nuts-msg – 11/21/18

Nuts, acorns, nut flours in medieval foods. Chestnuts, Almonds, acorns, coconuts, hazelnuts.

NOTE: See also the files: almond-milk-msg, food-msg, food2-msg, flour-msg, coconuts-msg, almond-cream-msg, chestnuts-msg, acorns-msg.

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NOTICE -

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you,
    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: Gretchen M Beck <grm+ at andrew.cmu.edu>
Date: Fri,  9 May 1997 13:13:00 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: SC - walnut oil

My current favorite book, The Fruits, Herbes, and Vegetables of Italy
(1614) has this to say about Walnuts and Walnut Oil:

We also have walnuts, which are common everywhere.  The green ones start
to be good about the feast of St Lawrence [10 August], and are highly
esteemed and eaten by the gentry, who consider the dried ones to be
rather coarse and unrefined.

Dried walnuts are used in a garlic sauce called agliata, and this is how
you make it: first take the best and whitest walnut kernels, in the
quantity you need, and pound them in a really clean stone mortar (not a
metal one) in which you have first crushed two or three cloves of
garlic.  When they are all well mixed, take three slices of stale white
bread, well soaked in a good meat broth which is not too fatty, and
pound them with the nuts.  When everything is well mixed, thin the sauce
out with some of the same warm meat broth, until you have a liquid like
the pap they give to little babies.  Serve it tepid, with a little
crushed pepper.

Prudent folk eat this sauce with fresh pork as an antidote to its
harmful qualities, or with boiled goose, an equally indigestible food. 
Serious pasta eaters even enjoy agliata with macaroni and lasagne.  It
is also good with boletus mushrooms, which I shall describe in due
course.

In Lombardy they make oil from the poorer quality nuts, which they use
to light the stables.  Poor people and evern worthy artisans use it in
lamps about the house or on the table.  The peasants in the countryside
use nothing else in their lamps.  This oil is good for various ailments.
 it also makes furniture made out of walnut wood--bedstads, tables,
benches, and so forth -- shine like a mirror.

toodles, margaret


From: gfrose at cotton.vislab.olemiss.edu (Terry Nutter)
Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 13:06:49 -0500
Subject: Re:  SC - butter

Hi, Katerine here.  Cariadoc quotes me and responds:

>>There are at least six recipes for almond butter extant from the 14th and
>>15th centuries in England.  However, there is no evidence that it was used
>>as a spread.  It seems to have been served sliced as a dish.
>
>As I recall, almond butter is not, as one might think from the name, butter
>flavored with almonds, but rather a butter like product made (like almond
>milk) from almonds. Is that correct?

More or less right, except that I'm not all that sure I'd call it butter-like.
It's made of almond milk, thickened and coagulated to a more-or-less 
butter-like consistency.

Cheers,
- -- Katerine/Terry


From: L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt <liontamr at postoffice.ptd.net>
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 19:00:35 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #156

>From: "Mark Harris" <mark_harris at quickmail.sps.mot.com>
>Date: 13 Jun 1997 14:40:15 -0500
>Subject: SC - Almond butter and cheese
>
>On Thursday, June 12, Aoife said:
>
>>Almonds also add a richness you can't get with wine/water/broth. In
>>addition, almonds, as you stated, thicken to an amazing degree, and not just
>>when the almonds are sieved out of the almond milk. The milk itself can be
>>heated and made into Almond Butter or Almond Cheese. So we have several
>>purposes for those almonds besides protein on non-meat days. 
>
>Has anyone here made either this almond butter or almond cheese? How about
>a redaction or two? I'm not at all sure about this almond cheese, but it
>might be worth a try, after I try making some milk cheese.
>
>Stefan li Rous
>markh at risc.sps.mot.com

I think my recipes came from Huswife's Jewel (Dawson? I'm going on sleepy
memory, aided by 2 two-year olds). They are self-explanatory, so I'll leave
you to look them up, at least until my nephew goes home and I can type in peace.
At any rate, Almond Cheese is merely thicker almond butter. The recipe I am
thinking of is Almond butter "After the Latest Fashion" or some such wording
(newest and best fahsion??), which won me an Ice Dragon Category when
combined with the preserved oranges and some flaky pastry from the same
book. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong about the title of the recipe.

Anyhooo, it's a process whereby you pound the almonds, seive them through
the water, grind/pound 'em again, etc, until you get quite a concentration
of "Almond Milk. This is heated till the bits swell and make a thickened
mixture, which is then strained through cheesecloth to make a more solid
mass. Viola, smooth creamy almond butter. Drain more water, and it would be
cheese. It keeps well, but weeps.

Aoife 


From: L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt <liontamr at postoffice.ptd.net>
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 11:06:44 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: SC - Almond Butter

To Make Almond Butter

Take Almondes and blanch them, and beate them in a morter verye small and in
the beating put in a little water, and when they be beaten, poure in water
into two pots, and put in halfe into one and halfe into another, and put in
suger, and stirre them still, and let them boyle a good while, then straine
it through a strainer with rose water and so dish it up.

**I believe the two pots were meant to be colored differently, then served
parti-colored.

Also:

To make Almond butter after the best and newest fashion.

take a pound of Almondes or more, and blanch themin cold water or in warme
water as you may have leysure, after the blanching let themlye one houre in
cold water, then stamp them inm faire cold water as fine as you can, then
put your Almondes in a cloth, and gather your cloth round up in your hands,
and press out the iuice as much as you can, if you thinke they be not small
enough, beate them again, and so get out milke as long as you can, then set
it ove the fire, and when it is ready to seeth, put in a good quantitie of
salte, and Rosewater that will turne it, after that is in, let it have one
boyling, and then take it from the fire, and cast it abroad upon a linnen
cloth, and underneath the Cloth scrape of the Whay so long as it will runne,
then put the butter togetherinto the midest of the cloth, binding the cloth
together, and let it hang so long as it will drop, then take peeces of
Suger, and so much fine pouder of Saffron as you think will colour it, then
let both your suger and saffron steep together in the quantitye of
Rosewater, and with that season up your butter when you will make it.

**I believe the bit about rosewater and saffron should be inserted into the
bit about using "Rosewater to Turn it" if the directions are to be listed in
correct order.  Strictly speaking, since this is not a milk product, it
cannot be 'turned' by the addition of a clotting agent. So although the
flavor would be different, it is perfectly possible to omit the rosewater
and still have a wonderful end result. This additon, however, would give you
your butter color, along with the saffron. Scraping the cloth is excellent
advice, so that the butter will drain well without 'clogging' the holes in
the cloth. My personal experience tells me to call this more of a Cheese
rather than a Butter.   

Have fun.
Aoife


From: Uduido at aol.com
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 1997 10:31:49 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SC - Re: Marzipan texture

In a message dated 97-06-23 13:56:43 EDT, you write:
<<  I often wonder just how "smooth" 
 >medieval almond paste was compared to what I can get from the 
 >processor.  They had plenty of time and lots of muscle power. >>

Surprising smooth, IMO. To test> take 2 or 3 almonds and grind them in a
mortar and pestle. With a little elbow grease these may be made to come out
extremely smooth and pasty. During the middle ages, there were "professional"
people who made the rounds, so to speak, grinding various spices, etc. in
large batches.

Lord Ras


Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 11:13:20 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Redactions

ND Wederstrandt wrote:
> Admantius (and also Ras) said concerning their redactions
> *Mine contained (more or less) 1/2 cup hazelnuts, 1/2 cup pine nuts,
> toasted and crushed,*
> 
> After you toasted the hazelnuts did you rub the skins off?  Or did
> you leave them on.  I happily spent part of the weekend squeezing the
> skins off almonds
> (Great projectile weapons) making almond milk. I hadn't really
> thought much about the skins until now.
> 
> Clare St. John

In my case, I cheated, and used hazelnut meal. Finely ground, but not
quite flour. I had it in the house and it becomes rancid if you don't
use it up in a couple of months. Pignoles were whole, though. The
hazelnut meal's color suggests that they were not peeled before
grinding.

