cabbages-msg – 12/ 6/11


Period cabbages. Broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts. Recipes.


NOTE: See also the files: vegetables-msg, root-veg-msg, artichokes-msg, eggplant-msg, asparagus-msg, salads-msg, peas-msg, mushrooms-msg.


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    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Thu, 18 Sep 1997 20:59:29 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Cook's/peer fear (longish)


> what vegebles in the "brocolli" family, if any, are period? They are all
> technically mustards aren't they?


Yes, they are. Related to cabbages, I believe, also. I remember a huge
argument about this on the UseNet newsgroup rec.food.historic fairly
recently. Modern broccoli seems to be a fairly recent (19th century or
so) development on the part of plant breeders, probably American. The
rumor that it was "invented" by a family named Broccoli is simply
untrue. The plant we now call broccoli-rabe is probably period, though,
although I don't recall any recipes for it offhand. You might check
Platina (I don't own a copy---horrors!) and perhaps the Tacuinum
Sanitatis, which is sort of a medical manual which talks about almost
every conceivable food product available in the late medieval
Mediterranean basin. You may find that the leafy, headless cabbages are
the closest you will get: things like kale and collard greens. Brussels
sprouts, though, are period, I understand. I know that takes a load off
your mind ;  )  !


Adamantius




Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 23:55:08 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Cauliflower


Uduido at aol.com wrote:
> << But I have seen several period recipes for cauliflower. >>
>
> Where have you seen these? It was my understanding that a lady in England in
> the 1800's went to her garden and spotted a 'white' broccoli among her
> regular broccoli plants. Being the intelligent country gardener that she was,
> she let the plant go to seed and planted the sed the  next year producing
> couliflower. From that simple experiment all cauliflower today is descended.
>
> Lord Ras


There are recipes for boiling cauliflower (variously spelled) in late
period sources. Without going through my bookshelves for the specific
sources, I think that such recipes would be found in things like
Dawson's "The Good Huswife's Jewell", Markham's "The English Housewife",
Murrell's "New Booke of Cookerie", or perhaps either Hugh Plat or Digby.


I believe both broccoli and cauliflower are plants of the Mediterranean
Basin, long ignored as weeds, and finally cultivated by the Italians,
originally.


Adamantius




Date: Fri, 26 Sep 1997 13:53:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Russell Gilman-Hunt <conchobar at rocketmail.com>
Subject: SC - cauliflower


[(Oliver de Serres' Le Theatre d'agriculture, 1600)]
includes instructions for growing the less common
kinds [of cabbage] including cauliflower (cauli-fiori),
'as the Italians call it' which are still rather rare
in France...


Wheaton, _Savoring_The_Past_, 1996, p 66


Conchobar
AoA, WOAW, A&S Champion of Three Mountains
Apprentice to Ollamh Lono of Adiantium




Date: Tue, 05 May 1998 00:49:47 GMT
From: korny at zikzak.net (Kornelis Sietsma)
Subject: Re: SC - Broccoli & Fennel


On Mon, 4 May 1998 04:20:17 EDT, Kallyr wrote:
>Oh. Please share this recipe.  It sounds perfect & simple.  Just the original
>is fine.


Ok - this is from the text reprinted in "The Original Mediterranean
Cuisine", so the copyright for the translation may belong to the author of
that book...


The author also made the assumption that "tips of fresh cabbage", in a
recipe entitled "Green Cabbage" probably meant something akin to
broccoli...


Green Cabbage with meat  (Cauli Verdi con Carne)
- - Libro Della Cocina
- ----------------
Take the tips of fresh cabbage, and throw them into the boiling pot with
the meat, and boil them;  then take them out and put in cold water.  Then
take another lot of stock in another pot, and add the white part of fennel;
and when it is time to eat, add the said cabbage to the previous pot, and
bring it to the boil, and then add chicken stock, or oil.
- ----------------


I boiled 2 heads of fennel with about 500g of broccoli per table, in a huge
pot of stock.  I boiled them for abour 5 minutes, removed them, washed them
under cold water, and then put them back into the same stock for another 5
minutes. I assumed that the change of stock was superfluous with modern
washed vegetables :)


The second batch of broccoli and fennel I cooked didn't get parboiled first
- - it just took too much time - but they still tasted fine.


- -Korny
- --
Kornelis Sietsma   http://zikzak.net/~korny  icq: 2039172
  e-mail: korny at zikzak.net  or  korny at a2.com.au




Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 09:27:49 EDT
From: LrdRas <LrdRas at aol.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Broccoli & Fennel


allilyn at juno.com writes:
<< I have often heard prople say that broccoli is not period.  If someone has
actual documentation for broccoli >>


This isn't exactly documentation but it works for me. :-) In "Food" by Waverly
Root it says that the word "broccoli" once meant 3 things> 1. Brassica
oleracea italica, 2. B. oleracea botrytis, 3. The flower stalk that pushes up
from the center of any cabbage at the end of it's life (it is edible).


No.1 is broccoli as we know it. No.2 is cauliflower. No.3 is still referred to
as "broccoli" in France.


Apicius was noted for his skill in handling broccoli. Drusus, son of Tiberius
was accused of overindulging in it. Introduced into France by Catherine de
Medici. First known use of the word broccoli in French was in 1560. Broccoli
did not arrive in England until 1720.


Ras




Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 09:12:16 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Broccoli & Fennel


Broccoli (Brassica oleracea italica) appears to have been used in Ancient
Rome. Catherine de' Medici is attributed with bringing them to France,
where they became popular in the 17th Century.  They became popular in
England in the 18th Century.


Related vegetables are cauliflower (Brassica oleracea botrytis) and brussel
sprouts (Brassica oleracea gemmifera).  Cauliflower has been grown since
Roman times.  Brussel sprouts are an 18th Century creation.


The primary source for this is Trager's The Food Chronology, so take it with
a grain of salt.  I haven't checked Apicius yet, but I would say both
broccoli and cauliflower are period in the context of an Italian meal.


Bear




Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 11:04:19 -0700
From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Subject: RE: SC - Broccoli & Fennel


At 9:12 AM -0500 5/6/98, Decker, Terry D. wrote:
(comments on broccoli snipped)
>Brussel sprouts are an 18th Century creation.
>
>The primary source for this is Trager's The Food Chronology, so take it with
>a grain of salt.


However, Menagier mentions something which sounds pretty similar:


"Heads of cabbage, at the end of grape-harvest.  And when the head of this
cabbage, which is in the middle, is removed, pull and replant the cabbage
stalk in new ground, and there will come out large spreading leaves: and a
cabbage holds great place, and these are called Roman cabbages, and eaten
in winter; and from the stalks, if they are replanted, come little cabbages
called sprouts which are eaten with raw herbs and vinegar; and if you have
plenty, they should be well cleaned, washed in hot water, and put to cook
whole with a little water: and then when they are cooked, add salt and oil,
and stir it up thick without water, and put olive oil on in Lent."


Elizabeth/Betty Cook




Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 19:13:38 +1000
From: Robyn Probert <robyn.probert at lawpoint.com.au>
Subject: SC - RE: Recipes as promised (long)


TOMC = The Original Mediterranean Cuisine


<snip of asparagus recipes>


Fennel and Leek TOMC
"Take the white part of the fennel, finely chopped, and fry with a little
white of leek, finely chopped, with oil or salted pork, and add little
water, saffron and salt, and bring to boil, and add beaten egg if desired."


'Salted pork' is pancetta.


Broccoli with Fennel TOMC
"Take the tips of green cabbage, and throw them into the boiling pot with
the meat and boil them; tghen take them out and put in cold water. Then take
abnother lot of stock in another pot and addthe white part of fennel; and
when it is time to eat, add the said cabbage to the previous pot, and bring
it to the boil and then add chicken stock, or oil."


Note the blanch-then-cold-water technique! This one could be easily adapted
fopr vegetarians by using vegetable stock (as per previous discussion). As
an aside, you can add body and "mouth feel" to a veggie stock by using the
cooking water from a pot of beans as a starter/additive. Also adds
nutritional value (the protiens are what make the stock thicken).


Rowan




Date: Fri, 29 May 1998 00:40:33 EDT
From: KKimes1066 at aol.com
Subject: SC - Coleworts---- Caroline help!


<< Or are you thinking of ancestral coles? If so, they still grow
wild along the coasts of England. >>


This is not the information I have. Sylvia Landsberg, in her book "The
Medieval Garden" states: "The lack of a suitable small headed cabbage is not
so important as the loss in England, only recently, of the colewort,
ubiquitous in medieval it's nearest relative being a non-curly kale."


I have found her cross references to by well above par and regard her as an
expert in this field (or garden in this case). If Ras is right then I don't
need to do this project, if he is mistaken then it's full steam ahead.


Percival




Date: Fri, 29 May 1998 06:48:29 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Coleworts---- Caroline help!


> This is not the information I have. Sylvia Landsberg, in her book "The
> Medieval Garden" states: "The lack of a suitable small headed cabbage is
> not so important as the loss in England, only recently, of the colewort,
> ubiquitous in medieval it's nearest relative being a non-curly kale."
>
> Percival


I think you will find Ras is correct.  Cabbage is one of the oldest
cultivated plants, so old that a number of variants were in existence by the
time Rome became a world power.


Because they are so wide-spread and all the same species, the loss of a type
of cabbage in English gardens does not denote its extinction, merely a change
in English tastes.


Bear




Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 21:52:56 -0700
From: "Anne-Marie Rousseau" <acrouss at gte.net>
Subject: Re: Re[2]: SC - Italian Ren Feast


Hi all from Anne-Marie
Micaylah sez:
> Turnips YEEEEEEAAAACK! One of my three "nightmare" vegetables. Cauliflower
> (in any form) <shudder> and Brocolli (it's ooookay raw).


now, usually I hate it when someone says this to me but....


You haven't tried MY cauliflower! :)


Robert May tells us to boil the collies in milk, which turns the slightly
bitter taste into a delightful sweet nutty flavor. I converted several
collie haters with this one! May dishes it up with boiled chicken and a
tart egg-lemon sauce. Yum!


--AM
Madrone/An Tir
Seattle/Madrone




Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 22:01:51 EST
From: LrdRas at aol.com
Subject: SC - Broccoli-a new world food?


HICKS_M at casa.gov.au writes:
<< My allergy (avocado) and most of my sensitivities are new world foods
(tomato, broccoli etc.) so I don't generally bother informing SCA cooks. >>


I strongly suggest that you do inform the cook if broccoli or cauliflower are
a problem with you. Thay are both Old World and period, dating back to at
least Roman times.


Ras




Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 21:43:45 -0600
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Broccoli-a new world food?


> I knew Cauliflower was - wasn't sure about Broccoli. Was it refered to
> as Broccoli or did it have another name?
>
>       Meliora.


They're all varieties of cabbage.  I don't have my notes handy, but memory
says they are all believed to be descended from sea kale found on northern
European coasts.


Leafy forms with very small heads came first, then selective breeding
produced cauliflower and broccoli, followed by head cabbage.  Brussel
sprouts are the newest variety.  There is some question about the precise
introduction of Brussel sprouts, but there is evidence to support its
existence in period.


Bear




Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 07:33:34 -0500
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: Broccoli - was: SC - Sir Loin...


LYN M PARKINSON wrote:
> So, Master A., did they eat broccoli leaves--which taste like
> broccoli--or eat no broccoli--or...???


Probably what they ate, if at all, was a wild variant along the lines of
broccoli-rabe. Neither Platina nor any Tacuinum Sanitatis I've seen, nor
Apicius, mention broccoli.


(There are references to cauliculae in Apicius, which Flower and
Rosenbaum translate as cabbage, but why wouldn't Apicius use brassica? I
suspect cauliculae, which really translates as "little cabbage stalks",
refers to what we call Brussels sprouts.)


More likely broccoli wasn't widely eaten until the 16th or 17th century,
with the big florette-y broccoli probably coming into being in
California in the late 19th century.


Adamantius
Crown Province of Østgardr, East Kingdom




Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 19:45:36 -0400
From: renfrow at skylands.net (Cindy Renfrow)
Subject: Re: SC - Minces


>Hello list,
>
>Could someone please tell me where in Le Menagier de Paris is found the
>recipe for Minces? My copy (by Falconwood Press) is missing several
>pages, most notably page 255, where I suspect the recipe might be, but
>I'm not positive.
>
>Minces is the recipe for brussel sprouts; it's been reprinted in Pleyn
>Delit, but I'm interested in finding the original receipt. The index for
>Le Menagier has no mention of minces, but Pleyn Delit (version 1) says
>its recipe comes from Le Menagier de Paris. Their version reads:
>
>"Minces. Little cabbages called minces are eaten with raw herbs in
>vinegar; and if one has plenty, they are good  shelled, washed in hot
>water, and cooked whole with a little water; and when they are cooked,
>add some salt and oil and serve thick, without water, and put olive oil
>on them in Lent."
>
>My thanks! Feel free to write me privately if you'd like to avoid
>cluttering up the list with extra mail!
>
>BTW, is there anyone from Falconwood Press on this list?
>
>Master Huen
>--
>A Boke of Gode Cookery
>http://www.labs.net/dmccormick/huen.htm


Hello! It's on page 143 of Pichon's edition:


[page 142]
"Porée de minces26 est en saison, de Janvier jusques à Pasques, et encore
après.


Et nota que à faire porée au lait d'amandes, le lait ne doit point estre
coulé par l'estamine; en aucuns autres potages ou à boire, si fait.


Porée noire est celle qui est faite à la ribelette de lart; c'est assavoir
que la porée est esleue, lavée, puis mincée et esverdée en eaue boulant, puis fritte en la gresse des lardons; et puis alaier27 d'eaue chaude frémiant (et dient aucuns, qui la laveroit d'eaue froide, qu'elle seroit plus laide et
noire), puis convient mettre sur chascune escuelle deux lardons.


CHOULX sont de cinq manières: les meilleurs sont ceulx qui ont esté férus
de la gelée, et sont tendres et tost cuis; et en temps de gelée ne les convient point pourboulir, et en temps pluyeux, si. (Et commence à iceulx pour ce que ce sont de celle année les premiers crus, scilicet puis Avril,28 et puis va en descendant vers vendenges, Nouel et Pasques.)


[page 143]


Choulx blanc sont en la fin d'Aoust.


Pommes de chou , sur la fin de vendenges. Et quant la pomme d'icelluy chou
, laquelle est ou milieu, est ostée, l'en arrache et replante en terre nouvelle le tronc de ce chou, et en yssent larges feuilles qui s'espandent: et tient un chou grant place, et l'en appelle iceulx choulx nommés29 choulx Rommains, et sont mengiés en yver; et des troncs, se ils sont replantés, yssent de petits
choulx que l'en appelle minces, que l'en mengue avec les herbes crues en vinaigre; et qui en a foison, ils sont bons esleus, lavés en eaue chaude, et tous entiers mis cuire avec un petit d'eaue: et puis quant ils sont cuis, mettre du sel et de l'uile, et dréciés bien espois sans eaue, et mettre de l'uille d'olive dessus en karesme. Puis y a autres choulx que l'en appelle choulx pasquerés pour ce que l'en les mengue en Pasquerez,30 mais ils sont semés dès Aoust; et quant après la semence ils sont percreus demy-pié de hault, l'en les arrache et plante-l'en ailleurs, et sont souvent arrousés.


Aussi tous les choulx dessusdis sont premièrement semés, puis quant ils
sont creus à demy-pié de hault, sont ostés et replantés.


Et premièrement des pommes, est assavoir que quant icelles pommes sont
effeuillées, eslites et mincées, il les convient très-bien pourboulir, et longuement plus que les autres choulx, car les choulx Rommains se veullent le vert des feuilles dessirer par pesches,31 et le jaune, c'est assavoir les arrestes ou veines,32 [p. 144] escachées33 ou mortier, puis tout ensemble esverder en eaue chaude, puis espraindre et mettre en un pot et de l'eaue tiède, qui n'a assez eaue de char: et puis servir du plus gras et34 de l'eaue de la char, et plusieurs y broient du pain.


Et sachez que choulx veulent estre mis au feu dès bien matin, et cuire très-longuement et plus longuement que nul autre potage, et à bon feu et fort, et doivent tremper en gresse de beuf et non autre, soient pommes ou choulx ou quels qu'ils soient, excepté minces. Sachez aussi que eaue grasse de beuf et de mouton y est propre, mais non mie de porc; celle de porc n'est pas bonne fors pour poreaux.


Après, l'en fait choulx, à jour de poisson, après ce qu'ils sont
pourboulis, cuire en eaue tiède: et
mettre de l'uille et du sel."


The notes for this section are:


[p. 142]


26 Voy. pages 48 et 143.


27 Délayer.


28 On sait que l'année commençoit alors à Pâques. Les années 1392, 1393 et
1394, dans lesquelles on [p. 143] peut fixer l'époque de la composition du Ménagier (ainsi que je crois l'avoir démontré dans l'Introduction), commencèrent toutes trois en Avril.


top of page


29 Les trois manuscrits portent nommés; je crois qu'il faut lire pommés ou
pommes.


30 Temps de Pâques.


31 Déchirer par pièces.


32 Cotons.


[p. 144]


33 Écrasés.


34 Et paroît être de trop.


Greg Lindahl & I are slowly webbing Pichon's edition at:
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/menagier/


Cindy (the two-fingered typist) Renfrow/Sincgiefu
renfrow at skylands.net




Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 06:31:06 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - BrusselsSprouts


> I was wondering if you could give me some help on Brussel Sprouts.
> My question to the wise amongst us is
> are the sprouts in question really the "minces" as claimed in Pleyn Delit?,
> and if you think they are do they appear in any other sources apart from
> this.  I know that they were grown in Belgium in the middle ages but were
> they plentiful anywhere else?
>
> Heather


Since Belgium was established in 1831, I doubt Brussel Sprouts were grown in
that country in the Middle Ages.  Root states the Belgians (members of said
tribe) were growing them around 1200.  IIRC, Belgium at the time was part of
Burgundy. Also, according to Root, Brussel sprouts did not appear in
England until the 19th Century.  This would make the identification of
"minces" as Brussel sprouts questionable.


Again, IIRC, they are probably of Mediterranean origin and were fairly
common in the Germanic states in period, where they were known as Rosenkohl
(rose cabbage).


Bear




Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 08:38:57 EDT
From: LrdRas at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - BrusselsSprouts


tamamsk at hotmail.com writes:
<< do they appear in any other sources apart from this. >>


I am not convinced that they are 'minces' but I have no evidence to the
contrary. :-( Another source of Brussels sprout recipes would be Apicius,
IIRC. There are also allusions to cabbage 'sprouts' in other manuscripts. I
think one of the main problems we have in identifying the various Cole
varieties in period (specifically medieval) manuscripts is the apparent lack
of specific terms for individual varieties.


For instance, cabbage 'flowers' could be broccoli or cauliflower or possible
actual flowers of cabbage. Cabbage leaves could be kale or sea kale,
collards, or the leaves from any other Cole variety. Depending on whether you
are using the first or second edition of Pleyn Delit will depend on how many
grains of salt you take. The first edition has errors which the second
edition corrected so the latter could be taken with fewer grains than the
first.


Even today it is difficult to wade through the Cole family since every one
has the same scientific name whether it be Brussels sprouts or collard
greens. Ideally the cultivar name is attached to the scientific name so you
can generally understand what is being referred but this is not always the
case. The best sources of modern information use common names for the coles
which allows you to readily identify the particular Cole being discussed.


If you have access to a variety of forms and maturities of coles, you might
try the recipe using various possible forms (e.g., cabbage leaves, sea kale,
kale, collards) when a reference is vague. The best tasting result would be
the best choice, IMO.


I hope this has not been too confusing but it does illustrate the uncertainty
regarding specific varieties used in any particular period recipe. with
regard to certain plant types.


Ras




Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 09:11:20 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - BrusselsSprouts


Heather Payton wrote:
> I was wondering if you could give me some help on Brussel Sprouts.  I am
> catering a period feast and wanted to give them a go as there will be mostly
> adults and they usually like them.  My question to the wise amongst us is
> are the sprouts in question really the "minces" as claimed in Pleyn Delit?,
> and if you think they are do they appear in any other sources apart from
> this.  I know that they were grown in Belgium in the middle ages but were
> they plentiful anywhere else?


The only actual period reference to Brussels sprouts I can think of
offhand is the same one Hieatt, Butler and Jones use: Le Menagier de
Paris, roughly 1390 C.E. In Eileen Powers' partial translation, it states,


"Cabbage hearts at the end of the vintage. And when the heart of the
cabbage, which is in the midst, is plucked off, you pull up the stump of
the cabbage and replant it in fresh earth, and there will come forth
from it big spreading leaves; and the cabbage takes a great deal of room
and these cabbage hearts be called Roman cabbages and they be eaten in
winter; and when the stumps be replanted, there grow out of them little
cabbages which be called sprouts and which be eaten with raw herbs in
vinegar; and if you have plenty, they are good with the outer leaves
removed and then washed in warm water and cooked whole in a little
water; and then when they be cooked add salt and oil and serve them very
thick, without water, and put olive oil over them in Lent."


I believe Powers translates "minces" as "sprouts" not because the word
is a direct translation, but because the process seems to be pretty much
that by which we get Brussels sprouts today, and so we'll know what Le
Menagier is talking about.


I just checked Platina for any reference to such sprouts, but found
none, and I'm pretty sure there are no references to them in any of the
14th -15th century English sources. I'd say, as a general statement,
that Brussels sprouts were known in parts of Europe, but not grown in
all, possibly due to a shorter growing season in the more Northern parts
of Europe.


Adamantius




Date: Mon, 02 Aug 1999 08:54:19 PDT
From: "pat fee" <lcatherinemc at hotmail.com>
Subject: SC - Requested recipe for Cabbage with leeks and Bacon


  Here is the recipe for Cabbage with leeks and baccon.  I'm sorry it took
so long, but I have been investigating the preservation of my family's
recipe book.


                   Cabbage with leeks and Bacon


  1 head cabbage(green or red your choice) core removed and sliced 1/2 to 1
inch thick


4 slices of good Bacon the book calls for "side" meat, chopped and cooked
slowly until the bits are crisp and there is a pool of Bacon fat in the
bottom of your pot.


4 or more good big leeks sliced, white and 1/2 inch of the green. I suppose
you could use onion for this if you wish.  Use a good big one.


Layer the leeks and cabbage in the pot on top of the Bacon bits and fat
until it reaches an inch or so below the top, or until you run out of
ingredients.


Pour 1 1/2 cups of liquid. water works, but ale or beer is better over the
cabbage ect.  Cover tightly, place over heat source and let gently steam for
about 20 minutes.  Uncover and stir well.


Serve


Lady Katherine McGuire




Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 01:02:50 EST
From: allilyn at juno.com
Subject: Re: SC - To make a tarte of Medlers


Thomas mentions:  If this recipe does not please you ("Medlers that be
rotten"), there are other recipes, e.g. in the "Rheinfr‰nkisches
Kochbuch"


#31 in the RK is for cabbage, but says you can also do medlars, pears,
etc.


