Medieval Cookery Rolls as Practical Kitchen Texts

Inks were historically gall inks that used lampblack for the first few weeks, and the ink gall to dissolve/burn the parchment. That's why inks were black: they were char.

The colors though, were compounds painted on the manuscript to provide color. Malachite, lapis, lead, mercury, arsenic, and copper were all traditional pigments. So, when they say the red ink is flaking off, it's actually a red lead flaking.

And yes, these methods last hundreds of years. And many of them are as vibrant as when they were created.

> "Would the entire roll be stretched out twenty feet just to doublecheck the ingredients necessary for a dish of blanc manger?"

To which I can only think "Of course they didn't do that. Why would anyone use a scroll like that?"

The rest of the article seems to mostly be "they didn't use a scroll like that".