barley-water-msg - 3/4/08 Period barley water. NOTE: See also the files: tea-msg, wine-msg, spiced-wine-msg, jalabs-msg, beer-msg, herbs-msg, rice-msg, grains-msg, infusions-msg. ************************************************************************ 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 ************************************************************************ Date: Sun, 01 Feb 1998 17:00:15 -0800 From: "Crystal A. Isaac" Subject: Re: SC - Herbal infusions LrdRas at aol.com wrote: > You may be right here but the drinking of such infusions were almost if not > entirely for medicinal purposes. It does not surprise me that there is no > mention of this in period cookery sourses. To research this information, IMHO, > you would have to turn to herbals and medicinal manuals. > > Ras The following are some medieval sources for tisane. I thought tisane meant "barley water" so perhaps if I go look again I'll find more tisanes that are "herb water." Please remember nearly all of these are translations perhaps the word tisance was used for convenience. What does "stampe" mean in 14th century english/context of making violet water? Thanks, Crystal of the Westermark Anthimus. De Observatio Ciborum. circa 526CE. Translated by Weber, Shirley Howard. _Anthimus, De Observatio Ciborum: Text, Commentary and Glossary with a Study of the Latinity. Dissertation…_. Published by E.J. Brill Ltd., Leiden 1924. LXIIII Of Tisane Tisane which is made of barley, if anyone knows how to make it, is good for well people and for those with a fever…. Diluted with warm wine, a teaspoon of it well mixed should be sipped slowly on a empty stomach…. We usually give this to those with a fever, not thick, but diluted with clear warm water. It is agreeable also during periods of fasting, in Lent, to take this with hot water by all means…. Maimonides, Moses (1135-1204 CE). _Maqalah Fi Bayan Ba'D Al-A'Rad Wa-A;-Jawab 'Anha Ma'Amar Ha-Hakra'Ah_. edited and translated by Leibowitz, JO and Marcus, S. _Moses Maimonides on the Causes and Symptoms (Maqalah Fi Bayan Ba'D Al-A'Rad Wa-A;-Jawab 'Anha Ma'Amar Ha-Hakra'Ah [and] De Causis Accidentium)_ Published by University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. 1974. ISBN 0-520-02224-6 LCCCN 71-187873 page 147 ...barley kashk, prepared every day.... Its description in accordance with the needs of our master is as follows: Take polished barley, six months after it is harvested, forty drams; chopped seeds of fumitory, chopped seeds of Iraqi poppy, two drams; chopped moistened white sandalwood, one dram; nard, a fourth of a dram; dill flowers, half a dram; olive oil from the Magrib or Syria, yellow of color and free from bitter taste, three drams. The whole of these should be put together in an earthen pot. Pour into this pot one thousand drams of water, and heat it over a charcoal fire until half the water evaporates. Then pour into it six drams of wine vinegar. Its cooking is completed when less than a fourth of it remains, and its color appears red. Then filter it, and add to the filtrate half a dram of salt.... Henslow, G. Rev. Professor. editor. _Medical Works of the Fourteenth Century Together with a List of Plants Recorded in Contemporary Writing with the Identifications_. Published by Burt Franklin, New York, NY, 1972. ISBN 0-8337-1666-2. Page 28 MS. [A] If a man-ys bon ys broke. - Take violet and stampe hit with water and drynke hit and his schal caste out the brokyn bon. Page 46 MS. [A] For the quinsie. - Take colymbyn and fetherouyghe and the leuys of confery and stampe hem to-gedre and drynke the ius with stale ale. Ratti, Oscar. and Westbrook, Adele. Translators and adaptors. _The Medieval Health Handbook_. Orginal Italian edition, _Tacinum Sanitatis_. Lusia Arano, editor. Publsihed by George Braziller, Inc. New York. 1976 ISBN 0-8076-0808-4 >From the Tacuinum of Liege: 106. Barley Water (Aqua Ordey) Nature: Cold and dry in the second degree. Optimum: That which has been thoroughly boiled and is mild. Usefulness: For the inflamed stomach. Dangers: It is harmful for cold intestines. Neutralization of the dangers: With sugar. Effects: Temperate blood. It is suitable for warm temperaments, for young people, in Summer and in Southerly regions. (Vienna, f. 45) _Le Menagier de Paris_. (The Goodman of Paris, c. 1395) Translated by Janet Hinson. Reprinted in _A Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Cookbooks: First Compiled by Duke Cariadoc of the Bow and The Duchess Diana Alena_. Fifth Edition (1992) Volume Two, published privately. Page M38-39 Beverages for Invalids Sweet Tisane Take water and boil it, then add for each sixth of a gallon of water one good bowl of barley, and it does not (or it does not matter? - Trans) if it (p. 238) still has its hulls, and get two parisis' worth of licorice, item, or figs, and boil it all until the barley bubbles; then let it be strained in two or three cloths, and put in each goblet a large amount of rock-sugar. This barley is good to feed to poultry to fatten them. Note that good licorice is the youngest, and when cut is a lively greenish colour, and if it is old it is more insipid and dead, and dry. Eberhards. _Das Kochbuch Meister Eberhards_ circa 1500 CE. Translated by Alia Atlas. Published on-line akatlas at csbu.edu #27 Barley swells and cools and does not feed well and hurts all those who have the affliction, and who become cold nature or who have colic in the body. But for hot people and those who would be smaller, it is good. And one eats or drinks it with fennel seeds, so it is good for many afflictions in the breast, and Avincenna says that barley water harms the stomach which is cold. It is also very good for feverish people. Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 12:26:24 -0500 From: "Michael Newton" Subject: SC - Sweet Tisane Looking at the recipe for Sweet Tisane in Le Menagier, I have come across a few questions. the recipe is: Sweet Tisane. Take water and boil it, then add for each sixth of a gallon of water one good bowl of barley, and it does not (or it does matter?-Trans)if it still has its hulls, and get two parisis'worth of licorice, item, or figs, and boil it all until the barley bubbles; then let it be strained in two or three cloths, and put in each goblet a large amount of rock-sugar. This barley is good to feed to poultry to fatten them. I redact this so far as boil 1 cup of whole barley (with or without hulls) in 1/6th of a gallon of water with 3 or 4 licorice sticks or 1 or 2 figs (just a guess) until it becomes barley portage. Then strain out the portage part, and drink the resulting liquid with a sugar lump in the bottom. (I don't have room in the upstairs apt. I live in for the poultry so I'm going to skip that part of the recipe :) ) Now I guessed on the figs and licorice, because I have no idea how much a parisis' worth is, much less 2 of them. Can anyone enlighten me on this? also, would this had been drunk hot, cold or lukewarm? While it says rock sugar, I could see it mean either rock candy, which means it needs to be hot to let the candy sweeten the drink, or a sugar cube, which could sweeten a lukewarm drink. Beatrix of Tanet Geisterhugel, Calontir Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2000 17:23:59 -0500 (EST) From: Jenne Heise Subject: Re: SC - Question on tea Bear said: > Also try the words tisane and ptisan, which cover all kinds of infusions > including sweetened barley water. OED says ptisan specifically refers to barley water and tisane is a postperiod usage[... however tisane is a term used by people trying to sound old-tymey, so it's another way to search.] It's also a french usage, says the OED. Bit embarrassing for us, as we named our herb guild newsletter _Tisane_. - -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise jenne at tulgey.browser.net Date: Thu, 09 Nov 2000 18:10:46 -0600 From: "Michael F. Gunter" Subject: non-member submission - Re: SC - OED? > OED says ptisan specifically refers to barley water and tisane is a > postperiod usage[... however tisane is a term used by people trying to > sound old-tymey, so it's another way to search.] It's also a french usage, > says the OED. How did you come by the idea that "tisane" is a post period usage? In fact, it appears to be a variant of the early form of the word. The OED cites: 1398 "...{TH}at phisicians clepen Thisan c1400 "the {TH}e v. day he took {TH}ikke tizanne c1440 "Tysane, drynke, ptizana" c1567 "They will refuse the Tysants taste" c1596 "A little of the tysan the Earle had drunke of" The first citation with a form of "ptisan" starting with a P is in 1533. Under "Tisane" the OED says only that it's a variant form of "ptisan" and gives a definition for a tea that it's been applied to since around 1930. Finally, what the OED says is that it probably is derived from a French word not that the usage is French instead of English. Ultimately, it derives from a Greek word meaning peeled or pearl barley, also a drink made from this. toodles, margaret Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 19:15:34 -0800 From: "E. Rain" Subject: SC - Ordiate a few weeks back Brighid posted the following info re the Sent Sovi Oridate recipes. > I don't know how much you were able to figure, and as I said > before, I don't actually *read* Catalan, and therefore can't > *translate* it, but here are paraphrases... > > Recipe #97 is made of barley flour. Strain it through a thin napkin > with thin almond milk, then set it to cook. When it is cooked and > thickened, taste it for salt. If the person for whom it is being > cooked does not have a fever, you can add white sugar (ordiat is > generally an invalid dish). If it's being served to someone who is > not sick, and you don't want to add sugar, you can add honey if > you wish. > > Recipe #98 is made of pearled barley cooked in a thin almond milk. > When the grains have cooked enough that they have burst, press > them between two chopping boards, and then put them back in the > almond milk to cook as in the other recipe. And add sugar as > previously said. > > Recipe 30 from fragment V: the pearled barley is boiled > (presumably in water), then chopped in a morter. Then it's thinned > with with almond milk, strained through a thick napkin, and set to > cook as said above. All ordiat should have white sugar put in it. I went ahead & played with the third recipe(#30 from Fragment V) based on Brighid's paraphrasing which matched my own gleanings. Here's what I came up with: Eden's Ordiate: 1/4 c. barley 3. c. boiling water 1 pinch salt 1 c. ground almonds 4 c. boiling water 1/8 c. sugar Cook barley in 3. c. boiling water w/pinch of salt for 1 hour (till soft) drain off water mash barley in food processor. Make almond milk: combine almonds with 4 c. boiling water stir & let sit for 5 mins or so. Add to pureed barley. Shmoosh around a bit, then strain in fine wire strainer. Add 1/8 c. sugar Heat to a boil, let boil about 5 mins till it thickens slightly. Restrained through wire strainer plus cheesecloth to remove slight grainyness Serve Very tasty warm milky beverage. Good for breakfast, right before bedtime, or indeed if you were feeling ooky as it was originally intended ;-> but not something to serve at a feast. even better when sprinkled with a pinch of cinnamon, which is a standard instruction with medieval spanish dishes. The glop that I strained out (mooshed barley with the ground almonds from the almond milk) is probably closer to recipe #98 and tasted exactly like oatmeal :-> so either way - as a drink or a glop it's quite yummy Eden Eden Rain raghead at liripipe.com Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 23:49:38 -0400 From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] barley water recipe? To: jenne at fiedlerfamily.net, Cooks within the SCA Also sprach Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise: > I lost the handout that had a recipe for barley water on it. Should I > just make a tea of barley, do you think? Or toast the barley first? SWEET TISANE. Take water and boil it, then add for each sixth of a gallon of water one good bowl of barley, and it does not (or it does matter? - Trans.) if it still has its hulls, and get two parisis' worth of licorice, item, or figs, and boil it all until the barley bubbles; then let it be strained in two or three cloths, and put in each goblet a large amount of rock-sugar. This barley is good to feed to poultry to fatten them. -- Le Menagier de Paris, Hinson translation Seems to me this would have been a fever and sore throat remedy, both for its soothing, mucilaginous qualities, and, I suspect, cooling properties (although I haven't checked this last). I assume the reference to the barley is for the strained barley solids. Adamantius Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 10:09:08 -0400 From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old is barley water? To: Cooks within the SCA On May 17, 2007, at 8:05 AM, Volker Bach wrote: > I'm still wondering about drinks. I know there's beer > and wine, and grape must. I've given them vinegar > water before. Now I'm wondering whether barley water > makes sense. it sounds interesting and gets mentioned > quite a bit in 'period' contexts, but is it documentable? I'm almost positive there's a licorice-flavored barley-water for the sick in Le Menagier... Of course, there was the time we made a completely unfermented ale the morning of an East Kingdom Twelfth Night, and everyone wanted to know if the sweet iced tea we were serving was period... Adamantius Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 10:19:35 -0400 From: Johnna Holloway Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old is barley water? To: Cooks within the SCA That combination turns up in the 17th century in books on cures for the plague. And for his drink, the decocted water of barley, boyled with a little licorice is best, being mixed with the juice of a Lemon, Citron, Pomegranate, or Rybes: which the sick best liketh, for either of them is very good. And for his diet, he must refrain from all salt, fat, thick and sharp meats: and from all sweet things either in meat or drink, his meat must be of a facile and easie digestion, and that hath a cooling property in it, as broth wherein burrage, bugloss, sorrell, and such like are boyled, and for ordinary drink, small beer or ale is best. page 56 from A treatise concerning the plague and the pox by Edwards. 1652. Johnnae > On May 17, 2007, at 8:05 AM, Volker Bach wrote:snipped >> Now I'm wondering whether barley water >> makes sense. it sounds interesting and gets mentioned >> quite a bit in 'period' contexts, but is it documentable? > > I'm almost positive there's a licorice-flavored barley-water for the > sick in Le Menagier... > > Of course, there was the time we made a completely unfermented ale > the morning of an East Kingdom Twelfth Night, and everyone wanted to > know if the sweet iced tea we were serving was period... > > Adamantius Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 10:34:18 -0400 From: Johnna Holloway Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old is barley water? To: Cooks within the SCA Here's another recipe 86. To make BarleyWater, Take a penny-worth of Barley, a penny-worth of Raisins of the Sun, a penny-worth of Anniseeds, a half penny-worth of Liquorish, about two quarts of water, boil all together till half be consumed, then strain it, and when it is cold drink it, your Liquorish must be sliced into small pieces. The Accomplish'd lady's delight in preserving, physick, beautifying, and cookery. 1675 Johnnae Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 10:41:30 -0400 From: Johnna Holloway Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old is barley water? To: Cooks within the SCA I was going to do this soon anyway. I ran this through EEBO-TCP this am. Barley water as the search terms in a proximity search. Looking at the printed record, early on there are a number of references that read ?barley Brede / and Water.? There are early 16^th century medicinal or remedies that mention barley water, minus the bread. From The noble experyence of the vertuous handy warke of surgery by Brunschwig, Hieronymus, (ca. 1450-ca. 1512.) printed 1525. "his drynke shall be made with barleywater sodden with parseley ro+tes" Brunschwig, Hieronymus, (ca. 1450-ca. 1512.) is also credited with The vertuose boke of distyllacyon of the waters of all maner of herbes 1527 or1528 "Water of batley Ca .ci. ORdeum in latyn. The best tyme of his dystyllacyon is in the ende of the Maye A The water dystylled of the herbe barley is good to be put in the iyen against all euyll i?..for it clenseth them and ?. them." The 1534 edition The castel of helth gathered and made by Syr Thomas Elyot knyghte mentions it at least 3 times. Such as: "onely wasshe his mouthe, and his throote with barleywater, or small ale, or lye downe..." It?s in Alessio. 1558 The secretes of the reuerende Maister Alexis of Piemount "giue the pacient drinke of it, with a litle Barleywater," The 1560 Second part urges that ?To make wemens milke encrease.: TAke Fenell seede, and seeth it in barleywater, and giue the woman drinke of it, and her milke shall encrease abondantly.? This association of drinking barley water to make milk increase appears then quite frequently in most of the late 16th century and then into the 17th century medical texts. A WORLDE of Wordes, Or Most copious, and exact Dictionarie in Italian and English, collected by IOHN FLORIO. 1611 includes this definition: "Ptisana,? Ptisan or Tysan, that is to say barley husked and sodden in water , or barley water such as phisitions commonly giue to sicke folkes to drinke." There?re 7 mentions in the 1616 Maison rustique, or The countrey farme. There?re 9 mentions in the 1633 edition The herball or Generall historie of plantes. Gathered by Iohn Gerarde A number of references appear in The Queens closet opened from 1655 but again they are medicinal. Recipe wise there?s THE CLOSET Of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie K^t. OPENED 1669 where barley water starts showing up in recipes such as A Barley Sack Posset. Take half a pound or more of French-barley, (not Perle- barley ) and pour scalding water upon it, and wash it well therein, and strain it from the water , & put it into the Corner of a Linnen-cloth and tie it up fast there, and strike it a dozen or twenty blows against a firm table or block, to make it tender by such bruising it, as in the Countrey is used with wheat to make frumenty. Then put it into a la?ge skillet with three pints of good milk. Boil this till at least half be consumed, and that it become as thick as hasty pudding, which will require at least two hours; and it must be carefully stirred all the wh?le, least it burn too: which if by some little inadverrence it should do, and that some black burned substance sti?keth to the bottom of the skillet, pour all the good matter from it into a fresh skillet (or into a b?sin whiles you scoure this) and renew boiling till it be very thick; All which is to make the barley. It?s also mentioned in a cream, a pap, a nourishing broth, and to feed chickens. I?ve already posted The Accomplish'd lady's delight in preserving, physick, beautifying, and cookery?s recipe. Johnnae Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 12:54:13 -0400 From: silverr0se at aol.com Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old is barley water? To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org The 1st century C.E. doctor Galen, upon whose work much of medieveal medicine rests, was big on barley. IIRC he devoted an entire book to it. I can't recall off-hand if there is a barley water recipe, but I'll look it up when I get home. Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 13:01:58 -0400 From: Suey Subject: [Sca-cooks] How old is barley water? To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org Volker Bach asked the question. Barley water is called tisane (L. tisana or tisanam) in Apicius. His recipe sounds like a soup as he adds onion, herbs and probably parts of trotters. We know through Hartley that Scottish reapers drank barley water to prevent dehydration but this was replaced by salted oatmeal. The Spaniards call it tisana or ordinate. Although the dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy defines ordinate as a drink the recipes in Sent Sovi and Nola are thicker. In one of Sent Sovi's barley flour is boiled in chicken broth until it becomes a heavy cream and then mixed it with almond milk and sugar. The other calls for whole grain. Nola's recipes are similar. He uses ground barley and adds cinnamon as well as almond milk and sugar. In Spain barley water as a beverage or cream was very popular from the 14th to the 18th centuries not only for the sick but especially among peasants in rural areas where it was served very cold. Its popularity declined in the middle of the 18th century but it did not disappear entirely as it still can be found today. Certainly the Scots plain barley water sounds awful. Doctoring it up like the English, French or Spanish versions make it sound like a really novel non-alcoholic drink prefect for camp demos. Suey Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 10:19:23 -0700 From: Susan Fox Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old is barley water? To: Cooks within the SCA Suey wrote: > The Spaniards call it tisana or ordinate. Although the dictionary > of the Spanish Royal Academy defines ordinate as a drink the > recipes in Sent Sovi and Nola are thicker. In one of Sent Sovi's > barley flour is boiled in chicken broth until it becomes a heavy > cream and then mixed it with almond milk and sugar. The other calls > for whole grain. Nola's recipes are similar. He uses ground barley > and adds cinnamon as well as almond milk and sugar. Wow. The De Nola version sounds to me like a barley version of Horchata, available anywhere Mexican Food is sold. "The Rice Pudding Drink" ground rice and cinnamon and water, it quenches the fire of hot spicy food better than beer in my humble opinion. Selene Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 14:22:17 -0400 From: Suey Subject: [Sca-cooks] How old is barley water? To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org Selene wrote: > Wow. The De Nola version sounds to me like a