The same cabbage you can also prepare, in this put sweet spice powder and
figs that are simmered in boiling water (or possibly just plumped rather
than cooked).  Give into it wine vinegar, strew raisins and almond
kernels over it.  You can also do medlars, pears and all the other
ingredients (types of fruits or vegetables?) as you choose and not only
the beet greens, but also slices of the beets from which the beet greens
were taken.


This is a fairly loose translation.  I take it to mean that the medlars,
pears, or other fruits could be used in place of the figs and/or raisins.




I steamed a whole Savoy cabbage for High Table, interleaved it with
steamed chard, making a nice contrast of pale and dark green leaves, and
stuffed bits of figs, raisins, almonds and wine into the crevices of the
leaf bases.  Threw nasturium petals over, to jazz up the looks.  The
hollowed center of the cabbage was full of a sort of large meatball,
taken from Gwen-Cat's 'pumpes' from her translation of Rumpole.  King
Christopher loved it.


Other folks got the pumpes, but we didn't cook the chopped cabbage--too
late and everybody full.


Allison,     allilyn at juno.com




Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2000 08:52:23 -0600
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Garden Advice


> By the way, what _is_ sea kale (besides some type of herb;-), ie what does it
> look like, does it have any other names, what type of flavouring does it have,
> & what types of dishes would you use it in?
>
> Thanks, Lorix


Sea kale (Crambe maritima) is a cabbage-like plant found along the coast of
Northern Europe.  It is related to the Brassica (cabbages) and some
authorities believe it to be the closest relative of the ancestoral cabbage.
It resembles kale, a non-heading cabbage.


Bear




Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 13:35:30 -0400
From: Elaine Koogler <ekoogler at chesapeake.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Brussel sprouts


The recipe I've been promising for the Brussels Sprouts is:


Herbed Brussels Sprounts


Brussels sprouts 1 10 oz pkg. frozen (actually, I use fresh ones...)
Onion, 1 small, thinly striped.
Butter, 1 tbsp.
Garlic, 1 clove, minced
Thyme, 1/4 tsp.
Oregano, 1/4 tsp.
Salt 1/4 tsp.
Pepper, 1/4 tsp.


Steam sprouts and onion slices for about 10 minutes.  In a sauce pan melt
butter. Saute the garlic until brown.  Add the steamed sprouts and onion, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring ooccasionally, for 4-5 minutes, until vegetables are heated through.


I hope you all enjoy...I know I do!


Kiri




Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2000 00:06:46 +0200
From: Thomas Gloning <gloning at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE>
Subject: SC - Brussels sprouts, Rosenkohl // What is "Tyffan"? // Bohemian cookbook 1591?


<< ... I make brussel sprouts with sauteed onions and bacon diced, salt
and pepper, honey and vinegar. ... It is similar to the
treatment for hot German potato salad I learned from a Czeck butcher.
Basically a sweet and sour taste.  I have not really studied the German
texts, maybe Thomas could tell us if that treatment is period? >>


As far as I can see brussels sprouts were not known in 16th century
Germany and before. Therefore, the treatment of brussels sprouts in the
way you described it, would not be period, too.


"As far as I can see", here means: I did some _quick_ diving around in:
- -- German dictionaries (Grimm'sches Wˆrterbuch, Paul/Henne/Objartel,
Alphabetisches Verzeichnis deutscher Pflanzennamen, Weigand/Hirt,
Tr¸bner, Kluge/Gˆtze, the old culinary dictionaries of Marperger 1716
and Amaranthes 1715),
- -- herbals (Tabernaemontanus 1731, which often includes references to
the earlier herbals),
- -- cookbooks (my electronic collection of German texts 1350 onwards),
- -- dietary texts (Elsholtz' Diaeteticon),
- -- books on culinary and food history (Moriz Heyne, Wiswe)
but could not find anything indicating that brussels sprouts (and the
aforesaid treatment of brussels sprouts) were known before 1600.


There is one book which made me wonder. The German translation of "The
book of ingredients" says on one page, that brussels sprouts were
cultivated only something more than a hundred years ago (18th century),
but on another page that (someone said) they were cultivated first in
the Netherlands in the Middle Ages ("ROSENKOHL. Er soll erstmals in den
im Mittelalter bl¸henden G‰rtnereien der Niederlande gez¸chtet worden
sein"; p.240; "soll" ~ 'someone said/wrote that'). Up to now, I did not
see medieval recipes for brussels sprouts in this thread, rather several
people marked their posts with "OOP". Is there any evidence for brussels
sprouts in the Middle ages somewhere?


As always: I will keep my eyes open & : mistrust everything I said, I
might have looked for the _wrong_ German word (there were other
dialectal forms or words for brussels sprouts, e.g. _kohlsprossen_, on
the other hand, the expression _Rosenkohl_ was earlier used for a kind
of broccoli, too) ...


<snip of beverage info>


More questions than answers. Sigh.


Thomas




Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2000 09:30:44 EDT
From: ChannonM at aol.com
Subject: SC - Re: Brussel sprouts in Period- Le Menagier


In a message dated 4/7/00 9:08:10 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Thomas writes:
<< Up to now, I did not
see medieval recipes for brussels sprouts in this thread, rather several
people marked their posts with "OOP". Is there any evidence for brussels
sprouts in the Middle ages somewhere? >>


According to the Menagier,


Cabbages are of five kinds; the best are those which have been touched with
frost etc...


snip


Head of cabbage, at the end of grape harvest. And when the head of this
cabbage, which is in the middle, is removed, pull and replant the cabbage
stalk in the new ground, and there will come out large spreading leaves; and
a cabbage holds great place and these are called Roman cabbages, and eaten in
winter, and from the stalks, if they are replanted, caome little cabbages
called sprouts which are eaten with raw herbs and vinegar, and if you have
plenty they should be well cleaned, washed in hot water and put to cook whole
with a little water and thebn when they are cooked add salt and oil, and stir
it up thick without water, and put olive oil on in Lent.
Then there are other cabbages.........


My Laurel has created a recipe using brussel sprouts in vinegar and herbs,
when I find it I'll post it.


Hauviette




Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2000 10:51:37 -0500
From: "Michael F. Gunter" <michael.gunter at fnc.fujitsu.com>
Subject: SC - Brussel sprouts


> Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to prepare brussel
> sprouts in such a manner that this lady will like (and eat) them.
>
> /UlfR


As an avowed Brussel Sprouts hater I actually came up with one that
I like.


Take brussel sprouts that are slightly opened. Boil them until a fork
inserted in the base goes in fairly easily. Transfer the sprouts to
a small, high-sided pan. (I use a pie tin).  Add 1/2 stick butter and
a generous sprinkling of minced garlic (About 2 cloves) and a bit
of salt and pepper. Top with seasoned bread crumbs mixed with
parmesian cheese. Broil until the tops of the sprouts begin to turn
brown.


Most of the bitterness has either been removed in the boiling or is
covered by the flavors of garlic and parmesian. Very nice.


> Par Leijonhufvud


Gunthar




Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2000 09:28:26 -0400
From: "Jeff Gedney" <JGedney at dictaphone.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Brussel sprouts


For me, when it comes to Brussel Sprouts, Simplicity rules.
I like them prepared this way:
with the tip of the knife, slit the stem ends in a cross, steam until just tender, and serve with a judicious splash of Balsamico.


Even my _kids_ love them this way.


brandu




Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 12:08:56 -0400
From: Christine A Seelye-King <mermayde at juno.com>
Subject: SC - Brussel Sprouts


Using a recipe I got from a Garde Manger chef I used to work with, I
make brussel sprouts with sauteed onions and bacon diced, salt and
pepper, honey and vinegar.  It is the most amazing thing to see
non-brussel sprout eaters lick the pan clean!  It is similar to the
treatment for hot German potato salad I learned from a Czeck butcher.
Basically a sweet and sour taste.  I have not really studied the German
texts, maybe Thomas could tell us if that treatment is period?

Christianna




Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 11:04:07 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Brussels sprouts


> but could not find anything indicating that brussels sprouts (and the
> aforesaid treatment of brussels sprouts) were known before 1600.
>
> Thomas


I have some conflicting references (tertiary and quaternary sources at best)
for brussels sprouts which place them anywhere from the 13th Century to the
18th Century.


The best potential reference I have seen is that brussels sprouts and
kohlrabi are first mentioned in Rembert Dodoens' (Dodonaeus) "Cruydeboek" of
1554. I have not been able to locate a copy of this work to verify the
statement. The original work is in Dutch.


Bear




Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 19:55:37 EDT
From: ChannonM at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Brussels sprouts, Rosenkohl // What is "Tyffan"? // Bohe mian cookbook


In a message dated 4/11/00 4:53:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time,Bear writes:
<< The best potential reference I have seen is that brussels sprouts and
kohlrabi are first mentioned in Rembert Dodoens' (Dodonaeus) "Cruydeboek" of
1554. I have not been able to locate a copy of this work to verify the
statement. The original work is in Dutch.

Bear >>


I just saw a reference to kohlrabi in I believe a much earlier (maybe 12 C)
list of stores or goods available from the grounds of the French King at the
time. I'll check it out again and report back. I was thrilled at the list of
food items, but was researching 12th C Ireland at the time and skipped it (I
knew I should have saved) It's on a web site of Medieval manuscripts.


Hauviette




Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 17:55:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: SC - Brussels sprouts, Rosenkohl // What is "Tyffan"? // Bohe mian cookbook 1591?


- --- "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US> wrote:
> I have some conflicting references (tertiary and quaternary sources at best)
> for brussels sprouts which place them anywhere from the 13th Century to the
> 18th Century.
>
> The best potential reference I have seen is that brussels sprouts and
> kohlrabi are first mentioned in Rembert Dodoens' (Dodonaeus) "Cruydeboek" of
> 1554.  I have not been able to locate a copy of this work to verify the
> statement.  The original work is in Dutch.
>
> Bear


It was translated into English in 1578 and called "A
Nievve Herball, or Historie of Plantes"


Lots of libraries have various editions of this in
English, Dutch, and French.


You can find this in these libraries:


Yale
Harvard
Library of Congress
Brigham Young Univ.
Univ. of Minnesota
Univ. of Syracuse
Univ. of Rochester, NY
Univ. of Chicago
Univ. of Calif. Berkeley
Stanford Univ.
Univ. of Iowa
Columbia
Temple Univ.
Univ. of Pennsylvania
Brown Univ.
Univ. of Michigan
Univ. of Florida
British Library


There is a library in Missouri that has this also, but
they are new to RLIN and are not on my list of RLIN
subscribers yet.


This book also has been translated into Japanese and
is called "Ensai Dodoneusu Somokufu"!


Huette




Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 15:38:56 -0700
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: SC - Three Easy Pieces, or Verjus Redux


The Shire of Crosston, with whom i camp, has a period pot-luck feast
at every Crown Tournament (3 per year in the West). There are always
guests, so there are around 2 dozen diners or so, and frequently
other folks show up looking for food and we feed them, as well.
Generally, there's plenty. At The West Kingdom March Crown Tourney
just passed, I made three dishes from Barbara Santich's "The Original
Mediterranean Cuisine" for the Saturday night feast. I didn't use her
"redactions" for any of them, just referred to the originals and the
translations.


VERJUS REDUX
I have now used the Fusion brand Napa Valley Verjus that i bought
from Whole Foods and i thought it was quite nice. I tasted a spoonful
of it before pouring some into the dish i was cooking - i'm weird, i
probably could have drunk a juice glass of it - it was tart and
fruity, but not bitter. I used it in a recipe for garbanzo beans
cooked in almond milk.


