Subject: Andalusian Cheese

From: [email-masked] (Mark Waks)
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1993 20:28:02 GMT

Okay, here's a slightly tougher-than-average question for the collected
wisdom of rec.food.historic:

I'm in the process of preparing for an all-too-imminent feast. The
focus of the feast is period Islamic food; I'm focussing primarily
on the Anonymous 13th-century Andalusian cookbook, simply because I
find the recipes contained therein to be particularly intriguing.

Problem: several of the interesting recipes in here call for "cheese".
What would a 13th-century Spanish cheese have been like? I'm not
looking for precision here, just informed speculation, so I can figure
out what to substitute in. Harder or softer? Sharper or blander? I
don't have *any* information to base guesses on, so anything will be
helpful...

Please email answers to me; feel free to post as well, but I'm spending
enough time on the feast that I'm not following Usenet quite as
regularly as I'd like...

			Thanks much,
				Justin du Coeur
				Frantic Cook

Random Quote du Jour:

"A tank is a parody of a man: a faceless lump of power, all torso and phallus."
		-- Tony Flanders

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From: [email-masked] (Mark Waks)
Date: Fri, 3 Sep 1993 15:08:57 GMT

*Sigh*. It's been pointed out to me that my posted messages are coming
out with bogus addresses. If you have email on the subject of
Andalusian cheese, please send it to:

	[email-masked]

Thanks...

				-- Justin du Coeur

Random Quote du Jour:

"The road to Hell is paved with politicians."
		-- from Lucifer

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From: [email-masked] (ELMAR VOGT)
Date: Mon, 6 Sep 1993 13:55:46 GMT

>                               Frantic Cook

If I remember correctly, cattle were held only for meat (and pulling carts 
or ploughs etc.), usually not for milk, butter or cheese.
I assume sheep cheese (_feta_) would be appropriate. Seems also better 
adapted to the climate.

But check whether Arabs are allowed to eat sheep at all. I'm not sure 
whether sheep and products thereof are forbidden to them, like pork. How was 
that, with the cloven hoofs? (Boy, it's been some time...)

	Greetings, Elmar

/---------------------------------------------------------------\
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From: [email-masked] (Leigh Ann Hussey)
Date: Tue, 7 Sep 1993 23:44:19 GMT

I would be willing to bet you that the same cheese you can now get in
ethnic groceries labelled "queso blanco" or "queso fresco" would have been
the cheese to eat back then.  It's a relatively simple cheese to make,
involving curdling the milk and hanging it in a bag until the whey is all
drained and the cheese comparatively cohesive.  Wouldn't have been pressed.
Think of a stiffer, drier ricotta (though that's a whey cheese rather than
a curd cheese -- are you confused yet?).  If you can't find queso fresco,
find yourself an Indian grocery and get "paneer".

Good luck...
	- Leigh Ann / Siobhan

---------------
Leigh Ann Hussey      
[email-masked]   {sun,lll-tis,pyramid,pacbell}!sybase!leighann
"Turkeys, heresy, hops and beer / All came to England in the one year."
What year?  Under debate, but seems to be closer to 1523...

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From: [email-masked] (Stephen Bloch)
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1993 22:06:41 GMT

Mark Waks <[email-masked]> wrote:
>out what to substitute in. Harder or softer? Sharper or blander?

At least one of the recipes in the Manuscrito Anonimo (the source Justin's
talking about) tells you to "take fresh cheese, not new that day but that
has passed three or four days."  We're not talking Parmesan here.  I've
made a number of the dishes using either Monterey Jack or ricotta, with
reasonable success.

I've only tried MAKING cheese once.  The first day I had something
resembling ricotta.  I pressed it and left it in my basement to
ripen for a week, and it developed a bit of sharpness (as well as
turning somewhat rubbery).  But then, I didn't have the right
strains of mold or bacteria with which to innoculate it, nor good
ripening conditions.

-- 
					Stephen Bloch
				     [email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Stephen Bloch)
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1993 22:19:48 GMT

>I assume sheep cheese (_feta_) would be appropriate. Seems also better 

I don't remember for certain whether any of the references to dairy
products in the Manuscrito Anonimo specify what animal you're supposed
to get it from, but my impression is that cow's milk was just as acceptable
as that of a sheep or a goat.

>that, with the cloven hoofs?

Yes, Moslems (which includes most Arabs) are definitely allowed to eat sheep.
Perhaps a majority of the recipes in the Manuscrito Anonimo start with the
words "take a plump ram" or "take a plump lamb".

					Stephen Bloch
				     [email-masked]
-- 
					Stephen Bloch
				     [email-masked]