figs-msg – 12/1/18

Period figs. Uses of figs in period. Recipes.

NOTE: See also the files: fruits-msg, bananas-msg, grapes-msg, fruit-quinces-msg, fruit-melons-msg, pomegranates-msg, fruit-pies-msg, berries-msg.

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NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I  have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I  have done  a limited amount  of  editing. Messages having to do  with separate topics  were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the  message IDs  were removed to save space and remove clutter.

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make  no claims  as  to the accuracy  of  the information  given  by the individual authors.

Please  respect the time  and  efforts of  those who have written  these messages. The  copyright status  of these messages  is  unclear  at this time. If  information  is  published  from  these  messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

Thank you,
    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Sat, 20 Jun 1998 02:12:56 EDT
From: korrin.daardain at juno.com (Korrin S DaArdain)
Subject: SC - Roasted Figs with Thyme and Honey

Fresh figs are one of nature's miracles; they're like candy that grows on
trees. I love them as a dessert with a little Gorgonzola or goat cheese,
and you can certainly serve these figs with your favorite cheese.

Roasted Figs with Thyme and Honey

1 tsp (5 ml) butter, margarine, or vegetable oil
8 large fresh figs, cut in half
3 Tbs (45 ml) honey
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry red wine (or orange juice for a non alcoholic
version)
1/4 tsp (1 ml) dried thyme, or 4 sprigs fresh thyme

Grease the bottom of a baking dish with the butter. Place the figs, cut
side down, in the bottom. Cover the figs with the honey and wine, and add
the thyme on top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375F (190C) for 15
minutes. Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature. Serves 4.

Korrin S. DaArdain
Kingdom of An Tir.
Korrin.DaArdain at Juno.com


Date: Sat, 1 Aug 1998 10:21:39 EDT
From: Seton1355 at aol.com
Subject: SC - fig web site

http://www.californiafigs.com  California Fig Advisory Board

I am posting this web site for the people who have fig trees in their yards &
would like some recipe ideas. Go to it!  Phillipa


Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 14:34:08 EDT
From: Seton1355 at aol.com
Subject: SC - poached figs in spiced honey syrup 

This sure looks medieval to me so I am passing it along.
Phillipa

POACHED FIGS IN SPICED HONEY SYRUP 
 M.S. Milliken & S. Feniger, Food TV
 
 3 cups water 
 1/2 cup sugar 
 1/2 cup honey 
 12 allspice berries 
 12 cloves 
 12 juniper berries 
 12 fresh slightly unripe figs 
 Fresh mint sprigs 
 
 Combine water, sugar and honey in heavy large skillet. Stir over low heat
 until sugar and honey dissolve. Add allspice, cloves and juniper berries.
 Bring to simmer. Add figs, cover and simmer until figs are just tender,
 about 20 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer figs to bowl. Chill until
 cold. 
 
 Bring cooking liquid to boil. Boil until reduced to syrup consistency,
 about 5 minutes. Strain. Cool. 
 
 Arrange figs in dessert goblets. Drizzle syrup over. Garnish with mint and
 serve. 


Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2000 10:35:13 -0400
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>
Subject: Re: SC - poached figs in spiced honey syrup 

Fruits preserved in syrup with sweet spices are period.  For example, 
the _Libre de Totes Maneres de Confits_ says to preserve dates in 
honey with ginger and cloves.  I haven't come across a recipe for dates 
in spiced syrup, though Apicius and Platina say that one can preserve 
fresh figs by placing them in honey, not touching each other.

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)


Date: Thu, 4 May 2000 09:47:30 EDT
From: Seton1355 at aol.com
Subject: SC - Here they are:- fig recipes please

I've collected these from the list over the years..
Phillipa


Roasted Figs with Thyme and Honey

1 tsp (5 ml) butter, margarine, or vegetable oil
8 large fresh figs, cut in half
3 Tbs (45 ml) honey
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry red wine (or orange juice for a non alcoholic
version)
1/4 tsp (1 ml) dried thyme, or 4 sprigs fresh thyme

Grease the bottom of a baking dish with the butter. Place the figs, cut
side down, in the bottom. Cover the figs with the honey and wine, and add  
the thyme on top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 375F (190C) for 15 
min. Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature. Serves 4.