This was not the unpleasant white grape Fusion brand verjus that
Niccolo di Francesco wrote about. I used the Fusion red verjus, which
was a lovely purplish red color and was neither unpleasantly tart nor
at all bitter, as Niccolo says the Fusion white was. I don't have the
recommended Navarro brand to compare it with, but the Fusion red was
quite good.


PIECE ONE


Ciurons Tendres Ab Let de Melles
(from Sent Sovi)


<snip of chickpeas recipe - see beans-msg>


PIECE TWO


Cauli Verdi con Carne
(from Libro della Cocina)


ORIGINAL: Togli le cime de' cauli sane, e gittale nelle pentola
bugliente con le carne, e falli bullire; e cavali e metti nell'aqua
fredda. Et tolto d'altro brodo in un'altro pentola, mettivi del
biancho dei finocchi; et quando e ora del mangiare, poni i detti
cauli con brodo nella pentola predetta; fa' bullire un poco, e puoi
mettervi brodo di carne di caponne, o oglio.


TRANS: Take the tips of fresh cabbage, and throw them into the
boiling pot with the meat, and boil; and take them out and put them
in cold water. Then take another broth in another pot, put the white
part of fennel; then when it is the time to eat, add that cabbage in
the broth in the previous pot; make it boil a little, and then
chicken stock or oil.


"Green cabbage" and finocchi/fennel cooked with meat. Santich says
"In the text it is not clear exactly what is intended by 'green
cabbage' nor by cime - which could refer to the tips of the cabbage
or to the infloresence, which might have meant broccoli [which, she
notes, was known by the 15th century]. In these recipes I have used
both"


WHAT I DID: I did not follow this recipe exactly.


(1) I used frozen broccoli flowerets to save prep time on site. It
was Crown and i knew i'd be busy. As it turned out, i was much busier
than i'd expected - i didn't even get to set up the Moorish Science
Reading Room.


(2) Besides the broccoli, i tossed in some quartered Brussels
sprouts. Since so many folks say they don't like Brussels sprouts, i
didn't want to make the dish using nothing but them (as "cabbage
sprouts"). And i didn't hear any protestations from diners, who
probably didn't even realize they were eating the dreaded vegetable.


I cut the white part of the fennel in medium-large cubes (about 3/4").


(3) The recipe says to cook each vegetable separately in meat stock.
As it was Lent, i cooked them in vegetable stock. Also we have a
couple vegetarians in our Shire and other who are guests, so i like
to make sure there are filling meatless dishes available.


(4) Also, i didn't have enough pans or serving dishes with me, so i
cooked the vegetables together. I'd have done them separately, but i
couldn't. The broccoli was still just about frozen, so i added all
the vegetables at the same time.


When they were done i tossed them with a little olive oil. I didn't
even salt them, since the vegetable stock they'd cooked in was well
seasoned.


I was concerned that the flavor of the fennel would be strong, a
taste i don't care for. In fact, it was quite mild, and the dish was
a nice blend of green and white. I left the vegetables a tad firm
from personal preference.


PIECE THREE


On Preparing a Salad of Several Greens
(from de Honesta Voluptate)


<snip of salad recipe - see salads-msg>


- ---------------


I picked these dishes because they were relatively quick and easy to
prepare at a busy event, yet authentic. I was actually done cooking
before the others who cooked on site. (i mention this because i'm
usually still cooking when everyone is already eating)


Anahita al-shazhiyya




Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 23:31:22 EDT
From: <LrdRas at aol.com>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Brussels Sprouts


whutchis at bucknell.edu writes:
<< I've also been told that they _are_ a period plant, but with no
documentation for either viewpoint.  Anyone know for sure?
          -----Gille MacDhnouill >>


Apicius uses the word 'cauliculae' which means little cabbage stalks'.


Another possibility is Le Managier:


"Heads of cabbage, at the end of grape-harvest. And when the head of this
cabbage, which is in the middle, is removed, pull and replant the cabbage
stalk in new ground, and there will come out large spreading leaves: and a
cabbage holds great place, and these are called Roman cabbages, and eaten
in winter; and from the stalks, if they are replanted, come little cabbages
called sprouts which are eaten with raw herbs and vinegar; and if you have
plenty, they should be well cleaned, washed in hot water, and put to cook
whole with a little water: and then when they are cooked, add salt and oil,
and stir it up thick without water, and put olive oil on in Lent."


I know that is not definitive but it is, hopefully, a place to start.


Ras




Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 15:46:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jenne Heise <jenne at mail.browser.net>
Subject: Re: SC - help on documentation


Oh, by the way, here's some cabbage recipes:


From the Domostroi: "Chop cabbage, greens, or a mixture of both very fine,
then wash them well. Boil or steam them for a long time. On
meat days, put in red meat, ham, or a little pork fat; add cream or egg
whites and warm the mixture. During a fast, saturate the greens with
a little broth, or add some fat [oil?] and steam it well. Add some groats,
salt and sour cabbage soup. Cook kasha the same way; steam it
well with lard, oil, or herring in a broth."
- --
Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise       jenne at tulgey.browser.net




Date: Fri, 01 Dec 2000 00:52:50
From: "pat fee" <lcatherinemc at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Seeking Cabbage Recipe


                 Scotts Cabbage (Sangster family cook book)
                           (Translation)




This makes enough for 4-6 persons.
1 large head cabbage
1/4 lb baccon cubed and browned
4 large leeks, sliced in medium slices white part only
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup verjuice or cider vinegar
1/2 cup water or white wine.
Salt if needed.




  Core cabbage, and cut in thick slices.
  Cook baccon in a medium heavy pan with a lid, untill browned.  Remove the
baccon bits.  Cook leeks and garlic in baccon drippings until wilted. Remove
when done.
  Layer cabbage, baccon bits, cooked leeks and garlic untill all are used.
Combine verjuice and wine or water. Pour over the layers and cover and cook
over medium low heat untill cabbage is tender.


  To serve drain and mix layers togather.  Reduce pan"juice" by half. tast
and add salt if neccessary.  Pour reduced "juice" over cabage etc.   Serve
with buttered bread crumbs sprinkled over the top.




Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 18:35:46 -0800
From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Seeking Cabbage Recipe


At 3:41 PM -0800 11/30/00, lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:
>I planned to include Caboges in Potage from Forme of Cury in the
>Boar Hunt Feast, but it just isn't exciting me. I have a "recipe"
>with no source from a previous Boar Hunt [red cabbage, garlic,
>vinegar, honey, ginger, pepper]. But i'm trying very hard to make
>authentic recipes, although they are coming from several centuries.
>
>Any source for a tasty cabbage recipe? I want something savory to
>zing with the sausage.


I'm very fond of this one; and it's easy:


Caboges
  Two Fifteenth Century p. 6/33
Take fayre caboges, an cutte hem, an pike hem clene and clene washe
hem, an parboyle hem in fayre water, an thanne presse hem on a fayre
bord; an than choppe hem, and caste hem in a fayre pot with goode
fresshe broth, an wyth mery-bonys, and let it boyle: thanne grate
fayre brede and caste ther-to, an caste ther-to Safron an salt; or
ellys take gode grwel y-mad of freys flesshe, y-draw thorw a
straynour, and caste ther-to. An whan thou seruyst yt inne, knocke
owt the marw of the bonys, an ley the marwe ij gobettys or iij in a
dysshe, as the semyth best, and serue forth.


1 medium head cabbage 4 lb marrow bones 1 T salt
4 c beef broth 6 threads saffron ~ 2 c breadcrumbs


Wash cabbage. Cut it in fourths. Parboil it (i.e. dump into boiling
water, leave there a few minutes). Drain. Chop. Squeeze out water.
Put it in a pot with beef broth and marrow bones. Simmer until soft,
stirring often enough to keep it from sticking (about 20 minutes).
Add saffron, salt, enough bread crumbs to make it very thick. Simmer
ten minutes more. Serve.
- --
David Friedman
ddfr at best.com




Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 11:16:35 +0200
From: "Jessica Tiffin" <jessica at beattie.uct.ac.za>
Subject: SC - Re: Seeking Cabbage Recipe


Anahita said, in pre-feast jitter mode:
> I planned to include Caboges in Potage from Forme of Cury in the Boar
> Hunt Feast, but it just isn't exciting me. I have a "recipe" with no
> source from a previous Boar Hunt [red cabbage, garlic, vinegar,
> honey, ginger, pepper]. But i'm trying very hard to make authentic
> recipes, although they are coming from several
> centuries.


There's a _lovely_ cabbage, apple and bacon recipe from an Italian
source in Barbara Santich's The Original Mediterranean Cuisine - I've
made it several times for cooks' guild meetings and suchlike, and it
goes down very well.  I fear I'm rather short on detail as I don't
have the book with me, aaargh, maybe someone else does, or else I can
type it in when I'm at home this afternoon?  (Which is probably the
dead of everyone else's night, but hey.)


JdH


Lady Jehanne de Huguenin  *  Seneschal, Shire of Adamastor, Cape Town
(Jessica Tiffin, University of Cape Town)




Date: Sat, 2 Dec 2000 13:35:51 -0700
From: "Brian L. Rygg or Laura Barbee-Rygg" <rygbee at montana.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Seeking Cabbage Recipe


Here is the requested recipe.  I included the original and its translation
as she did take some liberties with her redaction IMHO.  I wouldn't use
bacon but the fresh salt pork slices that just look like bacon.


Raoghnailt


Cabbage with fennel and apple (Santich's redaction)


    Finely shred 1/4 Savoy (green) cabbage, drop into boiling salted water
and boil 1 minute, then drain and rinse.  Finely slice 1 small onion and
half a bulb of fennel.  Fry in 2-3 tablespoons olive oil until soft. Peel,
quarter, and core a small apple and cut into small cubes (chop). Add to
onion and fennel with drained cabbage and a little stock or water. Cover and
steam for 5 min., then remove lid and cook a little longer to evaporate most
of the liquid. Season with freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.
    As a variant, add strips of pancetta to the pan with the onion and
fennel. The salty tang of the pancetta contrasts nicely with the natural
sweetness of the onion, fennel, and apple.


Cauli Verdi (Libro Della Cochina) (original)


    Togli le cime dei cauli, e falle bullire: poi le cava, e friggile
nell'oglio con cipolle tagliate, e bianco di finocchi, e pome tagliate; e
poni dentro un poco di brodo: et poi fa' le scudelle. e gittavi su de le
spezie. Possonsi eziandio fare con lo lardo, col cascio e con l'ova
perdute, et ponervi de le spezie; e dara' al Signore.


Green Cabbage (translation)


    Take the tips of cabbage, and boil them: then remove them, and fry in
oil with sliced onion, and the white part of fennel, and sliced apple; and
add a little stock: and then serve it in bowls and sprinkle with spices.
And you can also cook it with salted pork fat, with cheese and with poached
eggs, and add spices; and offer it to your Lord.




Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 19:23:45 -0500
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Period food in the workplace


lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:
> The original of the Santich recipe used a term for which the actual
> vegetable is uncertain. Santich suggested broccoli, which i used. I
> decided to use brussel sprouts, too, which i cut in halves or
> quarters, because my understanding - or perhaps misunderstanding -
> was that they are both late period and this was a late period recipe
> and not knowing exactly what vegetable to use i figured they were
> both about equally close.
>
> It was served at a pot luck dinner at a camping event, and it was
> dark. I think if i'd said i'd made a dish of brussel sprouts no one
> would have eaten it, but i said it was broccoli and no one complained
> and i didn't notice folks digging out the brussel sprouts by candle
> light. And the pot was empty by the end of the meal.


