Sunday 12 April 2009

Attempted muffin

It's been a quiet day. So I've been reading through my Food Control Manuals for light amusement, Not just the orders relating to beer. There are some real crackers.

For example, Order 1917 No. 132. Otherwise known as the Cake and Pastry Order. Paragraph 1 made me burst out laughing:

"1. No person shall after the 21st April, 1917, make or attempt to make for sale, or after 24th April, 1917, sell or offer to sell or have in his possession for sale:-
(a) Any crumpet, muffin, tea cake or fancy bread, or any light or fancy pastries, or any other like article.
(b) Any cake, bun, scone or biscuit, which does not conform to the requirements of the two following provisions of this Order."

Basically, they were making the possession of muffins illegal. 1917 must have been so much fun. Watery beer and no crumpets. He must have been a popular man, the Food Controller.

8 comments:

Jim Johanssen said...

Ron - 2) says we can not have sprinkes either. <:o

Cheer Jim

Ron Pattinson said...

Inhuman, isn't it? Makes the beer regulations look quite liberal.

Zak Avery said...

I find this all a bit ambiguous and not a little confusing. Without information as to how one might differentiate a cake from a bun, these rules are meaningless. MEANINGLESS!

jonbrazie said...

I'm confused. No more than x per cent wheaten flour? Would you have to use other flour instead? Or just cardboard? And damn them for prohibiting sprinkles. Sprinkles give me the strength to go to war.

Ron Pattinson said...

Zak, the defrinition of cake and bun doubtless appears elsewhere in the regulations.

Rabbi lionheart, cardboard or sawdust sound likely candidates.

Anonymous said...

My guess would be that cakes contain eggs and don't use yeast, while buns don't contain eggs but do use yeast ...

Gary Gillman said...

See paragraph 3244, which suggests on average Scots beers used less hops than the English ones. This is not from original sources in the sense we are discussing but seems of some use. (I question why bottling the beers would make them last longer than barreled).

Gary

Gary Gillman said...

Sorry, here it is:

http://books.google.com/books?id=f5oDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA598&dq=scotch+ale&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=2&as_miny_is=1800&as_maxm_is=1&as_maxy_is=1899&num=100&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES