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fd-Spain-msg – 11/22/18

 

Food of medieval Spain. References. Cookbooks.

 

NOTE: See also the files: cookbooks-msg, Spain-msg, cl-Spain-msg, cl-Moorish-msg, fd-Africa-msg, Guisados1-art, Guisados2-art, paella-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.

 

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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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From: Stephen Bloch <sbloch at adl15.adelphi.edu>

Date: Sat, 12 Apr 1997 08:47:55 -0400 (EDT)

Subject: sca-cooks Spanish recipes, custard

 

Tegan Rhos wrote:

> I will be the auto-crat (or whatever term you prefer) for an event in

> October and my head cook (or whatever) wanted me to ask if anyone had

> any period spanish recipes or could guide us to a source for them.

 

It may make a big difference whether you're talking about Spain pre- or

post-Reconquista. For the former, there are numerous medieval Arabic

cookbooks available in translation (reprinted in David Friedman's

_Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Cookbooks_), including one from

13th-century Andalusia.  For the latter, I have a couple of Catalan

sources, and I believe there are also some surviving Castilian sources.

Some examples from our recent largely-Catalan feast are at

http://www.adelphi.edu/~sbloch/sca/cooking/st.val.feast.html.

 

                                      mar-Joshua ibn-Eleazar ha-Shalib

                                                Stephen Bloch

                                          sbloch at panther.adelphi.edu

                                      http://www.adelphi.edu/~sbloch/

 

 

From: Aldyth at aol.com

Date: Sun, 13 Apr 1997 23:12:32 -0400 (EDT)

Subject: Re: sca-cooks spanish feast

 

<< I have an excellent Spanish cookbook.  The Food and Wines of Spain.  By

Penelope Casas, Illustrated by Oscar Ochoa   Published by Alfred Knopf  New

York 1982.  ISBN 0-394-51348-7.  I have had it for a while, but I did

purchase one last year for a friend.  Found it at Barnes and Noble.

  

This cookbook goes thru everything.  Had at least 3 different recipes for

flan.

  

Mistress Aldyth

Are they traditional recipes of modern Spain or a combination of old and

new?>>

 

I would say a combination.  However the bibliography includes a cookbook

written in 1525 by Ruperto de Nola, chef to King Ferdinand of the Kingdom of

Naples, Italy.  Much is made of the 700 year Moorish occupation and the

influence it had.  I found it interesting that there is even a "Medieval"

menu suggestion.  It starts with Castilian Garlic Soup, Marinated Trout,

Roast Castilian Lamb, Eggplant with cheese, and finishes with Tocino de Cielo

(flan) and flaming liqueur with apples.  I really find very little that is

not what I would consider "period".  But I have said that I prefer period

looking food before.....

 

Mistress Aldyth

 

 

From: Stephanie Rudin <rudin at master.ceat.okstate.edu>

Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 11:39:32 -0700

Subject: SC - Spanish cuisine

 

Recently I purchased a book which I have not had a lot of time to look

at yet.  It is "The Original Mediterranean Cuisine:  Medieval Recipes

for Today" by Barbara Santich (Wakefield Press in South Australia or

Chicago Review Press in Chicago).  What little I have read so far is

very interesting.  The recipes are divided by category, not by region,

but the Spanish ones are fairly easy to pick out.

 

Mercedes

 

 

From: nweders at mail.utexas.edu (ND Wederstrandt)

Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 10:11:33 -0600

Subject: SC - spanish cooking

 

I wandered over to the university library yesterday at lunch and found a

cookbook on medieval Catalonian  and Majorican cooking.  Wonderful pictures

of plateware and serving ware, illuminations from books and such.  The book

talks about food, some recipes and types of food searched.  The only

problem, (at least for me) is that it is in French.  I can read a little

French, and I read some Spanish so I can slowly plow through it but it

seems to be a fairly good book.  The name is La table medievale des

Catalans by Eliane Thibaut-Comelade, Les Presses du Languedoc, 1995,  LOC

numberis TX 723.5 S7 T47 if you can inter library loan.

I haven't had a chance to read much but there is an  great illumination of

a cinnamon seller with a big bag of cinnamon sticks.

 

Clare

 

 

Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 23:17:02 +0000

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: What They Ate (was Re: SC - Hedgehogs)

 

I went back to the "Arte Cisoria" to see what else the 15th century

Spanish deemed edible.  Here is the list, for those who are curious.

A few of the terms remain untranslated.  Words in [brackets] are my

comments/elaborations.

 

Of the birds: peacocks, pheasants, francolins; and of these there are

an abundance in Aragon; cranes, geese, bustards, ducks, moor-cocks,

partridges, linnets, doves, wild pigeons, turtledoves, quail, coots,

seagulls, throstles, thrushes, widgeons, swallows, roosters, capons,

pullets, hens, chickens, bitterns, lavancos [variety of wild duck],

anderomias [a gray-and-white variety of duck], herons, sparrows,

crested larks, and those which are similar to these in their flavors

and constitution. Of the four-footed animals: oxen, cows, wild oxen;

these are found in Granada: deer and fallow-deer, fawns, roe-deer,

gazelles; these are also found in Granada; hares, rabbits, mountain

goats; young hares, boars, suckling pigs, kids, sheep, ewes,

he-goats, jerboas; these are found in Mallorca; camels, otters,

hedgehogs, badgers, she-goats and those of this nature and those of

similar constitution. Of the fish: whales, red-mullet, solrayo [type

of ray], needlefish, pollack, conger-eel, moray eel, hake, turbot,

percebe [mollusk common on coast of Galicia], mosello, sole,

flounder, salmons, pike, gilt-head, eels, gudgeons, ralla [ray?],

cuttlefish, octopus, tunny, dolphins, shad, sea-bream, red sea-bream,

barbels, trout, ox-eye cackerels, sardines, lamprey, minnows,

torquellas [some kind of marine fish], lobsters, prawns, crawfish,

sabogas [species of shad], yellow mackerel, loaches, flying fish,

mullet, gatos [?] and those which closely resemble them; likewise the

shellfish; such as oysters, mussels, tellinas [a kind of mussel],

shrimp and the like.  Of the reptiles, snails and freshwater

tortoises and such. Of the fruits which are cut and peeled and

divided: melons, citrons, cucumbers, snake cucumbers, pomegranates,

figs, black figs, grapefruits, oranges, lemons, pears, lemons, apple

pears, quince pears, peaches, priscos [variety of peach], walnuts,

chestnuts, hazelnuts, acorns, pine nuts, pistachios, and those of

that class. Of the herbs: cardon artichokes, wild artichokes,

lechares [category of plants which exude sap or "milk"],

great-mullein, spear-plume thistle, carrots, lettuce, turnips,

onions, garlic, scallions, mallows, nettles, borage, asedias [? This

word appears above in the fish list as "flounder".  Scribal error?],

purslane, capers, cabbages, leaf-beets, parsley, annual clary sage,

celery, fennel, anise, caraway, mustard, cumin, rocket and those of

that quality.

 

Brighid, who will probably not be serving jerboa or badger at her

next feast

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain of Tethba

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

mka Robin Carroll-Mann *** harper  at  idt.net

 

 

Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 15:21:29 -0700 (PDT)

From: Sarah Elmore <psu08000 at odin.cc.pdx.edu>

Subject: RE: SC - Kasutera

 

>     Do we have any sort of information on the foods of Spain and

> Portugal from that time

 

For a Spanish cookbook look at:

 

Librode guisados,manjares y potajes intitulado Libro de cozina

By Ruperto de Nola (1529)

 

Sarah

St. Urban

 

 

Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 23:23:08 -0500

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Vinha d'ahos

 

And it came to pass on 30 Jan 99,, that Jan McEwen wrote:

> My lord, being of Portuguese descent, is wondering if vinha d'ahos is

> "period".  It is a dish of pork pickled in a vinegar-garlic brine. The

> pork is not cooked initially.  It is heated up before serving.

 

Something similar is period.  There are period Spanish recipes for

"Adobo" -- various meats cooked in a vinegar sauce.  The recipes I

have (in the "Libro de Guisados", 1529) are for liver and mutton.  No

garlic is mentioned as a seasoning -- the recipes call for cinnamon,

cloves, pepper, and "spices".  I also have a 1423 Spanish carving

manual (Arte Cisoria) which specifies that one of the common

ways to cook domestic pig is "en adobo".

 

There are also recipes for escabeche -- a pickled dish.  I have one

for rabbit and another for various fishes.  Again, there is no mention

of garlic, and the seasonings are such things as saffron, cinnamon,

cloves, and "fine spices".

 

Brighid

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 19:21:35 -0800

From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Vinha d'ahos

 

>We'd like to prepare this for the SCA, but we are clueless as to where to

>find Iberian/Portuguese period documentation. Can anyone point us to

>references?

 

There is a 13th c. Andalusian cookbook, translated from the Arabic by

Charles Perry, included in volume II of the collection of source material I

sell; eventually it will also be on my web site.

 

There is a 15th c. Portuguese cookbook, published as _Um Tratado da Cozinha

Portuguesa Do Seculo XV_, but no readily available English translation.

 

There are a number of Spanish cookbooks, but I don't think any have been

translated yet, although some may be in progress.

 

David/Cariadoc

http://www.best.com/~ddfr/

 

 

Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 22:30:00 -0500

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: SC - Resources on Period Spanish Cooking

 

I've had several queries recently about resources for medieval and

renaissance Spanish cooking.  Here are some of the books I've

been using.  Most of them were modern reprints obtained through

ILL. Most of them are in languages other than English.  This list

makes *no* pretense of being complete.

 

AUTHOR: Nola, Ruperto de, pseud.?

TITLE: Libro de guisados, edicion y estudio por Dionisio Perez

("Post-Thebussem")

PUBLISHED: Madrid [Compania ibero-americana de publicaciones]

1929.

DESCRIPTION: xlviii, 247 p., 1 l. illus., facsims. 22 cm.

SERIES: Los clasicos olvidados ... pub. bajo la direccion de Pedro

Sainz y Rodriguez ... vol. IX

NOTE: With facsimile reproductions of title-pages of editions of

Barcelona, 1520, and Logrono, 1529. "He preferido dar a conocer la

segunda edicion castellana hecha en Logrono en 1529, por Miguel

de Eguia, a expensas de Diego Perez Davila": p. [207] Half-title:

Como se servia de comer al rey Hernando de Napoles, por su

cocinero, Roberto de Nola, espanol.

LCCN NUMBER: 32-22348

 

This is the second edition of the _Libro de Guisados_ (whose first

edition was entitled _Libro de Cocina_).  It appears to have

borrowed heavily from two earlier Catalan cookbooks, the _Livre de

Sent Sovi_ and the _Libre de Coch_.  This particular reprint has

some very helpful endnotes.  There are 242 recipes, two thirds of

which are for meat-days, the remaining being fast-day recipes,

mostly for seafood.

 

AUTHOR: Granado, Diego, fl. 1599.

TITLE: Libro del arte de cocina, por Diego Granado (1599) ... con

una introduccion por Joaquin del Val.

PUBLISHED: Madrid, Sociedad de Bibliofilos Espanoles, 1971.

DESCRIPTION:xlvii, 432 p., 1 l. 25 cm.

SERIES: Sociedad de Bibliofilos Espanoles. [Publicaciones],

Tercera epoca, 8

NOTE: "325 ejemplares. No. 255".

LCCN NUMBER: 72-216379

 

The introduction to this book says that it contains recipes in the

Spanish, Italian and German styles.  It contains many of the

recipes from the _Libro de Guisados_, practically repeated

verbatim. It has several hundred recipes, including some for New

World creatures, and the Spanish is close to modern and fairly

easy to read.  No glossary or footnotes in this reprint.

 

AUTHOR: Villena, Enrique de Aragon, marques de, 1384-1434.

TITLE: Arte cisoria;

PUBLISHED: Barcelona, 1948.

LCCN NUMBER: 49-26974

 

A carving manual, but it contains more than just instructions for

cutting up dead animals.  There is a long chapter listing foodstuffs

eaten in Spain which require carving, and which includes fish,

birds, herbs, fruits, and vegetables.  Although there are no recipes,

per se, the author does comment on various methods of preparing

food. For example, he says that one cuts carrots in this way if

they are to be fried or pickled, but *this* way if they are to be

roasted in the ashes.  The Spanish here is noticeably more difficult

to read than in the 16th century works I am familiar with.  This

particular edition does include a glossary, which explains some of

the more archaic terms and odd spellings.

 

AUTHOR: Santich, Barbara.

TITLE: The original Mediterranean cuisine : medieval recipes for

today / Barbara Santich.

PUBLISHED: Chicago, Ill. : Chicago Review Press, c1995.

DESCRIPTION: ix, 178 p. : ill., map ; 21 cm.

ISBN NUMBER:155652272X

LCCN NUMBER: 97-162448

 

Original recipes and redactions, plus several nice chapters on

medieval cooking in the Mediterranean region.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 12:55:59 -0400

From: "Jules A. Hojnowski" <jah11 at cornell.edu>

Subject: SC - A Drizzel of Honey revisited!

 

      I was reading through my copy of the Spanish Jewish Cookbook and was absolutely amazed!  For those who have been cooking medieval feasts for a while, this I think is a must get!  For others who are getting started and are midway into medieval cooking, this is a fantastic book for explaining the "pre" recipe info.  They have in the first chapter about the foods they used and where they came from who might have used them to influence these people to use that kind of food, AND!  if it was upper or middle or lower class type of people who might have eaten this!  The recipes info has where and when it was gotten.

 

       I absolutely love it!  and will be doing a whole remove at our June

12th event this summer!  I can't wait to see how they turn out!  :-)

 

THL Catalina Alvarez

 

ps the other great thing about the book, is that it has unknowingly helped me

really hone in my persona!  I had no idea that I would find my name in this

book, and that one of the "relatives" of my name was a spice merchant!

It is very cool!  :-)))

 

 

Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 10:24:42 -0400

From: renfrow at skylands.net (Cindy Renfrow)

Subject: Re: SC - Medieval Portuguese cookbooks?

 

>Does anyone know if there are any extant medieval cookbooks from

>Portugal, or describing a Portuguese period culinary tradition?  Our

>shire is planning a Portuguese Explorer event (we're in Cape Town, it

>seemed appropriate) and I was wondering what kind of food would fit

>with the theme.

>Jehanne

 

Hello! All I have is:

 

"Um Tratado Da Cozinha Portuguesa Do Seculo XV"

(A Text on Portuguese Cooking from the Fifteenth Century)

Tr. by Jane L. Crowley from a modern Portuguese text by Professor Antonio

Gomes Filho. Copyright 1988 by Jane L. Crowley.

That's all the bibliographic info I have, but I think this probably was

printed by Cariadoc.  There are no Portuguese originals in the text.

 

Cindy Renfrow/Sincgiefu

renfrow at skylands.net

 

 

Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 16:04:28 -0500

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

Subject: RE: SC - Medieval Portuguese cookbooks?

 

This is the only immediately available reference I can find for Crowley's

text. You might check with the site's owner for further information.  Bear

 

http://lemur.cit.cornell.edu/~jules/medieval_info.html

 

> renfrow at skylands.net writes:

> << "Um Tratado Da Cozinha Portuguesa Do Seculo XV"

> (A Text on Portuguese Cooking from the Fifteenth Century)

> Tr. by Jane L. Crowley from a modern Portuguese text by Professor Antonio

> Gomes Filho. Copyright 1988 by Jane L. Crowley.

> That's all the bibliographic info I have, but I think this probably was

> printed by Cariadoc.  There are no Portuguese originals in the text.

> HTH, >>

> Would anyone who has this work or access to it please e-mail me privately? I

> have all of Cariadoc's works but it is definitely NOT in the  editions i

> currently have. :-(

> Ras

 

 

Date: Thu, 1 Jul 1999 07:38:04 -0500

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

Subject: RE: Private-Re: SC - Medieval Portuguese cookbooks?

 

> Look for the Spanish recipes. Spain and Portugal were part of the same

> kingdom during several centuries. Their kitchen (most influated by the

> arabs) are mingled. But the portuguise were the first nation in using

> spices they found in Madagascar and Macao. Their recipes about the dried

> fish named "cabelho" are also unique.

>

> Ana L. Valdés

 

Portugal became an independent kingdom in 1139, consolidated in 1294 with

the final defeat of the Moors on Portuguese territory.  Spain retook

Portugal in 1580 and lost it in a revolt in 1640.

 

IIRC, "Um Tratado Da Cozinha Portuguesa Do Seculo XV" was found in an

Italian library (the Vatican?) subtitled as a Spanish cookbook by one of the

librarians. This may be technically correct, as the publication seems to

fall in the period Spain held Portugal.

 

Portugal was the first European nation to make use of spices they imported.

The importation is the key point, because it reduced costs, located new

spices, and made more spices available to more people.

 

I've been slowly locating and collecting references to show that the

importation and use of eastern spices continued after the fall of Rome and

through the period prior to the Crusades and trying to determine what spice

was known when.

 

Bear

 

 

Date: Thu, 01 Jul 1999 16:23:37 +0200

From: Thomas Gloning <Thomas.Gloning at germanistik.uni-giessen.de>

Subject: SC - Medieval Portuguese cookbooks?

 

Hello Jessica/Jehanne,

 

"Foi serodia e escassa a producao de livros impressos portugueses de

cozinha" (The production of printed Portuguese cookbooks was late and

scarce). This is the first sentence in "Livros portugueses de cozinha",

a bibliography on portuguese cookbooks, published Lisbon 1988

[Biblioteca Nacional, Catálogo 29].

 

The only 15th/16th century text extant seems to be the cookbook in the

Codex I.E.33 of the National Library in Naples, a manuscript that seems

to have belonged to Infanta D. Maria of Portugal. This text has been

edited for several times:

 

- -- Manuppella, G. (ed.): Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria. Códice

português I.E.33. da Biblioteca Nacional de Nápoles. Prólogo, Leitura,

Notas aos textos, Glossário e Indices de G. Manuppella. Lissabon 1987.

 

- -- Newman, E.: A critical edition of an Early Portuguese cook book.

Diss. (Univ. of North Carolina) Chapel Hill 1964.

 

- -- Gomes Filho, Ant.: Um tratado da cozinha portuguesa do seculo XV.

Lissabon 1963 (Dicionario de la lingue portuguese, textos e vocabularios

2).

 

Manupella says, that the editions of Newman and Gomes Filho are not

without faults. There is also an important introduction to the

Manupella-edition, printed separately in 1986:

 

- -- Dias Arnaut, S.: A arte de comer em Portugal na Idade Média.

(Introduçao a O »Livro de Cozinha« da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal.)

Lissabon 1986.

 

Here are two more titles relating to ancient Portuguese cookery:

- -- Leimgruber, V.: Katalanisch »codonyat«, portugiesisch »marmelada«.

Ihr Schicksal nach den Kochbüchern des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts. In:

Estudis Romànics XIII/2 (Barcelona 1963-68) 75-94.

- -- Rodrigues, D.: Arte de Cozinha (Lissabon 1732). Leitura,

apresentaçao, notas e glossário por M. da Graça Pericao e M.I. Faria.

Lissabon 1987.

 

And here are some texts relating to travel and "descobrimento":

- -- Machado, J.P./ Campos, V.: Vasco da Gama e a sua viagem de

descobrimento. Com a ediçao crítica e leitura actualizada do relato

anónimo da viagem. Lissabon 1969.

- -- Pereira, F.M.E. (Hg.): Marco Paulo. O livro de Marco Paulo - O livro

de Nicolao Veneto - Carta de Jeronimo de Santo Estevam. Conforme a

impressao de Valentim Fernandes, feita em Lisboa em 1502; com tres

fac-similes, introduçao e indices. Lissabon 1922.

- -- Portugal - Brazil. The age of atlantic discoveries. Essays by L. de

Albuquerque, C.R. Boxer, F. Leite de Faria, M.J. Guedes, F.M. Rogers,

W.E. Washburn. Ed. by M.J. Guedes and G. Lombardi. Lissabon/ Mailand/

New York 1990.

- -- Vasco da Gama. Diário de viagem de Vasco da Gama. Band 1: Einleitung

(D. Peres), Faksimile der Handschrift, Transkription (A. Baiao & A. de

Magalhaes Basto) und modernisierte Umschrift (A. de M. Basto). Band 2:

Studien (G. Coutinho; F. Hümmerich). Porto 1945.

- -- Erhard, A./ Ramminger, E.: Die Meerfahrt. Balthasar Springers Reise

zur Pfefferküste. Mit einem Faksimile des Buches von 1509. Innsbruck

1998.

 

Balthasar Springer sailed with a portuguese crew from Lisbon to Cochin

and Calicut and came by the Cape of good hope twice. E.g., he mentions

that they landed at the Algoa Bay and that they bought oxen, cows and

sheep from the people there ("da funden wir wassers genuog Ochssen Kuw

vnd Schaf/ vnd verkaufften vns die Moren genuog vmb ein wenig alts

eysens: vnd wolten sunst anders nicht haben/ wir speissten vnser Schife

do mit groser meng fleisch vnd wassers".]

 

Thomas

 

 

Date: Thu, 1 Jul 1999 11:01:27 -0500

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

Subject: RE: SC - Medieval Portuguese cookbooks?

 

> <sigh> Why are the BEST scholarly works never translated in to English?

> :-(

> Ras

 

Economics. Translating and publishing scholarly works is normally not very

profitable, so only internationally reknowned scholars and works which can

sold in the popular market get translated.  The BEST works may get

translated and published, right beside the WORST works.  What does not get

published is the competent and thorough research of limited scope.

 

In addition, scholars are expected to be multi-lingual.  Most have several

languages and often scholarly needs are met by a translation of an original

work into a language other than English.

 

BTW, the two pages with Portuguese recipes on that site are:

 

http://lemur.cit.cornell.edu/~jules/mixedeggs.html

 

http://lemur.cit.cornell.edu/~jules/pumpkin.html

 

Bear

 

 

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 01:06:34 -0400

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: Oranges and Translations (was Re: SC - Tuna Recipe?)

 

And it came to pass on 11 Jul 99,, that david friedman wrote:

> >TOÑINA EN PARRILLAS -- Tuna on the Grill

> >Source: Libro de Guisados (Spanish, 1529)

> >Translation: mine

> >

> >Take from the tuna from the forward part of the belly, well cleaned; and

> >anoint it with oil, and also anoint the grill and set it to roast over a

> >few coals; and anoint them little by little with oil and afterwards make

> >your sauce with water and salt and oil, and orange juice ...

> This raises two questions:

> 1. By 1529, I'm pretty sure the sweet orange had gotten to the Iberian

> peninsula. Do the recipes make any distinction between the old sour orange

> and the more recent sweet orange?

 

All of the recipes that I have seen appear to use sour oranges only.  The

references are to oranges (naranjas) and orange juice (jugo de naranja)

without any kind of modifying adjective.  This applies not only to the

1529 _Libro de Guisados_, but also to the 1599 _Arte Del Cozina_,

although I have not read the latter as carefully, since it is a much longer

work, and is not my main focus.  In many recipes in both sources,

orange juice is suggested as an alternative to other souring agents such

as verjuice, vinegar, and lemon juice.

 

> 2. When are you planning to publish and/or web your translation of the

> Libro de Guisados so that the rest of us can get our hands on it?

 

Well, first I need to actually *finish* the translation.  Then I must give it a

decent polishing.  Some of the recipes I have sent to this list are quick-

and-dirty translations that I've done on the spur of the moment --

accurate enough to redact from, but not carefully worded as I would like

a final draft to be.