I'm almost certain there's a fairly detailed description of the
different forms of vegetable that you can get from one cabbage plant, in
Le Menagier de Paris, IIRC. As I recall it's a progression  something
like, round headed cabbages first, then a short growing season for
headless leaves, kind of like collard greens, then what amounts to
Brussels sprouts last... I believe Ras has some information about this.
Santich's mysterious vegetable may be cabbage at one of these alternate
stages. Do you recall what term she uses?


There is probably more stuff about cabbage and how it grows in Cato's De
Agri Cultura. I'll look, later tonight.


Adamantius




From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2001 11:45:41 -0700
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] German Recipes: Mushrooms?


<snip>


Third, there's no recipe for Cabbage in Sabrina Welserin, at least
not the version on-line. However, i did find cabbage recipes in other
German sources.


ONE


http://cs-people.bu.edu/akatlas/Buch/recipes.html
# 48: Source: Das Buch von Guter Spise
Translated & Reacted by Alia Atlas
copyright Alia Atlas


Ingredients
2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp ground anise
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp saffron (opt)
1 head of Cabbage


Directions:
Mix vinegar, honey, and spices
Wash cabbage and shred.
Soak cabbage in marinade for at least 1 hour.


The original is on Thomas Gloning's website.


TWO


There are several in Rumpolt, but not useful for my feast. I'll most
likely do the one from Guter Spise using red cabbage for color ...is
red cabbage period?


Anahita / Subaytila




From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2001 00:36:54 -0400
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Recipes: Cabbage with Bacon; Sausages


This looks like a nice hearty dish, and a simple one to prepare.


Source: Diego Granado, _Libro del Arte de Cozina_ (1599)
Translation: Lady Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann)


Para hazer escudilla de repollo


Tomase el repollo blanco apretado, y de buen peso y quitadas las ojas de
encima tomese la parte mas blanca, cortese, lauese con agua fria,
pongase en en caldo de carne hiruiendo, con tocino gordo picado, y
papada de puerco salada, y rellenos, y hagase heruir en vn vaso ancho
donde no esten las cosas muy apretadas, y estando cozidos siruase
caliente el repollo con las demas cosas, poniendole queso rallado,
pimienta, y canela por encima.  El repollo quiere ser quitado del caldo en
el punto que esta` cozido, porque quedandose en el caldo se buelue
colorado, y azedo.  Puedesele dar tambien vn hervor en el agua simple,
primero que se ponga en el caldo.




To make a dish of head cabbage


Take the white head cabbage, tightly closed and of good weight, and the
leaves on top being removed, take the whitest part, cut it, wash it with
cold water, put it in boiling meat broth with chopped fatty bacon, and
salted pork neck, and sausages, and boil them in a wide vessel where the
things will not be very crowded, and when they are cooked, serve the
cabbage hot with the rest of the things, putting grated cheese, pepper,
and cinnamon on top.  The cabbage should be removed from the broth at
the moment that it is cooked, because if it is left in the broth, it will
become red and sour.  You can also give it a boil in plain water before it
is put in the broth.


Translation notes:
"repollo" is the term for round head cabbage, as opposed to the open
leafy kind


<snip of sausage recipe - see sausages-msg>


Brighid, who finds that recipes are a pleasant respite from watching the
news


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




Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 12:07:32 -0500
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] um, red cabbage in period?


Also sprach jenne at fiedlerfamily.net:
>Do we have any documentation for red cabbage in period? I know German
>cooks swear it is period, but I kinda need a book reference if there is
>one for something I'm writing.


Marx Rumpolt, in his 1581 "Ein New Kochbuch", sez:


>33. Nimb ein rot Haeuptkraut/ schneidts fein klein/ vnd quells
>ein wenig in warmen Wasser/ kuels darnach geschwindt au=DF/ machs mit
>Essig vnd Oel ab/ vnd wenn es ein weil im Essig ligt/ so wirt es schoen rot.


Roughly translated:


Take a head of red cabbage/ cut it nice and small/ and blanch
it a little in hot water/ then cool quickly/ make it with vinegar and oil/
and if it lies a while in the vinegar/ it becomes nice and red.


Adamantius




From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] um, red cabbage in period?
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 11:09:11 -0600


Rumpolt's Ein Neu Kochbuch has a red cabbage salad (No. 33 in the section on
salads) in it.  It may have some other recipes, but I haven't done much with
it. There are also some 16th Century paintings which show red cabbage
(IIRC).


You might check Thomas Gloning's web page for references.


Bear


> Do we have any documentation for red cabbage in period? I know German
> cooks swear it is period, but I kinda need a book reference
> if there is one for something I'm writing.
>
> -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa




Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 14:25:16 -0500
From: johnna holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] um, red cabbage in period?


I'd check the Dutch artworks of the 16th-17th centuries
for pictoral evidence. Weaver indicates that some
of the heirloom red cabbages that we grow now were grown
at least as far back as the early 18th-late 17th centuries.
Unfortunately, cabbages cross pollinate, so varieties
have sprung up rather freely through the centuries.


Johnnae llyn Lewis  Johnna Holloway




Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 06:46:20 -0600
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: Diana Skaggs <upsxdls_osu at mail.ionet.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] um, red cabbage in period?


>Marx Rumpolt, in his 1581 "Ein New Kochbuch", sez:
>>33. Nimb ein rot Haeuptkraut/ schneidts fein klein/ vnd quells
>>ein wenig in warmen Wasser/ kuels darnach geschwindt au=DF/ machs mit
>>Essig vnd Oel ab/ vnd wenn es ein weil im Essig ligt/ so wirt es schoen rot.
>
>Roughly translated:
>Take a head of red cabbage/ cut it nice and small/ and blanch
>it a little in hot water/ then cool quickly/ make it with vinegar and oil/
>and if it lies a while in the vinegar/ it becomes nice and red.
>
>Adamantius


I used this salad in my German feast last fall.  I used a ratio of 2:1:1 of
olive oil, red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar. Bear also suggested (and
I did) add a bit of sugar to the dressing to cut the bitterness of the
vinegar. The neatest thing about this salad: when the cabbage is blanched,
it turns a nauseating blue color. But, when the dressing is added, it turns
a beautiful burgundy red.  Also, it could have marinated awhile. I took
what little was left over home with me. It stayed crisp for a couple more
days.


Liadan




From: "Jane Williams" <jane at williams.nildram.co.uk>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 21:18:54 +0100
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] broccoli and cauliflower and sprouts


On 24 May 2002 at 14:57, Decker, Terry D. wrote:
> I've also come
> across a drawing of brussels sprouts purporting to be from 1587, but I
> haven't isolated the source.


Aren't they (or something like them) mentioned in
the Menagier?


Translation says:
"And when the head of this cabbage, which is in the
middle, is removed, pull and replant the cabbage
stalk in new ground, and there will come out large
spreading leaves: and a cabbage holds great place,
and these are called Roman cabbages, and eaten in
winter; and from the stalks, if they are replanted,
come little cabbages called sprouts which are eaten
with raw herbs and vinegar; and if you have plenty,
they should be well cleaned, washed in hot water,
and put to cook whole with a little water: and then
when they are cooked, add salt and oil, and stir it up
thick without water, and put olive oil on in Lent."


I think this is the right bit of the original (my French
is pretty rusty):


"Et quant la pomme d'icelluy chou , laquelle est ou
milieu, est ost=E9e, l'en arrache et replante en terre
nouvelle le tronc de ce chou, et en yssent larges
feuilles qui s'espandent: et tient un chou grant place,
et l'en appelle iceulx choulx nomm=E9s choulx
Rommains, et sont mengi=E9s en yver; et des troncs,
se ils sont replant=E9s, yssent de petits choulx que l'en
appelle minces, que l'en mengue avec les herbes
crues en vinaigre; et qui en a foison, ils sont bons
esleus, lav=E9s en eaue chaude, et tous entiers mis
cuire avec un petit d'eaue: et puis quant ils sont cuis,
mettre du sel et de l'uile, et dr=E9ci=E9s bien espois sans
eaue, et mettre de l'uille d'olive dessus en karesme."




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] broccoli and cauliflower and sprouts
Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 17:05:14 -0500


> I'm confused. All those 16th century Flemish kitchen/veggie girl paintings
> with cauliflower's recognizably in the painting - these are plants that look
> like our modern ones, but are of a different genus or something?
>
> Rosine


No, not even a different species.  What you are seeing is a 16th Century
representation of B. oleracea var. botrytis.  The only difference between it
and the cauliflower at your supermarket is the particular strain it
represents.


> >  I've also come
> > across a drawing of brussels sprouts purporting to be from 1587, but I
> > haven't isolated the source.
>
> Aren't they (or something like them) mentioned in
> the Menagier?
>
> Translation says:
> "And when the head of this cabbage, which is in the
> middle, is removed, pull and replant the cabbage
> stalk in new ground, and there will come out large
> spreading leaves: and a cabbage holds great place,
> and these are called Roman cabbages, and eaten in
> winter; and from the stalks, if they are replanted,
> come little cabbages called sprouts which are eaten
> with raw herbs and vinegar; and if you have plenty,
> they should be well cleaned, washed in hot water,
> and put to cook whole with a little water: and then
> when they are cooked, add salt and oil, and stir it up
> thick without water, and put olive oil on in Lent."


I had forgotten that one.  It does make the point about B. oleracea that all
of the varietals are only different physical manifestations of the same
plant.


Bear




From: jenne at fiedlerfamily.net
Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 23:44:19 -0400 (EDT)
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] broccoli and cauliflower


> After digging through this, I'm even more convinced that period "broccoli"
> and "cole-flowers" were so different from what's now found in groceries
> that it would be misleading to claim that either broccoli or cauliflower is
> period.


Parkinson, 1629:
"The Cole flower is a kinde of Coleworte, whose leaves are large, and like
the Cabbage leaves, but somewhat smaller, and endented about the edges, in
the middel wehereof, sometimes in the beginning of Autumne, and sometimes
much sooner, there appeareth a hard head of whitish yellow tufts of
floers, closely thrust together, but never open, nor spreading much with
us, when then is fittest to be used, the greeen leaves being cut away
close to the head; this hath a much pleasanter taste then eyther the
Coleworte, or Cabbage of any kinde, and is therefore of the more regard
and respect at good mens tables."
The accompanying woodcut is quite clearly a small cauliflower.


Gerard's _Herbal_ (1597, though poss. 1633, but not marked as a Johnson
addition):
"Cole flore, or after some Colieflore, hath many large leaves sleightly
indented about the edges, of a whiteish greene colour, narrower and
sharper pointed than Cabbage; in the middlest of which riseth up a great
white head of hard floures closely thrust together, with a root full of
stringes, in other parts like to the coleworts."
(Again, the woodcut is quite recognizeably cauliflower.)


-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa




Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 13:32:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: Louise Smithson <helewyse at yahoo.com>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] RE: Contribution to SCA-potluck


I have to confess to bringing the brussel sprouts in a
pipkin. There is no true redaction for this recipe
yet just a rough guide based on what I did at Pennsic
in 20 minutes before the potluck.


Original recipe taken from Libro Del Coch (14/15th C
Italian).
If you want to make cabbage sprouts, take the cabbage
sprouts rounded and do them to cook a while; when the
are a little boiled take them from (the fire) and pour
well away the water, and then fry them much and fat,
and then take verjuice, parsley and water, and spices
and salt, temper these all together and put above (the
sprouts) and let them well boil.  Then take a little
of marjoram and temper with water, and put it above
and it will be good.


