>...We would regularly eat rancid meat (many BBQ sauces were specifically built to hide/safen up rancid meat) I think the idea that spices were used to cover t

>...We would regularly eat rancid meat (many BBQ sauces were specifically built to hide/safen up rancid meat) I think the idea that spices were used to cover the taste of rancid meat is generally considered to be a myth. >...One myth needs busting here. Contrary to what you may have read, sauces were not invented to cover the smell and taste of spoiled meat. Spoiled meat tends to make people sick or dead, so, although covering it with a sauce might make it more palatable, people who used this strategy probably tried it only once. https://amazingribs.com/barbecue-history-and-culture/barbecue-sauce-history/ https://amazingribs.com/barbecue-history-and-culture/barbecu... An influential source that promoted this idea was a 1939 book by J.C. Drummond. Those as this review of the book shows, Drummond provided little evidence for his assertions and made errors like misinterpreting the meaning of words like “greene”: http://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/drummond.pdf http://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/drummond.pdf