 

> If you don't want to publish it, I will be happy to include it in my collection.

 

I would be greatly honored.

 

> David/Cariadoc

> http://www.best.com/~ddfr/

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 11:01:10 +0200

From: "ana l. valdes" <agora at algonet.se>

Subject: SC - portuguis period food

 

Hi, I wanted to answer the people who asked me about monastic food and

Portugis middleage food.

Here is two recipes from the cookbook written for the princess Maria,

who married Alessandro Farnese, the Rennaisance prince.

The book is little, only 67 recipes. The critics says it was written

between the end of the 15 century and the beginning of the 16 century,

since some recipes assume the New World was already discovered and the

Portuguis started to eat things they found in Brazil.

Funny enough, in this book its impossible to find any recipe for

Bacalhau, the fishdish which was as important for Portugal since the 13

century. Maybe the cookbook was used only in the Court and the

"upperclass" considered bacalhau-dishes too proletarians.

This book was founded 1896, in the National Library in Neapel.

 

Alfatete

 

Take well pure flour and make sure it is white. Make a hole on it and

add sugar, two eggyolks and butter. Mix all well. Leave the dough on a

bowl. Make doughballs and fry them in butter.

 

Boil a hen and use pepper and spices, use butter and lard with spices

and goatmeat and broth. When the hen is cooked, lay over the fried

doughballs in a serving tray and powder with sugar. Put the hen over the

sugarpowdered doughballs, add the broth and some runny eggyolks. Powder

with sugar and cinammon.

 

Goatliverterrine

 

Boil the liver of a goat and grate it well. Grate several eggyolks too.

Add clove, cinammon and sugar, plus some flour. Take the stomach of the

get and cut it it in small pieces. Lay the mixture with the get liver

inside the pieces of stomac and fry it and make them as rolls or buns or

cakes. (I am not sure of the translation).

Powder the buns with flour and fry it in a pan. Powder with sugar and

cinammon.

 

Yours

Ana

 

 

Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 14:59:52 PDT

From: "Bonne of Traquair" <oftraquair at hotmail.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Medieval Portuguese cookbooks?

 

>From: Thomas Gloning <Thomas.Gloning at germanistik.uni-giessen.de>

>Subject: SC - Medieval Portuguese cookbooks?

>Date: Thu, 01 Jul 1999 16:23:37 +0200

>Hello Jessica/Jehanne,

>"Foi serodia e escassa a producao de livros impressos portugueses de

>cozinha" (The production of printed Portuguese cookbooks was late and

>scarce). This is the first sentence in "Livros portugueses de cozinha",

>a bibliography on portuguese cookbooks, published Lisbon 1988

>[Biblioteca Nacional, Catálogo 29].

>The only 15th/16th century text extant seems to be the cookbook in the

>Codex I.E.33 of the National Library in Naples, a manuscript that seems

>to have belonged to Infanta D. Maria of Portugal. This text has been

>edited for several times:

>-- Newman, E.: A critical edition of an Early Portuguese cook book.

>Diss. (Univ. of North Carolina) Chapel Hill 1964.

 

At last, I made it down to Davis Library here at UNC and reviewed the copy

of this dissertation in the microforms section.  The original seems to have

disappeared. I haven't had much time to go over it, but here are the basics

of what is contained in the dissertation.

 

- -Introduction describing the manuscript in Naples and quotations (in

Portuguese and Spanish) of earlier references to it. It is mostly in one

hand, with additions and notations in three other hands, one completely

illegible. There are large numbers of pages missing, 24 recipes in the

remaining pages.

 

- -definition of abbreviations apppearing in the manuscript.

 

- -comparison with the recipes in "Two 15th Century Cookbooks", (Thomas

Austin, 1888) and "The Goodman of Paris",(Eileen Edna Power, 1928)

(Conclusion, not too similar or repetitive, the Portuguese ate differently

than the English and French of the middle ages.) (but then again, there's

all those missing pages to consider--Bonne)

 

- -ennumeration of the sorts of dishes ("...partidges are used twice, young

cocks twice and doves once.")

 

- -discussion/definition of ingredients.

 

- -discussesion/definition of utensils.

 

- -discussesion/definition of measurements.

 

- -index of the recipes which begins with a translation of the title and list

of ingredients, but along the way she begins adding more and more bits of

description, nearly giving instructions for the last few.

 

- -discussion of the text from a linguistic standpoint: Description of

editorial liscense she has used in her transcribing.

 

- -Transcribed but not translated recipes.

 

- -More linguistic discussion (the dissertation was for a Ph.D. in Romance

Languages)

 

- -Glossary

 

- -Bibliography.

 

I printed out everything except the linguistic discussion and transcribed

recipes, this made up about half the pages of the dissertation.  I'l be

reading it over and posting more if it seems useful. I'll probably go back

and get the recipes and all anyway, with her description and a good

portugues/english dictionary, even I might be able to come up with  passable

translation of some of the recipes.

 

I can fax these 50 or so pages if anyone wants to see them.  I am

considering scanning and posting, but am not sure about UNC's views on

copyright for this.  I'll check.  (in the meantime, let's not open THAT

discussion here and now!)

 

Bonne de Traquair

 

 

Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 18:03:42 -0700 (PDT)

From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Medieval Portuguese cookbooks?

 

This dissertation appears to be available from

University Microfilms, so you might have to ask

them about copyright instead of UNC.

 

This dissertation is also in the UC Berkeley library,

UC Santa Barbara library and SUNY Binghamton library.

 

Huette

 

 

Date: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 12:15:32 +0200

From: Thomas Gloning <Thomas.Gloning at germanistik.uni-giessen.de>

Subject: Re: SC - Medieval Portuguese cookbooks?

 

Bonne,

 

If you have access to the newer edition of Manuppella, perhaps it would

be good to compare also this edition.

 

"Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria. Códice Portugue^s I.E. 33. da

Biblioteca Nacional de Nápoles. Prólogo, Leitura, Notas aos textos,

Glosssário e Índices de Giacinto Manuppella. Lisbon: Imprensa

Nacional-Casa da Moeda 1987."

 

It has a diplomatic text and a more normalized version that is more

easily legible. In addition, there is a copious index of words, that

might be helpful for the more troublesome passages. Manuppella seems not

to be content with the achievments of his predecessors (Gomes Filho:

"na~o impecavel" something like 'not without faults'; Elizabeth Newman:

"nem mais feliz" 'not more successful (than Gomes Filho)').

 

But that's normal that editors complain about their predecessors:

otherwise there would be no reason to do a new edition.

 

Best wishes for your enterprise,

Thomas

 

 

Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1999 23:16:22 -0400

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Early Spanish Feast

 

And it came to pass on 13 Sep 99,, that Micaylah wrote:

> I am helping do a Feast here in Ealdormere (NO I am not heading it

> up!!) with the theme being early Spanish. I have absolutely no

> knowledge of this time frame, nor geography.

> What I would like to do is open the floor for discussion with an eye

> to educate on this era. Is there suitable documentation that I can

> refer to? Is there anyone out there that can wax eloquent on this? If so,

> PLEASE feel free to. I know Dame Siglinde has been in touch with Cariadoc

> but as yet I have not been able to compare notes with her.

 

His Grace is probably one of the best people to consult.  Unfortunately,

there are no surviving Spanish cookbooks -- Muslim or Christian -- from

the very early period you are concentrating on.  The Baghdad Cookery-

Book and the Al-Andalus cookbook are both 13th century Muslim.  The

_Libre de sent sovi_ is 14th century Catalan Christian, and there are

several later period cookbooks which derive from it.  If you can, I'd

advise getting hold of a copy of _A Drizzle of Honey_, which attempts to

reconstruct the cuisine of 15th century crypto-Jews.  It gives a fair

amount of background detail on Spanish cuisine, and has a very lengthy

bibliography. (Many of the items listed are in Spanish).  Good luck with

your project.  It sounds like an intriguing event.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1999 21:38:28 -0500

From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Early Spanish Feast

 

At 11:16 PM -0400 9/13/99, Robin Carroll-Mann wrote:

>Unfortunately,

>there are no surviving Spanish cookbooks -- Muslim or Christian -- from

>the very early period you are concentrating on.

 

There is a surviving Muslim (not Spanish) collection part of which is

probably that early, but aside from a few recipes it hasn't been

translated. But lots of 13th c. Andalusian recipes.

 

David/Cariadoc

http://www.best.com/~ddfr/

 

 

Date: Tue, 14 Sep 1999 07:13:46 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Early Spanish Feast

 

Robin Carroll-Mann wrote:

> And it came to pass on 13 Sep 99,, that Micaylah wrote:

> > I am helping do a Feast here in Ealdormere (NO I am not heading it

> > up!!) with the theme being early Spanish. I have absolutely no

> > knowledge of this time frame, nor geography.

 

> His Grace is probably one of the best people to consult.  Unfortunately,

> there are no surviving Spanish cookbooks -- Muslim or Christian -- from

> the very early period you are concentrating on.  The Baghdad Cookery-

> Book and the Al-Andalus cookbook are both 13th century Muslim.  The

> _Libre de sent sovi_ is 14th century Catalan Christian, and there are

> several later period cookbooks which derive from it.  If you can, I'd

> advise getting hold of a copy of _A Drizzle of Honey_, which attempts to

> reconstruct the cuisine of 15th century crypto-Jews.  It gives a fair

> amount of background detail on Spanish cuisine, and has a very lengthy

> bibliography.  (Many of the items listed are in Spanish).  Good luck with

> your project.  It sounds like an intriguing event.

 

According to a short article in "Du manuscrit a la table", one of

Rudolph Grewe's last projects before his untimely death was to be

published as "The Almohade Cookbook", which was to be a translation of

an early Hispano-Arabic cookery text of a couple of hundred recipes.

 

What distinguished this work and particularly excited me was that Grewe

seemed to feel that this source A) was the first, and according to

implication, only, to detail a cuisine demonstrably Spanish by

geographical definition rather than simply Arabic food cooked in Spain

[i.e. olive oil, not sesame oil or butter, for the most part, etc.] and

B) shows traces of a Spanish cuisine from before the Islamic conquest of

a good chunk of Spain.

 

Unfortunately, Grewe died around the time of the planned publication;

it's unclear whether the piece was ever finished. It does not appear to

have been published by the forecasted publisher at the time mentioned by

Grewe in his article. As of now, I've been unable to track any of the

translation down except for the tiniest glimpse Grewe includes in his

piece for "Du manuscrit a la table".

 

<sigh>

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Fri, 1 Oct 1999 00:30:48 -0400

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: SC - gazpacho and Rome

 

And it came to pass on 30 Sep 99,, that LrdRas at aol.com wrote:

> nannar at isholf.is writes:

> << heche de diferentes hierbas ó legumbres >>

> 'made from different herbs and legumes.' Does legumes refer more correctly

> to favas and garbanzos? Or more generally to things that grow on vines?

> Ras

 

In modern Spanish "legumbres" can mean either legumes or vegetables

in general.  The phrase above, incidently, is "made from different herbs

OR vegetables".  The early 18th century dictionary gives the following

definition:

 

"Nombre que comprehendre todo genero de frutos o semillas que se

crian en vainas: como la Judia, el garbanzo, el haba, y otras

semejantes. Algunos le extienden a significar algunas hortalizas.  Es

del Latino 'Legumen'."

 

My translation: "Name which includes the whole genus of fruits or seeds

which grow on vines: like the kidney-bean, the chick pea, the broad

bean, and other similar ones.  Some extend it to mean some

vegetables. It is from the Latin 'Legumen'."

 

So it looks like the term was used primarily to mean legumes -- beans

and their kindred -- in period.  Granado (1599) uses the term in several

recipes. In each of them, it seems to mean legumes.  For example:

"Para hazer torta de bisaltos secos, y otras legumbres" -- "To make a

torte of dried peas and other legumes".  The alternate ingredients are

chick peas, kidney beans, lentils, and broad beans.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Fri, 1 Oct 1999 00:30:48 -0400

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: SC - Fideos (Spanish noodles)

 

Para hazer macarrones, vulgarmente llamados fideos -- To make

macaroni, vulgarly called "fideos"

Source: Granado, 1599

Translation: Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann)

 

Take two pounds of flour, and one pound of grated white bread passed

through the colander, and knead it with fat broth that is boiling, or with

water, adding four beaten egg yolks to mix with the dough, and when

the dough is made, in such a manner that it is not very hard, nor too

soft, but that it has its perfection, and sprinkle both [sides of] the

cheese grater with the best of the flour, and put the paste upon the

grater, and make the fideos, and not having a grater make them upon a

board, drawing the fideos [the length of] three fingers thinly, and put the

least flour that you can, so that they remain more tender, and have a

care that you do not feed it again, in such a manner that it becomes too

soft or liquid, and when they are made let them rest a little while, and

then make them cook in fat broth that boils, or in water in a wide vessel,

and when they are cooked, fit them on plates with grated cheese, and

with fresh buffalo cheese (which in Italy is called probatura) which is not

very salty, also grated, and with sugar, and cinnamon, and morsels of

fresh cow's butter upon the plates, in turn, the one and the other, and let

it baste on the plate over the hot ashes.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 20:20:22 -0500

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: SC - Rosquillas (Recipe)

 

I've been doing some more baking.  Below is a period Spanish recipe

(and my redaction) for rosquillas.  The name means "little rings".

Modern rosquillas are generally leavened with baking powder, fried, and

glazed. (I understand that in the Spanish-language version of "The

Simpsons", Homer's constant cry is, "Oooh.... rosquillas!").  Period

rosquillas are sweet egg-leavened rings, which are boiled, then baked.

One of my friends commented, "I like them, but they're confusing.  They

look like bagels and taste like biscotti!"

 

Source: Diego Granado, _Libro del Arte de Cozina_, Spanish, 1599

Translation and redaction: Lady Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann)

 

PARA HAZER ROSQUILLAS -- To make rosquillas (little rings)

 

For forty egg yolks, a pound of ground sugar, and as much white wine

as will fit in the shell of an egg, and a little anise, and a little cinnamon,

and a little cow’s butter, and a little orange flower water. Knead

everything with fine flour, and cast in what should be necessary to

conform to the quantity of eggs.  Knead with a light hand, so that you

do not break the dough, which should not be very hard, nor very soft, but

well pummelled, and being good, make the rosquillas the size that you

wish. Have on the fire a kettle of water, and when it begins to boil, cast

the rosquillas within, in such a manner that they do not go one on top of

another, and cast them in until they ascend.  Upon ascending they are

cooked. Put them in some kneading troughs, and being cooled, remove

them and send them to the oven to cook, which should be quite

temperate.

 

Rosquillas

 

20 egg yolks (medium or large)

1/2 pound sugar (1-1/4 cups)

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon white wine

2 tablespoons orange-flower water

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground anise

5 to 5-1/4 cups all purpose flour

 

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Fill a large, wide pot with water, at least 4-5

inches deep, and bring it to a boil.  Adjust the heat so the water is at a

constant simmer.

 

Beat the egg yolks lightly in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer equipped

with a dough hook.  Stir in the sugar, butter, wine, orange-flower water,

and the spices.  Add 3 cups of the flour and mix well.  Gradually add

flour, kneading continually, until you have a dough of medium firmness.

It will be sticky, and it will *not* form a ball on the dough-hook or clean

the sides of the bowl.  It will more closely resemble a sugar-cookie

dough than a bread dough.  Add just enough flour to make a dough that

can be handled and shaped.  Knead well, about 8-10 minutes.  The

dough will be fairly smooth.

 

Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a flat surface.  Cover with a damp

cloth so it does not dry out.  Roll a piece of dough into a ball about 1-

1/2 inches in diameter.  Flatten the ball slightly, and with your thumb

and forefinger, pinch a hole in the center of the disc.  Enlarge the hole

and shape the dough until you have a doughnut-like ring, about 2-1/2

inches in diameter and 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick.

 

When you have shaped several rosquillas, drop them, one at a time,

into the simmering water.  (You did get the pot of water ready, didn't

you?) They will sink like stones to the bottom of the pot.  Watch out for

scalding-hot splashes, and make sure that the rosquillas do not settle

on top of each other.  They will begin to expand slightly, and to become

whiter and wrinkled.  In about 4-5 minutes, the rosquillas will suddenly

float to the surface of the water.  As each one rises, remove it gently

with a slotted spoon or a skimmer, and place on a rack to cook and dry.

Continue shaping and simmering rosquillas until all the dough is used

up.

 

When the rosquillas are cool to the touch, place them on an ungreased

cookie sheet, and bake 20-25 minutes at 350 F until lightly browned.

Cool on racks.  Makes about 2-1/2 dozen.

 

Notes:

 

My redaction is half of the original recipe, as it makes a quantity that is

convenient for a home kitchen.  A quarter-recipe also works well.  I

made two test batches using my KitchenAid mixer.  One batch, which I

hand-kneaded for 10 minutes, did not turn out well.  They took twice as

long to rise in the water, and then they drifted up languidly.  After

baking, they were unpleasantly dense.  A long period of hand-kneading

would probably solve that problem.

 

I decided to conduct an egg size experiment.  After separating out the

yolks from 10 medium eggs, I weighed them.  The yolks varied in size,

but the total came to 165 grams (5-3/4 oz.) in weight.  I then started

weighing the yolks of large eggs, on the assumption that I would need

fewer of them.  These also varied in size, but 10 large yolks came to

166 grams.  I do not know how the yolks from larger or smaller eggs

would compare.

 

The anise and cinnamon flavors blended subtlely and pleasantly.  Even

my anise-hating husband pronounced the rosquillas acceptable.  I could

not detect the flavor of the orange-flower water, even when I increased

the quantity to 2 tablespoons.  I suspect it could be omitted if

unavailable, without much noticeable change.

 

The rosquillas are good for dipping in tea or coffee.  They would probably

keep for at least several days in an air-tight container.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2000 01:19:22 +0100

From: Thomas Gloning <Thomas.Gloning at germanistik.uni-giessen.de>

Subject: SC - Olla podrida -- A 13th century Hispano-Arabic version?

 

Rudolf Grewe in his 'Hispano-Arabic cuisine' mentions a 12th/13th

century (forerunner of) olla podrida:

 

"The sinhaji dish. For this, all kinds of meat -- beef, mutton, chicken,

partridges, etc. -- along with chick-peas and whatever vegetables are

available in the season, are boiled in a very large pot. Sausages and

meatballs are considered indispensable ingredients. This dish is a clear

example, and probably the first documented one, of the olla podrida,

Spain's national dish during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In

our text, this dish bears the name of one of the most famous Berber

tribes, the Sinhaja, and was probably named in its honor." (p. 145f.).

 

Looking for the recipe, the situation becomes somewhat complicated. Up

to now, the recipe is published only in an edition of the Arabic text

and a Spanish translation by Ambrosio Huici Miranda. Grewe had much to

critizise about the Huici Miranda edition:

 

"Huici did not realize that some of the folios had been misplaced when

the manuscript was bound (...). Thus, many recipes are truncated and

improperly connected (...) the order of the recipes in his edition seems

completely haphazard and arbitrary. In addition, his edition lacks any

notes that would clarify the specialized vocabulary (...) due to his

incomprehension of the vocabulary and subject matter, many of Huici's

readings or the manuscript are wrong (...)" (p. 141).

 

On the other hand, Grewe died, before he could finish his own edition of

the text. Thus, we must use the Huici Miranda edition and translation,

but we must use it with care.

 

Another point is that the manuscript of the Almohade cookbook is much

younger than the text itself. The manuscript was completed in 1604, but

the text seems to be from the early 13th century (around 1200 or

somewhat earlier or later). Huici Miranda says that certain clues:

Ñprueba que la obra se redactÛ en el primer tercio del siglo XIIIì (p.

12; ëcertain clues prove that the work was compiled in the first third

of the 13th centuryí). Grewe says: ÑThe text can be dated to the end of

the twelfth or the beginning of thirteenth century by the historical

references it containsì (p. 142).

 

In the Huici Miranda Spanish translation (1966) of his Arabic edition,

there are two sinhayi-recipes, one for noblemen, one for the common

people. Here is Huiciís Spanish translation of the recipe for noblemen:

 

ÑReceta del ´Sinhayiª regio

Se toma una sartÈn grande y honda y se coloca en ella carne

roja de vaca, cortada sin grasa, de su pierna, de su paletilla

y de su cadera y se le aÒade aceite en mucha cantidad, vinagre

y un poco de almorÌ macerado, pimienta, azafr·n, comino y ajo;

se cuece a medias y luego se le aÒade carne de oveja, la m·s

roja tambiÈn; se cuece y se le aÒade a esto gallina limpia y en

pedazos, perdiz, pichÛn o paloma torcaz y p·jaros, longanizas

y albÛndigas; se espolvorea con almendras molidas y se regula

con sal. Se cubre con mucho aceite, se mete en el horno y se

deja en Èl hasta que se cuece y entonces se saca. Este es el verdadero

sinhayi, que usan los notables; en cuanto al sinhayi de

la plebe, se expondr· en su lugar, si Dios quiere.ì (p. 19).

 

The Spanish translation of the recipe for common people goes like this:

 

ÑEl ´Sinhayiª

Se toma una marmita grande y honda, se le pone tres partes

de vinagre fresco y una parte de almorÌ macerado y de pimienta,

cilantro, comino y azafr·n la cantidad necesaria; se pone

a un fuego de carbÛn moderado y se le prepara antes lo que se

necesite preparar, como la carne de vacuno cortada en pedazos

menudos, y cuando ha hervido una o dos veces, se le pone la

misma cantidad de carne de oveja; luego de gallinas cortadas,

de perdices cortadas y de pichones de paloma y de tÛrtolas cortadas

del mismo modo y lo que se pueda de aves y se le agrega

garbanzos [p.150] remojados y pelados, almendras peladas

y cortadas y castaÒas peladas de su corteza, ajo y zumo de

cidra; se cubre con mucho aceite y cuando est· casi en sazÛn,

se le aÒade lo que se tenga de verduras cocidas hasta el extremo

[184] y se termina su cocciÛn como con nabos, zanahorias, berenjenas,

calabazas, tallos de apio sin hojas y cabezas de lechuga

sin hojas; se toma lo que se presente de estas verduras, seg?n

la estaciÛn y el tiempo actual; se cuecen en una olla aparte con

sal, con sus especias y su cebolla hasta que estÈn a punto; se les

quita su agua y luego se aÒaden a las carnes citadas en dicha

sartÈn y es preciso que tenga albÛndigas y mirkas hechos con

estas mezclas solamente, y lo que no sea eso es superfluo y mezcla

no buena. Lo propio de este plato es ser bueno para toda

edad y todo temperamento, por lo que re?ne de todas las carnes

y clases de verduras y por lo que entra en Èl de vinagre y

de almorÌ macerado, de especias y dem·s.ì (183f.).

 

In respect to this second version, it is interesting to see, that there

is one big pot, several meat elements, vinegar, spices, and several

vegetables (!) to be used, according to the region and the season.

 

The distinction between a recipe for "los notables" (the noblemen) and

another one for "la plebe" (the common people) is noteworthy too: the

version for the Ñnotablesì is mentioned as the real thing (Ñel verdadero

sinhayiì).

 

Again: the situation is complicated: there is a manuscript in poor

physical condition (Grewe) from 1604, that contains an Arabic text

probably from the early 13th century; then, there is (according to

Grewe) an insufficient Arabic edition of this text and a Spanish

translation that relies on this (insufficient) edition. And: Grewe died

prematurely.

 

I wonít complicate the situation further by trying to translate the

Spanish version into English. Perhaps, Lady Brighid, Phlip, Ana, or XY

could ...

 

Cheers,

Thomas

 

 

Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2000 10:50:05 -0600

From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Olla podrida -- A 13th century Hispano-Arabic version?

 

At 1:19 AM +0100 1/24/00, Thomas Gloning wrote:

>Looking for the recipe, the situation becomes somewhat complicated. Up

>to now, the recipe is published only in an edition of the Arabic text

>and a Spanish translation by Ambrosio Huici Miranda. Grewe had much to

>critizise about the Huici Miranda edition:

 

So did Charles Perry, whose English translation is included in volume

II of my collection. The recipes for sinhaji are:

 

Royal Sanh‚ji

 

Take a large, deep tajine [clay casserole with a lid] and put some

red beef in it, cut up without fat, from the leg, the shoulder, and

the hip of the cow. Add a very large quantity of oil, vinegar, a

little murri naqÓ', pepper, saffron, cumin, and garlic. Cook it until

it's half done, and then add some red sheep's meat and cook. Then add

to this cleaned chickens, cut into pieces; partridges, young pigeons

or wild doves, and other small birds, mirk‚s and meatballs. Sprinkle

it with split almonds, and salt it to taste. Cover it with a lot of

oil, put it in the oven, and leave in until it is done, and take it

out. This is simple sanh‚ji, used by the renowned; as for the common

people, their sanh‚ji will be dealt with in its own proper time, God

willing.

 

Sanh‚ji

 

Take a large deep tinjir [brass or copper boiling kettle,

specifically used for making confections such as khabÓs and

f‚l°dhaj], put in three parts sharp vinegar and one part murri naqÓ'

and the required amounts of pepper, [p. 51, verso] caraway, cumin and

saffron; put on a moderate coal fire and have prepared beforehand

what is needed, such as beef cut in small pieces, and when it has

boiled one or two times, put in the same amount of ewe meat; then

some cut up hens, cut up partridges and squabs of domestic and stock

doves cut up in the same way and whatever birds you can get and add

some soaked peeled garbanzos, peeled chopped almonds and chestnuts

peeled of their skins, garlic and citron leaves; cover with a lot of

oil and when it is almost done, add whatever you have of vegetables

cooked separately and finish cooking them, such as turnips, carrots,

eggplants, gourds, "eyes" of cabbage without their leaves and heads

of lettuce without the outer leaves; use whatever vegetables are

available, according to the season and the present time. Cook in a

separate pot with salt, their spices and onion until done; pour off

the water and then add to the aforementioned meats in the said tajine

and you need to have meatballs and mirk‚s made only from these

ingredients, because if not they will be an excessive and disapproved

mixture. It is the property of this dish to be good for all states

and temperaments, for it unites all the meats and the classes of

vegetable and because you put in it vinegar and murri naqÓ', spices

and so on.

 

David/Cariadoc

http://www.best.com/~ddfr/

 

 

Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 10:11:02 -0500

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: SC - Recipe: Olla Podrida (repost)

 

Resending this, since it doesn't seem to have made it to the list.

 

Source: Diego Granado, _Libro del Arte de Cozina_ (Spanish, 1599)

Translation: Lady Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann)

 

PARA HAZER VNA OLLA PODRIDA -- To make an olla podrida

 

Take two pounds of salted hogís gullet, and four pounds of de-salted

shoulder ham, two snouts, two ears, and four feet of a hog, divided and

removed the same day, four pounds of wild boar with the fresh

intestines, two pounds of good sausages, and everything being clean,

cook it in water without salt.  And in another vessel of copper, or

earthenware, also cook with water and salt: six pounds of mutton, and

six pounds of calfís kidneys, and six pounds of fat beef, and two capons

or two hens, and four fat domestic pigeons.  And of all these things,

those which are cooked first should be removed from the broth before

they come apart, and be kept in a vessel, and in another vessel of

earthenware or of copper, with the aforementioned broth, cook two

hindquarter of hare, cut in pieces, three partridges, two pheasants, or

two large fresh wild ducks, twenty thrushes, twenty quail, and three

francolins. And everything being cooked, mix the said broths and strain

them through a hair-sieve, taking care that they should not be too salty.  

Have ready black and white chickpeas which have been soaked, whole

heads of garlic, divided onions, peeled chestnuts, boiled French beans

or kidney beans, and cook it all together with the broth, and when the

legumes are almost cooked, put in white cabbage and cabbage, and

turnips, and stuffed tripes or sausages.  And when everything is cooked

before the firmness is undone, taste it repeatedly in regard to the salt,

and add a little pepper and cinnamon , and then have ready large plates,

and put some of this mixure upon the plates without broth.  And take all

the birds divided in four quarters, and the salted meats cut into slices,

and leave the little birds whole, and distribute them on the plate upon

the mixture, and upon those put the other mixture with the sliced

stuffing, and in this manner make three layers.  And take a ladleful of

the fattest broth, and put it on top, and cover it with another plate, and

leave it half an hour in a hot place, and serve it hot with sweet spices.  

You can roast some of the said birds after boiling them.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 21:04:47 -0600

From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Re:  Olla podrida -- A 13th century Hispano-Arabic version?

 

At 4:20 PM -0500 1/25/00, alysk at ix.netcom.com wrote:

>So... Cariadoc said that his Collection contained Charles Perry's translation

>from the Arabic.  Mr. Perry worked from the English translations that several

>of us (self included) did from Huici Miranda's flawed Spanish.

 

Charles Perry also had the original Arabic, and was working from

that, with the assistance of the Arabic to Spanish to English that

you and several others did.

 

David Friedman

Professor of Law

 

 

Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2000 00:25:55 -0500

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Spanish food/health manual

 

And it came to pass on 25 Jan 00,, that david friedman wrote:

> This sounds a lot like the _Taciunum Sanitatas_, which is a Latin

> version of an Arabic original. We have two modern editions in

> translation with illustrations, _A Medieval Health Handbook_ and _The Four

> Seasons of the House of Cerrutti_ (that's by memory, so I may not have

> them exactly right.) This book gives, for each food or activity, its

> nature by the theory of the humors, its benefits, its risks, and how to

> neutralize the risks.

>

> Elizabeth/Betty Cook

 

I have heard of the _Taciunum Sanitatas_, though I haven't read it.  Your

description of it matches the _Banquete de Nobles Caballeros_ quite

well. I would imagine that the two books are very similar.  I looked up

several foods in Platina and the _Banquete_, and found they agreed on

the basic properties -- not surprising, since both are based on the

writings of classical authorities like Galen.

 

However, Lobera de Avila discusses at least one item that Platina does

not... a foreign beverage recently popularized in Spain -- beer.  (He

doesn't think much of it.)

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2000 00:30:05 -0500

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Re:  Olla podrida -- A 13th century Hispano-Arabic version?

 

And it came to pass on 25 Jan 00,, that david friedman wrote:

(In reply to Mistress Alys)

> Charles Perry also had the original Arabic, and was working from

> that, with the assistance of the Arabic to Spanish to English that

> you and several others did.

 

I started on a translation from the Spanish of the first recipe.  Then I

compared it to the translation in Cariodoc's cookbook collection, and

found that mine was in no way superior to what was already there.  So I

really don't see any point in continuing, as it will not add anything to our

understanding of these recipes.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2000 01:18:23 +0100

From: Thomas Gloning <Thomas.Gloning at germanistik.uni-giessen.de>

Subject: SC - Olla podrida -- the recipe of Domingo Hern·ndez de Maceras

 

Domingo Hern·ndez de Maceras was the cook of the Colegio mayor de Oviedo

of the famous university of Salamanca in Spain. His cookbook -- only one

copy seems to be extant -- was published in 1607. Since he was a cook

for 40 years ("... fue cocinero toda su vida, comenzÛ desde niÒo, y

trabajÛ durante cuarenta aÒos, en la cocina del famoso colegio

universitario", p.64), the cookbook might well describe dishes that go

back to the 16th century.

 

Here is his recipe for olla podrida:

 

"Cap. LIIII. CÛmo se ha de hacer una olla podrida.

Para hacer una olla podrida, se le ha de echar carnero, vaca, tocino,

pies de puerco, testuz, longanizas, lenguas, palomas, lavancos, liebre,

lenguas de vaca, garbanzos, ajos y nabos si es su tiempo, y la carne que

cada uno quisiere: hase de mezclar todo en una olla: y ha de cocer

mucho: llevar· sus especias: y despuÈs de bien cocida, se har·n platos

de ella, con mostaza de mosto, o de otra, y por encima los platos Èchale

perejil, porque parece bien, y es muy bueno."

(Domingo Hern·ndez de Maceras, Libro de arte de cocina, 1607, edited in:

MarÌa de los ¡ngeles PÈrez Samper: La alimentaciÛn en la EspaÒa del

Siglo de Oro. Huesca (La Val de Onsera) 1998, this recipe: p. 217; see

also the introduction p. 84-87 about the differences between Diego

Granado 1599, MartÌnez MontiÒo 1611 and Hern·ndez de Maceras 1607.)

 

Cheers,

Thomas

 

 

Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2000 09:48:45 -0500

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: SC -Translations of Spanish Foods

 

And it came to pass on 26 Jan 00,, that Tollhase1 at aol.com wrote:

> I have a fellow faculty member who has told me she would love to translate

> Spanish recipes for me.  Give me some original sources or email me copies

> of recipes and lets see what she can do.

 

Frederich,

 

Why don't you point her at Granado?  Diego Granado, _Libro del arte de

cozina_, 1599.  Although I've enjoyed dipping into it now and again (and

thereby neglecting my work on de Nola), it's got 763 recipes -- more

than enough to keep any translator busy.  There's a 1971 edition which I

got fairly easily through ILL.  Madrid, Sociedad de BibliÛfilos EspaÒoles,

1971. I don't have an ISBN, but the OCLC # is 5345791, which should

help.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2000 02:56:49 +0100

From: Thomas Gloning <gloning at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE>

Subject: SC - Translations of Spanish foods

 

Frederich,

 

just in case you are filling in ILL-forms right now. I am currently

reading this book, that might be worth checking:

 

- -- MarÌa de los Angeles PÈrez Samper: La alimentaciÛn en la EspaÒa del

Siglo de Oro. [With an edition of:] - Domingo Hern·ndez de Maceras:

'Libro de arte de cocina' (1607). Huesca 1998.

 

It contains an edition of Hern·ndez de Maceras, one of the three

important cookbooks of professional (male) cooks around 1600 (the other

two being Diego Granado Maldonado 1599, Lady Brighid mentioned, and F.

Martinez MontiÒo 1611; Martinez, like Hern·ndez was working as a cook

since the late 16th century).

 

In the introductory text of M. de los Angeles PÈrez Samper, she quotes

widely from hitherto unpublished Spanish manuscripts from (or for) women

of the 16th century. Thus: if you are interested in recipes of Spanish

women of the 16th century, the introductory text contains about 15

recipes (p.52ff.). In addition, there are several recipes from

manuscripts of "confiteros" and from the first printed book in Spanish

about "ConfiterÌa" (Baeza 1592).

 

Someone also mentioned the culinary recipes in the Manual de mugeres

recently. [Manual de mugeres en el qual se contienen muchas y diversas

reÁeutas muy buenas (c. 1475-1525). Ed. por Alicia MartÌnez Crespo.

Salamanca (Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca) 1995. -- Some culinary

recipes, together with medical recipes, beauty recipes, ...]

 

T.

 

 

Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2000 17:05:00 -0600

From: Magdalena <magdlena at earthlink.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Portuguese Recipes

 

Steven Cowley wrote:

> Does anyone know of any period references containing portuguese

> recipes?  I have a hankering to do a feast with a portuguese theme.  I

> really like modern portuguese food but I have been unable to turn up any

> portuguese manuscripts.

 

The University of Texas library system has a book that contains a period

portuguese menu, names only, no recipes, in portuguese.  That's the closest I've

come so far.  Let me know if you find anything better.

 

_Um Tratado da cozinha portuguesa do seculo XV / Instituto Nacional do Livro._

(Rio de Janeiro) : Instituto Nacional do Livro, Ministerio da Educacao e

Cultura, 1963.

NOTES:

   "Edicao preparada pelo Professor Antonio Gomes Filho."

   "Reproducao, em fac-simile, do manuscrito I-E-33, da Biblioteca Nacional de

Napoles."

   Includes index.

SUBJECTS:

   Cookery, Portuguese--Early works to 1500.

   Manuscripts, Portuguese--Facsimiles.

OTHER AUTHORS:

   Filho, Antonio Gomes.

   Rio de Janeiro. Instituto Nacional do Livro.

   Naples. Biblioteca nazionale. Mss. (I-E-33).

OCLC NUMBER:

   6161941

 

- -Magdalena

 

 

Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2000 08:52:03 SAST-2

From: "Jessica Tiffin" <jessica at beattie.uct.ac.za>

Subject: Re: SC - Portuguese recipes

 

Steffan of the Close asked:

> Does anyone know of any period references containing portuguese

> recipes?  I have a hankering to do a feast with a portuguese theme.  I

> really like modern portuguese food but I have been unable to turn up any

> portuguese manuscripts.

 

We have one manuscript which is a translation into English of the

translation into modern Portuguese of a 15th-century Portuguese

cookbook. Full details: Um Tratado Da Cozinha Portuguesa Do Seculo

XV (A Text on Portuguese Cooking from the Fifteenth Century)

Translated by Jane L. Crowley From a modern Portuguese text by

Professor Antonio Gomes Filho. Copyright 1988 by Jane L. Crowley

 

This contains some interesting recipes, but it's impossible to

determine where the recipe is translating the original and where the

translator is filling in for herself - it reads more like a modern

cookbook than a medieval one.  The collection used to be in

Cariadoc's collection, but as far as I remember he removed it after

discovering that he was infringing copyright.

 

Jehanne

 

Lady Jehanne de Huguenin  *  Seneschal, Shire of Adamastor, Cape Town

(Jessica Tiffin, University of Cape Town)

 

 

Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 09:39:04 -0500

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - New World Foods-rant (was: turkey)

 

LrdRas at aol.com wrote:

> I am not criticizing your post so much as trying to understand the logic

> behind it. The fact remains that we have many hundreds of recipes dating from

> pre-13th century CE Europe that can be used in feasts. The fact that they are

> from Andalusia is totally irrelevant so far as there usefulness in

> reproducing pre-13th century CE European feasts.

>

> Ras

 

I guess the point (and it can be argued either way, but I'd rather not

just now) is that a lot of the Andalusian recipes are demonstrably for

recognizable variants on Arabic foods, not really European ones. If you

look at the elusive Huici-Miranda thingy, the bad translation of the

12th-13th-century Arabic/Andalusian manuscript that Rudolf Grewe was

working on when he died, it appears to be fairly unique in that it

represents what seems to be both pre-Islamic (or at least non-Islamic)

Spanish cookery, as well as Islamic cookery that seems to have been at

least marginally adapted to the Spanish environment. It uses olive oil

more than butter, tail fat, and sesame oil, for example, which Arabic

sources like al-Baghdadi don't. It seems to represent an avoidance of

chick peas; whether as a class or cultural or just a geographical

characteristic is unclear. In short, in spite of being in Arabic, it is

pretty clearly Spanish food (I should say Iberian, huh, since Spain as

we know it had yet to be united). I don't believe this is as true of a

number of other Arabic-language sources found in Spain, even if they

were used as viable cookbooks in Europe, any more than the couple of

Chinese cookbooks I have that are written in Chinese should be looked at

and immediately classified as American cookbooks.

    

That's the point, although I do think many of us tend to overlook the

Islamic sources when considering medieval European cuisine. I have to

make something of a conscious effort, myself, at times.

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 18:55:53 -0500

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: SC - Spinach (recipe)

 

I "redacted" this recipe for dinner tonight.  (I use the quotation marks,

because it's so simple, it really needs no interpretation.)

 

Source: Diego Granado, _Libro del Arte de Cozina_ (Spanish, 1599)

Translation and redaction: Lady Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann)

 

PARA HAZER ESCUDILLA DE ESPINACAS -- To make a dish of

spinach

 

Take spinach in the Spring, and wash them with many changes of

water, taking the most tender part, and fry them with oil, or with cow's

butter, or poultry fat.  Afterwards, finish cooking them with poultry broth,

and dried plums, and serve them hot with their broth.

 

1 10-oz bag of fresh spinach leaves, stems trimmed

1 tsp. olive oil

2 oz. pitted prunes, chopped

1 cup chicken broth

 

Wash the spinach well.  Fry it in the oil until wilted, then add broth and

prunes. Simmer until spinach is tender.

 

Notes: I confess that I didn't bother to trim the stems; I just cooked the

spinach a little longer.  The prunes added a wonderful note of sweetness

to the dish.  De Nola has a similar recipe, in which he recommends

adding raisins.

 

Unfortunately, I suspect that many SCAdians would look at a feast

menu, see "spinach and prunes" and run screaming into the night.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2000 17:28:22 -0500

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Spanish/Greek cooking

 

And it came to pass on 8 Mar 00,, that Mbatmantis at aol.com wrote:

>   I am looking to purchase one or two late period Spanish or Greek

>   cookbooks;

 

I have no notion about Greek, but I can tell you what's available for

period Spanish cuisine.  First, two questions: are you looking for

something that includes modern redactions (with measurements, etc.)

and more importantly, do you read Spanish?

 

If you read Spanish, there are several late-period cookbooks that have

been reprinted in modern times.  I am not sure if any of them are

currently in print and available for purchase.  One option is to do as I

have done -- request them via inter-library loan and trot down to the

nearest cheap photocopy shop.

 

The most detailed of the Spanish cookbooks is _Libro del Arte de

Cozina_ (1599) by Diego Granado.  It has in excess of 700 recipes,

some of which were lifted from an earlier work by Ruperto de Nola.

 

If you don't read Spanish, the options are more limited.  

_The Original Mediterranean Cuisine_ by Barbara Santich contains a

selection of Catalan and Italian recipes in the original, in English

translation, and with a modern redaction.  There are some translated

recipes from various sources in Stephan's Florilegium.  There are

several gentles (myself included) who are working on translating some

of the late-period and post-period cookbooks, but I don't know of any

that are yet done and available for purchase.

 

If you have specific questions, let me know, and I'll answer as best as I

can.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 00:22:33 -0500

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: SC - Online Spanish resource

 

A gracious lady on another list just introduced me to a wonderful

website. It's all in Spanish, but for those who read the language, it's a

treasure trove.  It's the Virtual Cervantes Library at

http://cervantesvirtual.com and it contains many fulltext books from late-

period Spain.

 

Among the titles of interest to this list:

 

"Arte Cisoria" (1423 carving/serving manual)

 

"Manual de Mugeres" (late 15th century household manual w/ recipes

for foods, perfumes, cosmetics & medicines)

 

"Obra de Agricultura" (agricultural/animal husbandry manual, c. 1513)

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 01:21:43 -0400

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: SC - Confectionery manual

 

And it came to pass on 6 Apr 00,, that Lee-Gwen Booth wrote:

> >From Gwynydd unto the Gathered Cooks:

> Oh, and could I have some more information about the

> 14th century Confectionery Manual which was mentioned earlier?

 

I think that was in a post I made.  I just got, via ILL, an article which was

listed in the bibliography of _A Drizzle of Honey_ (a recent cookbook

which about the food of secret Jews in medieval Spain).  The article

contains the text of a 14th century Catalan confectionery manual.

 

The manual contains 33 recipes, most of them for fruits and vegetables

preserved in syrup, from ginger to apples to horseradish(!).  There's also

a recipe for compost, and a perfume recipe and several candies.  

Pinyonat is a kind of pine-nut brittle made with sugar and rosewater,

which I tried unsuccessfully to redact tonight.  Hazelnut torron is a

honey-based candy, which is still made in Spain today.  And casquetes

are some kind of fried pastry/sweetmeat, made with dough and honey

and spices, and three kinds of nuts.

 

The text of the manual is in 14th century Catalan, which I can just

puzzle out with the help of dictionaries.  Fortunately, the glossary and

the introductory comments by the editor are in modern Spanish.  And,

like many period cookbooks, the language is simple and repetitive.

 

The original manuscript has no listed author.  It is bound with several

other cookery manuscripts in a book at the University Library of

Barcelona.

 

The article is:

Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Luis, "'Libre de totes maneres de confits':

Un tratado manual cuatrocentrista de arte de dulceria", Boletin de la

Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona, 1946, vol. 19, pp. 97-

134.

 

I really don't need another cookbook to distract me, but I just couldn't

resist...

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Wed, 10 May 2000 10:28:35 -0400

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Period cookery recipes-Spanish

 

And it came to pass on 10 May 00,, that Anne-Marie Rousseau wrote:

> I also read that there's a book of Carving for that time and place too!!!

 

The 1423 _Arte Cisoria_ by Enrique de Villena.  It has not been

translated, AFAIK.

 

It contains descriptions of carving instruments and instructions on

serving, as well as detailed descriptions of how to carve various

foodstuffs. This is more than how to dismember a sheep or a salmon; it

also has chapters on fruits and vegetables which are customarily carved

for eating.  It contains "serving suggestions" which mention specific

modes of preparation, for instance, the section on chicken says that

you cut it thusly if you are going to serve it in mirraust or in dobladura,

but if you are going to serve it in capirotada (a kind of layered dish with

bread and fowl and sauce), you should not only cut it into serving

pieces, but remove the bones, so the feasters don't get their hands

greasy.

 

I believe my translation of the beginning of chapter six, which lists foods

eaten in Spain, is in the Florilegium.

 

I could have sworn that it was online in Spanish, as part of the Virtual

Cervantes library, but I can no longer find it in the index there.  What

*is* still there is the _Manual de Mugeres_, a late 15th/early 16th

century ladies' household manual.  There are 29 cooking recipes, plus

formulas for cosmetics and medicines.  Of particular interest are the

recipes for chorizo (sausage), quince pies, rice casserole, Moorish pot

(stew with goat, mutton, onions, and chickpeas), pies of chicken

breasts, and morcillas finas (a kind of boiled pudding, made in sausage

casings). Most of the recipes are not very long, nor is the Spanish

particularly difficult to read.

http://cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/9620172802974039821375

26/

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Sat, 20 May 2000 20:32:01 -0400

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: SC - Repost: carrot pie

 

Since I've had several requests for this...

 

The only carrot pie recipe that I know is late period Spanish.  

However, it does not greatly resemble a modern pumpkin pie.  Here

is a translation of the recipe; perhaps it will be useful to you.

 

Torta of Carrot

From: Diego Granado, "Libro del Arte de Cozina", 1599

Translation: Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann)

 

Wash and scrape the carrots, and remove them from the water and

cook them in good meat broth, and being cooked remove them and

chop them small with the knife, adding to them mint and marjoram,

and for each two pounds of chopped carrots [use] a pound of

Tronchon cheese and a pound and a half of buttery Pinto cheese,

and six ounces of fresh cheese, and one ounce of ground pepper,

one ounce of cinnamon, two ounces of candied orange peel cut

small, one pound of sugar, eight eggs, three ounces of cow's

butter, and from this composition make a torta with puff pastry*

above and below, and the tortillon [pie pan?] with puff pastry all

around, and make it cook in the oven, making the crust of sugar,

cinnamon, and rosewater.  In this manner you can make tortas of

all sorts of roots, such as that of parsley, having taken the core out of

them.