barley version of > Horchata. There are Spanish references claiming barley water or whatever you call it comes from horchata. I avoided the subject today because it takes us back to chicken and egg debates. Who invented horchata? I have not gone back to the Greeks or Romans on this one. I am sure they had it too but my entry on Spain is: "Sp horchata, L. hordea-ta (made with barley) fr. hordeum (barley), Fr. arjai (fr. ord?, barley), Eng. orgeat, a cooling drink originally made with barley. Later nuts of various types were used. It was a common drink among Hispano-Arabs, especially in Cordoba by the 10^th C at least. In 15^th C. Castile, it was made from orange* *blossom water and barley, almonds or other nuts. Later, Valencians substituted barley for rice. It was not until the late 17^th C that the earthnut or chufa was used to make the orgeat that is famous in Valencia today." So there you have your horchata - at one point Conquistadores must have taken rice horchata to the New World while in Spain the vogue turned to the earthnut. It is fascinating to learn about so many Spanish recipes stemming from the Middle Ages or before that have been discontinued apparently in Spain but are old hat to you guys today. Suey Date: Thu, 17 May 2007 17:56:46 -0500 From: "Terry Decker" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old is barley water? To: "Cooks within the SCA" Barley water is documented in Anthimus (6th Century) as a drink for those ill with fever. As a drink, you may come across it referenced as orgeat and orgemonde, where it is mixed with anise, fruit or almonds. Bear Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 17:29:52 -0400 From: Suey Subject: [Sca-cooks] Horchata - Barley Water To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org Someone asked about horchata being barley water or something like that. The word horchata (orgeat in English), comes from the Latin: hordeata (made with barley) fr. hordeum (barley). Yes originally is was cooling drink made with barley. Later nuts of various types were used. It was a common drink among Hispano-Arabs, especially in Cordova by the 10th C at least. In 15th C. Castile, it was made from orange flower water and barley, almonds or other nuts. Later, Valencias substituted rice for barley. It was not until the late 17th C that the earthnut was used to make the orgeat that known there today. Suey Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 12:15:33 -0500 From: "Terry Decker" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Horchata - Barley Water To: "Cooks within the SCA" The earthnut mentioned in the quote is probably Arachis hypogaea, the peanut, rather than any members of the genera Apios, Vigna, Lathyrus, Conopodium, Bunium, or Tuber, that are also referred to as groundnuts or earthnuts. Bear Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 10:20:02 -0700 From: Lilinah Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Horchata - Barley Water To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote: > What I'm wondering is whether the earthnut referred to above is the > modern groundnut, or what Americans call peanuts... Nope, definitely not peanuts. It's a different critter. Apparently these can sometimes be found in Asian markets... I suspect that almonds replaced the pignuts/earthnuts. Here's what Epicurious says: [http://www.epicurious.com/cooking/how_to/food_dictionary/entry?id=1932] Earthnuts, see Chufa [http://www.epicurious.com/cooking/how_to/food_dictionary/entry?id=1932] Chufa; chufa nuts [CHOO-fuh] Actually the tiny, tuberous roots of an African plant of the sedge family, chufa "nuts" are immensely popular in Spain and Mexico, primarily as a base for the refreshing drink, HORCHATA. They have a brown, bumpy skin and a sweet, chestnutlike flavor. Dried chufas are available in bags in many Latin markets and health-food stores. Store them, tightly wrapped, in a cool, dark place for up to a year. Besides their use in horchatas, chufas make an excellent snack. They're also known as earth almonds, earthnuts and tiger nuts. Articles Archive.net says: [http://food.articlesarchive.net/earthnuts-or-pignuts-conopodium- majus.html] Earthnuts or Pignuts (Conopodium Majus) An edible tuber common in British woodlands. Although these tasty tubers are beloved of pigs (hence the name) they are a most unusual and rewarding woodland snack and there was a time when they were a popular nibble for country children on their way to and from school. The fern like leaves appear along with the Lesser Celandine in the spring. During May and July they develop umbellifer heads with white flowers not unlike Cow Parsley. According to Gerard and others the Dutch once ate them 'boiled and buttered, as we do parseneps and carrots'. Unearthing a pignut is a delicate operation. The root disconnects from the tuber very easily, which can be several inches from where the stem appears above ground. Follow the stem under the earth using careful scraping with a twig, fingernail or knife. Eventually you will reach the pignut, which is covered with a chestnut coloured skin. If you can wash the nut at this stage it avoids getting muddy fingernails while peeling. Scrape off the papery outer coating to reveal the Earthnut. The older name for Earthnuts is 'Earth Chestnuts' and this gives you a clue to their taste - a chestnut texture but with a more earthy taste. There's nothing like carefully digging one of these up during a walk in the woods. Do it with your fingernails. As the earthy taste hits the senses you are drawn more completely into contact with the nature around