keeping cool in a period fashion

[Silver]

i am looking for references of how 17th century mariners kept their cool in the hot amd humid climates that they sailed in.

[Daniel]

From The Sea-Man's Vade Mecum of 1706: "An Awning, a Sail set up like a Canopy to prevent the scorching of the Sun."

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Look for pickles as I have seen some references to them used on ships. I don't have any references handy though. We use them for the same reason here in steamy Missouri. (i.e. "cool as a cucumber").

Bo

[Silver]

AWNINGS was also the first thing to come to my mind, in port it is a must, i have rigged them aboard ship but they do get in the way undersail. on a hot sunny day they are a must. it is the same as throwing up the fly at a event it is the place to relax.

[jendobyns]

Drink lots of small beer and sweat. Really, it's Nature's cooling system and works well if you're using linen for small clothes. Or find a shade tree. Unless the sun is straight up, the sails should provide some shade for an off duty sailor.

Also, foods that are cooling (like pickles mentioned earlier) can be helpful if at hand. I have also heard non-seagoing types refer to putting a cabbage leaf in the hat (and seen it done, too!) Wetting one's neck stock/kerchief can also help.

We are people used to living in modern air conditioning for the most part. Those of us who have lifestyles that require outdoor work in summer get used to it. Monday I was working in the heat with a fire and braziers (3) going in the kitchen. It was a sauna, and I was stuck in modern clothing. It would have been more comfortable in petticoats. Better insulation from the heat that way. I know it seems counter intuitive, but staying dressed actually insulates you from the higher temps, just like it insulates from the cold. Think of it as keeping the cool _in_.

[D B Couper]

I received my book today, "The Florida Keys - Volume 3, The Wreckers", by John Viele. In it he states, "For amusement and relief from the heat, they would put a sail in the water suspended so as to form a pool and bathe in it". I suppose this would have also worked in earlier times too.

[Evil Tiny]

I've found that soakin' my hat in available liquid keeps me head cool in the bright sunshine.

[Capt Thighbiter]

Get Nekid..

[Silver]

Look for pickles as I have seen some references to them used on ships. I don't have any references handy though. We use them for the same reason here in steamy Missouri. (i.e. "cool as a cucumber").

Bo

have been looking into the pickles/cucumber reply, cucumber do have a cooling effect on the body because they are 90% water also they replace lost eletrolytes so eaten fresh they will have a cooling effect, pickles are small cucumbers don't find the same claims to cooling as with the cucumber, not saying there could be some, but they are soaked in brime or viniger, something that i found in looking up pickles that goes with dealing with the sun and heat is that viniger is excellent to rub on sun burns it removes the pain and reduces the blistering. don't know if the surgeon prescribed this treatment then. thanks

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

It is out of period, sorry. The pickle thing came after the discovery of vinegar and citrus helping to fight scurvy in the late 18th century, not during GAoP.

Bo

[Tartan Jack]

Pickling, itself, however is a way of preserving food. It began in France in the early 19th C.

"Some of the earliest known pickling began in France, in 1809, when M. Nicolas Appert discovered that by removing the air from the packaging of food, it would be safe to eat, even after a long period of storage. Methods were established for preserving foods in glass such as bottles and jars, using corks, wax seals, and other lids."

http://www.howtopickle.com/Pickling_Guide.html

That daye fits with what I remember from before (forgot sources).

That is 90 years after-the-fact.

[Capt. Sterling]

"To Pickle Kidney Beans. Take the beans & string them very well, then lay them in elegar with a good handfull of salt & let they ly covered over in ellegar [malt vinegar] or vinnegar 10 dayes. then tak them out & set a kettle of water on the fire & make it scallding hot. then put in the beans, covering them close with a clean course cloth & when you disserne them to be greene & tender, take them up & when they be cold, pickle them in white wine vinnegar & salt, laying a clean course ragg upon the pickle which will keepe them from caneing. & wash the clothe when it canes, and salt & water; & if you carefully take you the cloth all the canes will stick to it."

---Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery, circa 1749-1799, transcribed by Karen Hess [Columbia University Press:New York] 1981 (p. 166) [NOTE: Food historian Karen Hess added these notes: "All of the many pickle recipes in our manuscript represent ancient ways of preserving vegetables againt time of need as well as brightening winter menus, which could bet monotonous after a few months. Some of the nutrients must have leached into the picle, but I belive that the liquor was used in cooking as a seasoning." (p. 166).]

even earlier

Pickles

Note: These pickling methods are considered unsafe by today’s standards. Many foods require high temperature high pressure sterilisation in order to kill all potentially harmful bacteria.