What I had:
1 lb bag frozen brussel sprouts, dropped in cast iron
pan (they were still frozen at this point) on stove
with a big splash of olive oil and fried until lightly
browned in places.
Meanwhile I was mashing a handful of parsley with a
good pinch of salt and easily 1/2 teaspoon of spice
mixture (cinnamon, ginger, sugar, black pepper), about
2 tablespoons of verjuice and maybe 10 or so of water.


Once everything had been rendered paste like I threw
it on the sprouts, added a little more water so that
they were just covered, reduced the heat and cooked it
some more.  I then tasted one, added some more salt
and spices and a little bit more verjuice (another
tablespoon or two).  I let the sauce mostly reduce
until the brussels were hot and starting to become
tender.


Helewyse de Birkestad




Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2004 17:56:56 -0500
From: "Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Looking for Crab recipes
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


Recipe 6 in The Forme of Cury, Caboches in potage:


Take caboches and quarter hem, and seeth hem in gode broth with
oynouns ymynced and the whyte of lekes yslyt and ycorue smale. And do
(th)erto safroun & salt, and force it with powdour douce.


As I recall we used a generic sort of vegetable stock base, so
non-meat-eaters would have access. We could have used almond milk,
but there were other almond dishes on the menu so I wanted to avoid
that.


Since this is intended as a pottage, you sort of have to assume that
either the cabbages are cut small, or cooked until spoonable. I opted
for quartering the cabbages, parboiling them in just barely enough
broth to cover them, with the minced onion and chopped leeks,
removing the cabbages from the pot, and letting the rest cook down
while we chopped the cabbages smaller. We then returned them to the
pot with the saffron, cooked them a little longer to meld the
flavors, seasoned with salt, and dished up the pottage (which ended
up like a thick soup or stew of vegetables, with a smallish amount of
liquid). Sprinkled the powder douce (which, depending on who you talk
to, is a premade mixture of sweet spices, or whatever sweet spices
you have powdered at the moment). Some recipes simply call for
sprinkling on sweet spices. We used ginger, cinnamon, and cloves,
plus the oh-so-controversial fennel powder.


Most people seemed to like it, and almost none came back, except for
one tableful of licorice-hating malcontent troublemakers, who sent
their bowl (somewhat diminished, it looked like) back to the kitchen.
People these days. Tsk tsk.


Adamantius




Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 20:26:48 -0800
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] semi-topical: Good Friday dinner?
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org


Friday i cooked two Lenten recipes from a 14th century cookbook from
Cairo, The Book of the Description of Familiar Foods (translated by
Charles Perry and published in "Medieval Arab Cookery"), and a pot of
rice, for the Wooden Spoon -- the West Kingdom cooking competition --
at March Crown which was this weekend.


I was planning to enter the recipes for Maghmuma (with the rice) and
"How to Flavor Cabbage" separately, but i thought they went well
together and it turned out that two other people entered whole meals,
so i felt better about submitting everything as one entry.


In the end there was a tie - thus two winners - a baking Laurel,
Wulfric of Creigull, and me :-) He made, err, i forget the exact
name, but it's Fake Bacon of layers of white and saunders-colored
almond paste.


My recipes are below. My computer printer died and i haven't replaced
it yet, so my documentation was hand-written. One page explained why
these were 14th C. Egyptian Lenten dishes, a second page on the
Maghmuma, a third on why it was ok to substitute soy sauce for murri,
and the fourth on the cabbage. The Minister of the Wooden Spoon took
our documentation with her, so i can't replicate what i wrote, but i
did annotate my working recipes and type them into the computer as
things were cooking, so i'd know what i did.


Maghmuma
p. 447, Medieval Arab Cookery


<snip - See the eggplant-msg file. -Stefan>


-----


How to Flavor Cabbage
p. 445, Medieval Arab Cookery


Take walnuts, blanched almonds, toasted hazelnuts. Pound everything,
then take caraway, which you toast and pound fine, and with it a
little thyme and garlic seed. Then you perfume the cabbage with good
oil. Then you take a little bit of vinegar, dissolve the walnuts and
ingredients with it. Then you throw on a sufficiency of tahineh and
let there be a little Syrian cheese with it. Add the spices to them
and arrange them and then [you throw the rest of the ingredients on
the bowl. Then] throw in the first spice, enough to perfume their
taste and aroma. It is not eaten until the next day.
[passage in square brackets omitted in one copy of the text]


My Recipe


1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup blanched almonds
1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts
1 tsp. caraway, toast and pound fine
1/2 tsp. "garlic seed"/nigella
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves pulled from their stems
1/2 medium-small cabbage, shredded coarsely
3 TB. cold-pressed sesame oil
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 TB tahini
1/2 tsp. salt, instead of "Syrian cheese"


There were some passages i found confusing to interpret, but here's
what i did. Comments welcome.


Blanch almonds: Bring water to a boil, put in almonds, bring back to
a boil, turn off fire, let cool a little, pour out hot water, run in
cold water, pour out water, squeeze nuts out of skins, and discard
skins.
Toast hazelnuts: pre-heat oven to 350 degree F., bake hazelnuts for
about 15 min., cool slightly, rub between hands to remove skins, and
discard skins.
Grind walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts together medium-coarsely.
Toast caraway seeds in an oil-free pan, stirring constantly until
aromatic - do not let burn.
Cool somewhat, then grind.
Grind nigella.
Mix caraway and nigella with fresh thyme leaves.
Cooked the cabbage in the oil until just barely tender.
Mix the nuts, spices, and salt with vinegar.
Stir in tahini.
Toss with the cabbage.
Serve the next day.


NOTES:
1.) Perry speculates that the "garlic seed" called for in the recipe
was nigella, which is sometimes known as "black onion seed", also
called kalonji, so this is what i used.


2.) What was meant by "Perfume the cabbage with good oil" was
unclear. I cooked the cabbage in the oil until just barely tender,
because it seemed to me that similar directions in other recipes
included cooking. I intended to make a raw version for comparison,
but haven't gotten around to it yet


3.) This was surprisingly good and i'm not a cabbage fan. At least
one judge commented on its tastiness.
--
Urtatim, formerly Anahita




Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 09:41:56 -0800
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] semi-topical: Good Friday dinner?
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org


Mordonna wrote:
> The cabbage sounds wonderful.


You know how they say "sweets to the sweet"? Well, i like nuts, which
is why i made the cabbage - THREE kinds of nuts PLUS tahini -
mmm-mmm-mmm.


> Why salt instead of "Syrian Cheese"?


Lent, therefore no dairy. The author mentioned that any recipe could
be adapted for Lent, using vegetables and no meat, and there's
mention of substituting processed nuts instead of milk or yogurt. I
mentioned this in my documentation. So i figured making this recipe
without the cheese was allowable. And since cheese tends to be salty,
and there's no salt specified elsewhere in the recipe, i added salt.


> When I read the original, I thought the addition of cheese to this
> recipe was Not A Good Thing.


I suspect, but don't really know, that using cheese might do more
than just add flavor and texture. The cheesy beasties might "process"
the cabbage a bit when left overnight in a warm climate. Anyone here
know if lactic acid fermentation has any effect in a period of 24
hours or so?


> What is "Syrian Cheese"?


I don't really know.


If it had to come all the way to Cairo from Syria in the 14th
century, i would guess it could either be aged or packed in brine
like feta.


If it were made by a Syrian community in Cairo or Cairene cheese
makers trained to make Syrian cheese, i suppose it could be
different. But i don't know much about modern Near Eastern cheeses,
let alone 14th C. cheeses. I've seen all sorts of Levantine and
Persian processed and even some aged dairy products in my local
Middle Eastern markets (including kashk), but i don't recall actual
cheese.


I suppose it's even possible that what is being called for is one of
these, like, oh, say, lebneh, instead of a European style cheese.


Johnnae was kind enough to send me a copy of Charles Perry's article
about Sicilian cheese, which he figured was a hard aged cheese, but,
well, Sicily and Syria are not the same place :-)


The chapter with the Lenten food in the Book of the Description of
Familiar Foods also had dishes for the sick, and while some of the
recipes are clearly for one or the other, i was uncertain about
others. They weren't all in a clear order. And there were some
helpful cooking tips mixed in, such as not overcooking vegetables "to
rags" and about adding some natron, a type of salt, to keep green
vegetables from turning yellow as they cook - just like the
suggestion to add baking soda to vegetables when boiling them that i
am familiar with from the 20th century.
--
Urtatim, formerly Anahita




Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2005 22:48:09 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Brussels sprouts was  Re: Sca-cooks Digest, Vol
29, Issue 12
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


The earliest reference to brussels sprouts I know of is in Dodoens
Cruydeboek of 1554.  To my knowledge there are no recipes specifically for
brussels sprouts in period, although there are a couple of recipe  
references which might be stretched to cover.


Bear


> Might anyone have a GOOD, period recipe for Brussel Sprouts?  
>
> HL Elisabeth de Calais




Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 08:54:49 +0200
From: Volker Bach <carlton_bach at yahoo.de>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Sca-cooks Digest, Vol 29, Issue 12
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


Am Freitag, 7. Oktober 2005 01:08 schrieb LdyCalais at aol.com:
> Might anyone have a GOOD, period recipe for Brussel Sprouts?  I would,
> very much, appreciate any and all ideas!


I don't know whether any Brussels Sprouts have been identified in period (I
read their origin is usually placed between the 16th and 18th century,
depending on who you ask), but there is one recipe in Pleyn Delit that
prepares 'small cabbage shoots' (interpreted by the authors as close to
Brussels Sprouts, though not the same thing) like a salad, with herbs and
vinegar. The 'Liber de Coquina' speak of 'delicate (small) cabbages for
Lords' that are to be made with egg white and fennel, but does not elaborate
further. My first guess would be either thickened with egg, or baked.


Giano




Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 12:32:31 -0400
From: Cindy Renfrow <cindy at thousandeggs.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brussels sprouts was  Re: Sca-cooks Digest,
Vol 29, Issue 12
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


On Oct 6, 2005, at 11:48 PM, Terry Decker wrote:
> The earliest reference to brussels sprouts I know of is in Dodoens
> Cruydeboek of 1554.  To my knowledge there are no recipes specifically
> for brussels sprouts in period, although there are a couple of recipe
> references which might be stretched to cover.
>
> Bear


Please allow me to push that date back to 1393. The following is from
Le Menagier de Paris, Power's translation, page 255:


"Cabbage hearts at the end of the vintage. And when the heart of the
cabbage, which is in the midst, is plucked off, you pull up the stump
of the cabbage and replant it in fresh earth, and there will come forth
from it big spreading leaves; and the cabbage takes a great deal of
room and these cabbage hearts be called Roman cabbages and they be
eaten in winter; and when the stumps be replanted, there grow out of
them little cabbages which be called sprouts and which be eaten with
raw herbs in vinegar; and if you have plenty, they are good with the
outer leaves removed and then washed in warm water and cooked whole in
a little water; and then when they be cooked add salt and oil and serve
them very thick, without water, and put olive oil over them in Lent


Cindy




Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 18:14:04 -0400
From: Cindy Renfrow <cindy at thousandeggs.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brussels sprouts was  Re: Sca-cooks Digest,
Vol 29, Issue 12
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


On Oct 7, 2005, at 1:15 PM, <kingstaste at mindspring.com> wrote:
> So, if you are to use olive oil in Lent, what sort of oil are they calling
> for the rest of the time?  Could it be interpreted as an animal-based oil
> such as bacon grease or butter?


No. No oil at all. Use only "greasy pot-water of beef and mutton but
in no wise that of pork, which is only good for leeks."


