The continuing adventures of a cook and her quest for food in history; the techniques and tools, the methods and ingredients, the recipes, and occasionally the results.
Friday, 7 March 2008
Another Footed Cauldron
Way early, 7th century B.C., made of bronze, and the legs look a bit fragile, but what a pretty thing.
(I found the picture in Christmas Feasts from History, by Lorna J. Sass. It lives at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.)
Love this cauldron. One has to wonder, however, if this was more a decorative pot, or indeed used for cooking, given the delicacy of the legs. I'm wondering how legs like that would stand up to the intense heat of a fire.
I come to my love of food quite naturally. My parents did a lot of gourmet cooking as I was growing up, and cookbooks were considered legitimate reading material. I have fond memories of Dad sitting around with one or other of the Time-Life Foods of the World books as his current read.
Admittedly, some of the more exciting gourmet evenings always happened when I was out baby-sitting, so while I was there for the digging of the charcoal pit, and the spitting of the lamb, all I ever seemed to see were the leftover scraps when I got home.
In the early 70’s, I became interested in food history, and it’s been a passion ever since.
Now, I’m fascinated by food and cooking technology of the Viking Age, and the Anglo Saxons, of the Middle Ages, of the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the food of today. Perhaps my interests have been shaped by involvement with re-enactment groups and museum work, but they’re an abiding and consuming passion, nonetheless.
2 comments:
Love this cauldron. One has to wonder, however, if this was more a decorative pot, or indeed used for cooking, given the delicacy of the legs. I'm wondering how legs like that would stand up to the intense heat of a fire.
Oh, and a question: is there a geographic location given for this pot?
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