Adamantius


Date: 10 Jul 1997 08:59:31 -0700
From: "Marisa Herzog" <marisa_herzog at macmail.ucsc.edu>
Subject: SC - nut skinning (was Redaction

> After you toasted the hazelnuts did you rub the skins off?  Or did you
> leave them on.  I happily spent part of the weekend squeezing the skins off

  I don't know how it would work for hazelnuts, but to de-skin almonds:  drop
the lot of them into boiling water for just a few seconds, until the skins
start to balloon a bit, then quickly scoop them out with a strainer so they
don't get water logged. lay them out on a table between two dish towels and
knead the bundle for a few minutes.  It goes faster this way than trying to
pop each little nut out of it's skin [ ;) ].  And it is worth the little bit
of time to save the dollar difference between store bought blanched almonds.
(Having blanched alot of nuts, being a marzipan junkie)

brid hecgwiht


Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 16:12:59 -0600
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Pine-Kernels/Nuts--candied

>Many people have told me you can substitute slivered almonds for pine nuts.
>While it is my considered opinion that people like that could probably Corn
>syrup for honey you might try that. Otherwise look to the Middle Eastern
>Markets unless you live out in the desert U.S.
>
>Corwyn

Frankly, I prefer the flavor of pine nuts to almonds.  You could
substitute one for the other, especially if you are grinding them to a
powder, toasted pine nuts and blanched slivered almonds have
approximately the same texture, but unless you overpower the flavor of
the nuts, you can taste the difference.

Bear


Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 18:58:30 EST
From: LrdRas <LrdRas at aol.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Pine-Kernels/Nuts--candied

<< Many people have told me you can substitute slivered almonds for pine nuts.
>>

If you do this be sure to add a juniper berry or 2 for a mock pine nut flavor.
I have tried this substitute (e.g. almonds for pine nuts and find that
although the texture is similar the flavor is definately lacking. A far better
course of action would be to avoid pine nut containig recipes if you can't
afford the real McCoy.

Ras


Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 11:52:23 -0800
From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Subject: SC - Sugared Nuts and Cookbooks (was: Tiramisu)

Someone asked about sugared nuts; from the Andalusian cookbbok by way of
the Miscellany:

Sukkariyya, a Sugar Dish from the Dictation of Abu 'Ali al-Bagdadi
Andalusian p. A-23

Take a ratl of sugar and put in two ûqiyas of rosewater and boil it in a
ceramic pot until it is on the point of thickening and sticks between the
fingers. Then take a third of a ratl of split almonds, fried, not burnt,
and pound well and throw the sugar on them and stir it on the fire until
thickened. Then spread it out on a dish and sprinkle it with ground sugar.
[end of original. ratl = ~lb, 12 ûqiyas = 1 ratl]

2 c sugar       5 oz = 7/8 c slivered or sliced almonds
5 T rosewater   1-2 T more sugar for sprinkling at the end

Toast the almonds in a hot (400°) frying pan for 3-5 minutes, stirring
continuously. Then crush them with mortar and pestle to something between
ground and chopped. Cook sugar and rosewater mixture on medium high until
it comes to a boil, reduce to medium and continue cooking to a temperature
of 275°, about ten minutes.  Combine syrup and nuts in a frying pan, cook
at medium to medium high, stirring constantly, for another nine minutes,
turn out on a plate and sprinkle with sugar. An alternative interpretation
of the original recipe is that you cook the syrup and nuts together only
long enough to get them well mixed; the binder is then sugar syrup rather
than carmelized sugar. Both ways work.

Elizabeth of Dendermonde/Betty Cook


Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 11:34:35 -0400
From: Angie Malone <alm4 at cornell.edu>
Subject: Re: SC - Pine nuts

>>Pinon are from the pinion pine.  They are supposedly more buttery than
>>traditional pine nuts.  Thanks for the confirmation.
>>
>Hmm. As far as I am aware, there is only one type of pine nut - the pinion
>pine. As with other plants, there are regional variations, but it is the
>same species. BTW most pine nuts world wide come from China (ah trivia)
>
>Rowan

Hmmm... I always thought they came from Italy and from Utah.  My brother
used to live in Utah and there was someone who had a pine nut business and
sold them for $2 a pound.  They were still in the shells but the shells
were very thin, and if you put them in the microwave for a certain amount
of time the shells would pop off without hurting the nuts.  You had to
throw the container you popped them in out--it had what amounted to shell
tar on it, but it worked well.

        Angeline

Lady Angeline di Aquila
email:alm4 at cornell.edu
Deputy Seneschal Dominion of Myrkfaelinn
  mka. Angie Malone       mundanely located in Ithaca, NY


Date: Wed, 03 Jun 1998 12:26:40 +1000
From: Robyn Probert <robyn.probert at lawpoint.com.au>
Subject: Re: SC - Pine nuts

At 09:08 PM 02/06/98 EDT, Meghan wrote:
>Has anyone tried storing freshly purchased pine nuts bought in quantity in the
>freezer? I've had occasion to find them at very good prices, and I'd love to
>know if anyone else has found success with this. I'm curious if the natural
>oils in the nuts would cause them to freeze badly or get mushy.

Yes indeed! They store very well in the freezer and it stops the oil in the
nuts going rancid. They defrost beatifully. This is recommended for all nuts
and seeds and "high qual" suppliers always store them this way.

Rowan


Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 13:21:32 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Pine nuts

Here is a brief, incomplete list, of conifers producing edible pine nuts.  I
haven't located pictures of the seeds to see if the resemble each other.  I
found it interesting that at least 3 species are considered to be Pinons.

Bear

Araucaria imbricata  (Chile pine)  Andes
Pinus Cembra  (Swiss stone pine)  Alps
Pinus Pinea fragilis (Tarentine pine)  Italy

Pinus edulis  (Pinon pine)  North America
Pinus parryana  (Pinon pine)  North America
Pinus monophylla  (Pinon pine)  North America


Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 13:34:56 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Pine nuts

> I've heard that you can use heat to
> force the cones open, but I'm not sure exactly how you would do that.
>
> Noemi

I had one open up over a couple years just sitting on my desk.

You can probably get them to open a little quicker by wrapping them loosely
in foil, and warming them in an oven at low temperature.

Bear


Date: Thu, 04 Jun 1998 13:31:54 -0600
From: Yumitori no Kiyoshi <yumitori at montana.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Pine nuts

> You can probably get them to open a little quicker by wrapping them loosely
> in foil, and warming them in an oven at low temperature.
>
> Bear

        Lodgepole cones have evolved to open when fire sweeps through an area,
so you may need a high setting to accomplish this at home, but start
low, as Bear-sama suggests, and increase it if you don't get results.
I'd also be concerned about the sap from the cone contaminating the
cones, so you might try 'roasting' the cones vertically instead of
horizontally.

        Yumitori


Date: Thu,  4 Jun 1998 16:00:45 -0400 (EDT)
From: Gretchen M Beck <grm+ at andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: SC - Pine nuts

Found a "Nut of the Month" club that had Pine Nuts as their February Nut
of the Monty.  This is what they had to say:

European pine nuts, commonly called pignolia nuts, are obtained
primarily from the stone pine, Pinus Pinea, native to northern
Mediterranean regions.  These seeds are 1cm (0.4 in) in length and are
rich in oil.  Pinon nuts of the southwestern United States and northern
Mexico are gathered from several pine species, including the pinyon
pine, P. edulis, and the single-leaf pinyon, P monophylla.  Similar in
quality to pignolia nuts, pinons have a rich, slightly sweet taste.

(Then goes on to describe a few others).  Site is
http://www.europa.com/~grosman/nutclub/feb_nut.htm

Of interest to the original thread (i.e. what can I substitute) ius
http://www.northcoast.com/~alden/Nuts.html -- gives synonyms,
equivalents, and substitutions for nuts used in cooking.

Anyhow, browsing gets Chinese pine nuts described as triangular in
shape, and less subtle than the European variety, which are described as
torpedo shaped.

toodles, margaret


Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 19:45:57 -0500 (CDT)
From: jeffrey stewart heilveil <heilveil at students.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Re: SC - Pine nuts

>       Lodgepole cones have evolved to open when fire sweeps through an area,
> so you may need a high setting to accomplish this at home, but start
> low, as Bear-sama suggests, and increase it if you don't get results.
> I'd also be concerned about the sap from the cone contaminating the
> cones, so you might try 'roasting' the cones vertically instead of
> horizontally.
>
>       Yumitori

Don't know about this.  If you are really worried about it, don't roast
them vertically, do it inverted so that the seeds fall out and don't get
hit with resin.  If you look at most of the fire dependent species, their
cones hang upsode down as it is for this reason.