The practice of “Greening” pickles is extremely dangerous. It was considered that producing a bright green colour made for attractive pickles. “Bellmetal” is a mixture of copper and tin. When highly acidic mixtures come into contact with copper, then copper sulphate is produced. Copper sulphate gives a bright green colour, but is highly poisonous.

122. To Pickle Mellons or Large

Cowcumbers

Scope ym at one end & take out ye pulp

clean & fill ym wth scrapt horseradish

sliced garlick ginger nutmeg whole pepp[er]

& large mace yn take for ye pickle

The best white wine vineger an hand

full of salt a quarterd nutmeg whole

pepper cloves & mace & 2 or 3 racers

of ginger boyld together

And pour it to ye mellons boyl[ing]

hott and stow ym down close 2 days wn you

intend to green ym set ym over ye fier in

a bellmetall pott in their pickle

till they are scalding hott & green yn

pour ym into yor potts stow ym down close

wn they are cold cover ym wth a wett bladder & [leather?]

Thus Cover all other Pickles

PAGE 56

123. To Pickle Gherkins

Put ym in a brine strong enough to bear

an egg yn drain ym & pour on ym ye same

pickle as ye mellons boyling hott

having some dill seeds in yor pott stow

ym down close 2 or 3 days yn green

ym in a bellmetall pott & cover ym close

as before

124. To Pickle French beans

Put ym a month in brine strong enough

to bear an egg yn drain ym from ye brine

& having a pickle as ye mellons pour

it to ym boylin hott & green ym ye same

way

125. To Pickle Walnuts

Scald ym & put ym in water & salt 9 or

10 days changing it every day yn take

ym out & rub ym in a course cloth

& pour on ym ye same pickle as ye

mellons boyling hott ading thereto

a little mustard seed

PAGE 57

126. To Pickle Mushrooms

Take yor small hard buttons cut ye

dirt from ye bottoms of ye stalks w[ash]

ym wth water & salt & milk & rub ym wth

flannell yn put ym into another pan of

salt water & milk & rub ym till they a[re]

clean yn boyle salt water & milk wn

boyls thro’ in yor mushroom s & wn they

are boyld quick & white strain ym thro’

a cloth & throw ym into water & salt 2

or 3 days changing it twice a day yn take

ye pickle be half whitewine & half vine[ger]

wth slicd nutmeg ginger whole pepper

& cloves yn stop ym up in glasses

126. To Pickle Beetroot & turnip

Boyle yor beetroot in water & salt a pt of

vineger a little cutchenele wn they are

half boyled put in ye turnips being

peard wn they are boyled take ym off ye

fier & keep ym in this pickle.

PAGE 58

127. To Pickle red Cabbatch

Slice ye cabbatch thin & put to it a

cold pickle of vineger & spice

128. To Pickle Flowers

Pickle ym in half white wine & half vineger

& sugar

129. To Pickle onions

Boyld yor small white onions in water

& salt strain & coole ym in a cloth yn let

ye pickle be vineger & spice cold

130. To Pickle Barberries

Pickle ym being pickt in fine branches

only in water & salt strong enough to bear an

egg

131. To Pickle Smelts

Lay ym in a pan in rows lay on ym slicd

lemon ginger nutmeg mace a little

pepper & salt & bay leaves powderd

let ye pickle be red wine vineger

bruisd cuchenele & peter salt you

may eat ym as anchovys

PAGE 59

132. To Pickle Oysters

Take a qt of large oysters in ye full [of]

ye moon perboyld in their own liquor

for ye pickle take ye liquor a pt of white

wine & vineger mace pepper & salt boy[le]

& scum it wn cold keep ym in this pickle

133. To Pickle Pidgeons

Boyle ym wth whole spice 3 pts of water

a pt of white wine & vineger wn boyld

take ym up & wn cold keep ym in this

pickle

134. To Pickle Tongues

Blanch ym being boyld in water & salt

& put ym in a pott or barrell & make

ye pickle of as much white wine vineg[er]

as will fill it boyld up wth savory spice

ginger nutmeg a faggot of sweetherbs

wn cold put in ye tongues wth slicd lemon

& cover it close

From

Kidder, E. (Edward), 1665 or 6-1739. Receipts of pastry & cookery: for the use of his scholars.

London, Printed for Obadiah Blagrave at the Bear and Star in St. Pauls Church-Yard, 1685.