 

*The word used here for pastry, "ojaldre" ("hojaladre" in the modern

spelling) means puff pastry according to my modern Spanish dictionary,

and the etymology of the word (from hoja, "leaf") would seem to indicate

that it is the period meaning as well.  There is a recipe for a veal torta in

the same cookbook which calls for the same kind of pastry, and gives

instructions for making it:  

 

To Make Puff Pastry Pies of Veal Neck

 

Take wheat flour and knead it with egg yolks, tepid water, salt, and a

little bit of pork lard, and make it in such a manner that the dough is

more soft than hard, and pummel it very well on a table, and make a

thin torta, but swiftly, longer than wide and anoint all of it with melted

lard which is not very hot and begin to roll up the narrow part, and make

a roll the thickness of an arm which will come to be solid, in such a

manner that it can be cut, then cut a round slice two fingers in

thickness, and have separately another firm dough well kneaded, made

from wheat flour, egg yolks, water, and salt without lard, and make of it

a pie bottom which is of the bigness of the pastry, and put in it a

mixture made as in the preceeding chapter [ie., the veal filling from the

previous recipe], keeping the same order to make the mixture high and

pyramid- shaped, because the cover that you make is of the same

paste, in cooking it can better become puffed [literally, "leafed"], and

before you put it in the oven anoint the pie with melted lard, which is

cold and not hot, because it clings better to the paste, and then put it in

the oven, which must be well swept, and clean, and level, and

moderately hot, and especially the upper part, so that the said puff

pastry can better puff, and as it begins to puff, anoint it with lard with a

feather fastened to a small cane without removing it from the oven,

which you will do two or three times, and being cooked you must serve

it hot dusted on top with sugar, and if you wish you can put the broth

which we have said in the previous chapter. And be aware that if the

ceiling of the oven is low, that will be better, because all the puff

pastries want the fire hotter above than below. Which you must beware

of in the other pies with puff pastry.  

 

The recipe then goes on to discuss an alternate (and inferior)

dough which is used in Rome, and other fillings that can be used

with this pastry.

 

Note that while the veal pie has puff pastry only on the top crust, the

carrot torta calls for puff pastry in the top *and* bottom crusts. The

"crust" of sugar, cinnamon, and rosewater I would interpret as a sweet

topping for the upper crust.  I haven't tried this myself, but it sounds

tasty, and with the quantities given, it shouldn't be too hard to redact.

Remember that medieval eggs would be smaller.  If you're not a pastry-

baker, ready-made puff pastry can be found in the frozen foods section

of your local grocer.  

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 15:59:56 -0400

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: SC - Catalan cookbook (was honey strawberry spread)

 

And it came to pass on 17 Jun 00,, that Serian wrote:

> name of book please?

> Serian

 

"Libre de totes maneres de confits".  It's a 14th century Catalan

manuscript, containing 33 recipes for preserves and candies.  It has not

been published in book form.  The text was reprinted in a 1947 issue of

a Spanish journal.  The recipes are in 14th century Catalan; the notes

and glossary are in modern Spanish.  I have a photocopy.  I can read it

well enough to understand and paraphrase, but not to really translate.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 13:09:33 -0500

From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>

Subject: SC - Brighid's Spanish Cinnamon-Fruit Rolls

 

A while back, Lady Brighid posted the following recipe, which we have

now tried out:

 

Source: Diego Granado, _Libro del arte de cozina_, 1599

Translation: Lady Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann)

 

PARA HAZER TORTILLON RELLENO -- To make a stuffed tortillon

 

Knead two pounds of the flower of the flour with six yolks of fresh

eggs, and two ounces of rosewater, and one ounce of leaven diluted

with tepid water, and four ounces of fresh cow's butter[3], or pork

lard[3] which has no bad odor, and salt, and be stirring said dough

for the space of half an hour, and make a thin leaf[4] or pastry[5]

and anoint it with melted fat which should not be very hot, and cut

the edges around, sprinkle the pastry with four ounces of sugar, and

one ounce of cinnamon, and then have a pound of small raisins of

Corinth, which have been given a boil in wine, and a pound of dates

cooked in the same wine, and cut small, and all of the said things

should be mixed together with sugar, cinnamon, and cloves, and

nutmeg, and put the said mixture spread over the pastry with some

morsels of cow's butter, and beginning with the long end of the

pastry, roll it upwards, taking care not to break the dough, and this

tortillon or roll must not be rolled more than three turns, so that

it will cook better, and it does not have to go very tight.  Anoint

it on top with fat, not very hot.  It will begin to twist by itself

at one end which is not very closed[6], in such a manner that it

becomes like a snail.  Have the pie pan ready with a pastry of the

same dough[7], somewhat fatty, anointed with melted fat, and put the

tortillon lightly upon it without pressing it, and make it cook in

the oven, or under a large earthen pot with temperate fire, tending

it from time to time by anointing it with melted cow's butter, and

being almost cooked, put sugar on top, and rosewater, and serve it

hot. The pie pan in which you cook the tortillones must be wide, and

must have very low edges.

 

Translator's notes:

...[3] Both of these phrases use the same noun: "manteca".  This can

mean either butter or lard.  I have translated "manteca de vaca" as

cowís butter, "manteca de puerco" as pork lard, and undifferentiated

"manteca" as fat.

[4] "Ojuela" -- literally, small leaf

[5] "ojaldre" (sometimes spelt hojaldre).  Its etymology is also from

"hoja" (leaf).  The modern definition is puff-pastry.  The recipes I

have seen for pies made with ojaldre call for a rich unleavened dough

with eggs and fat, about half a finger thick .  Itís coated with

melted fat, rolled into a cylinder the thickness of an arm, then

sliced into pieces two fingers thick.  (Presumably these slices are

then rolled out, though the recipe doesn't specify.)  It's basted

with melted fat during baking, the better to separate into leaves.

("Ojaldrar", one of those verbs which require a sentence to translate

properly.) Some recipes call for the base or top pastry of a pie to

contain a certain number of ojaldres.  This tortillon recipe seems to

say that the dough can either be just rolled out thinly, or it can be

turned into a sort of ojaldre (though they are not normally leavened,

AFAIK). If the former, I don't think it is intended to be too thin,

since the roll is only supposed to make three turns.

[6] I gather from this that one end *should* be tightly closed,

leaving the other to expand into a snail-like trumpet.

[7] This pastry underneath seems to function as part of the pan, not

part of the tortillon.  It appears in other recipes as well.  A

non-stick cookie sheet might render it unnecessary.

 

My recipe (half the original):

dough:

3 1/2 c flour = 1 lb

1/4 c butter = 2 oz

3 egg yolks

2 T rose water = 1 oz

1 scant T dried yeast (1 package)

5/8 c lukewarm water

1 t salt

 

filling:

1/2 lb = 1 3/4 c currents

1/2 lb = 1 3/4 c chopped dates

1 1/2 c wine

2 T sugar

1/4 t cinnamon

1/8+ t nutmeg

1/16 t cloves

 

to use in making loaf:

1/4 c sugar

1/2 oz cinnamon (I need to measure how much volume this is)

1 T butter

~ 2 T melted butter

1/2 t rosewater

1/2 T sugar

 

Note that most of the quantities are specified in the original recipe.

 

Mix flour and salt in a large bowl; mix yeast with warm water, beat

egg yolks with rosewater, melt 1/4 c butter. Make a well in the

center of the flour and pour the liquids into it, stir together with

a wooden spoon, then knead for half an hour (!). Let rise an hour and

20 minutes. To prepare filling, bring wine to a boil, add currents

and dates and let boil two minutes; drain and add 2 T sugar and

spices. When dough has risen, pinch off about an eighth of it and

spread it out flat in the bottom of a greased 8"x 8" pan; spread 1/2

t melted butter over it. Spread the rest of the dough out on a

floured board to a rectangle 8"x15" (I did 7"x 11" and it wasn't big

enough), spread with 1 t melted butter, and sprinkle on 1/4 c sugar

and 1/2 oz cinnamon. Spread the filling on top of that; dot with 1 T

of butter in pieces. Roll up and pinch together to seal, so that the

filling won't all ooze out. Put on top of the piece of dough in the

pan and spread another 1 t of melted butter over the top. Let rise

another 10 minutes or so and put in a pre-heated oven at 350. Bake 45

minutes or so, taking out halfway through to spread with another 1 t

melted butter. After 40 minutes baking, sprinkle with rosewater and

sugar, then put back for another 5 minutes.

 

Comments: good.  Too much filling per amount of dough for my taste,

but that's what the recipe says. The piece of dough it is put on

becomes part of the loaf, rather than remaining behind in the pan. I

rolled this up as I do cinnamon bread, and it didn't really fit the

description: didn't twist by itself until it becomes like a snail; I

can't make much sense of this. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

Next time: do full recipe; knead for less time and compare resulting

texture to see if the full half hour is really necessary; try rolling

from the side of the rectangle rather than the end to see if I can

get it more snail-like that way--maybe roll tighter ("more closed")

at one end than at the other. Get volume measure on cinnamon.

 

Elizabeth of Dendermonde/Betty Cook

 

 

Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 21:12:36 -0400

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Brighid's Spanish Cinnamon-Fruit Rolls

 

And it came to pass on 18 Jun 00,, that david friedman wrote:

> A while back, Lady Brighid posted the following recipe, which we have now

> tried out:

[snip]

 

I'm delighted that you did this one.  It looked very good, but I never got

around to redacting it.  As it is, I bake far too much sweet stuff for my

own good.

 

> Comments: good.  Too much filling per amount of dough for my taste,

> but that's what the recipe says. The piece of dough it is put on

> becomes part of the loaf, rather than remaining behind in the pan.

 

When I first posted the recipe, I recall someone mentioning a modern

recipe for a similar pastry, which is a cone-shaped roll atop a flat piece

of dough.  (Fluden?  Fladen?  Something like that.)  That gentle

indicated that the two pieces normally fused together in baking.

 

> I rolled this up as I do cinnamon bread, and it didn't really fit the

> description: didn't twist by itself until it becomes like a snail; I can't

> make much sense of this. Anyone have any suggestions?

[snip]

> try rolling from the side of the rectangle rather than the end to see if

> I can get it more snail-like that way--maybe roll tighter ("more

> closed") at one end than at the other.

 

This was my thought.  If you roll it like a cornucopia, perhaps pinching

the small end together and leaving the wider end fairly loose, I think it

would tend to flare out as the dough expands in baking.  I do *not* see

that it would tend to curl into a spiral unless it was laid out that way.

 

> Elizabeth of Dendermonde/Betty Cook

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <harper at piranha.idt.net>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Flan: Period?

Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 09:19:18 -0400

 

Tristan Trout wrote:

>     For a medieval Spanish feast: Is flan documentably medieval? Obviously,

> flan is pretty simple, but I can't find a recipe for it. Everything seems to

> be almond pudding or bread pudding or savory pudding.

 

Not as far as I can tell, if by "flan" you mean the sweet milk-and-egg

custard.  The _Libro de Guisados_ (1529) has a recipe for "Flaones que

es fruta de sarten" ("custard which is a fritter").  The flaon is a

mixture of new cheese and eggs, flavored with dried mint and rosewater

(no sugar).  It is then used as a filling for fried turnovers, which

are topped with honey or syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

Probably very tasty, but closer to cheesecake than what you are

looking for.

 

The nearest period dish in flavor and texture that I can think of is

"ginestada".  This pudding contains almond milk or goat's milk,

thickened with rice flour, and mixed with sugar and assorted dried

fruits and nuts.  Some versions are colored with saffron.

 

Sorry I can't be of more help.  I do, however, know various period

Spanish recipes for trout.  :-)

--

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East

 

 

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <harper at piranha.idt.net>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Flan: Period?

Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 21:07:21 -0400

To: tristantrout at aol.com

 

Tristan Trout wrote:

>     For a medieval Spanish feast: Is flan documentably medieval?

 

I answered in haste last time, so there's something I'd like to add.

There is one other period dish which is somewhat closer to modern flan

than either the flaon or the ginestada recipes I mentioned.  "Manjar

Imperial" (Imperial Dish), also from the _Libro de Guisados_, is a

pudding made from milk, sugar, rice flour and egg yolks, and sprinkled

with cinnamon sugar.  It's cooked in a pot over a fire, not baked in

the oven, nor does it have a caramelized coating.  However, it may

suffice for your purposes.  If you'd like the recipe, let me know.

--

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East

 

 

Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 19:14:57 -0400

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <harper at idt.net>

Organization: Department of Redundancy Department

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

To: Tristan Trout <tristantrout at aol.com>

Subject: Re: Flan: Period?

 

Here it is:

 

Source: Ruperto de Nola, _Libro de Guisados_ (Spanish, 1529)

Translation: Lady Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann)

 

MANJAR IMPERIAL - Imperial Dish

        For half a dozen bowls, take half an azumbre of milk and half a pound

of ground and sifted rice and half a dozen eggs (only the yolks), and

put the milk and the rice flour to cook in a saucepan; and stir it

constantly in one direction, away from the fire, until it is well

beaten and dissolved; and this is before it is put to cook on the

hearth; and then cast the half pound of sugar into it and put it to

cook on the hearth upon the embers, keeping it away from the flames so

that the smoke doesn't reach it; and when it becomes thickened, take

it off the hearth; and take the well beaten egg yolks; and cast into

them a spoonful of milk; and stir it all the time in one direction;

and return it to the embers that it may properly finish thickening;

and when this is

done take it off the hearth and leave it aside to rest; and if you

wish to eat it, dish it out immediately; and cast on the dishes sugar

and cinnamon.

 

notes: an "azumbre" is a medieval Spanish measurement of liquid equal

to about 2 liters.  Rice flour is available at Asian grocery stores

and health food stores.

--

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East

 

 

Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 21:49:28 +0100

From: Jon Randall <Baph at thornapple.co.uk>

Subject: RE: SC - Manual de mujeres #109,111,132,134,135

 

I take this moment to de-lurk, and to add some information about Spanish

Cooking. Having a wife of spanish extraction (meaning she was liberated

from Spain <G>), we often have made and eaten Empanada or empanadillas

(little Empanadas), so can comment on both construction and dough type.

 

> Do you have anything about what empanadas/turnovers were--what kind

> of dough and what kind of physical construction?

 

Empanadas in construction can be the following:

 

Flat and 11 X 8 inches with a top and bottom crust. This type has the hole

in the top crust and is often decorated with bits of pastry decorated like a

tic tac toe board (without X's and 0's !), then glazed with milk or egg.

 

Alternatively they can be round.  The size of your Empanada is determined by

how many you need to feed, oven size and number of strong, virile men in

your village to lift it !

 

Empanadillas, on the other hand are small(ish), D-shaped and are made by

folding a circle of pastry in half and fluting the edge. These are useful

for taking into the fields as they are the ideal pocket snack/meal.

 

As for the pastry, this is a simple flour, fat (mainly olive oil), water and

salt mixture, not unlike short (crust) pastry.  You can add other

flavourings to your pastry according to whether this is a sweet or savoury

dish.

Flavourings may be Anise (aniseed) liqueur, saffron, crushed almonds

(especially in Southern Spain), and cinnamon.

 

> Is there a similar word in Spanish that means soft?

 

There is a word meaning soft "blandos" which could conceivably be the real

translation. Remember that quinces, if left for too long will go mushy

rather than soft. Don't worry if this happens as you can alternatively make

this into quince jelly which is used as an accompaniment to meats and strong

cheeses.

 

Any further questions relating to Spanish cuisine or foods associated with

rituals don't hesitate to ask.

 

Baph (just plain Baph, not Lord Baph as this is my mundane title as well.)

 

with assistance from

 

Maria del Mar Malo Gallego (yes, yes her mundane name as well !)

 

 

Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 21:53:15 -0400

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Manual de mujeres #109,111,132,134,135

 

And it came to pass on 9 Sep 00,, that david friedman wrote:

 

> At 2:47 PM -0700 9/5/00, Dana Huffman wrote:

>

> >132 Receta para empanadas de membrillos

> >Recipe for quice turnovers

[snip]

 

> This one looks interesting. Questions (I unfortunately do not know

> Spanish):

>

> Do you have anything about what empanadas/turnovers were--what kind

> of dough and what kind of physical construction?

 

There are some indications in other cookbooks.  Nola has a couple of

empanada recipes.  The one for baked meat/fish empanadas has no

crust instructionsm except to put a vent hole on top.  The recipe that

follows, for fried sugar empanadas says "take dough made from flour and

knead it with good eggs and sweet fine oil".

 

Granado (1599) has a number of empanada recipes.  The first one in the

meat section has instructions for the dough.  It's made of sifted flour

kneaded with cold water, eggs, and salt, and a little lard.  The only

indication of construction is that the empanada should be wider on the

bottom. It is glazed (for the sake of color) with beaten eggs or water

tinted with saffron.  The first empanada recipe in the fish section says

that the crust is to be made in the same way, except that in place of

the eggs one should use wine of the Membrilla (quince-bud, according

to my dictionary), and oil in place of the lard.  And if one wants to color

the crust, use saffron-tinted water.

 

> "And when they are white/blancos"... I find it hard to believe that

> quinces cooked in honey-water will turn white--I would expect a

> slowly darkening tan to brown, like applesauce/apple butter. Is there a

> similar word in Spanish that means soft?

 

blando.

 

> >134 Receta para cazuela de arroz

> >...

> >Recipe for rice casserole

> >      Put in a casserole/saucepan rice and grated cheese,

> >that is very good, and salt; and stir it very well.  And

> >then put with it the broth that seems to you sufficient,

> >the broth being of fat[ty] beef.  And put on top the beef

> >that you want, and cook it in the oven.  And when it is

> >almost cooked, remove it and put on top of all slices of

> >fresh cheese, and egg yolks and spices.  And then return it

> >to the oven and finish cooking.  And when it is cooked,

> >make plates or bowls of them, which[ever] you prefer.

>

> I'm wondering about the spices to be put on top. Any guesses from

> other recipes in this book or from related recipes in other Spanish

> sources what they are likely to be?

 

Nola puts cinnamon and sugar on rice cooked in meat broth (then

again, Nola puts cinnamon and sugar on nearly everything.)  Granado

has a similar recipe for rice with broth, cheese and eggs (though he has

the eggs beaten and stirred into the rice).  He suggests pepper,

cinnamon, and saffron.   If you want to serve it simply, without the eggs

to congeal the dish, you can put only cheese, sugar, cinnamon, and a

little of the broth on top.

 

> Elizabeth/Betty Cook

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 10:24:32 -0400

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: SC - So-Called "Oil from the Spleen"

 

Either Dionisio Perez was an idiot, or he was working with a seriously

flawed manuscript.

 

Let me explain.  Perez was the editor of the 1929 printing of the 1529

edition of Nola.  I have mostly been working from his book, though I also

have a facsimile manuscript, because print is a lot easier to read than

calligraphy. (And the footnotes are helpful.)  However, lately I have been

discovering some troubling errors in his transcription.  There's a recipe

for fava beans which says to take the whitest ones that have not been

"cocidas" by weevils.  Huh?  "Cocidas" means cooked.  As far as *I*

know, weevils are content to eat their food raw.  I thought it might be an

archaic secondary meaning, but couldn't find one.  I asked someone

else who has worked with the text -- a native speaker -- and she said

that her edition said "comidas" -- eaten.  Makes perfect sense.  So I

looked at the facsimile, and there was a perfectly clear "comidas" in the

midst of that sentence.

 

In the "manteca" thread, Vincente and I were discussing the puzzling

"aceite de bazo" -- so-called oil from the spleen.  Well, "bazo" does

mean spleen, no getting around that.  But when I looked in the facsimile

this morning, what I saw was "aceite debaxo".  (Note the 'x', where

Perez spelled it with a 'z'.)  Now, you have to understand that medieval

Spanish often uses an 'x' where modern spelling would use 'j'.  

Transforming "debaxo" into "debajo" makes the word mean

"underneath", which makes perfect sense.  And the phrase in the recipe

now reads: "cast in a little oil underneath so that the dough does not stick to

the frying pan".  (The recipe is for a tart, baked Dutch-oven style in a frying-

pan with coals on the lid.)

 

Carmen Irazno, editor of the 1969 printing of the 1525 edition of Nola,

transcribed the word as "debaxo", and the glossary in back says "debaxo-

debajo".

 

It was my intention anyway to check my translation against the facsimile, but

now I will do so much more carefully.

 

Brighid, muttering darkly into her coffee

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

 

 

Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2000 01:52:55 +0100

From: TG <gloning at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE>

Subject: SC - early spanish beverages

 

<< ... any of you spanish junkies out there have any suggestions for

beverages contemporary with the Libre de Sent sovi? ... >>

 

In the meantime, while the spanish junkies out there look for their

xeroxes etc., please allow for some preliminary notes and remarks on

possible sources ...

 

1 -- First, IIRC, the Libre de Sent Sovi is extant in 15th century

manuscripts, whereas the text is said to be written in the 14th century.

Thus, I assume, we are looking for 14th/15th century sources.

 

2 -- Maria de los Angeles Perez Samper, in the introduction to her

edition of Domingo Hernandez de Maceras 'Libro del arte de cozina', says

that red wine was very common in modern (16th c. onwards) Spain and that

spiced wines were traditionally used since the mdidle ages: "El vino era

en la Espana moderna la bebida ordinaria. Todos bebian vino ...

Generalmente se bebian vinos jovenes, de poca calidad ... Desde la edad

media eran muy tradicionales los vinos especiados y aromatizados, como

el hipocras" (p. 82; all accents left out for the sake of transmission).

Alas, there are no footnotes with the details. According to this, it

seems, that a young, red wine of poor quality could serve your purposes

... ;-)

 

3 -- A good source for spiced wines (even a source of Catalan origin!)

is Arnald of Villanova's 'Liber de vinis'. However it is uncertain,

whether or not these wines were used for non-medical purposes, too. In

any case, there is an English translation of this text based on the

first printed edition 1478 in Henry Sigerist's facsimile, published in

1943.

 

4 -- Another Catalan source is Francesc Eiximenis 14th century 'Terc del

Crestia' [The third book about the Christian], a moral treatise

containing, among other things, rules for the use of food and beverages.

These chapters were edited in a small booklet (Barcelona 1983) by Jorge

J.E. Gracia: "Com usar be de beure e menjar. Normes morals contingudes

en el "Terc del Crestia" ...". A source with some information on what to

drink, how to drink, and how much to drink.

 

5 -- Then, the dietetic texts with their rules for the use of beverages

come to mind. I have no Spanish/catalan source at hand for the moment,

but have just finished proofreading two chapters from Aldobrandino of

Siena's 'Regime du corps' (French, 13th century with a manuscript

tradition from the 13th, 14th and 15th century; there are Italian

translations, too). Chapter III/2 is about beverages. He mentions:

water, wine, beer ("de ciervoise"), apple wine, verjus, vin aigre,

moures (blackberry juice or wine?). Aldobrandino's chapter is based on

the writings of Isaac, so I am not sure if his chapter reflects 13th

century practice or not. Anyway: if you want to, you can look at the

original text in French at (III/1 is about cereals and bread; III/2

about beverages):

http://staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~gloning/aldosien.htm

 

An interesting question! I am looking forward to the contributions of

the spanish junkies out there.

 

Th.

 

 

Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 13:46:41 -0800 (PST)

From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Portuguese Cookbook

 

- --- BareToad at aol.com wrote:

> I have been looking for _Um Tratado da Cozinha

> Portuguesa do Seculo XV_

> without any success.  I would really like to get my

> hands on a copy, or at

> least portions, of this book.  I am a fluent

> Portuguese speaker (English is

> my second language) and I am willing to translate in

> exchange for any part(s)

> of the book that are sent me.  Any takers?