you. A true 'pomme de terre'. Gerard's Herbal mentions that 'There is a Plaister made of the seeds hereof, whereof to write in this place were impertinent to our historie'....Probably witches again! Earthnuts also get a mention in Shakespeare's 'Tempest', from Caliban as he promises: "I prithee, let me bring thee where crabs grow; And with my long nails I will dig thee pignuts". From: A FIRST WILD HERBAL by Simon Mitchell -- Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM) the persona formerly known as Anahita Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 13:23:05 -0400 From: Suey Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Horchata - Barley Water To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org Inadvertently I flipped some key and lost the last SCA message sent last night. I believe Lilinah was the one who asked to be provided with the ordeate recipes from from Sent Sovi. Unfortunately there is no complete translation of the manuscript to date in Castellan or English as far as I know but Antonio Gazquez Ortiz in La cocina en tiempos del Arcipreste de Hita does translate the third recipe into Castellan. His translation, pp 84 is: SE HABLA E COMO SE HACE AVENATE CON LECHE DE ALMENDRAS Si quieres hacer avenante con leche de almendras, se hace asi: primeramente toma leche de almendras y cuando hayas hecho la leche, toma avena bien limpia y hazla harina, y mezclaras con dicha leche, colocala en un pano claro y ponla a cocer como el ordiat. Espolvorear de azucar como el ordiat. Sent Sovi cap LXXXXVIIII Gazquez explains that ordeate is made with barley but when made with oatmeal it is called avenate (oatmeal). Nola copies this recipe in more detail, see Lady Brighid ni Chiarain's . "An English translation of Ruperto de Nola's "Libre del Coch." in Stefan's Florilegium Guisados1-art. No. 118. Oatmeal Gruel and Barley Gruel AVENATE Y ORDIATE http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MANUSCRIPTS/Guisados1- art.htm The other recipes Chapter LXXXXVII QUE PARLA CON SE FFA ORDIAT AB LET DE MELLE Ordeate with almond milk, Chapter LXXXVIII QUI PARLA CON SE FFA D'ALTRA MANERA D'ORDIAT AB LET DE AMELLES Another recipe for ordeate with almond milk and Proleg V No. 30 ORDIAT EN ALTRA MANERA - Another recipe for ordeate. Basically these three recipes are practically the same as the oatmeal recipe but call for pearl barley boiled in almond milk, mashed in a mortar and sieved. They are flavored with salt. Sugar or honey is optional. If you want the full recipes I can copy them in Old Catalan. Mind you my copy of the manuscript is edited by Rubert Grewe. He gives a total of 25 footnotes for the four recipes in modern Catalan. That would make a rather long email. Suey Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 02:57:20 -0500 From: "otsisto" Subject: [Sca-cooks] lemon barley water?. To: "Cooks within the SCA" http://www.florilegium.org/files/BEVERAGES/Orng-Lmn-drks-art.html Digby in 1675 includes a barley water flavored with the juice of an orange, but the recipe seems far more barley than orange in its flavors. It reads: A Cooling Drink in a Fever. Take a Gallon of Spring-water, five Spoonfuls of French Barley, half a pound of the best blue Currants, let it boil softly till a quart be consumed; then take two handfuls of Wood-Sorrel, as much of Roman Sorrel; bruise them well, and let them infuse one hour, then take it off and strain it through a Sieve; drink of this with the juice of an Orange, and a little fine Sugar. Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 08:06:15 -0400 From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] lemon barley water?. To: Cooks within the SCA On Sep 16, 2007, at 3:57 AM, otsisto wrote: > http://www.florilegium.org/files/BEVERAGES/Orng-Lmn-drks-art.html > Digby in 1675 includes a barley water flavored with the juice of an > orange, > but the recipe seems far more barley than orange in its flavors. It > reads: > > A Cooling Drink in a Fever. > > > Sieve; drink of this with the juice of an Orange, and a little fine > Sugar. The proportion of orange to barley may not be as low as it seems at first. Since you're drinking it with the juice of an orange, isn't it conceivable that means (suppose we plug in some made-up numbers for effect here) 1/3 cup Seville orange juice for eight ounces of barley- water and some sugar? Now, if Digby had said, "mix all this with the juice of an orange", that would be different -- you'd be drinking a miniscule portion of the juice of an orange in each cup, rather than the juice of an orange in each cup. Adamantius Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 10:10:29 -0400 From: Johnna Holloway Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] lemon barley water drink To: Cooks within the SCA It's quite common to have added additional flavorings to barley water- *86. To make BarleyWater*, Take a penny-worth of Barley, a penny-worth of Raisins of the Sun, a penny-worth of Anniseeds, a half penny-worth of Liquorish, about two quarts of water, boil all together till half be consumed, then strain it, and when it is cold drink it, your Liquorish must be sliced into small pieces. /The Accomplish'd Lady's Delight in Preserving, Physick, Beautifying, and Cookery./ 1675 Johnnae Stefan li Rous wrote: > Gunthar, so what was your documentation and recipe for this? Do you > actually have evidence for lemon being added to barley water? Or were > you just combining a period lemon and a period barley water drink? > We've discussed barley water before but this is the first I've heard > of additional flavorings. Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:37:34 -0400 From: Suey Subject: [Sca-cooks] Horchata -nutsedge To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org Devra wrote: > . . The groundnut may have been introduced into Europe as early as > 1597 and was reportedly an important forage food during the Civil War. > . . . another entry: > > Cyperus esculentus, also called nutsedge, earth almond, tiger nut, > chufa (Portuguese and Spanish) > > Nutsedge has a long history of cultivation beginning 4,000 years > ago in ancient Egypt. From there?it made its way throughout the > Middle East. In the Middle Ages, the Moors introduced nutsedge into > Spain.... The most famous preparation ...is the Spanish beverage? > horchata de chufa. It is made by soaking the crushed tubers in > water, straining out the solids, and adding cinnamon, sugar,? > vanilla, and crushed ice. In some areas people roast the tubers, > then grind them and use them as a caffeine-free coffee substitute.? > > So probably what we were talking about isn't the groundnut, but the > nutsedge... > > Devra the confused? Horchata - Barley Water message clarifies this but anyway horchata was a common drink among Hispano-Muslims, especially in Cordova by the 10^th C at least using the nutsedge, tiger nut or chufa nut (L. /Cyperus/ /esculentus/) which was the forerunner of the tiger nut milk or /horchata /drunk in Valencia today. In 15^th C. Castile, horchata was made from orange* *flower water and barley, almonds or other nuts while in England it became almond milk. Later, Valencians substituted barley with rice as it was more economical for them due to the large production in the area. It was not until the late 17^th C that they used nutsedge to make the horchata known today consisting of the juice from the macerated tubers, water, sugar and lemon peel and served cold especially in summer. Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2007 04:41:06 +0000 (GMT) From: emilio szabo Subject: [Sca-cooks] tisane To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org Johnnae, thank you! I am familiar with the OED quotations. As far as I can see, all of the earlier quotations in the OED mention varieties of the classical barley preparations called "ptisana" by the ancients (Hippocrates, Galen, Celsus, Alexander Trallianus, ...). This was not a herb infusion, but something ranging from a thick barley broth to a thin barley drink strained through a sieve, sometimes mixed with honey and other ingredients. > 1398 Trevisa /Barth. De P.R./ xvii. cxv. (Bodl. MS.), Of barlich > ischeled and isode in water is a medicinable drinke ymade ?at > phisicians clepen Thisan; Barley "isode in water". Not an herb infusion but the traditional barley ptisana. > C. 1400/Lanfranc's Cirurg./ 139 In ?e v; day he took ?ikke > tizanne [/v.r/. tysan]. (th)ikke indicates, that this quotation refers to a traditional barley ptisana variety as well. > C. 1440 /Promp. Parv./ 494/2 Tysane, drynke, /ptisana/ This one is hard to decide; the traditional barley water is certainly a kind of drink. There are late medieval and even early modern quotations from the OED still refering to a kind of barley water: "Ptisane is watir at barliche is soden yn."a1475 tr. Gilbertus Anglicus Pharmaceutical Writings (Wellcome) 108 Let him ete diapenidion with ptisane. (Ptisane is watir at barliche is soden yn.) ?1537 T. ELYOT Castell of Helthe II. xxi. 36 Ptysane..is none other than pure barley, brayed in a morter, and sodden in water. 1562 W. BULLEIN Bk. Simples f. 8v, in Bulwarke of Defence, And of cleane Barly and puer water, is made that excellente water called Ptisant. What I would like to see is a clear quotation for "tisane" or one of its spelling varieties used for a herb infusion, we would be prepared to call tea today. If "such a beasty was often called a tissane" in the Middle Ages, it should be easy to quote one of the instances. Emilio Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:54:09 -0600 From: Michael Gunter Subject: [Sca-cooks] Barley Water To: Cooks within the SCA > Your menu sounds so wonderful. Wish I could attend! Are you going to > make your own barley water? Do you have a recipe? > Phillipa I'll be having as much made from scratch as possible for this feast. Since the dishes aren't too fancy I want to make it up with having it all homemade and good tasting. We talked about Barley Water on the list some time back so you could check the Archives or Stefan's Florithingy. This is from the class notes on the Period Non-Alcoholic Drinks class I taught last Spring. Cariadoc has been given proper attribution to this in the notes as I used his recipe as the base: Barley Water 1/2 cup pearl barley water, to rinse barley 10 additional cups cold water 1 whole ripe lemon, to be juiced and the rind used 1/3 cup (approx) additional lemon juice (more on this later) 1/2 to 1 cup honey Rinse the pearl barley under running water. Scrub the lemon to make sure the rind is clean. Put the rinsed barley in a pan or pot, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, and let simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Put the simmered barley in another large pot and add the 10 cups cold water. Grate the rind from the lemon into the water, careful not to get any of the white pith. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover well, and let simmer on low for 60 minutes. Check it occasionally to make sure it's not boiling too hard - you don't want to lose too much liquid. Roll the lemon (now minus the rind), pressing it with your palm, on a countertop or cutting board to release the juices inside. Juice the lemon and add enough extra lemon juice to make at least 3/4 cup of juice. To the barley water in the large pot, add the lemon juice and sugar (or honey); stir until dissolved. Taste the liquid and add any additional lemon juice to your preference. Pour the barley water through a strainer into a pitcher, retaining the barley. I have found that if you bring the temperature down a bit then use a 2 liter soda bottle it works very well. You can enjoy the barley water as a hot drink like tea, pour over ice for a refreshing drink on a hot day, or chill in the refrigerator. The flavor is a lemony sweet/ sour and is very close to the Orange Barley Water I've bought commercially. I like it diluted with a bit of water and poured over ice but Elizabeth enjoys it full strength. Recipe makes approximately 2 liters of "Barley Soda." I love this stuff. But I'm working on a non-lemon version since we may also have the period lemonade as well. Gunthar Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 10:00:21 -0500 From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] barley water To: Cooks within the SCA On Nov 25, 2007, at 1:48 AM, Stefan li Rous wrote: > I have found barley water available in bags, similar to tea bags, at > an Asian grocery. But it is rather uncommon and it may take some > searching for. FWIW, I think what you're talking about may be a Korean product, which, yes, is for making an infusion of roasted barley, a sort of tea. However, I also think this is different from European barley water, which is basically water boiled with barley until it has taken on a starchy, slightly mucilaginous viscosity (then usually sweetened and flavored). Adamantius, in need of roasted bean infusions... Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:47:44 -0800 From: Susan Fox Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] barley water To: Cooks within the SCA Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote: > On Nov 25, 2007, at 1:48 AM, Stefan li Rous wrote: >> I have found barley water available in bags, similar to tea bags, at >> an Asian grocery. But it is rather uncommon and it may take some >> searching for. > > FWIW, I think what you're talking about may be a Korean product, > which, yes, is for making an infusion of roasted barley, a sort of > tea. I know it in the Japanese, "Mugi-Cha", roasted barley tea. It comes off like a coffee substitute, and if the flavor reminds you of Sanka, there's good reason isn't there? I know that the Koreans use it too but I couldn't read the Korean to be able to tell you their name for it. But as Master A points out, this is significantly different from western "barley water" due to the roasting of the barley. Selene Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:56:40 +0000 (GMT) From: emilio szabo Subject: [Sca-cooks] barley water To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org A while ago I was searching for material on tisane / ptisana. Among other things I found this old German article: http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/at/darmstaedter_1933_ptisana.pdf As far as I can see, this is about barley water. Emilio Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:06:48 -0600 From: "Terry Decker" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] barley water To: "Cooks within the SCA" Yes. According to Thomas Gloning, it is about barley, barley water, ptisana and the like in old medical texts. The citation information is: Ernst Darmstaedter: Ptisana. Ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis der antiken Diaetetik. In: Archeion 15 (1933) 181-201. Bear > A while ago I was searching for material on tisane / ptisana. Among > other things I found this old German article: > > http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/at/darmstaedter_1933_ptisana.pdf > > As far as I can see, this is about barley water. > > Emilio Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:29:41 -0500 From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] barley water To: Cooks within the SCA On Nov 26, 2007, at 11:16 PM, Heleen Greenwald wrote: > Thanks for the good explanation Master A! Can you explain to me > though, why people would want to drink "...basically water boiled > with barley until it has taken on a starchy, slightly mucilaginous > viscosity..." sounds.... uhm, like something that I have to drink as > a prep before a certain test that I have to take every year. to be delicate here.> Resemblance to various test prep beverages notwithstanding, it was considered in period to be nourishing for those with weak digestion, cooling for people with fevers, and it coated and soothed the throat for those with various ailments there. With rock sugar it could help as an expectorant for people with bronchitis, etc. As for the ever-popular mucilaginous viscosity, it must be borne in mind, in fairness, that this is in comparison to plain water. It's not sludge; when properly diluted it has a mouth feel somewhat like almond or dairy milk. > I've never tasted actual barley water myself, but I have seen/heard > it referred to in UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS as a drink for young women in > lieu of wine/fortified wine. Barley water seems to have been especially in vogue in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, at around the same time there was something of a peak in the use of malt in non-brewing applications. Either prevailing medical theory, some marketing thing, or both, probably. Adamantius Edited by Mark S. Harris barley-water-msg Page 20 of 20