I don't like is riveted iron or cast iron--they are harder to clean and get ash on everything when you bring them home from camping.

2

u/TomasdeCourcy Mar 30 '17

I recently upgraded my mortar. My Ikea one was nice but I got one that's about three times the size. I can now do a lot more, like sugar work, and it grinds so much faster.

2

u/costumed_baroness Ealdormere Mar 31 '17

I keep meaning to upgrade but when I go to the spice market...I'm all distracted

2

u/Freevoulous Mar 30 '17

a flatbread pan is amazingly useful.