Date: Thu, 4 Jun 1998 19:47:28 -0500 (CDT)
From: jeffrey stewart heilveil <heilveil at students.uiuc.edu>
Subject: RE: SC - Pine nuts

> Maybe this is another time when you could use a microwave.  I wouldn't do
> it on full power, maybe 50 %?
>
> Just a thought, since you can get the seeds to pop open.
>
> Angeline

AK!!!  Umm, don't do it.  I have seen some of them pop open, and that
would be bad.  Also, the resin won't be happy about coming off of anything
it splatters on.

Bogdan


Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 12:51:26 EDT
From: LrdRas at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - walnuts.

heilveil at students.uiuc.edu writes:
<< is there an old world walnut?  If so, has anyone tried making "walnut milk," 
or seen recipes using walnuts?? >>

English walnuts are Old World. Their point of origin was possibly Persia (of
course! :-))

<<  If so, has anyone tried making "walnut milk," or seen recipes
 using walnuts?? >>

IIRC, Apicius has a few recipes which use walnuts. Andakusia and al-Baghdadi
have MANY recipes which use walnuts. And I have my own OOP recipe for sauted
chicken served with a sauce made from green pepper strips, sliced sweet onion,
walnuts and coconut milk. :-)

Ras (spelled A'aql)


Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 13:38:53 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - walnuts.

jeffrey stewart heilveil wrote:
> I know that Juglens nigra is native to the US, but is there an oldworld
> walnut?  If so, has anyone tried making "walnut milk," or seen recipes
> using walnuts??
>
> Bogdan

Juglens nigra, which is the black walnut, is American, while the more
common English walnut is, well, English, or rather European.

Walnuts are one of the possible candidates for the nuts being used by Le
Menagier in his famous "composte" recipe, beginning, "Take five hundred
new nuts...". These would be like the green nuts used for pickling.
which is essentially what is being done in this stuff, too, producing a
sort of cross between chutney and Italian mustard fruits.

I think perhaps walnuts are a little too hard to peel of their bran
layer (yeah, I know it's not really bran) to make a really nice white
"milk".

One of the semi-disasters we had to deal with at the last EK Crown
Tourney was opening a case of alleged shelled, blanched, and chopped
almonds, which I had bought for almond milk, and discovering that they
were in fact shelled walnuts. We used most of them anyway, but not for
milk.

Adamantius


Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 22:52:43 -0800
From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - walnuts.

Walnuts appear in the recipe for Badinjan Muhassa, which is in a collection
assembled in the 10th century.

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


Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 00:06:49 -0800From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>Subject: Re: SC - Badinjan MuhassaAt 9:14 AM -0400 7/22/98, LrdRas at aol.com wrote:><< Walnuts appear in the recipe for Badinjan Muhassa, which is in a collection> assembled in the 10th century.>> David/Cariadoc >>>>Where could a person obtain this collection? Is it published? By whom? , etc.>Thanks in advance.The Arabic text was published by Studia Orientalia in Helsinki. There is nopublished translation of the collection. I have a few recipes that CharlesPerry translated, including Badinjan Muhassa.David/Cariadochttp://www.best.com/~ddfr/


Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1998 21:45:52 EDT
From: RuddR at aol.com
Subject: SC - Re: Walnuts

<I know that Juglens nigra is native to the US, but is there an old world
walnut?  If so, has anyone tried making "walnut milk," or seen recipes
using walnuts??

Bogdan>

Sauce for stockysshe in an-other maner (Ashmole MS 1439, Two 15th Cent.
Cookery Books, p109), has walnuts, garlic, pepper, bread and salt ground
together and thinned with fish broth: thick garlic walnut milk.  It goes great
with more than fish, and very easy in a blender.

Rudd Rayfield


Date: Sun, 17 Jan 1999 18:50:40 EST
From: LrdRas at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - New pet peeve

melc2newton at juno.com writes:
<< first course board - walnuts . . . in their shells. Without nut
 crackers.(new peeve) Maybe these manly fighter types can crack walnuts
 with their bare hands, but I can't. >>

Simply place the point of your knife firmly in the large end of the walnut
and twist. Voila! The nut seperates easily and cleanly into two halves without
any effort. :-)

Ras


Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 07:51:41 -0700 (MST)
From: grasse at mscd.edu
Subject: re: SC - Honey covered nuts

Helen,
I do not claim expertise, but in "Ein New Kochbuch" (Marx Rumpolt, 1581) he
has a section on "von Allerlei Zucker Konfect wie in der Apoteken"....
All sorts of sugar confectionery like from the Apothecary.
#1 on his list is coated almonds.

"If you wish to coat such confectionery with sugar/ so take a clean clay
vessel/ that has two handles, hand it at a height with a rope at both
handles/ set a fire kettle with glowing coals thereunder/ put the
confectionery into the vessel/ and make it fine warm/ pour fine let sugar
thereto/ and stir it often therewith/ till the confectionery takes up the
sugar / so will it be pretty white and dry.  also coat allsort of grain
with sugar / and allsorts of spices/ so it will be good and also good
tasting."

I have been trying various ways of melting the sugar, and coating the nuts,
but I have never yet gotten it to stay white, it carmelizes.  If any on the
list have suggestions I would love to hear them.

Oh, and the carmel-colored, candy-coated almonds are VERY yummy, but get
sticky with humidity.

Gwen-Cat


Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 16:05:53 -0500
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - almonds vs, walnuts

Gerekr at aol.com wrote:
> And while you can produce walnut oil for cooking from them, I don't think
> you'd have much luck trying to make "walnut milk" for use in meatless
> contexts (fast days, Lent, etc.)
> 
> Chimene

I don't recall exactly where I saw this, but I recently saw a recipe
(European, and period, I believe) that suggested exactly that. I believe
the walnuts were blanched and "peeled" first. I have also seen it done
with hazelnuts.

Both of these are more or less local products, of course. I'm not sure
why almonds were so important, if not for the status imparted by
importation. 

Yes, the Romans did bring almond trees to Britain, but I don't believe
any significant almond crop is recorded in Britain in period, and I
believe there are records indicating massive importation from the East.
Blights and climate shifts might be factors, too.

Of course, the Romans also brought grape vines to Britain, and while
they did produce some wine there for a while, it doesn't seem to have
made enough of a dent in the demand in period to make importing
unnecessary. It may be the same with almonds.
 
Adamantius


Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 21:45:58 -0500
From: "Daniel Phelps" <phelpsd at gate.net>
Subject: SC - Re: Almonds and Sundry Nuts and Seeds

Regarding almonds, it is my understanding that honey from their blossoms is
poisonous does anyone recall period references to this?

By the by, if you are in search of a really good reference on the topic of
nuts you might try "The Book of Edible Nuts" by Fredric Rosengarten, Jr.
1984, Walker Publishing Co., Inc.  ISBN: 0-8027-0769-9, Library of Congress
Catalog Card Number 83-40389.  The author holds the "Order of the Quetzal"
from Guatemala for his agricultural development effort there.  He is a
fellow of the Linnean Society and an Associate in Economic Botany in the
Botanical Museum at Harvard.

My copy is an autographed first edition and never leaves the house except
for copying but the book should be available on inter-library loan.  I'm
hoarding it on the hopes someone will offer me my weight in little airline
bottles of Fra Angelico for it.

Within the chapter  titled Twelve Selected Edible Nuts it has great short
sections with fairly detailed histories, including archeological evidence
and numerous period botanical woodcuts, on such nuts period to western
European and Mediterranean basin,  as almonds, chestnuts, coconuts (referred
to in period as Indian Nuts), pistachio, filberts (hazelnuts),  and walnuts.
Twenty pages on almonds and 25 pages on walnuts alone.

The section chapter titled "Thirty other Edible Nuts" covers such things
period as acorns, beechnuts, cola nuts, pine nuts, and sesame seeds.  Five
pages are devoted to pine nuts and  two and a half to sesame seeds.


Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 23:00:21 EST
From: LrdRas at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Re: Almonds and Sundry Nuts and Seeds

phelpsd at gate.net writes:
<< Regarding almonds, it is my understanding that honey from their blossoms
is poisonous does anyone recall period references to this?
  >>

The following was taken from the book you referenced. It seems to indicate
that honey bee production and almond groves have a close partnership with one
another. The section on the household inventory of the queen of France in 1372
is of particular interest to cooks. ;-)
- ----------

Almond Nut Facts

The Almond, Prunus dulcis, is a graceful, medium-sized tree of the rose
family. It is closely related to and resembles the peach, plum and apricot.
Almonds are grouped into two principal types: sweet almonds and bitter
almonds. The sweet almond is grown for its edible nuts. Bitter almonds provide
oil used as a flavoring and an ingredient in cosmetic skin preparations.

The almond is believed to have originated in the temperate, desert parts of
western Asia. From there it spread west to the warm, dry regions of the
Mediterranean. Almonds are referenced several times in the Bible. Jacob's sons
carried almonds and pistachio nuts to Egypt when they went begging for food
from their brother Joseph (Genesis 43:11). The Hebrews looked at the almond
tree as a symbol of haste because of its sudden blossoming (Numbers 17:8).

By 716 A.D., almonds were introduced into Northern Europe. In 812 Charlemagne
ordered almonds trees to be planted on the imperial farms. An inventory of
household goods of the queen of France in 1372 listed only 20 pounds of
sugar, but 500 pounds of almonds.

Almonds have symbolized good luck for many centuries in southern Europe. At
Greek weddings, candied almonds are given away as tokens of long life and
happiness. At Spanish weddings sugar coated "Jordan" almonds are given away.
The term "Jordan" probably comes from the French word for garden-jardin.

The first almond trees planted in North America were in the Spanish missions
between San Diego and Santa Barbara, California. These trees did not take
however, due to the moist conditions in the area. During the 1850's the almond
tree was introduced to north-central California and has flourished ever since.
Ninety-nine percent of the almonds grown in the United States today, are grown
along a 400 mile stretch of land between Bakersfield and Red Bluff,
California. Almonds are California's most important tree crop, based on
acreage, dollar value and total world distribution.

Almond trees normally reach a height of twenty to thirty feet. Their wood is
harder than that of a peach tree and they generally live longer. California
almond trees usually begin to bear at three to four years of age. Flowers of
most almond varieties are "genetically self-incompatible". Satisfactory
pollination only comes from planting two different varieties near each other.
Pollen is then transferred from one tree to another by honey bees. Growers
bring bees to their orchards in February when the trees begin to bloom. The
honey bee industry has become an essential part of almond production.

Today, the United States is by far the largest producer of almonds in the
world. Spain is second and Italy a distant third. Other almond producing
countries include, Portugal, Iran, Morocco, Turkey, Greece, Algeria and
China.

The majority of information in this section has been taken from "The Book of
Edible Nuts, by Frederic Rosengarten, Jr., copyright-1984.


Date: Sat, 9 Oct 1999 10:45:05 -0400
From: "Daniel Phelps" <phelpsd at gate.net>
Subject: Re: SC - black walnuts and butternuts

When it comes to nut questions I always check "The Book of Edible Nuts" by
Frederic Rosengarten, Jr.  Regarding the walnut the good news is that
Juglans regia the English or Persian walnut has been has been around in the
old world a very long time, prehistoric in point of fact.  They are
mentioned in the Song of Solomon 6:11.  Juglans is a contraction of Jovis
glans, nut of Jupiter.  When the nut reached England the name "Gaul nut" may
have been contracted to walnut conversely the "wal" may be derived from the
Anglo-Saxon word "wealh" meaning foreign or alien.  Walnuts are referenced
by Shakespeare in "The Taming of the Shrew".  As a dye it has a long history
as well, the green hulls yield a yellowish dye while a brownish one is
obtained from the mature husks.   The bad news is that J. nigra the Eastern
Black Walnut is native to the forests of the eastern U.S. and Canada.
Butternut  J. cinerea is also native to the forest of the eastern U.S. and
Canada and is the most northern and cold-resistant member of the walnut
family.  Young butternut twigs, leaves, buds and fruits are covered with a
sticky, hairy fuzz which when boiled or distilled produced a light brown
dye.

Daniel Raoul


Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 09:46:52 -0500
From: "Daniel Phelps" <phelpsd at gate.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Coconuts in Period

Stefan quoted me:
For further information on this and other nuts check out
>> "The Book of Edible Nuts" by Fredrick Rosengarten, Jr. I have a signed
>> copy, it's a great book.

And asked:
> Would this be a good book on use
>of nuts in Medieval Europe? Or is it more oriented toward modern times?

Yes all though it is oriented to modern times it would in in selected cases
be a good general secondary source and a possible source of primary quotes.
The text is broken down into two main sections, Twelve Selected Edible Nuts
and Thirty Other Edible Nuts.  The entries in the first section are, as
might be expected, more extensive and generally start with roughly 2 to 5
pages of history of which, depending on the nut, usually two thirds to half
is period or pre-period European.  The first section consists of entries for
almonds, brazil nuts, cashew nuts, chestnuts, coconuts, filberts
(hazelnuts), macadamia nuts, peanuts, pistachio nuts, sun flower seeds, and
Persian walnuts.  Each entry ends with a page or two of tasty, if modern,
sounding recipes.  A couple of caveats, yes I suppose some of these "nuts"
are not true nuts, i.e. peanuts, or not period, i.e. macadamia nuts, but
even the non-period entries are quite interesting.

The entries in the second section for acorns, beechnuts, betel nuts, sesame
seeds, and water melon seeds contain some excellent historical information
as well.

The book's ISBN and LCCCN's are: 0-8027-0769-9 and 83-40389 respectively.
The books fly leaf indicates that he also wrote  "The Book of Spices" and
"Freebooters Must Die!"  I presume that the first would be of interest to
the list but I have never seen it.

The book also contains a seven page glossary, an extensive bibliography, a
multi-page "Illustration Acknowledgements" and a recipe index.  As numerous
period wood cuts are reproduced in the book it is nice that their sources,
for the purpose of documentation of a primary source, are revealed.

Daniel Raoul


Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 09:08:28 -0500 (EST)
From: Jenne Heise <jenne at mail.browser.net>
Subject: Re: SC - (no subject)

> I realized I have not
> made up the spiced nuts for the on the table course --- does anyone know of
> a reference to a spiced nut recipe in period that is not too time consuming 
> using a mixture of walnuts and almonds

There's one in _The Medieval Kitchen_ by Redon, I don't remember who did
it, which calls for boiling your honey, adding spices and quickly cooking
the nuts in it, then spread them on a sheet with your hands (or a
spatula). I found it relatively quick to do.
- -- 
Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise	      jenne at tulgey.browser.net


Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 09:46:25 -0500
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Spiced, Candied Nuts - was, Re: SC - (no subject)

Jenne Heise wrote:
> > not too time consuming using a mixture of walnuts and almonds
> 
> There's one in _The Medieval Kitchen_ by Redon, I don't remember who did
> it, which calls for boiling your honey, adding spices and quickly cooking
> the nuts in it, then spread them on a sheet with your hands (or a
> spatula). I found it relatively quick to do.

That would be nucato, essentially an ancestor of praline? I think it
comes from one of the more obscure Italian MS sources.

Adamantius


Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 18:49:40 -0800 (PST)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: SC - almond milk source - Almond Breeze

- --- lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:
> However now that i've been to Morocco, i have to say that giant 
> American almonds don't have half the flavor of the tiny Moroccan 
> almonds - and i am very careful to buy the freshest almonds i can, 
> and never the sad stale almonds one finds in little sacks at the 
> supermarket.
> 
> Mmmmm, Moroccan almond milk...
> 
> Anahita al-shazhiyya al-Andalusiyya

Have you ever bought fresh almonds from Arvin,
California?  I have.  I have also been to Morocco.
When you buy almonds picked fresh from the grower,
even the giant almonds of California have lots of
flavor.  Also, don't ever store any nuts on a shelf or
anywhere that is not refrigerated.  The oils in the
nuts go rancid.  When I was a child, I used to hate
nuts of any kind because they all tasted bad.  But
that was because my mother always used to store nuts
in jars on her pantry shelf and used them in cooking
even when they smelled stale.  [Shudder]  Now all nuts
in my house go directly into the freezer after
purchase.  No more rancid nuts.