FIGS
1)  Stuff them with Brown Sugar and Cointreau and slowly roast them in an 
oven, baste with a herb glaze.

2)  Make Fig Wine / Port / Brandy with them.  High sugar levels, with
a nice taste makes for a supurb brew.  Watch out for the fig sap (high
in latexs) that might taint the brew.


A.  Slice halfway down in a cross in the tops
B.  Open slightly to accept filling
C.  Stuff w/  approx 1/2 tsp.grated chocolate and drizzle chocolate w/
heavy cream
D.  Heat till choc melts (5-10 min  at  350F)
E.  Serve w/ creme englaise or raspberry puree

Greek, but not period...and DAMN, what a good eat!!

niccolo difrancesco
**********************************************************************

Make Fig Preserves (it may be Out of Period but it is GOOD!)

5 pounds figs
4 pounds sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 lemon

Cook all together for a long time, about 2 hours.
>>>>>>
That was the original recipe given to my Gramdmother by Mrs. Renfoe. I
copied it and started asking questions. This is what I got to add to it
from my G'mother.

Wash figs and weigh them. Put the sugar in on top of the figs with a
little water. Heat on low until sugar melts and increase heat slowly.
Slice thin rounds of lemon into this.When it begins to boil add in cream
of tarter folding in. Let it cook until it gets real thick - about like
molasses syrup. Put in hot sterilized jarsand allow to cool. Pour parafin
over top to seal out air (make sure there are no air bubbles) Complete
sealing of jars with rings and tops etc.

>>>>>>.
>From my memories of these they were whole figs in a clear sweet syrup
with a hint of citrus flavor. The lemon circles were great too and were
placed in the jars with the figs Very pretty.   
>>>>>>>
Ryschewys Closed and Fried
Two Fifteenth Century p. 45/97


Take figs, and grind them small in a mortar with a little oil, and grind
with them cloves and maces; and then take it up into a vessel, and cast
thereto pines, saunders and raisons of corinth and minced dates, powdered
pepper, canel, salt, saffron; then take fine paste of flour and water,
sugar, saffron and salt, and make fair cakes thereof; then roll thine stuff
in thine hand and couch it in the cakes and cut it, and fold them in
ryshews, and fry them up in oil; and serve forth hot. [end of original;
spelling modernized]

Note that this recipe gives some detail to "making your rissoles" (I'm
assuming rissoles are the same thing as ryschews). You make a sweetened
flour-water dough flavored with saffron. You make "cakes" out of the dough,
put the filling in the cakes, cut it (?) and fold it the way you are
supposed to fold ryshews--I simply make a round flat piece of dough, put a
limp of filling on it, fold over and pinch the edges to seal. You then fry
this. Given that the "ordinary day" version of your recipe says, "And the
dough should be very well saffroned", I suspect the same thing is being
done here.


FIG AND RAISIN 'CREAM' 

Take half fyges and half raisouns; pike hem and waishe hem in water. Skalde 
hem in wyne, bray hem in a morter, and drawe them thurgh a straynour. Cast 
hem in a pot and therwith powdur of peper and oother good powdours; alay it 
vp with flour of rys, and colour it with saundres. Salt it, seeth it & messe 
it forth. 

125 g/4 oz well-soaked dried figs 
125 g/4 oz stoned raisins 
275 ml/10 fl oz/1 1/4 cups red wine (not too dry) 
Good pinch of ground black pepper 
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 
Soft dark brown sugar to taste
3 teaspoons rice flour or cornflour 
A drop or two of red food colouring 
Salt to taste 

Drain the figs, reserving the soaking liquid. 
Discard the stalk ends of the fruit and put them in a saucepan with 
the raisins and wine. Add the spices and a teaspoon of sugar and bring to the 
boil. Take off the heat and cool slightly, then turn the mixture into an 
electric blender and process until smooth. Add a little of the soaking water 
if the mixture is stubbornly solid. Cream the rice flour or cornflour with a 
little more soaking water or wine and brighten the tint with a drop of food 
colouring. Blend the 'cream' into the dried-fruit puree. Then return the 
whole mixture to the saucepan and simmer until it thickens slightly. Season 
with salt and a little extra sugar if you wish. 