Edited July 14, 2011 by Capt. Sterling

[Capt. Sterling]

To Pickle Cucumbers

Take the least you can get, and lay a layer of Cucumbers, and then a layer of beaten Spices, Dill, and Bay Leaves, and so do till you have filled your Pot, and let the Spices,Dill and Bay Leaves cover them, then fill up your Pot with the best Wine Vinegar, and a little Salt, and so keep them

Sliced Turneps also very thin, in some Vinegar, Pepper and a little Salt, do make a very good Sallad, but they will keep but six Weeks.

The Queen-Like Closet or Rich Cabinet, by Hannah Wolley

London Printed for Richard Lowndes at the White Lion in Duck-Lane near West-Smithfield. 1672

Edited July 14, 2011 by Capt. Sterling

[Capt. Sterling]

As per Williamsburg

Pickling is the process of preserving food in an acid (usually Vinegar). In the past, pickling was used to preserve a wide variety of MEATS, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. The vinegar used in the pickling process creates an acid environment that prevents undesirable bacteria growth. Most pickled foods are salted or soaked in brine (a very salty liquid) first to draw out moisture that would water down the vinegar. Properly pickled foods can last for YEARS.

Examples of foods that were preserved by pickling in the 1700s;

Artichokes

Asparagus

BEEF

Beets

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Cucumbers

Eggs

Fish

Garlic

Grapes

Horseradish

Lemons

Mushrooms

Peaches

Peppers

Pork

Radishes

Olives

Onions

Oysters

Walnuts

(and one for the Bosun... ) Watermelon rind

[jendobyns]

Sigh. Gotta love internet sources, they are a lesson in why we should be skeptical of anything that isn't a primary or secondary source. Sorry, no. Pickling did not start in 1809 as that website would have you believe, nor did the practice of creating an "airtight" seal. People knew how to preserve food by sealing it from air much, much earlier, sometimes by pouring a layer of fat (or melted butter) which would congeal on the top of the container (frequently a form of pottery crock), then covering it further by various methods including, but not limited to, a thin membrane from an animal bladder (iirc, in my migraine state, it is pig's bladder), then covered further by more mouse and insect proof leather, which has been wetted first so it dries on tight. With pickling, this layer of fat isn't necessary, the acidity of the vinegar and the salt make an less than friendly environment for microbes, and people knew way back in time how to tell if something was "off". This information is sometimes found in manuals like Bartolomeo Scappi's "Opera" dated 1570 (how to tell if pickled tuna is still good comes to mind, book I, item 11). I tried to find an earlier source for pickling, as I'm pretty sure the technique goes back farther, but digging through middle English books with a migraine ain't happenin' today.

So, here's an example prior to 1809, even prior to GAoP:

Gervase Markham (1568?-1637), in The English Housewife, first edition published 1615, contains this:

15 Of preserving sallats.

Your preserved sallats are of two kinds, either pickled, as are cucumbers, samphire, purslane, broom, and such like, or preserved with vinegar, as violets, primrose, cowslips, gillyflowers of all kinds, broom flowers, and for the most part any wholesome flower whatsorever.

16 [Of pickling sallets.]

Now for the pickling of sallats, they are only boiled, and then drained from the water, spread upon a table, and good store of salt thrown over the, then when they are thorough cold, make a pickle with water, salt, and a little vinegar, and wit the same pot them up in close earthen pots, and serve them forth as occasion shall serve.

I also have sources that post date these, but the point is that pickled food is OK for GAoP. Even things that _aren't_ cucumbers!

[Silver]

Drink lots of small beer and sweat. Really, it's Nature's cooling system and works well if you're using linen for small clothes. Or find a shade tree. Unless the sun is straight up, the sails should provide some shade for an off duty sailor.

Also, foods that are cooling (like pickles mentioned earlier) can be helpful if at hand. I have also heard non-seagoing types refer to putting a cabbage leaf in the hat (and seen it done, too!) Wetting one's neck stock/kerchief can also help.

