American Buddhist Net

...Clarkson pointed out some of the reasons mock food was made in the past:

-Faux food created for religious or other ethical reasons, such as the fake meat served at Lent throughout the ages.

-Faux food for fun, as in illusion foods ("in medieval times ... a meatloaf called yrchouns, meaning either urchins or hedgehogs — they were stuck all over with slivered almonds to indicate spines. No one was fooled, but everyone enjoyed the artistry").

-Faux food as a substitute in times of scarcity ("During the American Civil War, particularly, the range of (coffee) substitutes was creative in the extreme," said Clarkson, e.g., acorn, chicory and okra coffees).

-And faux food for reasons that are "lost to us today," she said. "There are instructions for mock cock's comb in some 17th-century cookbooks." Not to mention recipes for mock asses' milk. Eeeeek.

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