>

> Mairin

 

Mairin, you should go to your local library and ask

for this book through ILL (inter-library loan).

 

There are two different editions:

 

1) Biblioteca nazionale (Naples, Italy)              

   Um tratado da cozinha portugu„esa do s‚eculo XV.

[Ed. preparada pelo professorAnt„onio Gomes Filho.  

Rio de Janeiro] Instituto Nacional do Livro, 1963.  

viii, 184 p. facsims. 24 cm. (Dicion‚ario da l‚ingua

portugu„esa. Textos e    vocabul‚arios, 2)  

 

2) Um tratado da cozinha portuguesa do s‚eculo XV /  

   [organizaðcäao e notas de Antãonio Gomes Filho].  

   [Rio de Janeiro] : Edic‰oes do Departamento      

   Nacional do Livro, [1994]                          

   184 p. : facsims. ; 21 cm. Colec‰ao Celso        

Cunha ; v. 5)                                      

                                                     

ISBN 8533300263

 

This is available at:

 

Harvard Univ.

Columbia Univ.

Florida State Univ.

Univ. of Florida

Univ. of Chicago

Univ. of Michigan

Univ. of Minnesota

State Univ. of New York, Albany

New York Univ.

Brown Univ.

 

Huette

 

 

Date: Mon, 05 Mar 2001 23:58:03 +0100

From: gloning at mailer.uni-marburg.de

Subject: Re: SC - Portuguese Cookbook

 

There are other editions of this Portuguese cookbook, e.g. the Elizabeth

Thompson Newman dissertation 1964. But more important seems to be the

Manuppella edition from 1967/1987:

 

- -- Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria. CÛdice PortuguÍs I.E. 33. da

Biblioteca Nacional de N·poles. PrÛlogo, Leitura, Notas aos textos,

Glosss·rio e Õndices de Giacinto Manuppella. Lisbon: Imprensa

Nacional-Casa da Moeda 1987. [it seems that the text was first published

in 1967 with a copious introduction by Salvador Dias Arnaut; the 1987

edition lacks this introduction, but it was published separately under

the title "A arte de comer em Portugal na Idade MÈdia", Lisbon 1986]

 

The Manuppella edition has a diplomatic text and a modernized version

that is more easily legible. In addition, there is a copious index of

words, that might be helpful for the more troublesome passages.

Manuppella seems not to be content with the achievments of his

predecessors (Gomes Filho: "na~o impecavel" something like 'not without

faults'; Elizabeth Newman: "nem mais feliz" 'not more successful (than

Gomes Filho)').

 

There is an English translation by Jane L. Crowley based on the modern

Portuguese translation of Gomez Filho, which, for copyright reasons, I

believe, never made it to the web.

 

Here is recipe Nr. IV from the Manuppella edition to give you an idea of

the original

(x~ = the ~ is above the x;

a~o, o~e = the ~ is above both the a and the o, the o and the e):

 

 

[M10] Pasteis de carne

 

r~ tomara~o carneiro ou lombo de vaca

ou de porquo ffresquo e toucinho

velho porque po~e sabor e pica-

loa~o co~ cheiros e huu~a colher

de mamteygua e crauo e acafra~o

e pimemta e gemgibre e

coemtro sequo e cumo de limo~es

ou dagraco tudo yumto muyto

be~ affoguado e~ huu~a panella

ou tejalla de ffoguo e des q~ ffor

mujto be~ afogado poloa~o a e~fryar/

E depois de mujto be~ ffryo

deitaloa~o e~ os pasteis q~ ja estara~

feitos/ e~ta~o leualosa~o ao fforno

e depois q~ ffore~ tirados do forno

deitarlheis caldo amarello de~tro

nos pasteis e deitarlha~o// E a masa

dos pasteis sera dura e os

pasteis altos/ E desta propia te~para

se ffaze~ os da galynha

e ta~be~ se ffaze~ pasteis de panela

desta tempara/ saluo que ha

galynha hade ser ffeita e~ pesas e cada

pesa sobre sy e pera esteis pasteis

sere~ muyto mais saborosos deitara~o

[M12] na masa a carne crua .//.

 

Best, Thomas

 

 

Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2001 17:42:14 -0800 (PST)

From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Portuguese Cookbook

 

For the versions that Thomas has mentioned, I have

found these in various libraries:

 

O "Livro de cozinha" da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal :

primeira edicao integral do c‚odice portugu„es I.E.

33. da Biblioteca Nacional de Napoles / leitura de

Giacinto Manuppella e Salvador Dias Arnaut ; prologo,

notas aos textos, glossario e ‚indices de Giacinto

Manuppella ; introducao historica de Salvador Dias

Arnaut. -- Coimbra : Universidade, 1967.        

cxlv, 257 p. ; 23 cm. -- (Acta Universitatis

Conimbrigensis)   

 

Available from UC Berkeley, Columbia Univ., Harvard

Univ., New York Univ., Brown Univ.

 

Arnaut, Salvador Dias.                                

  A arte de comer em Portugal na Idade M‚edia :

introducao a o "Livro de cozinha" da Infanta D. Maria

de Portugal / Salvador Dias Arnaut. -- Lisboa : Impr.

Nacional-Casa da Moeda, [1986]                        

139 p. ; 24 cm. -- (Biblioteca de autores

portugueses)   

 

Available from UC Santa Barbara, USC, New York Univ.,

Brown Univ.

 

Maria, Infanta of Portugal, 1521-1577.                

Livro de cozinha da Infanta D. Maria : codice

portugu„es I.E. 33 da Biblioteca Nacional de Napoles /

prologo, leitura, notas aos textos, glossario e

indices de Giacinto Manuppella. -- [Lisbon] : Impr.

Nacional, Casa da Moeda, [1987]                      

xxvi, 257 p. : facsims. ; 24 cm. -- (Biblioteca de

autores portugueses)

 

Available from UC Santa Barbara, Los Angeles Public

Library, ISC, Stanford Univ., Princeton Univ., New

York Univ.

 

I cannot find any library with the Crowley translation.

Do you have any information about who published it and

when?

 

Huette

 

 

Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 13:01:16 -0800

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

Subject: SC - De Nola Arrives

 

That book i ordered from Spain, lo, these many weeks ago (like, two

months), has finally arrived! Book and shipping less than $10 US,

which i consider reasonable.

 

It is a reproduction book. The cover says:

 

Ruperto de Nola

 

Libro de Guisados

Majares Y Potajes

intitulado

Libro de Cozina

 

Miguel de Eguia

LogroÒo

1529

 

It is entirely in its period type face with no translation. This

paperback edition was published by Librerias Paris-Valencia SLISBN

84-89725-46-2

 

Any one (Robin/Brighid?) know anything about this edition?

 

I certainly can't do what Robin/Brighid has been doing, but it is

rather nifty to have a reproduction cookbook even if i can't read it

very well.

 

Anahita

 

 

Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 17:03:11 -0500 (EST)

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>

Subject: RE: SC - De Nola Arrives

 

- ------Original Message------

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

Ruperto de Nola

 

Libro de Guisados

Majares Y Potajes

intitulado

Libro de Cozina

 

Miguel de Eguia

LogroÒo

1529

 

Any one (Robin/Brighid?) know anything about this edition?

- -------

 

Yes, I have a copy of that one.  It's the edition I've been working with.  I

started out with Dionisio Perez' 1929 transcription.  The typeface of the

transcription is certainly easier to read, but it is riddled with typos and

even chunks of text omitted.

- -----

I certainly can't do what Robin/Brighid has been doing, but it is rather

nifty to have a reproduction cookbook even if i can't read it very well.

 

Anahita

- -----

 

I found that reading the old script got easier as it went along.  I got used

to the look of the words, and the abbreviations that are used.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

 

 

From: Mastercahankyle at cs.com

Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 11:32:59 EDT

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Subject: [Sca-cooks] A little note on Potatoes & tomatoes

 

I researching for the feast I am cooking next June, I have acquired some new

books.  The one I found on TRADITIONAL SPANISH COOKING has a history of Spain

and Spanish food in the opening section. I found some information which is

interesting.

 

It states that Columbus brought Sweet Potato plants back to Spain since they

were growing there by 1493. The white potato was discovered around 1530 by

Pizzaro's men near Quito, Ecuador. These potatoes were cultivated by monks in

Seville by 1539 and are said to arrive in Ireland around 1586, possibly from

ships of the Spanish Armada wrecked on the Irish coast.

 

On Columbus's fourth voyage in 1502, he discovered the cocoa bean in

Nicaragua and brought it back to Spain. It wasn't until 1519 that Hernando

Cortez tasted it prepared as a drink that Spain and Portugal enjoyed a

century-long monopoly on chocolate, which became exceedingly popular.

 

Tomatoes were brought from Peru and Mexico to Spain in 1520 and passed on to

the kingdom of Naples, which came under Spanish rule about that time. The

Italians were early pioneers in the use of the tomato in cooking while other

Europeans shunned it for 200 years.

 

The avocado (aguacate in Spanish) was first described in 1519 by a Spanish

explorer who discovered it in Columbia. A chronicler of Cortez, around 1519,

reported seeing turkeys in Mexican markets and said they were cooked daily

for Montezuma's table.  All of this enriched the Spanish diet, which by the

16th century was the most varied in Europe.

 

Among the books mentioned in the bibliography were several Spanish books

(Cocina Gallega, Historia de la Gastronomia Espanola, Cocina

Espanola-Gastronomia e Historia, to mention a few) and several other books

among which are "The Story of Spain" and "Life and Food in the Basque

Country".

 

I did noticed there were only 5 recipes for potatoes and they were either

fried in olive oil or boiled with other vegetables. They were either used

with garlic cloves or onions and always with parsley.

 

Just thought you would like to know. Also there was another comment made

that many recipes were handed down from mother to daughter and were not

written down.

 

Baron Master Cahan Kyle, OP

Clan Kyle

 

 

From: Mastercahankyle at cs.com

Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 14:15:55 EDT

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] A little note on Potatoes & tomatoes

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

 

TerryD at Health.State.OK.US writes:

> Does the book provide a bibliography or notes for the primary sources of

> these facts?

> Bear

 

Yes, I mentioned a few of them at the end of the post.  Most of the

bibliography is a list of Spanish books.

 

Cocina Gallega: Cunqueiro, Alvaro and Filgueria Iglesias, Araceli,Editorial

Everest, Leon, 1982

 

Historia de la Gastronomia Espanola: Martinez Llopis, Manuel M.,Alianza

Editorial Madrid, 1989

 

Cocina Espanola-Gastronomia e Historia: Lujan, Nestor and Perucho,Juan,

Ediciones Danae, Barcelona, 1970

 

Al-Andalus-La Cocina y Su Historia: Benavides Barajas, L., EdicionesDulcina,

Motril, 1992

 

Las Raices del Acite de Oliva: Ministerio de Agricultura yAlimentacion,

Madrid, 1983

 

South From Granda: Brenan, Gerald, Penguin Books, Middlesex, 1963

 

Mediterranean Seafood: Davidson, Alan, Penguin Books, Middlesex, 1972

 

Food: Root, Waverly, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1980

 

The Story of Spain: Williams, Mark., Mirador Books, Malaga, 1990

 

Life and Food in the Basque Country: Sevilla, Maria Jose., Weidenfeldand

Nicolson, London, 1989.

 

Those are the books that were listed.

 

Kyle

 

 

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] A little note on Potatoes & tomatoes

Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 14:41:10 -0500

 

> Yes, I mentioned a few of them at the end of the post.  Most of the

> bibliography is a list of Spanish books.

> Kyle

 

In other words, no primary sources, although there are a couple of

interesting secondary sources.  I was hoping for something a little better

to clearly define the origin of the "facts."

 

IIRC, the sweet potato is originally commented upon in the Diary of

Christopher Columbus.  The white potato was found in Peru in 1530 by Jiminez

de Quesada, while the first written reference appears in 1553 in Chronica

del Peru by Pedro de Leon.  And I'm fairly certain that Oviedo wrote of

sweet potatoes in his Historia general y natural de las Indias, Islas y

Tierra-Firme del Mar Oceano (1517).

 

While potatoes have been tied to hospital accounts in Seville for 1573, I

would like to know the contemporary source for the cultivation recorded in

1539.

 

The 1586 date for potatoes in Ireland is interesting, because it is the year

Francis Drake raided Cartagena and may have brought potatoes into England as

part of the reprovisioning of his ships after the capture of the city.  It

is also the year Drake rescued the survivors of the Virginia colony and

returned them to England, an event which may have tied the potatoes to

Virginia in the mind of John Gerard.

 

Apocryphally, Walter Raleigh, one of the major promoters of the Virginia

colony, is said to have introduced potatoes to his estates in Ireland.

There is some speculation that if he did so, they were sweet potatoes rather

than white potatoes.

 

Neither of these potato stories has been proven to scholarly satisfaction,

nor has the idea that the Spanish Armada brought potatoes to Ireland after

it's defeat on August 7, 1588.

 

As I said, I was hoping for a little better documentation, but the

bibliography may prove useful.  Thanks.

 

Bear

 

 

From: "Vincent Cuenca" <bootkiller at hotmail.com>

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 19:08:08 +0000

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Introduction

 

Some mention has been made of my cookbook; FYI, it's a complete translation

of Ruperto de Nola's "Libro de Guisos, Manjares y Potajes, Intiulado Libro

de Cozina". The book was written for King Fernando I of Naples, while Naples

was under Catalan rule. I have translated the entire text of the 1529

Castilian edition: all the material on food service, household management,

and carving, as well as the recipes.  I am selling copies mail order as well

as through reputable booksellers (hi, Alban! hi, Devra!); contact me at

denolabooks at hotmail.com for ordering information.

 

There is another partial translation available on the Internet, in Stefan's

Florilegium. This one was done by our own Lady Brighid (or is it Her

Ladyship now?)  She has translated the recipe sections, and her version is

well worth the read.  We both worked from the same edition, but as with any

translation, there are differences.

 

Vicente

 

 

Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2001 17:00:24 -0400

From: johnna holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Spanish Sea feast update

 

Mastercahankyle at cs.com wrote:> --

> If you all remember, a few months ago, I had made a request about Spanish

> sources for the feast I am doing in June 2002. Here is how it is going:>

> I purchased many cook books concerning Spanish and other Mediterranean

> cooking, including the copy of "Libro de Cozina" of Master Ruperto de Nola,

> 1529 edition translated by Vincent F. Cuenca.

> Baron Cahan Kyle, OP

 

I don't remember your asking about Spanish sources,

so perhaps it was prior to my becoming active on

the list.I have some interesting citations on Spanish

foods and cooking that might prove interesting to hunt up.

They are going to have to be ordered from Spain, however,

as they aren't turning up in US Bookstores or thru ILL

either.

 

1. EL ARTE DE LA COCINA EN TIEMPOS DE FELIPE II by

Gregorio Sanchez Meco and Armando Jimenez Tejedor.

1998. ISBN: 8488517130.  351p.

 

2. LA MESA DEL EMPERADOR:  RECETARIO DE CARLOS V EN

YUSTE by Jose V. Serradilla Munoz.  1997.

ISBN: 8489872015.  203p.

 

 

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>

To: Medieval_Spain at yahoogroups.com, sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 12:07:29 -0400

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Interesting website on Spanish food

 

http://www.jimena.com/cocina/

 

It has some good information (in Spanish) on the history of Spanish

cuisine, including literary and historical references.  Those who do

not read Spanish may still be interested in the link marked

"pintura", which contain 17th century paintings which depict food,

kitchens, and feasts.  Post-period, but still interesting.

 

Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

 

 

Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 15:33:02 -0400

From: johnna holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Medieval Spanish Cuisine Books

To: "sca-cooks at ansteorra.org" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

While researching a question on another list

for someone, I just came across the website of

 

TERESA de CASTRO MARTÍNEZ at

http://www.geocities.com/tdcastros/Historyserver/CV.html

 

She rec'd her PhD in Medieval Studies from the University of

Granada.

 

Her books include:

 

1.La Alimentación en las Crónicas Castellanas Bajomedievales (Food

through the Medieval Castilian Chronicles). Granada. University of

Granada. 1996.

Online Version en:

http://www.geocities.co/tdcastros/Historyserver/Tes1/Home.htm

 

2. En la Alhambra Cristiana: bastimentos, tiendas y mercado (In the

Christian Alhambra: Foods, Stores and Food Market). Granada.

Asukaría-Mediterránea. 1999.

Online Version:

http://www.geocities.com/tdcastros/Historserver/Alh/Home3.htm

 

3. El abastecimiento alimentario en el reino de Granada. 1492-1510 (Food

Supplies in the Kingdom of Granada (1492-1510). Granada. CTV. 2000

Online Version:

http://www.geocities.com/tdcastros/Historyserver/Tes2/Home5.htm

 

Johnnae llynLewis

 

 

Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 12:48:41 -0700

From: david friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Favorite period Spanish recipes?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

Jadwiga wrote:

I'm looking into cooking more Spanish foods in my period cooking

repetroire. What are people's favorite dishes from the Spanish corpus?

 

We haven't done a lot of Spanish, but a couple I like (recipes in the

Miscellany, translations from Spanish by Brighid) are:

 

Para Hazer Tortillon Relleno: To Make a Stuffed Tortillon: rich bread

with dried fruit, sugar, cinnamon, etc filling

 

Potage of Onions Which They Call "Cebollada": cooked onions with

almond milk, egg yolks, cheese.

 

Elizabeth of Dendermonde/Betty CookFrom morgana.abbey at juno.com Tue Aug 26

 

 

Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 14:07:17 +0000

From: "Vincent Cuenca" <bootkiller at hotmail.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Favorite Spanish period recipes

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

 

Oh man.  Lessee here…

 

Mirrauste (braised chicken in almond milk sauce, de Nola)

Almedroch (a sauce of roast garlic, cooked egg yolks, cheese, oil and broth,

de Nola & Sent Sovi)

Sauce of Horseradish (honey, breadcrumbs, water, vinegar, and horseradish…

hoo baby!, de Nola)

Esparechs ab Salsa (asparagus in sauce, Sent Sovi)

Ciurons Tendres Ab Let de Amelles (tender chickpeas with barley in almond

milk, Sent Sovi)

Composta (mixed vegetables, fruits and nuts in a sauce of wine, mustard and

spices, Libre de Totes Maneres de Confits)

Flaones (cheesecake with mint and rosewater, de Nola)

Torons de Avalanes (hazelnut black nougat, Libre de Totes Maneres de

Confits)

 

There's more that I haven't played with much, but these are my favorites.

 

Vicente

 

 

Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 19:13:38 EDT

From: Spnknffrk at aol.com

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Oranges and Cinnamon

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

 

lilinah at earthlink.et writes:

> I've read references to fresh sliced oranges served with powdered

> cinnamon (and sweetener?) as being "period" and perhaps Spanish, but

> i've yet to see an actual source. I don't expect a recipe, but a

> reference in a text of some sort.. Anyone know of one?

> Anahita

 

This may or may not help, but when I was in Morocco a few years ago

many of our meals were served with cinnamon powdered orange slices as a dessert.

 

Gonza

 

 

Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 18:19:2 -0700

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Oranges and Cinnamon

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

 

Gonza wrote:

> lilinah at earthlnk.net writes:

>> I've read references to fresh sliced oranges served with powdered

>> cinnamon (and sweetener?) as being "period" and perhaps Spanish, but

>> i've yet to see an actual source. I don't expect a recipe, but a

>> reference in a text of some ort... Anyone know of one?

>> 

>> Anahita

> This may or may not help, but when I was in Morocco a few years ago

> many of our meals were served with cinnamon powdered orange slices as  

> a dessert.

 

Yeah, i was in Morocco a few years ago and had the same experience.

 

However, someone somewhere in the SCA said they had found a textual

reference to oranges with cinnamon either in the Maghrib or

al-Andalus or Spain at some time within "SCA period". But i'm looking

for an actual reference.

 

Anahita

 

 

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2004 07:34:47 -0800 (PST)

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Spanish

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

-----Original Message-----

From: Wildecelery at aol.com

In my realm of experience manteca is lard, where manteqilla (sp?) is  

butter.

 

-Ardenia

_______________________________________________

 

You'r absolutely correcct that these are the modern meanings.  I have  

not seen "mantequilla" in any of the period Spanish cookbooks, health  

manuals, and related resources that I've used.  On the website  

www.corpusdelespanol.org, which is a searchable database of Spanish  

words, "mantequilla" appears 5 times in 16th c. sources, and twice in  

17th c. sources.  In the dictionary of the Real Academia Española, the  

word doesn't appear until the 18th century, when it is defined as a  

paste made of "mantec de vacas", beaten smooth, and sugar -- something  

similar to a buttercream frosting.  Not until the 1925 edition is  

"mantequilla" defined as butter, and then it's a secondary definition,  

after the sweet paste mentioned above.

 

The historical database maintained at the RAE (www.rae.es) has 7 uses  

of "mantequilla" pre-18th c., but I cannot tell from the quotes if  

these refer to butter or butter-sugar paste.

 

To sum up: "mantequilla" *may* have been used as a word for butter in  

Renaissance Spain, but not commonly.  The common period term is  

"manteca de vacas", sometimes shortened to "manteca" in cases where the  

context makes the meaning clear.

 

Sorry to be verbose, but this question pushed one of my buttons (in a  

good way).

 

Lady Brighid ni Ciarain

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

 

 

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2004 12:33:26 -0500 (GMT-05:00)

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Followup on butter/lard question

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.og>

 

I double-checked with an acquaintance who is a professor of Spanish and  

Portuguese. He confirms that "manteca de vacas" refers to dairy  

butter.

 

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

 

 

Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 23:05:18 -0500

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Sausage recipes

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

Phlip wrote:

> We went through this, somewhat, when we were discussing gazpacho. What

> particularly makes these sausages all chorizo, derived from the  original

> that Brighid presented us with? Is it simply a Spanish term for a highly

> spiced sausage, the spicings changing with the spices available? Are there

> other sausage recipes that aren't chorizo, that are highly spiced?  Anybody

> have any information or speculation?

> Saint Phlip,

> CoD

 

The oldest definition is in Covarrubias (1611).  He calls it "churizo",

and says that it is a particular type of sausage, and suggests that the

etymology of the name is from "churre", meaning "dripping" (as in fat

dripping from meat onto coals).  Not very helpful.

 

The earliest edition of the RAE dictionary (1729) defines chorizo as a

short piece of intestine, stuffed with chopped meat, usually pork,

marinated, and with spices, which is cured in smoke to harden it.  The

word I have translated as "marinated" is "adobado".   The period recipes

that have "adobado" in their titles usually have vinegar in them, but

the white wine is substituting for it here.

--

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

 

 

Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 14:56:09 -0400

From: Barbara Benson <voxeight at gmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Need Spanish suggestions

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

I am certain that you will get many replies to this, but here are my

few thoughts on Spanish food. I have done a few dishes and agree that

Brighid's work is fantastic. The one dish that people literally fight

each other over that I have had success with at a couple of feasts is

the Cazuela of Salmon but you said no fish.

 

A side dish that I particularly like and that has gone over well is a

Chick Pea dish as follows:

 

Ciurons Tendres

Libre de Sent Sovi, 1323 Catalan.