Huette


Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 17:22:34 -0600
From: "Robbin Long" <rlong at srrc.ars.usda.gov>
Subject: Freezing nuts, was Re: SC - Re: losenges fryes/potageof beans boiled

>It helps if you freeze anything like flour/dried legumes, box mixes etc.
>to 0 degrees fahrenheit for 3 days, it kills the eggs that are extant
>that survived the milling process. I have also gotten them in bags of
>chopped nuts [IIRC walnuts]
>margali

As an addendum:  freezing walnuts will also help prevent the accumulation of mycotoxic fungus.  It is not common, but walnuts, even commercially grown, are subject to fungal infection, and storing them frozen will help keep it from increasing if you happen to get a bad batch.

That this still happens was something I discovered quite graphically when I came down with mycotoxicosis not once, but twice.  I made Thanksgiving stuffing with walnuts and came down with some very strange tremorgenic symptoms that sent me to the emergency room.  They thought I was having a panic attack (which I have NEVER had), and I didn't make the connection until I used the same batch to make a walnut-ricotta pasta sauce (very tasty) and banana bread several weeks later, and got the same symptoms times two (my lord did, too, but he is twice my weight, he didn't eat as much, and he got it far milder).  It was pretty frightening.

Just goes to show the medical professionals don't know everything...

Broinnfhionn


Date: Sun, 8 Apr 2001 12:47:26 -0700From: James Prescott <prescotj at telusplanet.net>Subject: Re: SC - Almond milk left oversAt 09:08 -0700 2001-04-08, Cathy Harding wrote:> In the aftermath of the Baronial Banquet (Madrone, An Tir), I came home with> a lot of the ground almonds which are left over from making Almond milk.  I> seeem to remember that there are some recipes for things which can be made> from them, like almond cheese.  However, I can't find any of them now.Viandier has a ton of possibilities which start with whole almondsand include the resulting crushed almonds in the dish -- there would of course be some difference if using almond leftovers, since the almond milk has already been removed.  Adding a bit of cow's milk would, I think, restore the balance:Almond cumin dishCassia soupWhite capon soupGerman meat, rabbit and chicken soupYellow SaucePerch mashCapon white dish for an invalidTo make flans or tarts in LentLaces of white capon meatTailleGarlic Jance SauceGinger Jance SauceThere are some further recipes in Viandier where there is ambiguity about whether the ground almonds would remain in the dish, or wereused solely to provide their milk.Can one make good marzipan with almond leftovers?Thorvald


Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2001 11:46:16 -0400
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Cordials

On 11 Apr 01,, R. Del Boccio wrote:
> Someone mentioned walnuts - I just ran across references to
> it in something I'm working on.  
> 
> Serian

Walnuts are mentioned in Catalan, Spanish, and Italian cookbooks 
at least as far back as the 14th century.  Possibly earlier -- I don't 
know much about Arabic cuisine.

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)


Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2001 21:46:51 -0700
From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Cordials

>On 11 Apr 01,, R. Del Boccio wrote:
>>  Someone mentioned walnuts - I just ran across references to
>>  it in something I'm working on. 
>>
>>  Serian
>
>Walnuts are mentioned in Catalan, Spanish, and Italian cookbooks
>at least as far back as the 14th century.  Possibly earlier -- I don't
>know much about Arabic cuisine.

Much earlier. They are an ingredient in a c. 10th c. recipe for 
Badinjan Muhassa
- -- 
David/Cariadoc
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/


Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 00:16:42 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Green Almonds - challenge

Bonne of Traquair wrote:
> last week, I bought a pound of green almonds  at the Persian grocery.
> Anyone know what you do with green almonds?  What they are is the unripe
> almond fruit, the seed to be is a clear jelly in the middle.

Yup, remember those. They can be eaten raw in salads, also when lightly
blanched, pickled like green walnuts, and they make a very respectable
compost like the ones found in the Forme of Cury and in Le Menagier
(okay, the Menagier version has the steeped immature nuts, but you can
parboil them like the other ingredients in the FoC version, and proceed
with that version to get a final product that is pretty similar to the
Menagier version). (If that makes any sense. You're not the only one in
need of some tea.)

Adamantius


Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 08:17:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chris Stanifer <jugglethis at yahoo.com>
Subject: SC - Hazelnuts are Filberts

For those on the list who may have trouble finding
hazelnuts, author Sallie Tisdale (in her Saveur
Magazine article 'Hazelnuts are Filberts') advises to
look for packaged 'Filberts', which are, in fact, the
same nut.

The name change was adopted in Oregon (the largest
hazelnut producing state in the US), and is said to
honor Saint Philbert, whos August 22nd Feast Day
coincides with the beginning of hazelnut season in
England (among other explanations).

The majority of the world's hazelnut crop is grown in
Turkey, followed by Italy, Spain and the U.S.' Pacific
Northwest.

As for the leaves... no mention of any commercial or
culinary uses in modern times, though the hulls are
ground up and sold to industry for use as a cheap
fuel.

Just thought I'd pass along the results of my limited
research on the hazelnut...

Balthazar of Blackmoor


Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 12:18:34 -0400
From: rcmann4 at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: SC - Hazelnuts are Filberts

On 27 Apr 01,, Chris Stanifer wrote:
> As for the leaves... no mention of any commercial or
> culinary uses in modern times, though the hulls are
> ground up and sold to industry for use as a cheap
> fuel.
> 
> Just thought I'd pass along the results of my limited
> research on the hazelnut...
> 
> Balthazar of Blackmoor

The Spanish sources use hazelnuts a fair amount, but I've seen no 
mention of the leaves.  Herrera goes into a lot of detail about how 
to plant and tend hazelnut trees, and cites another authority that 
the branches are good for cask-making.  Nothing on leaves, 
though.  (He does comment that toasted ground hazelnuts, drunk 
with mead, are good for a persistent cough).

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)


Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 14:00:36 -0400
From: Kirrily Robert <skud at infotrope.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Hazelnuts are Filberts

>The name change was adopted in Oregon (the largest
>hazelnut producing state in the US), and is said to
>honor Saint Philbert, whos August 22nd Feast Day
>coincides with the beginning of hazelnut season in
>England (among other explanations).

I just happened across an illustration in "Pleasures and Pastimes in
Tudor England" (Alison Sim, Sutton Publishing 1999) which shows a chart
of letters and pictures intended to help children learn the alphabet.
Under "F" it has... a "filbert".  It looks like a nut and a leaf
attached to a twig.  The detail is sketchy as it's just a woodcut, but
it looks like it could be a hazelnut to me.

K.
- -- 
Kirrily 'Skud' Robert - skud at infotrope.net - http://infotrope.net/


Date: Wed, 2 May 2001 22:47:46 +0200
From: "Cindy M. Renfrow" <cindy at thousandeggs.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Hazel Leaves?

Balthazar asked for recipes that included hazel leaves...

Harleian MS. 279 - Potage Dyvers

Cxlj.  Noteye.  Take a gret porcyoun of Haselle leuys, & grynd in a morter
as smal as [th]ou may, whyl [th]at [th]ey ben [3]onge; take [th]an, & draw
vppe a [th]rift Mylke of Almaundys y-blaunchyd, & temper it with Freysshe
bro[th]e; wryng out clene [th]e Ius of [th]e leuys; take Fleysshe of Porke
or of Capoun, & grynd it smal, & temper it vppe with [th]e mylke, & caste
it in a potte, & [th]e Ius [th]er-to, do it ouer [th]e fyre & late it
boyle; take flour of Rys, & a-lye it; take & caste Sugre y-now [th]er-to, &
Vynegre a quantyte, & pouder Gyngere, & Safroun it wel, & Salt; take smal
notys, & breke hem; take [th]e kyrnellys, & make hem whyte, & frye hem vppe
in grece; plante [th]er-with [th]in mete & serue forth.

141.  Noteye.  Take a great portion of Hazel leaves, & grind in a mortar as
small as thou may, while that they are young; take then, & draw up a
thrifty Milk of Almonds blanched, & mix it with Fresh broth; wring out
clean the Juice of the leaves; take Flesh of Pork or of Capon, & grind it
small, & mix it up with the milk, & cast it in a pot, & the Juice thereto,
put it over the fire & let it boil; take flour of Rice, & mix it; take &
cast Sugar enough thereto, & Vinegar a quantity, & powdered Ginger, &
Saffron it well, & Salt; take small nuts,  & break them; take the kernels,
& make them white, & fry them up in grease; plant therewith [garnish] thine
meat & serve forth.


