sitting on the other side of the table
Aug. 21st, 2018 01:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aryanhwyThis year at Raglan I had the great pleasure, as a newly-minted Laurel of only a few hours, of participating in the Laurel Sponsored Display on the other side of the table.
I *loved* it. It's hard to imagine something more satisfying than getting to ask questions of people who know something about something I know nothing about. I learned so much, and wanted to write up some of the highlights for those who were unable to make it.
Lady Shirin Duxt Feroz spoke about Persian and Islamic art, specifically the geometric designs constructed by compass and straightedge. I'd taken her class at Michaelmas last year, where she'd taught some of the basic techniques, so it was interesting to see examples of some of the more complex constructions. I also learned that the ban on representation of animate figures in Islamic art was not as thoroughgoing as I'd believed: She showed me examples of secular art with gorgeous animals depicted.
Viscountess Susannah of York has also been investigating Persia and showed off her beautiful purple silk outfit with stamped belt. We talked about what types of modern silk weaves are appropriate for medieval garb, and then she answered all of my how-to questions about stamping with fabric paints. If we're lucky, she'll give a class on this topic at Kingdom Uni!
Lady Thora Greylock was showing off her pottery – which she both makes and paints. I particularly enjoyed seeing how she'd interpreted her exemplars in her own work, particularly when the available photos of extant pieces don't always show the entire design and extrapolation must be done. We also had an interesting discussion about salt cellars, and how she hasn't yet found any small, pottery dish explicitly identified as a salt cellar. Is this because salt cellars were *always* elaborate metal pieces, or is this because small pottery dishes have so many uses, there's no way to uniquely identify one as being only used for salt?
Lady Kytte of the Lake had a plethora of her beautiful scribal work available. I was impressed by the breadth of the styles that she has mastered, but what I really enjoyed in our discussion was hearing about her plans to start making her own pigments and inks. Making my own pigments is something I'd like to do someday, so I'm hoping if I organize a scribal event in north ID, I can convince her to come and speak about her experience!
Countess Jahanara Suren displayed her weaving, and traced out the history of the development of a particular Persian weaving technique (alas, I do not remember what the term was). She had sample pieces of a variety of different stages in the development, and I relished the opportunity to ask detailed questions about weaving such as, "I know one of them is the warp and one is the weft, but I've never known which is which."
Lady Edith of Hedingham presented an egg yolk pastry crust (with yummy fig filling, but that was beside the point…) Earlier in the week I'd gotten to taste the first rendition of the experiment, with slightly fewer yolks and also an egg white, so it was fascinating to compare the earlier version with the fully-egg-yolk pastry. For something as thick and durable as it was, it was also incredibly light and delicious. I've never made an egg yolk pastry before, and now I'm curious to try it out myself some time.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and look forward to the next one.
I *loved* it. It's hard to imagine something more satisfying than getting to ask questions of people who know something about something I know nothing about. I learned so much, and wanted to write up some of the highlights for those who were unable to make it.
Lady Shirin Duxt Feroz spoke about Persian and Islamic art, specifically the geometric designs constructed by compass and straightedge. I'd taken her class at Michaelmas last year, where she'd taught some of the basic techniques, so it was interesting to see examples of some of the more complex constructions. I also learned that the ban on representation of animate figures in Islamic art was not as thoroughgoing as I'd believed: She showed me examples of secular art with gorgeous animals depicted.
Viscountess Susannah of York has also been investigating Persia and showed off her beautiful purple silk outfit with stamped belt. We talked about what types of modern silk weaves are appropriate for medieval garb, and then she answered all of my how-to questions about stamping with fabric paints. If we're lucky, she'll give a class on this topic at Kingdom Uni!
Lady Thora Greylock was showing off her pottery – which she both makes and paints. I particularly enjoyed seeing how she'd interpreted her exemplars in her own work, particularly when the available photos of extant pieces don't always show the entire design and extrapolation must be done. We also had an interesting discussion about salt cellars, and how she hasn't yet found any small, pottery dish explicitly identified as a salt cellar. Is this because salt cellars were *always* elaborate metal pieces, or is this because small pottery dishes have so many uses, there's no way to uniquely identify one as being only used for salt?
