really old style living?

rinabean

I've looked at the rules and as far as I can tell kitchen waste IS allowed as long as it has not come into contact with meat or meat-derived anything. I don't eat any meat or animal products and I'd like pet pigs one day, so it will be easy enough for me, but more difficult for those of you who are going to eat them! But if you are sure there's no animal products in the waste it's allowed.

mardatha

Can I ask how they dehydrated food in the middle ages - does anybody know ? Or how did they preserve fruit etc?

meanmarie

My parents lost the 2 children born before me as infants ( 1936 and 1943) due to gastro interitis and rhesus blood problem (?) so it was quite common as was TB here until the 1950s I think. I think that there is a disease in every generation to be tackled and overcome by science.

Winged one....any Chinese supermarket I have been in stocks white vinegar in 5l cans, I forget what it costs but very reasonable...I still have to be convinced of the economy of going to NI on shopping trip, but then I can be very stubborn!

Marie

ChocClare

mardatha wrote: »

Can I ask how they dehydrated food in the middle ages - does anybody know ? Or how did they preserve fruit etc?

I think they dried it in the sun or in ovens like we do now. They also pickled vegetables (which was common until very recently tbh) and candied fruit by boiling it in sugar or more commonly, honey.

You haven't joined a re-enactment society, have you, mar? *wrings hands together worriedly*

Red_Doe

You haven't joined a re-enactment society, have you, mar? *wrings hands together worriedly*

Nothing wrong with that! :P I belong to one.
Re childhood illnesses, back in the sixties (in the Higlands) I came down with gastroenteritis as a small child. Our doctor back then didn`t have a surgery and always visited his patients at home. I was classed as too ill to move even to hospital which back then would have involved almost an entires day by road travel and the roads weren`t A roads by any means, so I was kept in bed and fed Lucosade and Maltesers (sorry, the letter that should be there instead of the `s` on my keyboard doesn`t work! ) and he came to see me every day. Later he told mum it was a miracle I made it.
Many medieval kitchens were massive sometimes communal affairs and since food was pretty much always being prepared, usually quite hot to work in. Food drying in and around the huge ovens was easy enough.
Most other foods were pickled as ChocoClare said, or brined or preserved in honey or lard.

mardatha

I'm alaways interested in old ways of doing things, and think it would be worth knowing . Because you never know when you might need to know... if you know what I mean

NualaBuala

meanmarie wrote: »

Winged one....any Chinese supermarket I have been in stocks white vinegar in 5l cans, I forget what it costs but very reasonable...I still have to be convinced of the economy of going to NI on shopping trip, but then I can be very stubborn!

Marie

I think I paid €4 or €4.50 last time for 5L of white vinegar in the Asia Market on Drury St. I never seem to see it buy they always find it for me! Their bulk bicarb seemed dearer than the normal 500g packet in the supermarket though.

Mar, I wonder if the dehydrating was by sun-drying ... although maybe not in Scotland! A cool oven in a range might do it too.

GreyQueen

meanmarie wrote: »

My parents lost the 2 children born before me as infants ( 1936 and 1943) due to gastro interitis and rhesus blood problem (?) so it was quite common as was TB here until the 1950s I think. I think that there is a disease in every generation to be tackled and overcome by science.

Winged one....any Chinese supermarket I have been in stocks white vinegar in 5l cans, I forget what it costs but very reasonable...I still have to be convinced of the economy of going to NI on shopping trip, but then I can be very stubborn!

Marie

My Cousin J's hubbie was one of the first rhesus babies to survive, Marie. That would have been circa 1962 I think. His poor parents lost several children before him. His baby pic was on the old text books.

maryb

I think it's all a question of dominant and recessive genes (that sounds as if I understand it - I don't!)

I am Rh negative and DH is Rh positive. That usually means children will be Rh positive and you need to have the injection in the backside after birth (or miscarriage) to prevent antibodies forming and attacking the next child in utero. DD1 was Rh positive so I duly had the jab, but DD2 was Rh negative so I didn't need the jab. It's quite unusual for Rh negative woman and Rh positive man to have RH negative child because the Rh positive gene is dominant. It must mean that there is an Rh negative gene somewhere on DH's side - but that's as far as my understanding goes

Churchmouse

It is extremely complicated maryb :rotfl: I've had four ( no apologies to anyone ) DH is rhesus positive but with negative attributes. I am negative all the way They took about an armful and legful of blood from me during my 3rd pregnancy because I was "interesting" and it would aid research. Admittedly, this was about the time Noah was escorting the animals off the ark :rotfl: I was stabbed and poked beyond belief. They kept saying " you could ensure the life of thousands of babies" and like a fool I accepted it Who knows how great my contribution was

All I know is I'm grateful for the medical science that ensured I had four healthy babies. My mum was a midwife, knew too much, worried too much, but kept me in blissful ignorance