 

Si vols apperellar ciurons tendres ab let de amelles, se ffa axi: Prin

los ciurons, e leva'ls be. E ages let de amelles, e mit-los a coura ab

la let e ab holi e ab sal; e met-hi seba escaldade ab aygua bulent. E

quant deuran esser cuyt, met-hi jurvert e alfabegua e moradux e

d'altres bones epicies [should be 'erbes'] e un poc de gingebre e de

gras. E quant hi metras los ciurons, sien levats ab aygua calda, que

tentost son cuyts.

 

If you want to prepare tender chickpeas with almond milk, do it thus:

take the chickpeas and wash them well. And take almond milk and set

them to cook with the milk and with oil and with salt; and put in it

onion scalded with boiling water. And when they should be cooked, put

in them parsley and basil and marjoram and other good spices [should

be 'herbs'] and a little ginger and verjus. And when you add the chick

peas, wash them with hot water that they should cook more quickly.

       

2 lbs Chick Peas Drained

1 3/4 C Almond Milk

1 T Vegetable Oil

1 t Salt

1/2 C Onion

1 T Marjoram

1 T Basil

1 C Loose Chopped Parsley

2 T Verjuice

1 t Ground Ginger

 

Chop onions and blanch in boiling water. Blanch, peel and grind

almonds (in blender). Once almonds are ground, add 2 C of hot water in

the blender and blend for around a minute. Line a strainer with a

layer of muslin twice as big as the strainer. Place strainer in bowl.

Pour almond mixture into the muslin and gather edges up to form a

sack. Press the mixture until all of the almond milk has been

extracted - should be around 1 3/4C of milk. Put cooked Chickpeas,

Almond Milk, vegetable oil, onions and salt into a saucepan. Bring to

a simmer and cook for a bit. Add Marjoram, Basil and parsley and

simmer some more. In a separate container mix verjuice and ginger.

When the chickpeas have simmered for around a total of 30 minutes

remove from heat. Allow to cool a bit, then stir in verjuice and

ginger.

 

If you make the Almond milk ahead of time and bring pre-cooked onions

then it should work perfectly in a crock pot.

 

A beef dish out of de Nola that has gone over well in a feast I did is

as follows:

      

Meat Casserole

> From Libre del Coch by Rupert de Nola. Translated by Lady Brighid  

> ni Chiarain.

124. CAZUELA DE CARNE You must take meat and cut it into pieces the

size of a walnut, and gently fry it with the fat of good bacon; and

when it is well gently fried, cast in good broth, and cook it in a

casserole; and cast in all fine spices, and saffron, and a little

orange juice or verjuice, and cook it very well until the meat begins

to fall apart and only a little broth remains; and then take three or

four eggs beaten with orange juice or verjuice, and cast it into the

casserole; and when you wish to eat, give it four or five stirs with a

large spoon, and then it will thicken; and when it is thick, remove it

from the fire; and prepare dishes, and cast cinnamon upon each one.

However, there are those who do not wish to cast in eggs or spice, but

only cinnamon and cloves, and cook them with the meat, as said above,

and cast vinegar on it so that it may have flavor; and there are

others who put all the meat whole and in one piece, full of cinnamon,

and whole cloves, and ground spices in the broth, and this must be

turned little by little, so that it does not cook more at one end than

the other. And so nothing is necessary but cloves and cinnamon, and

those moderately.

              

1 t Ground Ginger

1/2 t Ground Nutmeg

1 t Grains of Paradise

15 - 18 Threads Saffron

1 C Bitter Orange Juice

2 T Olive Oil

1/2 t Ground Cinnamon

2 Cloves Ground

2 Eggs

4 C Beef Broth

3 lbs Beef (chuck)

              

Put 1/2 C of orange juice into a cup and add ginger, nutmeg, and

crushed Grains of Paradise - mix well. Cut beef into walnut sized

chunks. Use a large oven proof covered pot (like a dutch oven).

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place pot on the top of the stove and

add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Bring olive oil up to heat

but do not allow to smoke. Add beef chunks and stir to sear on all

sides. Add the orange juice/spice mixture and beef broth. Stir in well

and then allow to come to boil. Once boiling, cover and move to oven.

Cook for approximately 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Drain off all but 1/2 inch of

juices (reserve for a sauce if desired). Add the cinnamon and cloves

to the eggs and beat well. Temper egg mixture with the beef juices and

then add egg mixture to the pot, whisking well. Bring the pottage back

up to heat but just to a simmer. Just before you will serve add the

remaining 1/2 C of orange juice, bring to heat and stir well.

                             

This one should be fine if you make it ahead of time (off site) and

then heat it up on site. As with other braised beef dishes, it gets

better with time. I would make it up to the adding the egg part and

then do the egg and additional OJ on site. It would also work just

fine in Roasters.

 

Glad Tidings,

Serena da Riva

 

> Gwen Cat> than Spanish, so Im looking for suggestions of

> FAVORITE or tried and true recipes for a lunch in a

> few weeks.  The site has electricity, but NO

> kitchen/running water, so everything will have to

> happen in roasters/crock pots, room temp or chilled.

> At this point I am told to expect ~100.  The budget is

> generous (for me ;-) but wont support much

> fish/seafood as this is Colorado we are talking about.

 

 

Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 18:26:26 -0400

From: Robin <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Need Spanish suggestions

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

The recipe below is one that mistress jadwiga and i both served at

separate feasts, and it was well-received at each.  forgive the lack of

capitals -- my keyboard has had too much coffee.

 

if you have any questions, let me know.

 

 

Torta de Zanahoria (Carrot Pie)

 

     Wash and scrape the carrots, and remove them from the water and  

cook

them in good meat broth, and being cooked remove them and chop them

small with the knife, adding to them mint and marjoram, and for each two

pounds of chopped carrots [use] a pound of Tronchon cheese and a pound

and a half of buttery Pinto cheese, and six ounces of fresh cheese, and

one ounce of ground pepper, one ounce of cinnamon, two ounces of candied

orange peel cut small, one pound of sugar, eight eggs, three ounces of

cow's butter, and from this composition make a torta with pastry above

and below, and the tart pan with pastry all around, and make it cook in

the oven, making the crust of sugar, cinnamon, and rosewater. In this

manner you can make tortas of all sorts of roots, such as that of

parsley, having taken the core out of them.

 

 

Diego Granado, Libro del Arte de Cozina, 1599

 

 

Redaction:

1/2 lb. carrots, cooked and drained

1/2 oz. candied orange peel

4 oz. mozzarella, shredded

1/4 tsp. dried marjoram

6 oz. monterey jack, shredded

1/2 tsp dried mint

1-1/2 oz. ricotta cheese

2 eggs, beaten

1-1/2 TBS butter

pastry for 2-crust pie (preferably made with butter)

1/2 TBS cinnamon

cinnamon sugar

1/2 c. sugar

rosewater

 

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Combine all of the filling ingredients and mix

thoroughly. Place in the bottom crust.  Put on the top crust, and seal

the edges well.  Brush the top crust with rosewater, and sprinkle with

cinnamon sugar.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the crust is brown, and

the filling is set.

 

Notes:

This appears to be one of the recipes that Granado "borrowed" from

Scappi. It appears in a chapter entitled, "Divers Manners of Tortas, or

Tortadas, Which in Italy are Called Costradas, and in Naples, Copos".  I

made some substitutions in the cheeses.  I have been unable to identify

Pinto cheese, so I substituted mozzarella, which is a period cheese

(Granado refers to it in other recipes).  Tronchon is a Spanish variety

which is still produced today, but it is rare and hard to obtain.  Its

flavor is supposed to be mild, and I thought Monterey Jack, though a

modern cheese, might work in this recipe.  Fresh cheese is a soft,

newly-made cheese, and Ricotta has a similar taste and texture, even

though it is a whey cheese.

--

Brighid ni Chiarain

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

 

 

Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 23:25:49 -0400

From: Elaine Koogler <ekoogler1 at comcast.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Need Spanish suggestions

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

Cat . wrote:

> To all who sent Spanish suggestions, Thank you so

> much.

> Kiri-hime,

> Would you share your almond sweetmeat or is it too

> Arabic, not Spanish enough?  The link is wonderful,

> and Im really interested in playing with the rice

> casserole (rice, cheese, meat, bake it, top with eggs

> and cheese and bake some more.)  The Moorish stew is

> interesting too, but goat or mutton would be

> prohibitive on my budget.  Would beef bee too much of

> a stretch?  What is the Spanish take on pork?

> (anybody? Anybody? Buehler?)

 

Sure, no problem...I'm not absolutely sure which you want so I'm

including both:

*/Manual de mugeres/* translated by Meisterine Karen Larsdatter (a 16^th

C. Spanish manuscript)

 

*Recipe for making a conserve of /alajú/ (a delicacy of Arabic origin,

basically a paste made of almonds, walnuts, or pine nuts, toasted

breadcrumbs, spices, and honey).*

 

Knead together well-sifted flour with oil and water. And leave the dough

somewhat hard and knead it well. And make thin cakes and cook them well,

so they can be ground; and grind them and sift them. And then take a

/celemín/ of ground cleaned walnuts, and two pounds of ground toasted

almonds. And while you crush the walnuts and almonds, mix them. Put a

well-measured /azumbre/ of honey to the fire, and the best that you can

find, skim it and return it to the fire. And when the honey rises, add

the walnuts and almonds in it. And cook it until the honey is cooked.

And when it is, remove it from the fire and put with it a half a

/celemín/ of the grated flour cakes, and mix it well. And then add a

half-ounce of cloves and another half (ounce) of cinnamon, and two

nutmegs, all ground-up. And then repeat the stirring a lot. And then

make it into cakes or put it in boxes, whichever you desire more.

 

My redaction (with the assistance of Mistress Rose of Black Diamond):

 

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 cup Walnuts, ground

1 cup almonds, toasted and ground

1cup honey

1/8 tsp. cloves, ground

1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ground

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

 

Toast almonds. Grind almonds and walnuts together.

Heat honey until it boils up. Add the almond/walnut mixture and continue

cooking until 250º on a candy thermometer.

Add the breadcrumbs, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together well.

Press into molds or a pan, and turn out to finish drying.

 

Made 3 doz. Small heart cakes.

 

*Recipe for making almond sweetmeats*

 

**For each pound of honey a well-beaten egg white and mixed with the

honey. And beat it well, letting it rest for a day. And at the other

day, cook the honey well, stirring it always without stopping until it

is well cooked. See if it is cooked in this way: add a drop of honey in

an/ //escudilla

<http://www.geocities.com/karen_larsdatter/manual.htm#wm>/ of cold

water, and if afterwards from being cold it crumbles, it is cooked, and

if not, (it's) not (cooked enough). And when it is cooked, add pine

nuts, or almonds, or hazelnuts, toasted and ground up. And put it to the

fire for a little while. And then remove it, and make clusters or

slices, whichever you desire more, from it.

 

My redaction with Mistress Rose of Black Diamond:

 

1 1/2 Tbsp. Egg white

1 C. Honey

1/2 cup toasted almonds

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

 

Grind almonds and pine nuts together. Mix the egg white with the honey

and heat the mixture to hard crack stage (300º), then mix in nut

mixture. Pour onto a greased sheet and allow to harden.

 

Hope these are of use...

 

Kiri

 

 

Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 22:07:04 -0700

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Andalusian = Middle Eastern?

To: SCA-Cooks at ansteorra.org

 

Stefan wrote:

> I've heard Andalusian foods, and probably this specific site,

> suggested before for 'Middle Eastern' foods. I considered suggesting

> that myself in an an earlier message I posted to the Middle Eastern

> nibbles thread.

> However, what are the reasons to suggest that the foods of Andalusia

> were common or even used in the Middle East? They may both be Moslem,

> but Andalusia (I thought) was southern Spain and perhaps Morocco?

> That's a long way from the Middle East.

 

Two things here.

 

First, you are correct. Andalusia is NOT in the Middle East. Egypt

isn't in the Middle East either, being in North Africa. Istanbul is

not in the Middle East (it's in Europe).

 

   The Middle East is Southwest Asia (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel,

Palestine, the countries of the Arabian peninsula, Iraq, Iran

(there's more but i'll stop here)).

 

But Andalusia, North Africa, and Southwest Asia are in a cultural

area better described as the Near East. This is because of shared

language, religion, and culture (clearly with regional differences).

 

Second, a comparison of surviving SCA-period Arab language cookbooks

shows that while there are regional differences (remember my

comparison of the seasonings in the Andalusian and al-Baghdadi

cookbooks), there are also a number of similarities. Cookbooks were

valued in Muslim cultures in SCA period. They were copied and traded

over great distances. The oldest known surviving copy of "The Book of

the Description of Familiar Foods" was written in Egypt, and another

was copied in Ottoman Turkey. Yet it contains nearly all recipes from

the surviving copies of al-Baghdadi's cookbook, plus many more

recipes. This shows that this cookbook not only was used in the

Middle East and in North Africa - where most people speak Arabic -

but was also used where the Turkish language was spoken.

 

The 13th c. Andalusian cookbook was not written by one author. Rather

it is composed of recipes and tidbits copied from a number of

different cookbooks. Chances are excellent at least some were

imported from the Eastern centers of Arabic culture.

 

> Who were the "Ilkhans" and what connections to the mongol rulers of

> China are you talking about?

 

The rulers of the Persian Empire who were the descendents of the

Mongols. (i think that answers both questions)

--

Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)

the persona formerly known as Anahita

 

 

Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 14:27:49 -0700 (PDT)

From: Tom Vincent <tom.vincent at yahoo.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Pre-1492 Spanish Cooking

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

 

I don't know if this book has been mentioned to you, but I found it  

on the poisonpenpress website (http://www.poisonpenpress.com/

cookery.html)

 

   Recipes from Banquet dels Quatre Barres (2nd edition) - $12.95

Translated by Thomas & Cynara McDonald (Master Thomas Longshanks &  

Mistress Aelfwynne Grythesdohter). These recipes are translated from  

Libre de Sent Sovi, which "represent the oldest surviving collection  

of recipes from the medieval Catalan cuisine

" A number of copies of this manuscript, designated by their  

location, survive, and the material is drawn from several of them.  

Dating is uncertain, but "the introduction to the Valencia manuscript  

places the date of the original at 1323

. For each recipe in this collection, we have provided a faithful  

transcription of the original text, a pseudo-literal translation, and  

our modern redaction." Recipes are divided into three sections: from  

the Valencia ms, the Barcelona ms, and ‘Other Recipes." Tr pb, spiral  

bound, 8-1/2x11, 46 pp, 24 recipes. Also includes menus & brief biblio.

 

Duriel

 

 

Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 12:59:11 -0400

From: Elaine Koogler <ekoogler1 at comcast.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Spanish recipe question.

To: jenne at fiedlerfamily.net, Cooks within the SCA

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise wrote:

> And is desperately scrambling to get her feast menu in order. So far I

> have decided on Granado's Carrot Cheese Pie, and an Eggplant ala de Nola

> (MOORISH EGGPLANT)-- basically eggplant peeled and cut, boiled, squished

> between two cutting boards, sauted, thickened with broth, and cheese

> added-- the weird part is this one also adds egg, but otherwise it's De

> Nola Faced With A Vegetable... also I want to serve Food for Angels

> (sweetened curd cheese). There should be dishes of pork, beef, and

> chicken (though I might sneak in lamb or kid as well) and there should

> be fish. I'm trying to avoid repeating too many recipes from the

> previous Convivencia.

> Brainstorming suggestions would be very welcome.

 

Both of the following recipes were a howling success when I served them

a couple of years ago. The first is for fish, but it is unbelievably

easy and even those who claim to hate fish loved it:

 

      */Libro de Cozina/ of Master Ruperto de Nola*, translated by

      Vincent F. Cuenca

 

*Grilled Tuna*

 

Take a piece of tuna from the part near the belly and clean it; and

baste it with oil, and brush also the grill and set it to roast over a

few coals; and baste them from time to time with oil and then prepare

its light sauce with water and salt and oil, and bitter orange juice and

pepper and all the good herbs torn up or chopped fine: and when they

wish to eat place our fish on the plate and pour the sauce over it; and

if you wish to make another sauce, like for arugula or another it should

be as you wish.

 

10 # Tuna

Olive Oil

Salt

Bitter orange juice (thin oj with white wine vinegar)

Pepper

Tarragon, chopped fine

Cilantro, chopped fine

 

Brush tuna steaks with olive oil, then grill, basting from time to time

with oil.

 

Sauce:

 

Mix oil, water, salt, orange juice, white wine vinegar, pepper, tarragon

and cilantro. Serve on the side with tuna steaks.

 

This next one isn't from de Nola, but seemed to be ubiquitous throughout

the Mediterannean area. It seems that it would fit in with your plans...

 

 

      /The Neapolitan Recipe Collection (Cuoco Napoletano)/ by Terence

      Scully

 

*37. **Catalan-Style Mirausto*

In primo piglia pizoni o polastri ho caponi, conzali como se fa arosto,

he poneli a rostire nel spido; he quando son mezi cotti, caveli for a he

divideli in quarti, he ogni quarto in doi parti, he poneli in una

pignata; dapoi piglia amandole he pistale molto bene; poi piglia doi

fette di pane brusculato et quarto rossi de ova dura; poi pista ogni

cosa cum le amandole, he distempera cum uno pocho de acceto ho de brood,

he passa per la stamegna; da poi lo mette nela dita pignata sopra la

carne, giogendoli de bone specie, cioe, canella assai, zucaro asai; poi

mete la pignata supra le braxe he falla bullire per meza hora,

continuamente menando cum lo cughiaro; et quando sera cotto, manda

questo Mirausto a tavola in piatelli ho in scuteele, he fallo como el

colore gamellino.

 

Begin by getting pigeons or cockerels or capons, prepare them as for a

roast and set them to roast on a spit; when they are half cooked, take

them, and split each quarter in two, and put them into a pot; then get

almonds and grind them up thoroughly, and get two slice of toast and

four hard-boiled egg yolk and grind up all this with the almonds and

distemper it with a little vinegar or broth and strain it; then put it

into the pot on top of the meat, adding in good spices?that is, a good

lot of cinnamon and a good lot of sugar; then set the pot on the coals

and let it boil for half an hour, stirring constantly with a spoon; when

it is cooked, serve this Mirausto in dishes or in bowls, and give it a

cameline colour.

 

My redaction:

 

2 Chicken breasts/thighs

1 cup Almonds, ground

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

2 Hardboiled egg yolk

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar

1/4 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. sugar

 

Bake the chicken at 350? until it is about half done. Cut it into  

chunks.

 

While the chicken is cooking, grind the almonds. Add breadcrumbs and egg

yolks, and grind again. Add the broth and vinegar mixture, then the

cinnamon and sugar. Cook the chicken chunks in the sauce until the

chicken is fully cooked.

 

I also used a recipe from Platina to do a pork roast, then served it

with three sauces, a garlic pine-nut sauce and Agalura sauce from de

Nola and the Persian Relish from Platina. If you're interested, let me

know and I'll send the recipes.

 

Kiri

 

 

Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 13:10:27 -0800

From: Lilinah <lilinah at earthlink.net>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Torta a la Genovesa

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

 

I'd like to make the Torta a la Genovesa for the Duchesses Rose Ball.

 

Here's the Original recipe:

 

From: Libro de Guisados (1529)

Translated by Brighid ni Chiarain

 

127. Torta a la Genovesa

Genovese Tart

 

A pound of almonds well-peeled, and another of pine nuts, and another

of toasted hazelnuts, and grind them all together in a mortar and

after grinding, set them aside. And take a pot with water, and salt,

and oil. And this shall be on a flesh day, and taste [to see] if it

is well-salted; and take a half pound of raisins without seeds, and

three ounces of peeled dates cut into quarters, and three or four

apples which are sweet-sour or sweet, and quarter them and remove the

core and seeds, and cast them in the pot to cook. And when it is

well-boiled, the apples will be cooked. And then remove them from the

water, and grind them with the dates, and raisins, and almonds, and

with the hazelnuts, and pine nuts. And after they are well-ground,

blend it all with the said broth; and if it is a flesh day, you may

cast into the mortar a dozen eggs ground up with the aforementioned

things. And then strain it through a sieve, and having done this take

good dough which is well-kneaded, and make a trencher as large as if

it were the bottom of the frying pan which you have, and make its

edges like a empanada without a top; however, let it be the size of

the frying pan neither more no less, and put it in the frying pan;

and when it is inside, cast in a little oil underneath so that the

dough does not stick to the frying pan; and then cast all that sauce

or foodstuff in the pie, and put it upon good hot cinders; and then

take a lid which is as large as the frying pan, that will cover it

well, and put a good fire of charcoal above and below and around it.

And when it has been like this for a little while, carefully remove

the lid from the top, and cast into the tart two ounces of sugar, and

one of ground cinnamon, and then cover it again with its lid; and

cook two hours until the dough comes away from the frying-pan; and

then it is cooked, and remove it to a plate as if it were an omelet;

and put it on the table like a pie.

 

 

I've rewritten the recipe in a more modern form, but it is not

necessarily fully workable:

 

1 lb. almonds well-peeled

1 lb. pine nuts

1 lb. toasted hazelnuts

water

salt

oil

1/2 lb. seedless raisins

3 ounces pitted dates cut into quarters

3 or 4 apples, quartered, cored and seeded

12 eggs - optional (are these hard boiled?)

empanada dough

a little oil to grease the pan

2 ounces of sugar

1 ounce ground cinnamon

 

Blanch almonds and slip out of skins.

Toast hazelnuts and when cool enough, rub between hands to remove skins.

Grind all three kinds of nuts together and set aside.

 

Into a pot put water, salt, and oil and set on medium heat.

Add apples to the pot and cook until tender.

Remove apples from the water, saving liquid.

 

Grind together apples with dates, raisins, and ground nuts.

And if it is a flesh day, add eggs. (I assume these have been hard-cooked)

After they are well-ground, blend in the apple cooking liquid.

Then strain it through a sieve.

 

Take good well-kneaded dough, and make a trencher the size of the

bottom of your frying pan.

Make its edges like a empanada without a top;

Oil a large heavy pan.

Line the pan with the dough.

Pour the fruit and nut mix into the pie shell.

Bake covered for "a little while"

Then remove the lid, and sprinkle onto the tart the sugar and cinnamon.

Then cover it again and bake two hours until the dough comes away

from the sides of the frying-pan

When it is cooked, remove it to a plate as if it were an omelet; and

put it on the table like a pie.

 

(That Frying Pan must have been huge!)

 

I am intending to make a "normal" sized pie - 8" or 9". I know this

will effect how long it takes to cook.

 

So to my questions:

- Eggs... are they hard cooked? Seems that way to me, since it says

they should be ground.

- Dough... what sort of dough would this have been? For less

historical authenticity but ease of making, could we use a "normal"

modern pie crust?

- So what does "Make its edges like a empanada without a top" mean?

- At what temperature should this be baked? 300? 350? 400? (i'm not a

pastry cook, so i'm not sure)

- I assume that the torta is open face. Does this seem correct?

- What effect would covering the torta with a lid have? Or should

this be interpreted as being like a testa, to make sure that it is

evenly heated above and below?

- How long would this take? An hour? Less?

--

Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)

the persona formerly known as Anahita

 

 

Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 16:47:17 -0500

From: "grizly" <grizly at mindspring.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Torta a la Genovesa

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

-----Original Message-----

>>>>> SNIP

And then remove them from the

water, and grind them with the dates, and raisins, and almonds, and

with the hazelnuts, and pine nuts. And after they are well-ground,

blend it all with the said broth; and if it is a flesh day, you may

cast into the mortar a dozen eggs ground up with the aforementioned

things. < < SNIP > >

 

So to my questions:

- Eggs... are they hard cooked? Seems that way to me, since it says

they should be ground.

