Edible-Flowrs-art - 7/5/18
"The Foods We Used to Know - Flowers" by Lady Marie Hélène of the New Forest.
NOTE: salads-msg See also the files: cook-flowers-msg, food-seasons-msg, grape-leaves-msg, salads-msg, Roses-a-Sugar-art, candied-fruit-msg, Gillyflower-art.
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NOTICE -
This article was added to this set of files, called Stefan's Florilegium, with the permission of the author.
These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author or translator.
While the author will likely give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous
stefan at florilegium.org
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This is the documentation I did for Eye of the Dragon a few weeks ago. I won the "how would you serve a dragon in a dish" category. It was whimsical.
First published in the July 5, 2018 issue of The Nottingham Quill.
The Foods We Used to Know - Flowers
by Lady Marie Hélène of the New Forest
Photo credit: Vrouwe Machteld Cleine
Flowers? As food? Indeed. Once upon a time, not so very long ago, flowers were part of the green grocer's produce. Flowers never really fell out of favor in the modern palate as it just stopped being utilized outside of summer tea parties, fancy French pastries, or mistaken for a vegetable. One theory is that the consumption of flowers was thought to be part of the "hippy/New Age" scene, so were looked upon with much distain, although, no one really knows why. Some people know about candied rose petals and violets, maybe chamomile or hibiscus teas; others may have had deep fried squash blossoms. But, aside from obscure novelties – people don't really eat flowers – or do they? Aside from broccoli and cauliflower, and the more medieval cousin broccoli rabe, aka friarielle, rapa or rapini, here are a few others you may or may not know.
Artichokes are the immature flower buds of a thistle (Cynara cardunculus scolymus) as is its cousin, the cardoon (Cynara cardunculus), both are mentioned as early as Homer and Hesiod and Pilny the Elder mention it as carduus, a garden plant.
Saffron is from the stamens (male part) of the Crocus sativus, which is a mutant form (possibly cultivated) of Crocus cartwrightianus, a flower from Crete and Greece. It is mentioned in the a 7th century BCE Assyrian botanical reference compiled under Ashurbanipal. There are several archeological accounts which mention the use as far back as 50,000 years ago in prehistoric northern Iran in some of the pigments found in cave paintings. Saffron was also known to the Sumerians, ancient Persians, even into China. It was well known to many in the ancient world as a dye, a medicine, an aphrodisiac, and a perfume for both the bath and for wine. Saffron really needs its own article, so I'll leave it here.
Rose petals have long been used to flavor wine, confections, the body, the house. Nowadays it is candied and put on petite fours, but there are savory recipes for the use of rose petals. One such recipe which comes to mind is Rosee, a chicken dish made with almond milk and rose petals. I found that recipe on The Gode Cookery website which states that is from 14th century England. (http://www.godecookery.com/nboke/nboke45.htm)
Other flowers used in the Ancient and Medieval times are – Dandelion, mallow, violets, nasturtium, chrysanthemum, calendula – called pot marigold for its common appearance in the soup pot, primrose, elderflower, rocket (Arugula), hyssop, lavender, borage, as well as the flowers of herb plants like rosemary, basil, thyme, sage, fennel, dill and more. The herb's flower tastes like the herb. I have often used rosemary flowers instead of the chopped leaves to avoid the "pine needle" texture. Oh, and lest I forget, the flowers of garlic and onion are sublime.
I could take the cheater's way out and just give a salad recipe – Salat was not like modern salads – firstly, it was eaten with the hands in a light vinaigrette, mostly just a wine vinegar and olive oil. Secondly, the "lettuce" of the salad were flowers and herbs, and sturdy leaves of plants like arugula, frieze, spinach, sorrel and dandelion greens (Sound familiar?). Borage leaves and flowers have a wonderful cucumber flavor. Nasturtium flowers and leaves taste a bit like a floral bell pepper.
But, I'm not the cheating type. So, from The Forme of Cury, a 14th CE collection of recipes from the head cooks of Richard II, the base recipe for Erbolat, an herb custard. I said "base recipe" because you can play pretty loose with the 'herbes'. In the medieval context, herbes could mean any whole plant without a woody bark and flowers.
ERBOLAT (as translated via Pleyn Delit by Hieatt, Hosington and Butler)
Take persel, myntes, saverey & sauge, tansy, vervayne, clary, rewe, ditayn, fenel, southernwode; hewe hem & grinde hem smale. Medle hem up with ayren. Do butter in a trap & do þe fars þerto & bake it & messe forth.
(my translation)
Take parsley, mint, savory & sage, tansy, vervain, clary (sage), rue, dianthus, fennel and southernwood, chop them small. Mix with eggs. Butter (grease) a pan, pour the contents in & bake it and serve.
Note: the 'custard' is, in essence, a frittata. As you can see, there are a lot of herbs and some flowers mixed together with some eggs. Warning - tansy and rue are two herbs which are best used sparingly as they can cause an allergic reaction. The common adaptation I've seen and used is to use spinach and arugula as well as flavorful flowers (nasturtium is my favorite).
(Pleyn Delit translation)
A small handful of whatever greens and fresh herbs you can get, preferrbly including parsley, mint, sage, savory and fennel leaves. In lieu of the less common ones, use a bit of spinach or other leafy greens. In larger porportions that the more strongly flavored herbs.
6 eggs, well beaten
1⁄2 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsps butter
Process greens and herbs until they are finely chopped, then add eggs and salt and blend thoroughly. Melt butter and pour into a baking dish; tilt the dish around to coat it well with butter before adding the herb and egg mixture. Bake in a 325o oven 15-20 minutes, until well set but not dried out. (Test with a knife blade or a toothpick.)
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Copyright 2018 by Sandi Rust. <feo2mouse at yahoo.com>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited. Addresses change, but a reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication and if possible receives a copy.
If this article is reprinted in a publication, please place a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.
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