Harleian MS. 279 - Leche Vyaundez

xix.  Pome dorres.  Take Fylettys of Raw porke, & grynd hem wyl; do Salt
[and] pouder Pepir [th]er-to; [th]an take [th]e Whyte of the Eyroun [and]
[th]row [th]er-to, & make hem so hard [th]at [th]ey mow ben Rosted on a
Spete; make hem round as an Appil:  make fyre with-owte smoke; [th]en take
Almaunde mylke, & y-bontyd flour, do hem to-gederys; take Sugre, & putte in
[th]in bature; [th]en dore hem with sum grene [th]ing, percely or [3]olkys
of Eyroun, to-geder, [th]at [th]ey ben grene; & be wyl war [th]at [th]ey
ben nowt Browne; & sum men boyle hem in freysshe bro [th or [th]ey ben
spetid; & whan [th]ey ben so boylid, [th]en [th]ey must ben sette an kelid,
& [th]an Spete hem, & dore hem with [3]olkys of Eyroun y-mengyd with [th]e
Ius of haselle leuys.

19.  Pome dorres.  Take Fillets of Raw pork, & grind them well; put Salt
[and] powdered Pepper thereto; then take the White of the Egg [and] throw
thereto, & make them so hard that they might be Roasted on a Spit; make
them round as an Apple:  make fire without smoke; then take Almond milk,  &
sifted flour, put them together; take Sugar, & put in thine batter; then
glaze them with some green thing, parsley or yolks of Egg, together, that
they are green; & be well aware that they are not Brown; & some men boil
them in fresh broth before they are spitted; & when they are so boiled,
then they must be set and cooled, & then Spit them, & glaze them with yolks
of Eggs mixed with the Juice of hazel leaves.

Cindy


Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 16:43:59 +0200
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: "Cindy M. Renfrow" <cindy at thousandeggs.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Noce d'India (long)

>The editor of the full version of the Tacuin Sanitatis, Elkhadem,
>translates the arabic passages in question as "noix de coco". I guess
>that the translation in the picture version (Housebook of the Cerruti,
>etc.) is wrong: even in the picture versions the descripton says that
>fresh ones and sweet ones are preferable. Does "sweet" go with "nux
>moscato"?

I looked through Gerard's herball, & think I understand the source of some
of the confusion.  There are (at least) three Nux Indicas:

1-- Nux Indica arbor is the coconut tree and its fruits.

2-- Nucula Indica (on the same page), is called The little Indian Nut.

3-- "Nucula Indica racemosa. The Indian, or rather Ginny Nut", which I
believe to be the American Hazelnut.

Gerard speaks of the coconut and its uses by the natives. He does not
mention any part being used by Europeans except for the nutshell :
"Likewise they make of the shell of the Nut, cups to drink in, which we
likewise vse in England, garnished with siluer for the same purposes."


Of Nucula Indica, The little Indian Nut, Gerard says " we haue no certaine
knowledge from those that haue trauelled into the Indies, of the tree which
beareth this little Indian Nut; neither haue we any thing of our owne
knowledge, more, than that we see by experience that the fruit hereof is
lesser, wherein consisteth the difference."

Gerard's editor, Johnson, adds "The other, expressed in the same table with
the former, by the name of Mehenbethene, Clusius receiued it by the same
name from Cortusus of Padua: yet it doth not (as hee saith) well agree with
the description; and he rather approues of their opinion who refer it to
the Nux unguentaria, or Ben.  It is some inch long, of a triangular figure,
with a hard and wooddy shel: which broken, shewes three cells or
partitions, in each whereof is contained a long kernell white and sweet."

According to Gerard's description and picture of the little Indian nut,
this cannot be a nutmeg.  The little Indian nut has a 3-celled ovary,
whereas nutmeg has a single cell.

I believe that the illustration in Tacuinam Sanitatis is showing both Nux
Indica arbor and Nucula Indica. (It is obvious that the illustrator never
saw a coconut or coconut tree.) The tree in the illustration has large
round green fruits, each marked with 3 dark green spots "representing the
head of a Monkie" -- the coconuts. The fruit on the table is small, oval
with pointed ends, and red -- the little Indian nuts. *However*, the
properties given in the English translation match those given for Nutmeg by
Gerard (with the exception of "inflaming the male").  So, whoever
translated this mixed up coconuts and little Indian nuts with nutmeg.


A web search for mehenbethene yielded Canarium mehenbethene, commonly
called galap. See http://pbarc.ars.usda.gov/germplasm/canarium.htm for a
color picture.

>From http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/peopleplants/handbook/handbook3/ethno.htm :
"Seeds, in this case, are drupes: fleshy, indehiscent fruits that contain
one or more seeds, each surrounded by a stony layer. The fruits pictured
here are from Canarium indicum L. (Burseraceae), one of more than 50
species of Canarium distributed from West Africa to Polynesia. Although the
standard English common name of canarium nut is used for any nut of the
genus Canarium, each species has diverse indigenous names.
Canarium indicum, for example, is known as galip in Papua New Guinea, ngali
in the Solomon Islands and nangai in Vanuatu. Among edible nut trees of the
South Pacific, the genus Canarium is considered to be of particular
economic potential because the nuts have a delicate almond-like taste and a
hard non-perishable shell. The trees are widely distributed in Melanesia
and have a long history of cultivation, which has led to the selection of
several domesticates now recognized as distinct species. Additional
information about canarium and other edible nuts of the Pacific can be
found in Stevens, M.L., R.M. Bourke and B.R. Evans. 1996. South Pacific
Indigenous Nuts. Canberra, Australian Centre for International Agricultural
Research. Contact: Paul Ferrar, ACIAR, GPO Box 1571,  Canberra City 2601,
Australia, e-mail ferrar at aciar.gov.au "


Gerard's third Indian nut is listed under the heading "Of diuers sors of
Indian fruits". (Apparently he listed only the illustrations and the
descriptions were later added by Johnson.)  This appears to me to be a
picture of the American Hazelnut.  #24. "Nucula Indica racemosa. The
Indian, or rather Ginny Nut. ...the tree whereof this nut is the fruit
growes in Ginny, and is much vsed by the people there, for they presse a
liquor forth of the leaues, or else boyle them in water, & this serues them
in stead of wine & beare, or at least for a common drink, of the fruit they
make bread of a very sweet and pleasant taste."

Cindy


From: "Siegfried Heydrich" <baronsig at peganet.com>
To: <SCA-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 12:36:27 -0400
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Fruit & nut resource

    I linked into this site - it's a good repository of info on fruits &
nuts. All mundane, but it gives an historical thumbnail of the species. Well
worth the look.

http://www.uga.edu/hortcrop/rieger/

    Sieggy


Date: Fri, 07 Sep 2001 15:05:14 +0200
From: Volker Bach <bachv at paganet.de>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Period German Recipes

On the topic of German recipes, I finally found
the original for the nut porridge that went down
so well with our Shire's last A&S Meeting. It's
from Meister Eberhardt, late 15th century:

Ein gut mus zu machenn.
So nym nu=DF kernn vnd sto=DF die clein vnd streich
die durch mit einerr sussenn milch vnd mit
susser semell brosem, die wol gesotenn sein, vnd
thue schmalcz dar an genug vnd rurr es ab mit
eyer totternn vnd wurcz es wol vnd versalcz es
nit.

Rough translation (if I ever learn enough medieval
German I might try a translation of this source -
it's fascinating, expounding on the medical
virtues of various foods):

To make a good porridge (or mousse, or pudding,
I'm not sure)

Take nut kernels and pound it finely and pass it
through (a sieve or cloth) with sweet milk and
sweet breadcrumbs that are well boiled (?) and add
enough lard and stir it with egg yolks and season
it well and do not oversalt it.