- Dough... what sort of dough would this have been? For less

historical authenticity but ease of making, could we use a "normal"

modern pie crust?

- So what does "Make its edges like a empanada without a top" mean?

- At what temperature should this be baked? 300? 350? 400? (i'm not a

pastry cook, so i'm not sure)

- I assume that the torta is open face. Does this seem correct?

- What effect would covering the torta with a lid have? Or should

this be interpreted as being like a testa, to make sure that it is

evenly heated above and below?

- How long would this take? An hour? Less?

 

Thanks for any ideas.> > > > > > >

 

I'll give a go at a couple of these:

-=

Eggs . . . I would assume raw eggs that are mixed in the mortar when you are

grinding eveything else.  Given that whisls are not yet ubiquitous, the

mortar is the mixing implement for lots of this stuff.  It is awkward

syntax, probably because of translating from another language.  The eggs

would 'custardize' the whole thing; without eggs, would be less  

tender and more dense.

 

Dough . . . "well kneaded dough" stumps me in this one.  Traditional modern

pasrty crust would toughen if kneaded, but one with egg and oil would be

less likely.  It almost seems as if it would be some other altogether.  I'm

not familiar enough with the rest of the text to say for certain.  I would

look at other tortas and recipes in the chapter to see what they call  

for.

 

"like an Empenada" I would suspect is crimped at top or maybe forked over

the edge.

 

"Temperature" is rough from what we have.  I'd bake it at about 350F if I

had the raw eggs in it.  With hard boiled or no eggs, I'd go no more than a

little higher to maybe 375F.  Need the crust to cook as the filling does.

 

"Open faced" is what I read here as well.  It does specify without a top as

part of a description, but I've been trapped with such logic before.

 

"Covering the torta with a lid" The description sounds to me a lot like they

are telling us to cook as if in a dutch oven, in a bed of coals banked

around the oven, and atop the lid in the ridge.  It would keep coal dust out

of the dish, and even the cooking heat around to the whole pot/pie.

 

"Time" I personally would have to test the thing to see the thickness of

the filling and the speed of either an oven or the coals-banked dutch oven.

I'd check it at 35 and 45 minutes if a standard 1.5 inch deep custard pie at

350F. It'll possibly go to an hour, but I don't have the experience to say

for certain.

 

Makes me want to try it this holiday, though, and give as gifts to good

friends if it works out.  I'll be very appreciative to hear any results you

may end up having if you try before me, as well as others' impressions on

this recipe and your thoughts!

 

niccolo difrancesco

 

 

Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2006 11:20:32 +1300

From: Adele de Maisieres <ladyadele at paradise.net.nz>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Torta a la Genovesa

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Lilinah wrote:

 

> - Eggs... are they hard cooked? Seems that way to me, since it says

> they should be ground.

 

I'm agnostic on that.

 

> - Dough... what sort of dough would this have been? For less

> historical authenticity but ease of making, could we use a "normal"

> modern pie crust?

 

I'm guessing it's a bread dough, if it's meant to be well-kneaded and to

come away from the sides of the pan when it's done.  That would give you

a result something like a filled focaccia, I suppose.   You could

probably use a "normal" pie crust, but it wouldn't give you thae same

result.

 

> - So what does "Make its edges like a empanada without a top" mean?

 

Possibly a crimped or fluted edge.

 

> - At what temperature should this be baked? 300? 350? 400? (i'm not a

> pastry cook, so i'm not sure)

 

I'd probably plump for 350.

 

> - I assume that the torta is open face. Does this seem correct?

 

Yes.

 

> - What effect would covering the torta with a lid have? Or should

> this be interpreted as being like a testa, to make sure that it is

> evenly heated above and below?

 

Sounds like it.

 

> - How long would this take? An hour? Less?

 

Well the original recipe says two hours, but the full recipe is for a

very large pie. You will probably have to trial it by cooking 'til done.

--

Adele de Maisieres

 

 

Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2006 17:46:48 -0500

From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Torta a la Genovesa . . . solids and/or

        liquids

To: grizly at mindspring.com, Cooks within the SCA

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

On Dec 7, 2006, at 4:56 PM, grizly wrote:

 

> It has been itching at me, so I re-read the recipe.  Are we making a

> complicated, fruited, almond/pinenut/hazelnut milk with extracted pectin for

> the torta here?  We cook all the fruits (extracting pectin??); add cooked

> fruits to gound nuts, then blending it with the cooking broth again

> (adding eggs here if desired).

 

I think we're grinding the nuts, reserving them, stewing fruit in

salted water [with oil if it is a flesh day], grinding the fruit with

the ground nuts, then using the cooking liquor [along with some eggs

if it is a flesh day] to thin the puree down so it can all be pushed

through a sieve to get a nice, smooth, homogeneous product.

 

This is then put into something akin to a deep-dish pizza and baked

under a cloche. I think...

 

> Instructions then say to strain it through a sieve, and then later says ". .

> . cast all that sauce or foodstuff in the pie . . ."  Granted, we have a

> language change here, but it almost seems as if it could be making a pectin

> set liquor or one set with both pectin and eggs.

 

I doubt pectin is involved, frankly. To me this reads more like

pumpkin pie filling; I think it is set with eggs on a flesh day, and

on a non-flesh day you might use less of the cooking liquor to get a

thicker puree to start off, and the nut puree will do the rest.

Y'ever add ground almonds to a curry and note the effect? As for

whether it's a sauce or a foodstuff, it's probably best not to read

too much into it; the author may be noting that there may not be a

really good term to use (German recipes would call it a filling or,

more simply, a food). I believe the term he is instinctively grasping

for is "schtuff."

 

>   Nothing specific is said

> about whether we use what is left in the sieve, the liquids, or if

> we are fine-grinding/mashing the goodies through the sieve mesh.

 

Since no reference is made to separating phases with the sieve, and

which phase is used, I'm assuming everything is pushed through the

sieve, or as much as possible.

 

> I would want to have all the goodies AND the liquid in my pie, but

> that doesn't seem to be specified here in our text.  More grist for

> discussions?

 

As for the well-kneaded dough, note how it is then lifted out of the

pan after baking. That, and the fact that it has a slightly liquid

filling (at least before baking), makes me suspect you don't want a

delicate, flaky crust. You know how they say mealy doughs are best

for damp pie fillings? This may take that concept a step further. You

may still want it to be edible, though. I think there are some

Italian torta doughs which are made with flour and oil, water and/or

egg, but kneaded smooth like a pasta. The end result is moderately

strong, crisp on the bottom after baking, and tender and sort of

fluffy on the inside, like the dough for the timpano in "Big Night".

Isn't it, after all, a torta Genovese from a time when parts of Spain

and parts of Italy were part of the same kingdom?

 

I suspect the bit about making the edges of the dough like an

empanada may mean the edges are raised, and possibly fluted. We may

think today of empanadas as turnovers, but this may not be the

standard form in period.

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 18:43:08 EST

From: Stanza693 at wmconnect.com

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Torta a la Genovesa

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

 

Hi. I absolutely love to cook from de Nola.  I have both Mistress Brighid's

translation (printed out from the Florilegium) and the one by Vincent Cuenca

(sold by Poison Pen Press).  Someday I hope to get my hands on a copy of the

facsimile in Castillian.

 

The advantage of having both is being able to compare the translations.  It

doesn't always help, but it always gives another perspective.  So, in that

vein, I'll take a crack at a couple of your question about eggs.

 

> So to my questions:

> - Eggs... are they hard cooked? Seems that way to me, since it says

> they should be ground.

 

Cuenca's translation doesn't use the word "ground".  Whatever the original,

he chooses to translate it "mixed in".

I would tend to believe that they are raw in order to set the whole torte

when it is baked.  Also, another recipe that I am working with from de Nola

specifies both "egg yolks" and "hard egg yolks" so I am pretty comfortable saying raw eggs.

 

Constanza Marina de Huelva

 

 

Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2006 18:54:37 -0500

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Torta a la Genovesa

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

I have made this a time or two, and it was pretty good.  A full recipe

fit nicely into my 16-inch cast-iron frying pan.  For a standard-sized

pie pan or cake pan, 1/3 of the ingredients works well.  I have not

tried it with eggs.  The original Spanish says, "si es dia de carne

puedes echar enel mortero una dozena de huevos majados conlas

sobredichas cosas."   "Majados" could literally be translated as

"pounded". "Majar" is the verb commonly used to describe grinding food

in a morter.  As Master Adamantius has already commented, the morter was

often used for tasks that would now be performed by other kitchen tools.

 

I can find in the text of the "Libro de Guisados" arguments for both

possibilities: raw eggs and cooked eggs, but I lean towards the former.

In all the recipes where de Nola mentions hard-boiled eggs, he always

specifies using the yolks only.  Since this recipe says :eggs" without

any qualifier, I think raw eggs would be the default.

 

As for the nature of enpanadas, and information about pastry crusts, you

might want to look at  the glossary in my translation.

http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MANUSCRIPTS/Guisados1-art.text

Scroll down to the bottom, and read the section "Enpanadas and  

pasteles".

 

The filling is to be forced through a sieve, in order to give it a

smoother consistency.  The dates should probably be fresh.  Fresh dates

are hard-to-find and expensive in my area, so I used the moistest dried

dates I could find.  The filling is dense and rich, and not overly  

sweet.

 

The torta is open-faced.  It's baked Dutch-oven style, with coals on the

lid. I used my electric overn.  I don't recall what temperature I used

-- probably 350 F.  Time wasn't very long, as the filling is (mostly)

cooked. Maybe 45 minutes to 1 hour?

--

Brighid ni Chiarain

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

 

 

Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2006 19:09:18 -0500

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Torta a la Genovesa

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

Stanza693 at wmconnect.com wrote:

 

> Hi.  I absolutely love to cook from de Nola.  I have both Mistress Brighid's

> translation (printed out from the Florilegium) and the one by Vincent Cuenca

> (sold by Poison Pen Press).  Someday I hope to get my hands on a  

> copy of the facsimile in Castillian.

> Constanza Marina de Huelva

 

If you ever want to know what a particular word or phrase is in the

original, feel free to ask.  I would caution you that the 1929

transcription edited by Dionisio Perez is flawed.  Through "scribal

error", some text was left out, and in the modernization of the

spelling, some words were altered.  Oldtimers on this list may remember

my puzzlement (and subsequent rant) about this very recipe.  The

transcription called for "aceite de bazo" (oil from the spleen).  The

facsimile read "aceite debaxo" (oil underneath).

--

Brighid ni Chiarain

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

 

 

Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 21:44:54 -0600

From: "margaret" <m.p.decker at att.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Torta a la Genovesa

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

> So to my questions:

> - Eggs... are they hard cooked? Seems that way to me, since it says

> they should be ground.

 

Raw. The intent appears to be a custard.

 

> - Dough... what sort of dough would this have been? For less

> historical authenticity but ease of making, could we use a "normal"

> modern pie crust?

 

You could use a modern pie shell, but the dough in this case is probably a

mix of water, flour and salt, probably with a little fat to make it a little

more pliable.  Were I making it, I would heat a 1/2 cup of water to a boil,

add two or three tablespoons of shortening and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, wait

until the shortening melted and add the liquor to two cups of flour.  Stir

it in then work the dough until it is smooth.  Add flour or water as

necessary.

 

The boiling water should coagulate the protein, so that gluten won't form.

The pie shell will range from tough to cracker crisp.  Edible but not

particularly tasty.

 

> - So what does "Make its edges like a empanada without a top" mean?

 

Empanada literal means "enrobed in bread crumbs," but in this case it is

probably referring to turnovers sealed by crimping the edges.  This is

probably a reference to crimping the edges of the pie shell for decoration

without sealing the pie.

 

> - At what temperature should this be baked? 300? 350? 400? (i'm not a

> pastry cook, so i'm not sure)

 

I would try 350 degrees F.  The top will probably turn a golden brown

somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes.  Use a toothpick or cake tester to

check filling.

 

> - I assume that the torta is open face. Does this seem correct?

 

In this case, yes.

 

> - What effect would covering the torta with a lid have?

 

It should slow the cooking and browning of the filling while hardening the

shell. It should also retain more of the moisture.

 

> Or should

> this be interpreted as being like a testa, to make sure that it is

> evenly heated above and below?

 

That too.  While the recipe calls for a frying pan and lid to be placed in

the fire, I would think a casserole and lid in the oven might do equally as

well and let you see the product.

 

> - How long would this take? An hour? Less?

> --

> Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)

 

I would estimate 40 minutes to an hour, but the real test is if it comes out

of the frying pan like an omlet.

 

Bear

 

 

Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2007 08:14:29 -0500

From: Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise <jenne at fiedlerfamily.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Seeking de Nola Information

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

> My brain must be fried, but I am not going to put it on a feast menu.  What

> I am looking for is the Carrot Pie (or whatever it really is) from de Nola

> that so many have used and loved.  I keep looking, but not finding.  Could

> someone with a clearer head than mine please tell me the recipe number from

> Brighid's translation?

> Mairi Ceilidh

 

Sorry, Mairi-- it's actually from Granado, though Brighid translated and

redacted it. Here it is from my notes:

 

Carrot-Cheese Pie

Torta de Zanahoria (Carrot Pie)

Wash and scrape the carrots, and remove them from the water and cook

them in good meat broth, and being cooked remove them and chop them

small with the knife, adding to them mint and marjoram, and for each two

pounds of chopped carrots [use] a pound of Tronchon cheese and a pound

and a half of buttery Pinto cheese, and six ounces of fresh cheese, and

one ounce of ground pepper, one ounce of cinnamon, two ounces of candied

orange peel cut small, one pound of sugar, eight eggs, three ounces of

cow's butter, and from this composition make a torta with pastry above

and below, and the tart pan with pastry all around, and make it cook in

the oven, making the crust of sugar, cinnamon, and rosewater. In this

manner you can make tortas of all sorts of roots, such as that of

parsley, having taken the core out of them.

-- Diego Granado, Libro del Arte de Cozina, 1599

 

Redaction by Brighid ni Chairain:

 

15 lb. carrots, cooked and drained

1/4 lb. candied orange peel

3 lb. mozzarella, shredded

4 tsp. dried marjoram

6 lb monterey jack, shredded

2 handfuls fresh mint

1.5 lb. ricotta cheese

56 eggs, beaten

1.5 cups butter

18 batches pastry for 2-crust pie (preferably made with butter)

1/2 cup cinnamon

cinnamon sugar

2 c. sugar

rosewater

 

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine all of the filling ingredients and mix

thoroughly. Place in the bottom crust. Put on the top crust, and seal

the edges well. Brush the top crust with rosewater, and sprinkle with

cinnamon sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the crust is brown, and

the filling is set.

--

-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika

 

 

Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2007 20:13:28 -0500

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Seeking de Nola Information

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

An observant reader asked me why I left out the black pepper specified

in the original recipe.  This ties in with another thread -- several

people in my group are allergic to pepper.  I should have annotated the

redaction.

--

Brighid ni Chiarain

Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom

 

 

Date: Thu, 6 Sep 2007 21:03:19 -0700

From: Lilinah <lilinah at earthlink.net>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Puff Paste - Fadalat

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

 

Apparently Charles Perry wrote about this recipe and one in the

Anonymous Andalusian in an issue of PPC in 1984.

 

From the Fadalat:

 

-------

 

Confeccio'n del hojaldre, que son las mantecadas

 

Se amasa la se'mola o la harina de flor con agua y sal y se soba bien

sobada. Luego se dcrrite [sic - should be derrite] manteca, se

extiende un pedazo de masa en la amasadera lo ma's fina posible. se

dobla despue's de haberla untado por dentro con manteca, se extiende

otra vez, se golpea con la palmi de la mano y se pone en la sarte'n o

en la paila a la lumbre, despue's de haberla untado con un poco de

manteca, para que no se abrase. Cuando esta' cocida, se retira de la

lumbre y se la golpea con las  dos manos para que se rompan y separen

unos trozos de otros. Luego se ponen en una sopera y se tapan con un

panyuelo y se hace otro tanto con el resto de la masa, hasta el

final. Se riegan luego con miel caliente espumada. se espolvorea con

canela y azu'car, y se come.

 

El que quiera puede hacerlo en panes pequenyos y untarlos con

manteca, poner uno dentro de otro y extender todos ellos con el

rodillo o con la mano, que queden sumamente delgados, y cocerlos en

la paila, lo mismo que antes. Se riegan con miel y se comen.

 

-------

 

Preparation of "puff pastry", that is the buttery ones

 

Knead semolina or fine flour with water and salt and work until well

worked. Next melt butter, stretch a piece of the dough in the finest

possible kneading bowl.

 

MY NOTE: In modern Morocco a very very wide, absolutely flat,

unglazed ceramic dish with only slightly raised sides (straight up,

not curved), called gsaa, is used for kneading dough. I really wanted

one of these, but it would have been rather difficult to bring home.

Anyway, this is how they work dough for a traditional Moroccan pastry

- all within the bowl. I wonder what the word was in the original for

this essential kitchen tool.

 

Fold it after having greased it on the inside with butter, stretch

again, strike it with palm of the hand and put it in the frying pan

(probably with a long handle) (sarte'n) or paila (a wide flat shallow

basin) on the fire, after having greased it with a little butter, so

that doesn't burn. When it is cooked, withdraw it from the fire and

strike it with both hands so that the pieces are broken and separated

one from the others. Next they are put in a soup pot and they are

covered with a handkerchief and the same with the rest of the dough,

until the end (it is used up). They are sprinkled next with skimmed

hot honey. Dust them with cinnamon and sugar, and eat them.

 

MY NOTE: This variation is very like modern Moroccan rghaif (r =

flapped r (like Spanish or Italian r); gh = French r; each vowel is

sounded separately -ah-eef - this is a 2 or 3 syllable word), only

without the addition of yeast.

 

If one wants, one can make it into little breads (cakes, in the

Medieval/Renaissance sense, i'm guessing) and grease them with

butter, put one within another one and stretch all of them with the

roller or the hand, that is extremely thin, and cook them in paila (a

cooking pan of metal or stoneware that is wide and shallow), just

like before. They are sprinkled with honey and they are eaten.

 

MY NOTE: This variation is very like modern Moroccan M'semen (yes,

this is cognate with Musammana - Moroccan Arabic always seems to lose

vowels), in which the dough is only folded once or twice then

stretched again, before being fried in the pan and served with honey.

 

I've got modern recipes for m'semem and rghaif, if anyone's  

interested...

 

-------

 

And here is the recipe for flaky pastry from the Andalusian cookbook

 

Preparation of Musammana [Buttered] Which Is Muwarraqa [Leafy]

 

Take pure semolina or wheat flour and knead a stiff dough without

yeast. Moisten it little by little and don't stop kneading it until

it relaxes and is ready and is softened so that you can stretch a

piece without severing it. Then put it in a new frying pan on a

moderate fire. When the pan has heated, take a piece of the dough and

roll it out thin on marble or a board. Smear it with melted clarified

butter or fresh butter liquefied over water. Then roll it up like a

cloth until it becomes like a reed. Then twist it and beat it with

your palm until it becomes like a round thin bread, and if you want,

fold it over also. Then roll it out and beat it with your palm a

second time until it becomes round and thin. Then put it in a heated

frying pan after you have greased the frying pan with clarified

butter, and whenever the clarified butter dries out, moisten [with

butter] little by little, and turn it around until it binds, and then

take it away and make more until you finish the amount you need. Then

pound them between your palms and toss on butter and boiling honey.

When it has cooled, dust it with ground sugar and serve it.

 

MY NOTE: This is a lot like another Moroccan pan-fried pastry,

meelowi: the dough is made - usually for ease it is pulled apart into

an equal number of balls, then one works with the balls, one at at

time. One stretches the dough into a flat shape, rolls it up like a

rug, beat it flat, the work the flat strip into a flat circle that is

beaten flat with the hands.

 

AND FINAL NOTE FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE:

In modern Morocco one does NOT use a rolling pin. Just as these

recipes indicate, one stretches the dough by hand until it is

translucent - or almost transparent.

--

Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)

the persona formerly known as Anahita

 

 

Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:50:00 -0400

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] good herbs

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

otsisto wrote:

> When a translation says "good herbs" what is the standard generic  

> list of herbs added?

 

I see from your subsequent post that this is an Italian recipe.  There's

a classic trio of herbs in Spanish cooking that I have also seen in

Italian recipes: parsley, mint, and marjoram.

 

Brighid ni Chiarain

 

 

Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:59:08 EDT

From: Stanza693 at wmconnect.com

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Bread Labor

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

 

In a message dated 10/30/2007 10:57:17 PM Mountain Daylight Time,

Johnnae writes:

> Having grown up on a farm, I suppose I look at questions like

> this in a different fashion, but why would you suppose that

> the farmer raising the grain, the miller grinding the grain into

> flour and the baker would have been the same person?

> Didn't most bakers buy their flour?

> Johnnae

 

Here's some info on Spanish ladies and bread.  It's from Heath Dillard's

book, "Daughters of the Reconquest: Women in Castilian Town Society, 1100-1300".

I read it from the online version which has the hardcopy page numbers

interspersed. You can see it on The Library of Iberian Resources Online.

 

libro.uca.edu/dillard/dr6.htm

 

p. 151

 

"On other occasions they would carry grain to a water mill to be ground into

flour, ...

 

The townswoman's grain was either grown in a family plot outside the walls or

purchased in the municipal market.  Once it was ground, she made the family

bread at home with the flour and the massa she kept for leavening.  Usually she

took her loaves to be baked at a municipal oven.  ..."

 

p. 158

 

"Bread, among other staples of the municipal diet, was one of the main items

produced and sold by townswomen who mixed it at home but would commonly have

it baked in a municipal oven."

 

He mentions that there was an official that would fine the bakeries for

insufficiently baked loaves or for wheat flour loaves that were adulterated with

other kinds of flour.  There was also apparently a problem with underweight

loaves.

 

I got a little off topic there, but my general point was that in Castile, at

least, even if the women weren't doing it all themselves, they were still

spending time taking it to have it done by the ones who did the milling and the

baking!!

 

A sus ordenes,

Constanza Marina de Huelva

 

 

Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:25:20 -0300

From: Suey <lordhunt at gmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Period Portable Lunch Foods

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

 

There is a region in Spain north of Madrid in Leon called the Maragato.

It is known for the people called the maragatos who isolate themselves

from the Spaniards. Some theories are that they date back to Arab

occupation. When the Christians threw the Arabs out of the area these

Arabs stayed on and are still there today  They do not mingle with

others like the Amish although they are RC's. These people were known

for being very honest muleteers who exported and imported foods and

other merchandise to and from various regions of Spain. George Borrow

when selling his Protestant Bibles in Spain during the 19th Century

depended on them as he could not ride horses for the terrain there was

so dangerous or find his way without these guides, although they date

much further back.

 

Some claim that cocido is derived from the muleteer's lunchbox tradition

others claim it is from Roman times. The maragato lunchbox had two

levels, the lower contained coals and the upper food. When traveling,

the muleteer would eat the pork or game, chickpeas et al  in his

lunchbox, in other words the cocido. Then he stopped at a roadside inn

where he would ask for a bowl of broth. This system came to be adopted

in the home. At first Napoleon's troops looked askance at this system

but found it the only way to alleviate a toothache by drinking the broth

after so much chewing. In Leon if one of the guests eats too much and

regrets it, he is told not to worry:/ "De sobrar, que sobre la sopa"/

(If anything is left over may it be the soup)./ /The soup can contain

bread and a chopped boiled egg or a raw beaten egg (in mine it is only

broth). Noodles were not included in the Middle Ages as they are today.