The mixture can be served hot or cold over a sweet cereal dish, firm stewed fruit or - best of all- ice cream. Some versions in other manuscripts are stiffer and make a good filling for tartlets or fried puffs. One encloses the filling in pastry to make dumplings. 

From The Medieval Cookbook by Maggie Black Chapter 2, "Chaucer's Company" 


Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 11:25:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: Nikki McGeary <draculachanter at yahoo.com>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Figs

<And the Tourteletes in fryture from Curye on Inglysch
<are very similar to fig newtons.

I've made these and boy, are they tasty.  I used my
own pie crust dough, and it really sucked up the oil,
but they were delicious.  Reminded me of southern
fried pies...

Heloise


Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 11:59:34 -0400
From: Elaine Koogler <ekoogler at chesapeake.net>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] anything like period fig newtons?

Stefan li Rous wrote:
> Is there any evidence for period filled pastries, perhaps even
> something like a fig newton?

And the Tourteletes in fryture from Curye on Inglysch are very similar to fig
newtons:

157.  Tourteletes in fryture.  Take figus & grynde hem smal; do therein
saffron & powdur fort.  Close hem in foyles of dowe, & frye hem in oyle.
Claryfye hony & flamme hem therewht; ete hem hote or colde.

157.  Tourteletes in fryture(Ground figs in pastry).  Take figs and grind them
small; add saffron and poudre fort.  Enclose them in sheets of dough and fry
them in oil.  Clarify honey and baste them.  Eat either hot or cold.

Redaction: makes 16 pieces

10 Dried figs     1 egg white
1 pinch Saffron     1 tsp. oil
=BC tsp. Poudre Fort    3 tsp. honey
16 Won Ton wrappers

1.  Grind figs, then add saffron and poudre fort.
2.  Place a tsp of mixture in the center of a wrapper, fold over and seal with
egg whites.
3.  Oven fry with oil until lightly browned.
4.  Remove from oven and drizzle honey over them.

Note:  As with the raviolis above, I have used won ton wrappers, as they are
approximately the same kind of dough, and are a major time-saver.

Also, instead of deep frying them, I have oven-fried them, again in the
interest of saving time, but it has approximately the same effect.

Kiri


Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 00:18:20 -0700
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] anything like period fig newtons?

>  > CAT FIGHT! CAT FIGHT!  Chirhart(Comfortably sitting in the bleachers
>>  Sipping on an RC cola and eating fig Newton's that ant period)
>
>This got me to thinking. We have discussed figs here and a few period
>recipes using them. (see figs-msg) And they did make pastes of
>some fruits for pastry fillings, seem to remember.
>
>Is there any evidence for period filled pastries, perhaps even
>something like a fig newton?

Ryschewys Closed and Fried
Two Fifteenth Century p. 45/97

Take figs, and grind them small in a mortar with a little oil, and
grind with them cloves and maces; and then take it up into a vessel,
and cast thereto pines, saunders and raisons of corinth and minced
dates, powdered pepper, canel, salt, saffron; then take fine paste of
flour and water, sugar, saffron and salt, and make fair cakes
thereof; then roll thine stuff in thine hand and couch it in the
cakes and cut it, and fold them in ryshews, and fry them up in oil;
and serve forth hot.

[end of original recipe]

25 black mission figs   1/3 c currants  pastry:
2 t oil        5 1/2 oz dates          2 c flour
1 t cloves      1/8 t pepper            1/2 c water
1 t maces       1 t cinnamon            1 T sugar
1/4 c pine nuts 1/4 t salt              1/8 t salt
1/4 t saunders  4 threads saffron        1 thread saffron

Then too, cuskynoles have figs in them. I don't make them like fig
newtons, but ...   .
--
David/Cariadoc
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/


Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 22:28:25 -0500
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Need some Help with Spanish Recipes....
To: Cooks within the SCA <scacooks at ansteorra.org>

On 24 Feb 2004, at 21:59, kattratt wrote:
> I am looking to see if anyone has already redacted any of these recipes
> and what your interpretation on them was....
>
> Figs in a French Manner  de Nola 131

I've done these, and Jadwiga made them for her wonderful Convivencia feast.
It's very easy, and doesn't really need a redaction  Don't use too much wine,
or you'll wind up with a syrup, and remember to cut off the hard stems 
of the figs.

Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
rcmann4 at earthlink.net


Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 22:48:17 -0500 (EST)
From: <jene at fiedlerfamily.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Need some Help with Spanish Recipes....
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

>Figs in a French Manner  de Nola 131

redaction:
http://www.gallowglass.org/jadwiga/SCA/cooking/conviviencia/figs.html

-- Pani Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pikajenne at fiedlerfamily.net


Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 01:41:54 -0500
From: ranvaig at columbus.rr.com
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Neolithic fig agriculture and storage find
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

> So what is the advantage of growing a parthenocarpic plant, compared
> to the regular version? It sounds like they take more effort to raise
> than the regular version. Is it just the advantage of not having to
> deal with a seed?

http://cahe.nmsu.edu/ces/yard/2002/091402.html

The structure of the fig inflorescence (flower structure) is unusual.
The flowers are inside the "synconium" or enlarged stem base. It is
this synconium that forms the fig fruit. In order for the fig to form
viable seeds, a small wasp must enter the synconium from an opening
at the end, lay her eggs inside the fruit, and in the process
pollinate the small flowers that line the interior of the fruit. Most
people don't like the idea of eating the small (maggot-like) wasp
larvae, so fig breeders have developed varieties of figs that do not
require pollination and thus have no wasp larvae inside. Without
pollination, no viable seeds are formed.

Ranvaig


Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:30:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] An Excess of Figs
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

-----Original Message-----
> From: silverr0se at aol.com

> Any ideas about what to do with the extras that DOESN'T involve
> standing over a hot stove in August?

Do you have a crockpot?  Figs in the French Manner from de Nola is  
very simple, and can be done in a crockpot, which doesn't heat up the  
kitchen (or the cook).

TO EAT FIGS IN THE FRENCH MANNER
COMER HIGOS A LA FRANCESA

Take dried figs, the sweetest that you can get, black and white, and  
remove the stems and wash them with good white wine which is sweet; and when they are very well-cleaned, take an earthenware casserole which is big enough, which has a flat bottom, and cast them inside, stirring them a little; and then  
put this casserole upon the coals, and well-covered ina manner that it is stewed there.  And when they are stewed, and they will have absorbed all of the moisture of the wine, stir them a little, and cast fine spice on top of them; and turn them, stirring in a manner that incorporates that spice in them; and then eat this food; and it is an elegant thing; and it should be eaten at the beginning of the meal.

http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MANUSCRIPTS/Guisados1-art.text

Brighid ni Chiarain
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom


Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2010 14:41:19 -0300
From: Suey <lordhunt@gmail.com>
To: sca-cooks@lists.ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Sissors

Randomly reviewing my blog to be published,  I came across this recipe 
you translated from Nola by Robin. (Sorry, I changed computers and can't 
find your address to send this to you directly.) Sissors were invented 
by Leoardo di Vinci so Nola's use of them seems to be misleading to me. 
I think one of Villena's instruments would be more appropriate.

Suey

*126. BASIN of Figs*

/BURNIA//(101) DE HIGOS/

You will take very good dried figs, very sweet, and flatten them well, one by one, and remove from them the hard part of the stems, and take a basin or a deep plate which is new and very clean. and put at the bottom of the basin a layer of red roses, removing the white part of them with *scissors*. and upon the roses a little sugar, and then a layer of the figs, and in this manner, making a layer of the roses and sugar and another of the figs, fill up the basin or plate and having done this, cover the basin well, so that it is there for fifteen or twenty days. and then eat those figs, and this is a very exquisite food.

Suey


Date: Sun, 18 Dec 2011 07:37:53 -0800 (PST)
From: Euriol of Lothian <euriol@yahoo.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks@lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Drunken Figs

I posted my interpretation with transcription and a translation (not done by me) on my website at:

https://sites.google.com/site/medievalcuisine/recipe-index/higos-ala-francesa

Euriol

<the end>
Edited by Mark S. Harris	figs-msg	Page 2 of 9