I read a redaction on this that interpreted it as
a sweet dish, giving sugar and cinnamon for
seasonings. What I did back at our A&S meet was
grind hazelnuts and almonds, add brioche soaked in
milk, plenty of granulated sugar (brown looks
good) and powdered cinnamon and mush the whole
thing together. Adding enough milk to get a
thickly viscous consistency I heat this to a boil
(stir all the while and don't let it burn), then
add a egg yolks (three or four to a pound of
nuts), keep it hot till it thickens and pour it
into a cold dish to set. A fellow cook advised me
to use starch to bind it, which worked nicely.
This is good with fresh or preserved cherries.

Giano


Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 12:55:28 -0400
From: Tara <tsersen at nni.com>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] grinding nuts

My grandmother has one of those attachments for her meat grinder, and
we've used it for grinding nuts for nut roll.  We didn't do almonds, but
walnuts and pecans turned out so finely ground that I think it would
compare favorably to marzipan.

You could head to the grocery store and pick up a bag of almonds and
give it a try!  :)

-Magdalena

Jennifer Whitbeck wrote:
> I have a specific question about grinding almonds for
> marzipan.
>
> I will admit that I am, so far, a food processor user.
> Grinding by hand (with mortar and pestle) is a line I
> am not yet ready to cross (kudos to those of you who
> do!!!).
>
> Now, I recently picked up a couple of those old, iron
> grinders - that kind that includes a clamp to mount it
> to a counter or table top and is most commonly, YMMV,
> known as a "meat grinder." I got a bunch of other
> "blades" for it that supposedly enable it to grind
> different things to different textures. Some of these
> are labelled. In particular, one is labelled "Nut
> Butters".
>
> Does anyone think that could be used effectively to
> create a finer marzipan that what can be done in a
> food processor? Does anyone have any experience with
> grinding nuts in those grinders?
>
>    - Jennifer


From: "Elise Fleming" <alysk at ix.netcom.com>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 17:04:28 -0500
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Grinding Nuts

When I grind almonds for marzipan
I use the food processor.  I grind the almonds in fairly small
batches, mixing the ground ones in a larger bowl. I then re-grind
small batches.  Each batch is ground some 3-4 times.  You can feel
with your fingers that the mixture is getting finer and finer each
time.

Alys Katharine, overworked


From: "Olwen the Odd" <olwentheodd at hotmail.com>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] grinding nuts
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2001 20:47:51 +0000

>I have a specific question about grinding almonds for marzipan.
>    - Jennifer

I have used the grinders and they are ok.  I don't have, but have used a
food processer and that is one reason I don't have one, I have used a morter
and pesel with grand success and sore arms, I have used a hammer, I have
used a metal flattener, I have even gone so far as to run over a bag with a
steam roller (dry run)(no kidding!)which actually worked rather well.  And
**THAT** is why I buy the #10 7 pound can of already made paste.  Besides,
what I pay for 7 pounds already made is so much cheaper than the whole nuts.

Olwen, they don't call me odd for nutin!


From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Sieggy's feast
Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 06:42:03 -0500

Cashews (Anacardium occidentale) are a tropical New World nut.  So, not
before 1492 and very possible not in period at all.

Bear

>Anyone know if cashews were period to the Middle East or Europe?
>
>THLord  Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra


From: Carolbarke at aol.com
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 01:32:23 EDT
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Almond mill

'>>almond mill' (Mandelmuel) as a common
>kitchen implement (though it makes allowance for
>cooks not having one, telling them to use a mortar
>instead). Given the prevalence

Gee I'd really like to see a picture or the real thing of one of these
Mandelmuel's.<<

The latest catalog from king Arthur Flour has a nut mill in it.  It looks a
lot like a meat grinder, only slightly smaller

Aethelthryth (re-lurking)


From: "Dan Phelps" <phelpsd at gate.net>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] soup correction
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 18:27:15 -0800

In response to:
> > Are there any nut soups which are period? Or would this have been
> > considered peasant food and thus not written down in the books we
> > have?

I wrote:
> Didn't find any looked in Apicius, Early French, and the Medieval Kitchen.

I didn;t find any chestnut soups, did find an almond-milk soup in Medieval
Kitchen, pps 65 & 66, and an almond leek sauce in Early French p. 132 which
can be done as a soup.

Daniel Raoul


Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 12:16:52 -0500 (EST)
From: Gretchen M Beck <grm+ at andrew.cmu.edu>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org, sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] soup

Excerpts from internet.listserv.sca-cooks: 21-Nov-101 Re: [Sca-cooks]
soup by Stefan li Rous at texas.net
> Are there any nut soups which are period? Or would this have been
> considered peasant food and thus not written down in the books we
> have?

One of the various menus (perhaps the 2 15th C cookery books?) mentions
Almond soup.

toodles, margaret


From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2001 09:34:23 -0600
Subject: [Sca-cooks] RE: Sca-cooks digest, Vol 1 #1181 - 15 msgs

> Are pine nuts "nuts" from the allergy standpoint?
> Brangwayna Morgan

Yes.  Pine nuts are "nuts" for allergy purposes.  One of our local people is
anaphylactic to them and I get to work around the problem when I cook.

Bear


Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 18:00:04 -0500
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] A Cinnamon Tart

Barbara Benson writes:
>OK, on to the question. I prepared the below item and entered it into our
>local A&S competition (at that point I had not found the German, I had only
>the English translation by Valoise Armstrong). One of the questions that was
>brought out by the judges was regarding the almonds.
>
>The way I read the receipt it did not specify that the almonds be blanched -
>it just says ground. So I ground unblanched, skin on almonds and it provided
>a lovely flavor. The judges questioned weather or not the blanching would be
>a matter of course. I am not certain how to figure out the answer to this
>question - would the almonds have been blanched or not?

I know there've been a number of responses to this already, most of
which seemed eminently sensible. I'm going to throw in another aspect
I don't recall being mentioned in other responses.

If, as it seems, your judge is simply assuming all almond dishes
would have been based on blanched, peeled almonds, perhaps the
simplest solution would be to show specific documentation for the
practice of not blanching them. Both de Nola and Platina, among
others, both include recipes for mirrauste de Catalonia (spelling may
vary from source to source), calling for the almonds to be ground and
used specifically in unblanched form. The same goes for both Le
Menagier de Paris and Taillevent, who include, IIRC,
terra-cotta-colored "tile" dishes (generally meat sauced with spiced
milk from unblanched almonds, to give it a russet color, fairly
similar to the mirrauste dishes).

One could argue that, since these dishes are specifically mentioned
as being made from unblanched nuts, other dishes that don't specify
must be made from blanched almonds. But just as easily, one could
argue that if the recipe intended the almonds to be blanched, it's no
skin off his almonds to say so.

There now. I've got through all this without once saying a word about
silly artificial competitions and incompetent judges... ;-)

Adamantius


Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2003 10:50:19 -0400
From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] green almonds
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On Saturday, July 5, 2003, at 04:16  AM, Mark S. Harris wrote:
> Olwen gave a recipe from a website (maybe of questionable authenticity) for
> Lamb with broad beans (fava beans) and artichokes
> Which contained:
> 10 green almonds, fresh or pickled
> I assume these are less than fully ripe almonds. Where would you get
> these today? Has anyone seen these in Middle Eastern markets?
> Stefan

Yup. They're the almond equivalent of the jelly coconut. The immature
shell is a little like the shell of a baby fava bean or those green
Japanese soybeans, and the future nut kernel is translucent, succulent,
and a curious mix of the crisp and the gelatinous. Well, kinda like a
jelly coconut. You eat the whole thing.

They sometimes show up in the more serious ME markets (as in, those
that cater to Middle Eastern communities, rather than your local place
you go to buy pitas and hummus) in the springtime. They may also show
up in expensive gourmet food shops, but I haven't seen them in any of
ours.

If you can find them (I noticed them this year but didn't buy any),
they're good in compost. I've done a quick/cooked version of the
pickle, essentially a synthesis of the Forme of Cury and the Le
Menagier recipes.

Adamantius


Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 09:13:25 -0500
From: johnna holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Walnuts and nut cracking devices
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

I have read that people leave them in their driveways and drive over
them to loosen the husks. I can remember as a child sitting on the
concrete cistern platform (top of the cistern) at my grandparent's and
cracking them using hammers and screws and other assorted hardware that
was there. It was always a chore and they stained the hands and clothing
just from that activity. My books on rural life that might have a
picture are packed. I wonder of they were milled or run between grinding
stones in some fashion, but that is a guess.