Lady Kytte of the Lake had a plethora of her beautiful scribal work available. I was impressed by the breadth of the styles that she has mastered, but what I really enjoyed in our discussion was hearing about her plans to start making her own pigments and inks. Making my own pigments is something I'd like to do someday, so I'm hoping if I organize a scribal event in north ID, I can convince her to come and speak about her experience!
Countess Jahanara Suren displayed her weaving, and traced out the history of the development of a particular Persian weaving technique (alas, I do not remember what the term was). She had sample pieces of a variety of different stages in the development, and I relished the opportunity to ask detailed questions about weaving such as, "I know one of them is the warp and one is the weft, but I've never known which is which."
Lady Edith of Hedingham presented an egg yolk pastry crust (with yummy fig filling, but that was beside the point…) Earlier in the week I'd gotten to taste the first rendition of the experiment, with slightly fewer yolks and also an egg white, so it was fascinating to compare the earlier version with the fully-egg-yolk pastry. For something as thick and durable as it was, it was also incredibly light and delicious. I've never made an egg yolk pastry before, and now I'm curious to try it out myself some time.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and look forward to the next one.
Warp vs weft
Date: 2018-08-21 02:10 pm (UTC)There are some late-period pie crust recipes that use cream and egg yolks, as I recall. When I tried it I didn't get light, but I am only slowly improving in pastry. A lifelong bread background makes it more difficult.
Re: Warp vs weft
Date: 2018-08-21 03:33 pm (UTC)Several.
Date: 2018-08-21 03:53 pm (UTC)A Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye (1557): Take fyne floure and a cursey of fayre water and a dysche of swete butter and a lyttel saffron, and the yolckes of two egges and make it thynne and as tender as ye maye.
Take fine flour and a little fresh water and a dish of sweet butter and a little saffron, and the yolks of two eggs and make it thin and as tender as you may.
The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin (1588):
To make Paste, and to raise Coffins
Take fine flower, and lay it on a boord, and take certaine of yolkes of Egges as your quantitie of flower is, then take a certaine of Butter and water, and boil them together, but ye must take heed ye put not too many yolks of Egges, for if you doe, it will make it drie and not pleasant in eating: and yee must take heed ye put not in too much Butter for if you doe, it will make is so fine and so short that you cannot raise. And this paste is good to raise all maner of Coffins: Likewise if ye bake Venison, bake it in the paste above named.
To make paste
Take water, and put in a good piece of butter, and let it seeth as hot as you can blow off your Butter into your flower, + break two yolkes of Egges, and one white, and put in a good peece of Sugar, and collour your paste with Saffron, then shall it be short.
To make Fine Paste (The Good Huswife’s Jewell, 1596)
Take fair flour and wheat and the yolks of eggs with sweet butter, melted; mixing all these together with your hands, till it be brought down paste. Then make your coffins, whether it be for pies or tarts. Then you may put saffron and sugar if you will have it a sweet paste. Having respect to the true seasoning some use to put to their paste beef or mutton broth, and some cream.
Re: Several.
Date: 2018-08-22 10:57 am (UTC)As I recall from middle-school Home Ec, the point of keeping the butter cold (cutting it in cold and then adding ice water) is to produce a flaky crust; the modern alternatives, adding hot water and using liquid oil to begin with, both produce a different texture, more likely to crumble than flake. Of course, one presumes that for a "raised coffin", one wants neither crumbly nor flaky but sturdy.
When I make crust for hand-held meat pasties, I use several whole eggs, and I knead the dough for several minutes to toughen it (again contradicting the modern advice to handle the dough as little as possible to keep it delicate). Haven't tried all-yolks.
Re: Warp vs weft
Date: 2018-08-21 06:45 pm (UTC)but what I actually came here to ask...
Date: 2018-08-21 03:35 pm (UTC)