p-food-terms-lst - 9/25/00
A list of various period food terms, gathered from various sources, that might be useful in redacting period recipes. Gathered by Phillipa Seton.
NOTE: See also the files: redacting-msg, p-menus-msg, food-sources-msg, herbs-cooking-msg, spices-msg, herbs-msg, sugar-msg, spice-mixes-msg.
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NOTICE -
This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.
The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.
Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 08:43:07 EDT
From: Seton1355 at aol.com
Subject: SC - MY GLOSSARY - A FEW MORE ENTRIES
GLOSSARY
BERME
Yeast.
BLUE
a cooking method involving poaching an unscaled fish in an acidic water,
making the outer skin turn bluish)
BROCH
a skewer or spit.
CANEL OR CANELLE
Cinnamon
CURLEW
A shorebird.
CLOWYS
Cloves
DOUCETTE
a custard tart in the 14th-15thC English recipe corpus, sweetened with honey
or sugar, usually colored with saffron,
EFFLUVIA
ef*flu*vi*um also ef*flu*via (noun), plural -via or -vi*ums
[Latin effluvium active of flowing out, from effluere]
First appeared 1651
1 : an invisible emanation; especially: an offensive exhalation or smell
2 : a by-product esp. in the form of waste
FAYRE
decent sized pieces
FORCEMEAT
is a stuffing, often, but not always, made from meat. By extension, various
foods such as the mixture from which veal, poultry, or fish quenelles are
made, are also considered forcemeats.
FRANGIPANE
an almond pastry cream, made today with a thickish pastry cream containing
flour, eggs, milk, sugar, butter and flavorings, to which is added crushed
almonds or crushed almond macaroons. Usually used as a crepe, pate a choux,
or tart filling.
FRYES
is related to the modern French word for cold, froid.
GALYNGALE
Galingale, a root. ("Galingas").
Galingal does have an aroma that includes hints of tumeric. The two do not
taste at all similar though. Galingal resembles in flavor ginger more than
anything else with an added flavor that I can't quite describe with any real
accuracy. It is a sort of peppery ginger flavor. I don't think tumeric would
be a good substitute for galingal.
GRAINS OF PARADISE
Sensoric quality Spicy, hot and warm, a little bitter.
GYNGERE
Ginger
I -
i- more oftentimes y- signifies the past tense,
IDON fiRYN IDON (TH)RYN
done like this
IGROUNDEN
is something that is ground, like meal or almonds
LARDED
scatterd through
LASER
Laser is an aromatic, resinous root used fairly frequently in Roman cookery.
IIRC,
laser is the older form which describes Cyrenaican sylphium, which I believe
became extinct in the reign of the Emperor Nero (r. 54-69 C.E.). Subsequently
Persian sylphium, still occasionally referred to as laser in later Roman
recipe sources, such as Apicius, became the universally accepted substitute.
Now, Persian sylphium appears to have been asafeotida. I may have some of
these details reversed or incorrect, but
it's almost irrelevant since asafeotida is all modern adaptors of Roman
cuisine have to work with. It is unclear whether there was any real
similarity between the two types of sylphium, other than that both are
described as aromatic, resinous roots. A little asafeotida goes a long way --
too much makes your food reek somewhat of rotting garlic, while a tiny bit
acts as an amazing flavor enhancer in fish dishes and various
others. Available in Indian groceries as "hing"
LECHES
slices
LESH IT
slice it; cut it into pieces
LIQUAMEN in Platina is pork fat; it seems to have no connection with the
liquamen used extensively in Roman cooking.
LOPPORD
This merely refers to the coagulated cream that has formed on the top.
LYE
Mix or combine.
LYR
flesh, i.e. boneless meat,
MACYS
Mace
MARW
Marrow
MARY BONYS
Marrow bones
MASH
porridge
MURRI
which is fairly similar to Soy sauce
MYLKE OF ALMOUNDYS
The simplest form is made by dissolving finely ground almonds in water and
straining off the residue. The result looks like milk and is used in many
medieval recipes.
NICE DRIPPINGS
Meats that have been grilled, fried, etc., produce drippings that can range
from very dark ones filled with particles and flavor to sweet white fats
that have a very soft flavor.
"Nice drippings" refers to the bacon grease at the top of the jar without all
the brown bits.
NYM
Take
PEPYR
Pepper
POWDRE DOUCE
is made from sweet spices which might include cloves and cinnamon, possibly
mace
POWDRE FORTE
is made from strong spices such as pepper, nutmeg, galingale, grains of
paradise,
PUGIL
a fistful [of pepper]. Pugilism is boxing
PYNES
pine nuts
RACE
a rhizome or root. (A piece of ginger)
RYS
Rice
SALERATUS
was a precursor to baking soda,
is sodium or potassium bicarbonate. In other words, baking soda.
sal*e*ra*tus (noun)
[New Latin sal aeratus aerated salt]
First appeared 1837
: a leavening agent consisting of potassium or sodium bicarbonate
From"The Boston Cooking School CB, by Mrs. D.A. Lincoln, 1884:
"...Pearlash is purified potash.
Saleratus is prepared from pearlash by exposing it to carbonic acid gas.
Pure, strong alkalies are powerful corrosive poisons, eating the coats of the
stomach perhaps quicker than any other poisonous agent. This caustic or
burning property is somewhat weakened by the carbonic acid united with them,
and is therefore less in bicarbonate of soda than in the potash compounds...
Soda has a great affinity for water; and when wet, a combination takes place
which allows some of the carbonic acid gas to escape. This may easily be
seen by the effervescence which occurs when soda is dissolved in hot water.
Soda alone, when mixed with wet dough, will give off gas enough to raise the
dough; but it leaves a strong alkaline taste and a greenish yellow color,
and, being poisonous must be neutralized by an acid, or else its use is not
admissible..."
So saleratus is/was stronger than baking soda, but was soaked in liquid
before use to expel some of the gas which causes the 'effluvia' & deep yellow
color mentioned in your recipe.
Saleratus was also used mixed with a weak acid such as cream of tartar.
SAWNDERYS
Saunders, a condiment used for its red coloring.
Saunders is produced from a red dyewood that is not very aromatic. This red
wooded sandalwood is what we use in medieval cookery to produce color in
various dishes. My sources do not indicate if it is an actual member of the
Santalaceae family.
SEARCE
a sieve
SETHE
Boil
SIMNEL
a bread first boiled then baked
SKEWET
rotissery
STEPE
Soak
SUGAR CIPRE
sugar from Cyprus
SWERDE
Rind
TAIL
is fat from sheep tails, commonly used as a cooking oil in medieval Islamic
recipes.
TEMPER
Mix with
THE THIRD SPICE
nowadays almost always means MSG,monosodium glutamate, but in older recipes,
it may mean allspice.
THRIDDENDELE
the third part, so: for every two parts of honey, add one part of pine nuts,
and add powdered ginger thereafter.
VERJUICE
The juice of unripe grapes, crabapples, or other sour fruits. I frequently
substitute dilute vinegar.
WORTES
vegetable greens and members of the onion family, such as cabbage leaves,
spinach, beet greens, leeks, etc., as well as the plants used for seasonings
and spices: borage, parsley, sage, and so forth.
Y-FERE
Together
Y-NOW
Enough
YRAYD
arrayed
<the end>