Le Menagier tends to write in a very stream of consciousness style, so
his directions are rather confused. He speaks of preparing all sorts of
cabbages higgledy-piggledy in the same paragraph. Basically, tough
cabbage leaves and hearts are to be cooked for a very very long time
with meat broth and/or water until they're nothing but mush. Then the
whole mess is served with greasy pot-water and thickened with bread
crumbs. Sprouts, however, are not cooked to mush; but I imagine he
means for us to serve them with thickened broth too.
Other options include cooking cabbage in water on fish days & serving
them with oil and salt. Or some thicken the mixture with oatmeal
instead of bread, or use butter instead of oil.
Another option: "On a meat day you may put therewith pigeons, sausages
and hare, coots and plenty of bacon."


The Pichon is here: http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/menagier/menagier6.html


Cindy




Date: Sat, 08 Oct 2005 12:37:19 -0600
From: Mary Morman <mem at rialto.org>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] brussels sprouts
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org


Much as i hate to disagree with bear, i think that this reference from
Le Menagier is clearly for brussels sprouts.  here's how our cooks guild
does it.


     "CABBAGES be of five sorts; the best are those that have been
     touched with frost and they are tender and soon cooked; and in
     frosty weather they must not be parboiled, but in rainy weather they
     must. White cabbages come at the end of August. Cabbage hearts at
     the end of the grape harvest. And when the heart of the cabbage,
     which is in the midst, is plucked off, you pull up the stump of the
     cabbage and replant it in fresh earth, and there will come forth
     from it big spreading leaves; and the cabbage takes a great deal of
     room and these cabbage hearts be called Roman cabbages and they are
     eaten in winter; and when the stumps are replanted, there grow out
     of them little cabbages which are called sprouts and which are eaten
     with raw herbs and vinegar; and if you have plenty, they are good
     with the outer leaves removed and then washed in warm water and
     cooked whole in a little water; and then when they are cooked add
     salt and oil and serve them very thick, without water, and put olive
     oil over them in Lent."


Redaction by Lady Branwyn ni Ceallaigh
Serves 12-15 people (usually enough for two tables)


1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons honey
3 Tablespoons celery leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 Tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon salt
pepper
1 lb. brussels sprouts


Place all ingredients in a sauce pan, heat to boiling. Simmer, covered,
until tender and place in a covered container in the refrigerator
overnight.




Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 09:38:40 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brussels sprouts was  Re: Sca-cooks Digest,
Vol 29, Issue 12
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


While this sounds like brussels sprouts, is it?  Has anyone experimented
with Menagier's instructions to see what happens?  Since all forms of
cabbage are variants of Brassica oleracea and grow from seed is this really
brussels sprouts (B. oleracea v. gemmifera) or is it a sprout of another
variant that can be prepared as brussels sprouts are?


Brussels sprouts are believed to be a mutation of B. oleracea capitata L.
sabuda (savoy cabbage) and are true breeding, so I have my doubts about
Menagier producing brussels sprouts by this method.


Bear


----- Original Message -----
Please allow me to push that date back to 1393. The following is from
Le Menagier de Paris, Power's translation, page 255:


"Cabbage hearts at the end of the vintage. And when the heart of the
cabbage, which is in the midst, is plucked off, you pull up the stump
of the cabbage and replant it in fresh earth, and there will come forth
from it big spreading leaves; and the cabbage takes a great deal of
room and these cabbage hearts be called Roman cabbages and they be
eaten in winter; and when the stumps be replanted, there grow out of
them little cabbages which be called sprouts and which be eaten with
raw herbs in vinegar; and if you have plenty, they are good with the
outer leaves removed and then washed in warm water and cooked whole in
a little water; and then when they be cooked add salt and oil and serve
them very thick, without water, and put olive oil over them in Lent


Cindy




Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 12:37:58 -0400
From: Cindy Renfrow <cindy at thousandeggs.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brussels sprouts was  Re: Sca-cooks Digest,
Vol 29, Issue 12
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


I was wondering when you'd say that, Bear.  ;-)


He's describing replanting the stem once the main head/leaves have been
harvested in order to coax the axillary buds of B. oleracea to grow.
And yes, I think his experiment will work, though I haven't tried it. I
think it requires a mild climate.
http://food.oregonstate.edu/faq/uffva/brussels2.html says: "Dalechamp,
1587, described how early cabbage, after the true head is removed, will
frequently develop small cabbages in the leaf axils and gave this form
the name B. capitata polycephalos."


> or is it a sprout of another variant that can be prepared as brussels
> sprouts are?


It is a sprout of whatever variety of B. oleracea he was using that can
be prepared in the same manner as brussels sprouts, yes.


> Brussels sprouts are believed to be a mutation of B. oleracea capitata
L. sabuda (savoy cabbage) and are true breeding,  <snip>


I know I'm going to get pounced on here, but could not one also say
that the mutant was originally selected merely for its growth habit of
producing many more of the desirable sprouts per stalk than the mother
plant, but that the mutation was otherwise identical to the mother? The
only difference being their growth habit, not their flavor?


Cindy




Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 22:35:51 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brussels sprouts was  Re: Sca-cooks Digest,
Vol 29, Issue 12
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


No pouncing, because I think the entire question worth serious
consideration.


We know that cabbage sprouts were eaten and that carving the head and
replanting the stem may cause small cabbages to develop in the leaf axils
(where the leaves join the stem).  This is a manipulation which produces a
cabbage stalk which is similar to brussels sprouts, but is not.  If such a
manipulation could produce a cabbage that would reproduce from seed, then
that would be an acquired trait and Lamarckian evolution would be the in
thing. Because Menagier is talking manipulation rather than growth from
seed, I tend to think his cabbage sprouts were not brussels sprouts.


Most head cabbages are close to the ground, so the stem is short. Brussels
sprouts have a long stem with a leafy top.  The original mutation was
probably axils that produced sprouts rather than leaves and a slightly
elongated stalk.  Such a cabbage would likely be bred to produce a lighter
head and a longer stalk to increase the yield.  Since there is no evidence,
I may be very wrong in my opinion.


Just for fun, here is a sight with both a period illustration and a
photograph of B. oleracea v. gemmifera.


http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/schaugarten/vargemmifera/
Br_Sprout.html


Bear


----- Original Message -----
I was wondering when you'd say that, Bear.  ;-) <snip>


Cindy




Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 16:30:00 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Brussels sprouts
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


Just to add to the discussion, food historian Jane Grigson mentions
that "they are something of a mystery vegetable. It
seems they were being grown around Brussels in Middle
Ages; market regulations of 1213 mention them. They were
ordered for two wedding feasts of the Burgundian court at
Lille in the 15th century." See Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book.
Davidson seems to discount this in The Oxford Companion to Food, but
he does say that one may sometimes induce sprouts to form from
cabbage stems by cutting off the tops.


Harold McGee says they may have been developed in the 14th century
but the very clear evidence only dates to the 18th century. p. 323 On
Food and Cooking.


William Woys Weaver in Heirloom Vegetable Gardening says
brussels sprouts did not appear until 1785!


http://www.uga.edu/vegetable/brusselsprouts.html#crophistory lists some
material on them. History wise--
Brussel sprouts, Brassica oleracea var gemmifera, are known to be native
to cool regions in northern Europe.  They were a popular vegetable crop
in Belgium during the sixteenth century from which they were spread to
the surrounding countries throughout temperate Europe.  French settlers
in Louisiana extensively cultivated brussel sprouts for its continuous
production of miniature cabbages throughout the growing season.
     The origin of Brasssica oleracea var gemmifera is thought to be the
result of a  mutation from the savoy cabbage, Brassica olearcea capitata
L. sabuda subgroup.  Two main types of brussel sprouts have arisen:  the
tall variety, standing 2 to 4 feet tall, and the short variety, growing
to a maximum height of 2 feet. The preferred size of the sprouts varies
with Europeans opting for sprouts ½ inch in diameter, while Americans
prefer sprouts 1 to 2 inches in diameter.
--------------------------------
Most sources on the internet stick with that late 16th or 17th century dates.
As to their breeding, I am wondering if this all has something to do
with them being biennial.
The first year one gets head cabbages; the second year they get sprouts growing on the stems. (maybe only sometimes). Or as described here:
"After a head of common cabbage is cut from the plant, numerous tiny
heads often will grow from the remaining stem in much the same manner as
in brussels sprouts."
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/publications/
vegetabletravelers/kohlrabi.html


So did Le Menagier end up with a percursor of what we now call Brussel Sprouts?
Probably he could have. My thought is that if one wanted to make this
recipe, the best modern
substitute would be an heirloom brussel sprout. Or you could spend two years
attempting to grow cabbages and then in the second year sprouting
cabbages off the stems.


What bothers me now is that I thought we had pictures showing them growing in gardens from earlier dates. I shall keep looking for those.


Johnnae




Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 07:52:46 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brussels sprouts
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


> As to their breeding, I am wondering if this all has something to do
> with them being biennial.
> The furst year one gets head cabbages; the second year they get sprouts growing on
> the stems. (maybe only sometimes). Or as described here:
> "After a head of common cabbage is cut from the plant, numerous tiny heads
> often will grow from the remaining stem in much the same manner as in
> brussels sprouts."


For brussels sprouts, sprouts appear in the first year, the seed head in the
second. Completely the opposite of  "remove the head, get sprouts."


> http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/publications/
> vegetabletravelers/kohlrabi.html
>
> So did Le Menagier end up with a percursor of what we now call Brussel Sprouts?
> Probably he could have. My thought is that if one wanted to make this
> recipe, the best modern
> substitute would be an heirloom brussel sprout. Or you could spend two years
> attempting to grow cabbages and then in the second year sprouting  
> cabbages off the stems.


If Menagier had brussels sprouts, he would have had the sprouts and  
no need to describe the process of producing them.


If vague memory serves, you can get sprouts from any of the head cabbages
under certain conditions.  B. oleracea v. gemmifera just takes the hassle
out of producing sprouts, which is probably why the initial mutation
survived and flourished.


> What bothers me now is that I thought we had pictures showing them growing
> in gardens from earlier dates. I shall keep looking for those.
>
> Johnnae


I don't recall any pictures of brussels sprouts, but that doesn't mean much.
I keep finding things I missed or misinterpreted (like the large olive I
thought was a small avocado until I got look at a better reproduction of the
painting). Guess I'll have to keep looking too.


Bear




Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 12:27:07 -0400
From: Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise <jenne at fiedlerfamily.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brussels sprouts
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


> If vague memory serves, you can get sprouts from any of the head cabbages
> under certain conditions.  B. oleracea v. gemmifera just takes the hassle
> out of producing sprouts, which is probably why the initial mutation
> survived and flourished.


I guess the point is that if this mutation simply skips the large head
phase, I'm not sure that there is a meaningful difference between baby
cabbage sprouts grown this way and brussels sprouts. I seem to remember
from my childhood my mother occasionally cutting off the main cabbage
stalk and harvesting the smaller cabbages along with her brussels
sprouts. I don't remember them tasting any different, but then I was in
the stage of development where I didn't like cabbage-type foods (thank
goodness that went away!)
--
-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net




Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 16:44:16 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Brussels sprouts
To: <jenne at fiedlerfamily.net>, "Cooks within the SCA"
<sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


There may be no practical difference from a culinary point, but I think you
will find brussels sprouts produce more sprouts and last later in the season
than regular head cabbage.  In the case of brussels sprouts, a seed head
does form at the top of the stalk but will not flower and go to seed until
after a cold season, a process known as vernalization.  It goes to seed in
the second year.