/Cocido/ is made to last a week. It is kept on the coals in the kitchen.

Shepherds and peasants too carry it with them to the fields and pastures

in a lunchbox.

 

It is curious that Spanish records in general only refer to coldcuts and

cheeses being carried in the saddle with red wine. Henry IV of Castile,

Isabel's older brother, in the 15th Century, did not consume alcohol but

died of ulcers for consuming the skin of intestines in which sausage is

stuffed, which the body cannot digest. He was a saddle king for 20

years. Washington Irving also describes his trip from Madrid to Granada

in the 19th Century eating cheese and cold cuts if I recall correctly.

 

Suey

 

 

Date: Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:01:23 -0300

From: Suey <lordhunt at gmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Period Portable Lunch Foods Cocido

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

 

Kingstate wrote:

<<< Very cool info, thanks Suey!  I am a little confused though, you say the

cocido were packed to last a week?  With coals going the whole time?  Or am

I reading this wrong, and you mean the broth that is made from the leftover

bits of the lunch is kept on the coals for up to a week?  

I would love to see a picture of one of these that was made to carry coals

in the bottom!

Christianna, thinking this is much more fun than 'brown bagging' it! >>>

 

No, cocido was cooked to last a week in the home and kept over slow

coals during the entire week. Cocido, like broad beans, is a winter dish

and perfect for Leon as it is cold, snowy and icy. The lunch box had a

shelf below for coals so if the muleteer wanted his warm he could put

the coals in there. The broth in the home actually is made when we boil

the meats, chicken and pork in my house. In the Middle Ages you had the

whole variety of game. Now the muleteer traditionally did not seem to

have a thermos so he stopped at an Inn after his lunch and brought some

broth.

 

As for the photo you want of the lunchbox I cannot find it on google.  I

am 90% sure the name of the lunch box is zagon. I cannot find it except

for being a slipper made of lamb's wool used by shepards in Leon. My

info was that this is a two layer wooden box. Downstairs you have a few

coals and upstairs you have Grandma's winter delight kept warm until

wonder boy wants to eat it, i.e. it is separated by a wooden sheet. Last

seen it looked like a chicken coop at the two sides and was wood along

the length. It is rather like Grandma's box she had for warming her bed

at the beginning of the 20th C and before except the maragatos had two

stories. You have a special name for that in English, something warmer, no?

I am very sorry I cannot find it. If anyone has any ideas please tell me

so I can look some more.

 

Suey

 

 

Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:30:33 -0400 (EDT)

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

Subject: [Sca-cooks] On-line 1599 English-Spanish Dictionary

To: SCA-Cooks <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

 

This came through the Medieval_Spain list on Yahoo. It might be helpful to those not on that list...

 

----- begin forward -----

While looking for something else, I stumbled across an online, digitised, searchable version of John Minsheu's 1599 English-Spanish dictionary. This is the one that was so useful for the Alcega translation and is one of the key sources for translating period terms.

 

http://www.ems.kcl.ac.uk/content/proj/anglo/dict/pro-anglo-dict-main.html

 

Enjoy! All my previous evening plans are off now...

 

Ynes

----- end forward -----

 

BTW, anyone know of a 15th or 16th c. entirely French dictionary? or a French-English dictionary of the same vintage?

 

Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)

the persona formerly known as Anahita

 

 

Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:28:54 +0000 (GMT)

From: emilio szabo <emilio_szabo at yahoo.it>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] On-line 1599 English-Spanish Dictionary

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

 

Thanks a lot for pointing to the dictionary.

 

On the same site there is a description of a food project.

http://www.ems.kcl.ac.uk/content/proj/food/pro-food.html

 

And there are electronic texts, one of them is the second letter of Cortes (1520), where cacao is mentioned:

 

http://www.ems.kcl.ac.uk/content/etext/e015.html

 

"Y puso en ello tanta deligencia que dende en dos meses que yo se lo

dije estaban sembradas sesenta hanegas de ma?z y diez de frisoles y dos

mill pies de cacap, que es una fruta como almendras que ellos venden

molida y ti?nenla en tanto que se trata por moneda ...".

 

cacap = cacao, see:

 

http://books.google.de/books?id=oc6umVJFQpYC&;pg=PA221&lpg=PA221&dq=%22dos+mill+pies+de+cacap%22&source=bl&ots=qs5oJcwm8Q&sig=tnNJUaEo9T2QYGwfZv2xxWWyk4w&hl=de&ei=Hnu5Sf3MOIOB_gbYx4iIBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA29,M1

 

BTW: the Norton article, someone mentioned several posts ago in the chocolate thread, says that chocolate was used in the Iberia in the 1590ies.

 

E.

 

 

Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:36:24 +0000 (GMT)

From: emilio szabo <emilio_szabo at yahoo.it>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Books on recipes in Spain

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

 

You can find a facsimile copy of Domingo Hernandez de Maceras's Libro de

Cozina (1607) on Duke Cariadoc's website at:

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/For_Translation/Libro_del_Arte_de_Cozinha/Libro_del_Arte.html

A complete file of the book is here:

 

http://allandalus.com/~apicius/

 

Look for this entry (42 MBs, 159 pages)

Libro del Arte de Cozina, compuesto por Domingo Hernandez de Maceras a?o 1607.pdf

 

In addition, you find there:

 

Granado, Libro de arte de cozina, 1614 edition (the first one dates from 1599, if i am not mistaken)

 

Nostredame, Tratado de las confituras, 1552 (also available in other languages in other places)

 

Arte de cisoria, a 15th century carving text, in the 1766 edition.

 

De Nola, 1529 edition.

 

As for the Libro del arte de cocina de Domingo Hern?ndez Maceras, the book has been edited and commented on by Mar?a de los ?ngeles P?rez Samper. Among other things, she reviews Spanish cookery books and nutritional habits of the "Siglo de Oro" in a comprehensive introduction.

 

E.

 

 

Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:33:14 +0000 (GMT)

From: emilio szabo <emilio_szabo at yahoo.it>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] books on recipes in spain - Fadalat, Fedalat,

        Fudalat

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

 

If you are up to reading Spanish, there is a translation of selections from the Fedalat al-Jiwan at this location: http://www.elsgnoms.com/receptes/arabigo.html

 

> For the record it is Fadalat not Fedalat.

======

 

The website in question says "Fedalat".

 

Setrata del manuscrito llamado:

Fedalat Al-Jiwan fi tayyibat

al-ta'am wa-l-alwan (Relieves de la mesa, sobre manjares y guisos). Su

autor es el murciano Abu l-Hasan 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ab? l-Qasim

ibn Muhammad ibn Ab? Bakr ibn Razin al-Tuyibi al-Andalus?

y fu? escrita probablemente entre 1228 y 1243)

 

One of the newer publications says both "Fadalat" and "Fudalat" (with the appropriate accents), as do other entries in online library catalogues.

 

Main author:Ibn Razi?n al-Tuji?bi?, fl. 1239-1265.

 

Title details:Relieves

de las mesas, acerca de la delicias de la comida y los diferentes

platos = Fud?a?lat al-h?iwan fi? t?ayyiba?t al-t?a?a?m wa-l-alwa?n / Ibn Razi?n al-Tug?i?bi? ; estudio, traduccio?n y notas: Manuela Mari?n.

[ Fad?a?lat al-khiwa?n fi? t?ayyiba?t al-t?a?a?m wa-al-alwa?n. Spanish. ]

Series:Comida de la vida

 

Published:Somonte-Cenero, Gijo?n : Ediciones Trea, c2007.

 

Physical desc.:319 p. ; 24 cm.

Identifier:ISBN: 8497043227

ISBN: 9788497043229

 

Notes:Includes bibliographical references (p. 313-319).

 

So, this might be a question of transcription, I don't know.

 

E.

 

 

Date: Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:48:07 -0700

From: David Friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Anonymous Andalucian Cookbook

 

<<< This has long been a favorite so people might like to know that

the Anonymous Andalucian Cookbook

has been lightly re-edited and re-ordered. It is now available here--

as a PDF book that is free to download courtesy of Candida Martinelli.

 

This is the link to the page on the  site about the book:

http://italophiles.com/al_andalus.htm >>>

 

The web site says:

----

This English text is a translation by various persons working

collaboratively, from a text in Spanish, that was translated by

another person, from the original Al-Andalus Arabic.  

 

I have altered the English translation by:

 

   * editing the translated text,

 

...

----

 

That sounds as though she is working from the translation I organized

long ago of Huici-Miranda's Spanish translation. If that were true

she would be violating both Huici-Miranda's copyright and the

copyright of the people who did the translation from Spanish to

English. I withdrew that version when I realized that a translation

of a translation counted as a derivative work of the first

translation, since I was unable to locate and get permission from the

holder of the copyright on the Spanish translation.

 

But she goes on to say that "The major part of the Engish translation

is by Charles Perry, ...  ." Perry was not translating the Spanish;

he was working from the original Arabic, although with the assistance

of the translation of the translation. That's why his translation is

not covered by the copyright of the Spanish translation.

 

If she has his permission, she is not violating copyright. If she

doesn't, she is. But if she is working from his translation, then her

initial description is wrong, since it isn't a translation of the

Spanish text.

 

Looking at her site, I have some reservations on the information

provided. She includes curry among the spices used in period spice

mixtures. Curry is a spice mixture, not a spice. There are curry

leaves, but so far as I know they aren't used in period European or

north African cooking. And she refers to "today's Allspice Mix,"

which suggests that she doesn't realize that allspice is the name of

a (New World) spice, not a mix.

 

She says that "Only Maestro Martino's book comes from a time that was

late enough to have some of the new ingredients, " (i.e. New World).

But Martino is earlier than Platina, who is earlier than 1492.

 

She thinks that tomatoes "at first they were thought to be

poisonous, because tomato plant leaves are toxic."

 

All of which suggests that any information she has added to Perry's

translation and notes ought not to be taken as authoritative.

--

David/Cariadoc

www.daviddfriedman.com

 

 

Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:39:11 +0000 (GMT)

From: emilio szabo <emilio_szabo at yahoo.it>

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Fadalat al-hiwan

 

Here is an abstract about an article (1998) by Manuela Marin. If I am not mistaken, she has recently published a translation into modern Spanish of the _whole_ text.

 

E.

 

Manuela MARIN : ? Eastern Cooking, Western

Cooking

The question of the

existence of an Adalousian cuisine, original and different from the

Oriental Arab cuisine is raised in this article. To answer this

question, the two extant cook-book of Andalousian-Maghribi origin are

examined (the Fadalat

al-hiwand'Ibn Razin

al-Tugibi and the anonymousKitab al-tahib). These texts

offer information on recipes qualified as Andalousian and also on

recipes'names of Hispanic origin. Combining with these data, a list

of typically Andalousian dishes is presented in the article. As a

conclusion, it appears that the general character of Andalousian

cuisisne is that it has a more limited repertoire of ingedrients than

the Oriental cuisine. But the cooking methods, the way of combining

different food elements, the ? tone ? of the

recipies, are all, basically, the same as those practised in the

Eastern Arabe World. Andalousian cuisine is defined, therefore, as a

regional variant of the imported Oriental.

M?di?vales

 

Cultures et nourritures de l'Occident musulman, n? 33

Essais d?di?s ? Bernard Rosenberger

 

Nous

sommes au Maghreb et en Espagne, exactement en al-Andalus ; la

perspective est ? la fois historique et ethnographique, dans un ? long

Moyen Age ?. Suivant les pistes trac?es par Bernard Rosenberger, les

auteurs cherchent les origines et les continuit?s dans les usages

alimentaires, leurs justifications ?conomiques, scientifiques ou

religieuses. Le lecteur trouvera ici une avanc?e sur des th?mes

familiers ? M?di?vales, et autrefois abord?s sur d'autres terrains,

dans le n? 5 ? Nourritures ? et le n? 16/17 ? Plantes, mets et mots ?.

Presses Universitaires de Vincennes, f?vrier 1998, n? 33

Format : 155x220 mm, 192 pages, 15.00 euros, ISBN : 2-84292-031-7 , Code SODIS : F500551

 

 

Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:09:04 +0000 (GMT)

From: emilio szabo <emilio_szabo at yahoo.it>

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Fadalat al-hiwan

 

http://www.derecoquinaria.com/fichagrande.asp?ID=8088

 

<<< ... Manuela Marin. If I am not mistaken, she has recently published a translation into modern Spanish of the _whole_ text. >>>

 

 

Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:37:58 -0700

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] A Drizzle of Honey

 

Stefan li Rous wrote:

<<< A Drizzle of Honey : The Lives and Recipes of Spain's Secret Jews by

David M. Gitlitz and Dr. Linda Kay Davidson.  Which also addresses

Aldyth's "new challenge" thread as well, come to think of it. >>>

SNIP

<<< I finally got it as a remainder from an SCA vender, but like so many

of my books haven't gotten a chance to read it yet. >>>

 

Of course, it has no actual period Spanish Jewish recipes in it.

 

But the actual historical stuff is an... interesting... read. There's

insufficient information to reconstruct period recipes. That didn't

stop the authors from making up modern recipes.

--

Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)

the persona formerly known as Anahita

 

 

Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2010 17:57:48 -0400

From: Suey <lordhunt at gmail.com>

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Llibre de coch de a canonja de Tarragona

 

   Emilio, personally, I only deal with Castile until 1474. My

inclusion of Sent Sovi and Nola are only in passing to demonstrate the

variation of Catalan cuisine.  I have found that the Llibre de coch de

la canonja de Tarragona was published in Barcelona in 1935 but a copy

does not seem to be available in the National Library of Spain. Josep

Llandonosa, however, mentions the manuscript in La Cocina Medieval,

which I have reviewed extensively - I thought :-[ ! Anyway looking this

up I found that the MS from 1331 contains a series of rules concerning

the diets of ecclesiastics in the See of Tarragona in relation to the

litergic calendar. It is heavy on proteins and carbohydrates, i.e. high

in calories for the seditary ecclesiastic population, from which the

phrase "to be fat like a canon" is derived.   By the way it seems to be

complied by Guillem Cergue butler of Pabor Guerau of Rocabrti. I have no idea who they were.

 

   Another MS I completely ignored, by mistake, is Friar Francesc

Eiximenis' "Com usar de beure i menjar" from 1384. He elaborates on the

sin of gluttony and mentions culinary customs in Catalonia.  Also I am

missing Jaime Roig's el Llibre de la dones, mes verament dit des

consells, who was the physician of Alfonso V and Juan II of Aragon (Juan was Ferdinand's father). Again Aragon is not my major.

 

Suey

 

 

Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:30:14 -0400

From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcarrollmann at gmail.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>,

        Medieval_Spain at yahoogroups.com, Order of the Laurel - Restricted

        Access <sca-laurels at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] A "new" source of 16th century Spanish recipes

 

Apologies for cross-posting.  Warning: ALL of the links and materials

referenced in this email are in Spanish.

 

I was following a link and stumbled across mention of a 16th c.

Spanish culinary manuscript that I'd never heard of.  Apparently, the

only copy in the world is in the Austrian National Library, but in

2009, the government of the Spanish region of Navarre published a

limited-edition facsimile.  The book is  "Regalo de la vida humana" by

Juan Valles, who was Treasurer General of the Kingdom of Navarre.

It's one of those Renaissance compendiums of recipes, including

medicines, cosmetics, and perfumes, as well as culinary recipes.  Of

the 7 "books" that compose the manuscript, the last 4 contain culinary

recipes. Here's a link to a long, detailed article (IN SPANISH) by

the scholar who edited and annotated the facsimile:

http://www.sciencia.cat/biblioteca/documents/Serrano_Regalo.pdf

 

I've only skimmed the article, but it makes me long for a copy of my

own. The manuscript has many recipes for sausages, over 30 for

various fritters; there are sauces, meat pies, preserves, escabeches,

pottages, confections... it's a wonder I'm not drooling on my

keyboard!

 

Many of the recipes are apparently taken from other period sources,

such as de Nola, Granado, Scappi, and Miguel de Baeza, but there

appears to be enough "new" material that I'd really love to see it.  I

found a book dealer who's selling the facsimile for a mere 100 euros.

*sigh*

http://www.marcialpons.es/fichalibro.php?id=100851295

 

Anyway, it looks very interesting.  And before anyone asks, feel free

to share the information anywhere it might be relevant.

 

Brighid ni Chiarain

 

 

Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:55:56 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] A "new" source of 16th century Spanish

        recipes

 

On Aug 26, 2010, at 10:30 PM, Robin Carroll-Mann wrote: The book is  

<<< "Regalo de la vida humana" by Juan Valles, who was Treasurer General of the Kingdom of Navarre. >>>

 

http://www.cfnavarra.es/publicaciones/default.asp?origen=BusquedaG

 

It's only listed as being at the University of Chicago so far.

 

Johnna

 

 

Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2010 17:50:50 -0800 (PST)

From: Donna Green <donnaegreen at yahoo.com>

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Regalo de la Vida Humana

 

The coordinator of the recently held (and modestly named) second Perfectly Period Feast gave me a really cool book as a thank you for being the head cook. "Regalo de la Vida Humana" by Juan Valles (1496 to 1563) ... it is in Spanish, so it will take me awhile to get through this, but it is full of recipes. The first volume is a fasimilie of the original. The second volume is a transcription of the text and various articles. There is a list of recipes in the back. I'll start with translating that and then set priorities. This is the book that Brighid mentioned to me when she was here. She said that there are tart and sausage recipes in here that she has not seen in other sources from late 16th c Spain. Woo hoo ... this will be fun :-)

 

Juana Isabella

West

 

 

Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:37:53 -0400 (EDT)

From: Devra <devra at aol.com>

To: sca-cooks at Ansteorra.org

Subject: [Sca-cooks] some new titles - commercial plug

 

from Poison Pen Press...

 

Food of Spain - $39.95

Claudia Roden. In this book Roden applies the same insight, scope, and authority to a cuisine marked by its regionalism and suffused with a vast culinary history. In hundreds of exquisite recipes, Roden explores both the little known and the classic dishes of Spain, from Galicia to Catalonia, from Andalusia to Asturias. The book features a section on the history, both general and by region, followed by the recipes. Hardcover, 610pp, color photos, brief bibliog., index. Harper Collins.

 

 

Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:48:47 -0500

From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>

To: SCA_Subtleties at yahoogroups.com,       Cooks within the SCA

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Spanish & Portuguese Bibliography

 

The Gauntlet has been published with this quarter's bibliography.

 

Medieval and Renaissance Cookery and Cookbooks

from Spain and Portugal

 

http://www.midrealm.org/pentamere/pentamere_gauntlet.html

 

Johnnae

 

 

Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 12:21:57 -0500

From: JIMCHEVAL at aol.com

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Some 15th century converso recipes

 

"Spanish and Jewish Studies Professor Ana G?mez-Bravo shares favorite

recipes for dishes  eaten by the Sephardic community of 15th-century Spain."

http://jewishstudies.washington.edu/converso-cookbook-home/

 

Jim  Chevallier

_www.chezjim.com_ (http://www.chezjim.com/)

 

 

Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2015 14:16:30 -0400

From: JIMCHEVAL at aol.com

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Diet, Society, and Economy in Late Medieval Spain

 

For anyone with access to Academia.edu, this paper provides an interesting  

close-up view of what both Christians and Muslims were eating in Spain in

the  late medieval period.

 

Alexander, M. M., Gerrard, C. M., Guti?rrez, A. and Millard, A. R. (2014),

Diet, society, and economy in late medieval Spain: Stable isotope evidence

from Muslims and Christians from Gand?a, Valencia. Am. J. Phys.  

Anthropol.. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22647

 

https://www.academia.edu/9016511/Alexander_M._M._Gerrard_C._M._Guti%C3%A9rr

ez_A._and_Millard_A._R._2014_Diet_society_and_economy_in_late_medieval_Spain

_Stable_isotope_evidence_from_Muslims_and_Christians_from_Gand%C3%ADa_Valenc

ia._Am._J._Phys._Anthropol.._doi_10.1002_ajpa.22647_

 

Jim Chevallier

www.chezjim.com

 

 

Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2015 17:12:43 -0500

From: Douglas Bell <debell77840 at gmail.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Spanish Food Service Resources

 

This site at UWF has a good collection of links to late period

dictionaries, grammars, and handwriting books for Spanish, Latin, and French. These are useful in dealing with primary cooking manuscripts.

 

http://uwf.edu/jworth/spanfla_spanlang.htm

 

Magnus

 

 

Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2015 00:47:08 -0400

From: JIMCHEVAL at aol.com

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Spanish Food Service Resources

 

I'm afraid this offers no answer, but the paper might be of interest  

overall:

 

Contributions of Medieval Food Manuals to Spain?s Culinary Heritage

Carolyn A. Nadeau

http://www.cromrev.com/volumes/vol33/03-vol33-Nadeau.pdf

 

Jim  Chevallier

 

 

Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2016 13:29:59 -0300

From: Susan Lord <lordhunt at gmail.com>

To: "sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Shakespeare and food

 

Johnna Holloway wrote:

<<< To commemorate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, NPR

has been running a special series.

 

"Editor's note: This week, to mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, we will be running a series of stories examining the links between food and the Bard." Articles are here:

http://www.npr.org/tags/475010957/shakespeare-and-food

Topics have included:

Snacking in Shakespeare's Time >>>

 

If I were an octopus, i.e. had the time, I would do the same with Quixote if it hasn?t been done already. I know Quixote better than Shakespeare and Sancho Panza can make your mouth water throughout between his breadcrumbs and other peasant dishes still known and eaten today in Extremadura at least. Whenever my memory serves me I do cite Cervantes in my blog - Medieval Spanish Chef but I should do it more. . .

 

Thanks for the info as I do compare Spanish medieval food to the English when it seems possible.

 

 

Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2016 14:25:37 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Food Matters. Alonso Quijano?s Diet was

        Shakespeare and food

 

I am afraid it has been done.

 

Nadeau, Carolyn A. Food Matters. Alonso Quijano?s Diet and the Discourse of Food in Early Modern Spain. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2016.

 

In the second sentence of Don Quixote, Cervantes describes the diet of the protagonist, Alonso Quijano: ?A stew made of more beef than mutton, cold salad on most nights, abstinence eggs on Saturdays, lentils on Fridays, and an additional squab on Sundays.?

 

Through an inventive and original engagement with this text, Carolyn A. Nadeau explores the shifts in Spain?s cultural and gastronomic history. Using cooking manuals, novels, poems, dietary treatises, and other texts, she brings to light the figurative significance of foodstuffs and culinary practices in early modern Spain. Drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Stephen Mennell, Food Matters  reveals patterns of interdependence as observed, for example, in how Muslim and Jewish aversion to pork fired Spain?s passion for ham, what happened when New World foodstuffs entered into Old World kitchens, and how food and sexual urges that so often came together, regardless of class, ethnicity, or gender, construct moments of communal celebration.

 

This mouth-watering tour of the discourses of food in early modern Spain is complemented by an appendix that features forty-seven recipes drawn from contemporary sources.

 

Johnna

 

<the end>



Formatting copyright © Mark S. Harris (THLord Stefan li Rous).
All other copyrights are property of the original article and message authors.

Comments to the Editor: stefan at florilegium.org