We are people used to living in modern air conditioning for the most part. Those of us who have lifestyles that require outdoor work in summer get used to it. Monday I was working in the heat with a fire and braziers (3) going in the kitchen. It was a sauna, and I was stuck in modern clothing. It would have been more comfortable in petticoats. Better insulation from the heat that way. I know it seems counter intuitive, but staying dressed actually insulates you from the higher temps, just like it insulates from the cold. Think of it as keeping the cool _in_.

sweating and drinking plenty of fluids and aboard ship it would be beer, cider or fresh water if you haven't been out to long. eating less meat is also a way to keep the body temp down. i found that the cabbage leaf does seem to have a cool effect on the skin. it is a herbal treatment for swollen breasts also there was several stories about babe ruth wearing them on his head during the game. the new colonist who came to virginia went through a period of what was called seasoning in order to become use to the heat and humidty and insects, i live it the P.I. for two years and worked outside, when i came back to virginia in the summer the heat wasn't as hard to handle i refer to the seasoning as getting your tremostat reset. the arabs of the desert are a good example of how covering ones self up in a hot climate can reduce the effects of the heat it traps your body's sweat near the skin and it has a cooling effect as long as the fabric can breath. there is clothing that is called summer wool that they claim will keep you cool. thanks some good points

[Silver]

I received my book today, "The Florida Keys - Volume 3, The Wreckers", by John Viele. In it he states, "For amusement and relief from the heat, they would put a sail in the water suspended so as to form a pool and bathe in it". I suppose this would have also worked in earlier times too.

i had forgotten about that, glad you kicked it in. did they say if it was to keep out sharks, jellyfish or so the non swimmers wouldn't drown?

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

I knew/understand pickling has been around for ages, pickled meat and vegetables have been on ships at least since colubus sailed for the Indies. I was just clearing up my mistake on pickled cucmbers being used to cool-off the body. No known references for that, I was mistaken, it was for the Vitamin C against scurvy anyhow, not for staying cool. That's what I use them for when I come in from the heat though. A cold dill pickle instantly makes me feel better. My bad on the mis-information,I was wrong. reading too many things from too many periods is not a good thing sometimes.

Bo

[Silver]

I've found that soakin' my hat in available liquid keeps me head cool in the bright sunshine.

also you can take some crushed ice and roll it up in a cloth and tie it around your neck. i remember someone made small cloth poches that you could fill with ice and put up under your hat. ice isn't period but it's nice.

[Silver]

I knew/understand pickling has been around for ages, pickled meat and vegetables have been on ships at least since colubus sailed for the Indies. I was just clearing up my mistake on pickled cucmbers being used to cool-off the body. No known references for that, I was mistaken, it was for the Vitamin C against scurvy anyhow, not for staying cool. That's what I use them for when I come in from the heat though. A cold dill pickle instantly makes me feel better. My bad on the mis-information,I was wrong. reading too many things from too many periods is not a good thing sometimes.

Bo

i liked the find on the vinger for the sunburns, i had never heard of that before. not sure if it is a period treatment. maybe mission might know?

[Silver]

Get Nekid..

here we go!!

[Dread Pyrate Greyhound]

A couple of the tricks I have learned in keeping myself cool during a hot day at sea or on the town is instead of wearing your large heavy frock coat on your arms, is to drape it over your shoulders so you're not as tightly wraped, or thickly layered, and you're more ventalated and it will still give you the elegant touch that frock coats give to your persona. I promise. Just think of How Captain Hook looked in his second appearance in 'Hook' when he's in his cabin (the scene where he trys to kill himself).

Another trick, is when buying new costume peices, ask wether or not they breathe as materials that breath make a world of difference.

The next I've learned, is to open your waistcoat/ vest, and loosen the ties on your shirt, this sends the fresh air right against your skin.

And finally, certain types of clothing are more ventalated than others, ei I have a pair of slops that I wear, and I know that the slightest breeze will go right up and cool me off, not to mention passing through my stockings.

These are my tips, hoppe ye find 'em useful.

[D B Couper]

Yes

I received my book today, "The Florida Keys - Volume 3, The Wreckers", by John Viele. In it he states, "For amusement and relief from the heat, they would put a sail in the water suspended so as to form a pool and bathe in it". I suppose this would have also worked in earlier times too.

i had forgotten about that, glad you kicked it in. did they say if it was to keep out sharks, jellyfish or so the non swimmers wouldn't drown?

[Slopmaker Cripps]

Heat? Dress appropriately for the weather....linen garments, unlined, drawers for beeches and jackets/weskits cut a bit loose...

This method was used all throughout the Southern colonies and the caribbean.

A slave with an umbrella and/or fan helps a lot as well....

-Adam C.

[Tartan Jack]

Thanks, Sterling. I guess it's older than I had realized. I was thing AmRev-era. Glad to hear otherwise.

Cooking and period food isn't something I know much about. -Always learning.

I'd heard/read from many sources of an American Rev/Napoleanic period origin of pickling.

I am VERY glad to know it's older than that.

Edited July 15, 2011 by Tartan Jack