Bear


> I guess the point is that if this mutation simply skips the large head
> phase, I'm not sure that there is a meaningful difference between baby
> cabbage sprouts grown this way and brussels sprouts.
> --
> -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net




Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 14:16:41 -0800 (PST)
From: Carole Smith <renaissancespirit2 at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] math time reply and brussel sprouts
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>


Several years ago Euriol of Lothian served brussels at a feast and  
people begged for more.  She steamed the sprouts, tossed them in  
olive oil and Italian herbs, and served them hot.  I think the recipe  
may have come from Apicius, but don't remember for sure.  I've been  
making them this way ever since.


   Cordelia Toser




Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 18:22:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] back to food by request :)
To: dailleurs at liripipe.com, Cooks within the SCA
<sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>


--- Anne-Marie Rousseau <dailleurs at liripipe.com> wrote:
> ok, so I have a bunch of folks coming over and our recent CSA  
> basket gave me a yummy cauliflower.
>
> anybody have a favorite collie gratin recipe? I have this vision of  
> a creamy sauce
> with some sort of crunchy savory (parmasean/bread crumbs?) topping.
>
> any ideas? I know its not medieval but there's an amazing brain  
> trust here...
>
> --Anne-Marie, who could fall back on the elizabethan collies with  
> egg lemon sauce if need be....


Not Medieval?  I believe you are mixing this up with another vegetable. Cauliflower was introduced into Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.  There are two different camps who argue about the origins: one says the Near East, the other says Cyprus.  But it is a period vegetable for Medieval Europe.


My favorite recipe is from John Murrell, "A Booke of Cookerie", which  
is slightly out of period [1621].


How to butter a colleflowre.


Take a ripe Colle-flowre and cut off the buddes, boyle then in milke   with a little Mace while they be very tender, then poure them into a Cullender, and let   the Milke runne cleane from them, then take a ladle full of Creame, being boyled with a little whole Mace, putting to it a Ladlefull of thicke butter, mingle them together with a little Sugar, dish up your flowres upon sippets, poure your butter and cream   hot upon it strowing with a little slicst Nutmeg and salt, and serve it to the   Table hot.


My redaction:


1 cauliflower, at least 5 inches in diameter
3 cups of whole milk
1 large piece of whole mace
1 cup cream
1 stick unsalted butter [if using salted butter, eliminate the salt]
1 large piece of whole mace [different from above]
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 slices hot buttered toast, cut into triangles.


      Cut cauliflower into small florets and remove any green leaves and
the thick base.


      Heat the milk with mace to just below the boiling point and add the
florets. Lower the heat to simmer and cook until tender but still crisp,
about 12 to 15 min.  While that is cooking, take the cream, butter, another
piece of whole mace and sugar and bring to just below boiling.


      Arrange the toast on a heated serving dish.  Remove the cauliflower
from the milk and arrange them on the toast.  Pour the sauce over them
and sprinkle them with salt and nutmeg and serve hot.


Huette




Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 22:39:46 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Lardo, prosciutto blanco
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>


And lest anyone think there wouldn't be a medieval recipe
calling for it--


/This is an excerpt from *Libre del Coch*, R. Carroll-Mann (trans.).
The original source can be found on Mark S. Harris' website
<http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MANUSCRIPTS/Guisados1-art.html>;./


121. Fleshy Leaves of Cabbages. You will take the fleshy leaves of
cabbages which are clean and set them to cook with good fatty broth; and
take pork grease or lardo, which is melted bacon; and take two onions
and cut them in the fashion of a cross, and set them to cook with the
fleshy leaves of the cabbages; and when the cabbages begin to fall
apart, turn them with a haravillo until they turn yellow, and they shall
be thoroughly mushy and they will be thick. Then remove them from the
fire, and let them rest before preparing dishes.
http://www.medievalcookery.com


Johnnae


I've noticed all the conversations about pigs and chorizo.
> I thought people might like the following out of
> from Bill Buford's new volume entitled Heat.
> Batali....arrived bearing his own quince-flavored grappa ...;
> a jar of homemade nocino ...; an armful of wine;
> and a white, dense slab of lardo?literally, the raw ?lardy?
> back of a very fat pig, one he?d cured himself with herbs and salt. .


Johnnae




Date: Mon, 20 Nov 2006 21:07:11 -0500
From: "Carol Smith" <eskesmith at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] The 50th annual SCA-Cooks Thanksgiving list!
To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org


Here's a recipe I find pretty good:


Small Caboges


Goodman of Paris, p. 255, Cariadoc’s cookbook compiliation


Little cabbages which be called sprouts and which be eaten with raw herbs in
vinegar; and if you have plenty, they are good with the outer leaves removed
and then cooked in a little water; and when they be cooked add salt and oil
and serve them very thick, without water, and put olive oil on them  
in Lent.


Brussels Sprouts 1 – 10 oz package, frozen or fresh
Vinegar (Cider vinegar) 2 Tbsp
Olive Oil 1 Tbsp
Nutmeg pinch
Dill 1/4 tsp (1/2 tsp fresh)
Ground mustard 1/2 tsp
Savory 1/4 tsp (1/2 tsp fresh)


Cook prepared sprouts until done (steam, if possible) and drain.  Add
remaining ingredients and mix well.  Serve hot.


Brekke






Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:07:20 -0700
From: edoard at medievalcookery.com
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] possible-or not-oop question
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>


The closest (late) medieval recipe I'm aware of is this one for stuffed
cabbage:


To make a stuffed cabbage. Take a red cabbage that is not too large, &
put it to boil whole sweetly, & leave it so a long time that you can
open the leaves the one behind the other, while the leaves of the
cabbage are large like a fist, cut that out, & put chopped meat therein
that it will be arrayed like the other meats with eggs & spices, & then
layer the cabbage with the leaves all around, that it will be well
bound, & put it to cook, sausages with, or that which you want.
[Ouverture de Cuisine, France, 1604]


Avelyn Grene has her version of the recipe online at
http://greneboke.com/recipes/stuffed_cabbage.shtml


- Doc




Date: Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:49:47 -0700
From: edoard at medievalcookery.com
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Il famoso convito 1561


-------- Original Message --------
From: emilio szabo <emilio_szabo at yahoo.it>


One of the books before 1600 is this one:


Il famoso convito : cosi delle giostre come del banchetto, che lo
illustrissimo & eccel. s. duca di Piacenza, & di Parma, ha
fatto della mag. citt? di Piacenza nello anno M.D.LXI


Starting on from image 18, there is a description of a "honoratissima cena", which includes lists of the food.
-----------------


Woah! Something caught my eye on this.  Take a look at the page at the
URL below:


http://www.archive.org/stream/ilfamosoconvitoc00inmi#page/n18/mode/1up


At the top of the page, first column, the first two entries are
"Broccoli" and "Fiore di cauoli", which I assume are broccoli and
cauliflower.


It's nice to see them listed separately in a book printed in 1561,
especially considering how recently the myth was going around on the
internet that broccoli was invented in the 1700s by ancestors of Albert
Broccoli (producer of the Bond films).


This is one of the earliest references I've seen to broccoli.


Thanks for posting the link.


- Doc




Date: Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:42:30 -0700
From: edoard at medievalcookery.com
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Buttered wortes


<<< Has anyone ever tried putting oatmeal in this recipe just to see what
dreadful consequences arise (well, probably it just tastes disgusting)? >>>


I always found the "make sure you don't get any oatmeal in it" note in
these recipes to be amusingly odd.  I did find this one though that does
call for oatmeal.


From Koge Bog (Denmark, 1616):
VI - To cook cabbage. There is no need to write much about it, every
farmer's wife knows how. And often at a farmer's you will taste a better
cabbage than in the noble's kitchen. However this is how a cabbage is
cooked: Put water and oats on the fire with a red onion or two finely
chopped. Let it seethe until it is nice and smooth. Chop the cabbage
finely, the finer the better it will be. When the sauce is smooth then
put the cabbage into it and let it seethe until it is soft. Then put
butter in: but if you want it with lard then grind the lard finely first
and let it seethe with the oats.


Haven't tried it out yet.





Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:42:15 +0100 (BST)
From: Volker Bach <carlton_bach at yahoo.de>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] whole stuffed cabbage


--- Sharon Palmer <ranvaig at columbus.rr.com> schrieb am Mo, 11.4.2011:
<<< I'm trying to find a period German
recipe that I read once. A whole cabbage, cooked until
the leaves were a little soft, then the space between each
leaf stuffed with chicken, the whole shaped back into a
cabbage and cooked. Does this sound familiar to anyone?


Ranvaig >>>


I know that one. It comes up in a couple of cookbooks, including Staindl, Philippine Welserin and IIRC Rumpoldt (certainly Staindl). I've transcribed it for my upcoming Landsknecht's Cookbook. Let me see if copy & paste works on my old laptop...


Machs also / Nim scho:ene herdte gebel / schnei ain brayts pla:ettel bey dem stengel herab / und ho:el die gebel inwendig au? / das die gebel darnach gantz beleyb/ Nyme dan ain La:emern / Ka:elbern / oder ain Schweynes bra:et / das nit allt ist / flaysch / das hack gar klain / nam ain fay?te darunder / das mu:o? nit zu:o klain gehackt sein / Schlahe ayer daran / thu:o weinbeerlin darein / und f?ls ins krawt / unnd thu:o das bla:ettlin wider auffs gebel / unnd steck zweck darein / ?ber brenns wol / wie sonst ain krawt / seychs dann ab / und ge?? erst ain Schweynene suppen daran / und se?ds fein ab / schaw das nit anbun / So du es anrichst / so se?d ain rawm der gesa:ewrt sey / unnd schneyd die gebel auff die sch?ssel / so sihet man die f?ll in dem krawt / Etlich machen ain eingeru:erts von ayren / mit weinbeerlin / f?llens inn das krawt.


Make it thus: Take nice, hard heads, cut away a broad slice near the stalk, and hollow the head out from the inside so that it stays whole. Then take roasting meat of lamb, veal or pork that is not old, chop it quite small, mix fat with it that must not be cut too small, break eggs into it, add raisins, and fill it into the cabbage head. Then put the slice back in place, fasten it with wooden skewers, boil it well, like you would other cabbage, then pour off (the water), pour pork broth with it, and cook it well. See that it does not burn. When you serve it, boil cream that is sour and cut the head in the bowl so you can see the filling inside the cabbage. Many also make scrambled eggs with raisins and fill that into the cabbage.
(Staindl #221)


Looks like it did. This what you were looking for?


Giano




Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:48:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: wheezul at canby.com
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] whole stuffed cabbage


Anna Wecker's recipe (page 164) is made a similar way, but the filling is
of eggs, cabbage or spinach, large raisins, small raisins, sweet spices,
cut almonds, saffron, salt and finished with hot fat.  The sauces: meat
stock with ginger or optional wine vinegar, bread crumbs, lemon juice.
Seems to me I read this chicken based one somewhere too.


Katherine


<<< I'm trying to find a period German recipe that I read once.  A whole
cabbage, cooked until the leaves were a little soft, then the space
between each leaf stuffed with chicken, the whole shaped back into a
cabbage and cooked. Does this sound familiar to anyone?


Ranvaig >>>




Date: Wed, 25 May 2011 18:05:56 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at att.net>
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] what is silverbeet?


<<< OED lists it as "n. Austral. and N.Z. the seakale beet, Beta
vulgaris; = chard" >>>


Let me point out that seakale beet is NOT kale, which is a leafy cabbage.


Ranvaig
----------


There is a visual simularity between the leaves of the sea beet (Beta
vulgaris var. maritima) and the leaves of sea kale (Crambe maritima).  Sea
beet believed to be the wild ancestor of the beets including chard, while
sea kale is believed to be the ancestor of the genus Brassica, the cabbages.
As Ranvaig points out, the plants are not the same, but the similarity of
the leaves probably had them all termed generally as cabbage, col or kal in
Middle English.


Bear


<the end>



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