I think it was less that people prefered to cook things on a spit over an open fire. Its that open hearths were the default/only option for a very long time. Enclosed stoves didn’t become a thing in western countries until the 19th century. Enclosed ovens were large. The sort of thing that were community property or businesses (like Mills). Or restricted to large wealthy estates. And they weren’t part of main home or kitchen.
They were also often built as needed from available materials.
Spits were in many ways the most practical way to roast things if you didn’t have access to an oven. Even then since they required live stock, servants or available children. It was sort of an upperclass thing. With baking or roasting otherwise taking place in clay vessels, dutch ovens, or when an available big oven had already been lit up for bread baking. Or just not taking place at all.
Before the development of the modern middle class. Peasants mostly subsisted on stews, porridge, community baked bread and beer.
You don’t have access to the dogs that were bred together hundreds of years ago. Nor do you have access to the complete set of traits that the original breeders had in mind when they selected what dogs to cull and what dogs to breed. So you’re not going to get the same set of traits. And incidental traits that weren’t being actively selected for but happened to come along for the ride by happenstance are not gong to come out the same if you try to recreate the breed. You might get a dog that does the same job, but doesn’t look exactly the same or have the same personality as the original.
Here in the Colonies, we didn’t necessarily have dogs bred to precise size for a cage wheel, and might want to use an all purpose dog. So our dog-powered washing machines, butter churns, and separators were often driven by treadmill.
I’m pretty sure there’s a dog powered clothes washer in the Zwaanendael Museum downstate, and the treadmills still show up at farm auctions from time to time.
Since medieval times we Brits liked roast turkey? Really?
Umm - aren’t turkeys native to North America? Did Brits have them in medieval times? Intertube searching says they arrived in England in 1540s - hardly medieval times.
All that aside, there’s another thing about this that kind of tickles me. I have two dogs, and a significant portion of my life is spent trying to control the dog hair situation. Hard to imagine employing dogs in the cooking process.
Reminds me of the time I was staying with a friend in Yorkshire (this story only works if you know what that accent is like) and I found a hair in my dinner. “Keratin” said my Yorkshire friend, so I ate it up just like I was told.
Did they at least give the dog some of the cooked meat? Please tell me the poor beastie at least got to enjoy the fruit of his labors after smelling it all day.
Finding a dog hair in my food has become a “meh” situation for me. Used to be a gag and loss of appetite. But with a Border Collie that blows her undercoat every 6 months like clockwork AND a Tervuren Sheppard/Collie mix who sheds slowly but continuously, I’ve given up. Not enjoy, but just don’t get upset about it.
Same. My bigger dog is some kind of Aussie Shepherd mix, and he’s shedding like a maniac right now.
It’s enough that we’re not letting him on the couch. I wish there was some kind of use for dog hair.