Johnnae llyn Lewis

Sharon Gordon wrote:
> I am looking for something which does a good job of getting the outer 
> (green tennis ball like) shell off a walnut.  Any suggestions?
>
> For people who like to save the shells for dyeing fabric, is it better 
> to freeze them or dry them or ???
>
> I have a nut cracker that does well for thinner shells.  And I was 
> wondering what pre 1600 nut cracking devices and nut picks looked like?
>
> Sharon
> gordonse at one.net


Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 12:28:49 -0800 (PST)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Walnuts and nut cracking devices
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Actually it is the husks that are used for
dyeing, not the shells.

It is always a chore to get the husks off, if
they are picked a little green.  When the nut is
perfectly ripe, then the husks loosen naturally
and you should have little problem removing them.

The biggest problem is removing the juicy husks
without staining your hands and clothing.  If the
husk dries to the shell, then you have an equally
big mess and the nuts are difficult to shell.

I don't know what was done in period, but I do
know that in mundania, I wear rubber gloves and a
rubber apron to husk the nuts.  And by rubber
gloves, I mean the ones you use for washing
dishes, etc.  Not the disposable ones, which have
a bad failure rate and you will end up with brown
fingers in no time at all.  Leather gloves don't
protect you at all, either.

Huette


Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 10:41:44 -0600 (CST)
From: "Pixel, Goddess and Queen" <pixel at hundred-acre-wood.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Walnuts and nut cracking devices
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On Sun, 26 Oct 2003, Sharon Gordon wrote:
> I am looking for something which does a good job of getting the outer (green
> tennis ball like) shell off a walnut.  Any suggestions?

Hammers. Squirrels do pretty well, too, but they're not likely to give the 
nut back.
 
> For people who like to save the shells for dyeing fabric, is it better to
> freeze them or dry them or ???

Drying is fine. When you dye with them you just bash them up and soak them 
for a while in a bucket of water.


Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 08:57:51 -0800 (PST)
From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Hazelnut a new world food?
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Yes.  Hazelnuts were available on both sides of
the Atlantic.  The European Hazelnut is native to
Italy, Greece and Asia Minor.  Another variety is
native to England. The earliest mention was
Theophrastes in the 4th century BC.  

When the Pilgrims came to America, they found a
small, native Hazelnut, but they decided that
their native English Hazelnut was superior and
sent home for seeds.  The majority of the
hazelnuts grown in the US are descendants of the
English Hazelnut.

Huette


Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 11:49:34 -0600
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Hazelnut a new world food?
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Hazelnuts (or filberts, from the Middle English "philber" after St. Philbert
whose feast day is in August when the nuts ripen) are the nuts of hazel
trees (genus Corylus) and are primarily from the European species, C. maxima
and C. aveliena.  C. americana is the New World hazel.

Bear


Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 20:08:17 -0500
From: "Dan helps" <phelpsd at gate.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] hazelnuts
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Regards:
I always turn to "The Book
> of Edibles Nuts" by Fredric Rosengarten, Jr. 1984 ISBN 0-8027-0769-9.  His
> chapter six from page 94 to 115 discusses the Filbert (Hazelnut) in  great
> detail.  That chapter leads off with a woodcut botanical illustration from
> "The Herball or eneral Historie of Plantes" John Gerarde. London 1636.
> <<<
Was written:
> This does sound like a useful book. I wonder how limiting it is  because it
> says "edible nuts". Does he mention acorns for instance?

My reply:

Yes Part II, Thirty Other Edibe Nuts starts off with Acorns... pages  
265 to
269.

Daniel


Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 00:34:06 -0500
From: ranvaig at columbus.rr.com
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Pistachio Marzipan
To: mooncatin-tch.com, Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

> *sigh*
> They're five dollars a pound, here, and only come salted....
> --mair, who'd love to find unsalted ones for pastries...

Are there any Indian stores near you?  I find them the best place for
unsalted pistachios.
Ranvaig


Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 22:54:14 -0500
From: "a5foil" <a5foil at ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cilantro Potaje
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

You did not use Spanish Marcona almonds, did you? They are significantly
oilier than California snack almonds, and we have found that they grind very
differently. Also, if you have to use Cal nuts, instead of adding water 
try adding almond oil.

Cynara

From: <lilinah at earthlink.net>
> Saturday His Grace, Duke Cariadoc, and his Lady Betty Cook, hosted a
> cooking experium - they printed out a buch of recipes and those
> attending each selected one and gave it a whirl. This time they were
> all from either the Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook or the 1529 De Nola.
>
> One recipe that was worked out was the Potaje de Culantro from De
> Nola (trans. oforig. recipe below).
>
> While the final dish was interesting and i would eat it again, it was
> certainly not worth the enormous amount of effort Halima, who cooked
> it, expended.
>
> The text implies that it is moist, but grinding the quantity of nuts
> and cilantro that Halima used did not result in anything at all
> moist. Halima tried grinding the ingredients by hand, then grinding
> them in a food processor and grinding the resultant stiff paste by
> hand in a mortar (enlisting the assistance of som other
> participants). I suggested adding some water, which she did (a
> relatively small amount), then forcing the resultant paste through a
> wire sieve. The final dish was almost as thick as a nut butter, but
> not as oily. Now, i like eating nut buttrs straight from the jar,
> but others might not, so...
>
> I was wondering if anyone else had tried it, what they did, and what
> were the results.
>
> I suspect that, among other things, we needed a lot more cilantro and
> fewer nuts...
>
> Anahita
>
> 0. ANOTHER POTTAGE OF CORIANDER CALLED THE THIRD
> OTRO POTAJE DE CULANTRO LLAMADO TERCIO
> http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MANUSCRIPTS/Guisados1-art.html
>
> You must take green coriander, and cut it finely, and grind it in a
> mortar together withdry coriander, and then take toasted almonds and
> toasted hazelnuts, and grind them separately in a mortar; and when
> they are well-ground, mix them with the almonds, and resume grinding
> everything together; and when it is well-ground, strain it throuh a
> woolen cloth, and set it to cook in the pot; and cast in all fine
> spices with saffron, and vinegar, and sugar; and set it to cook with
> little fire just until it is a little thickened; and remove it from
> the fire, and prepare dishes, and upon tem cast sugar and cinnamon.


Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 09:28:36 -0500 (GMT-05:00)
From: Robin Carroll-Mann <rcmann4 at earthlink.net>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Cilantro Potaje
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

I sent a long and detailed reply to the list last night, and it never 
appeared.  Here is a briefer version.

I have never redacted this recipe, but my educated guess is that it is 
supposed to be much more liquid -- a nut-milk seasoned with herbs.  I 
base this on the following points:

1. The verb used in the recipe is "cozer" (to cook).  This verb can 
mean cooking in general, but it also means boiling or cooking in 
liquid.  A "cocido" is a boiled dish.

2. It's to be cooked until it thickens a little.  A nut-paste really 
can't thicken noticeably, but nut-milks do thicken when heated.

3. The dish is a "potaje".  The earliest definitions of this word say 
that it is "the broth of the pot, or other liquid foodstuffs".  The 
derivation is from the Latin "potare" (drink).

4. It is common for medieval recipes to omit essential but well-known 
steps.  I think, based on the information above, that a medieval cook 
would understand that the ground almonds and hazelnuts are to be drawn 
up with a liquid.

I would recommend using either chicken broth, as in the next recipe 
(for hazelnut pottage), or salted water (for a Lenten/vegetarian 
version).

Just my two maravedis,
Brighid ni Chiarain


Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2004 08:21:54 -0400
From: Patrick Levesque <pleves1 at po-box.mcgill.ca>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] pigeons and small birds
To: "Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>"
	<sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

>> Okay Petru, what are umbrella nuts?
>> Huette
>
> The nuts from Pinus pinea, the Stone pine.
> Bear

Yup. I've seen it called as well the Umbrella pine, (the french equivalent
is 'pin parasol'). I have never tasted this specific variety, so I can't
tell how different they would be from regular pine nuts (which is what I
used in other recipes calling for these).

It seems to be produced commercially still in Australia and Italy. Anyone
there can give us more information?

Petru


Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2004 11:02:22 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] pigeons and small birds
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

My experience has been that pine nuts vary less in general flavor and more
in oilyness.  My personal favorite is pinon nuts (P. edulis) which I find to
have a little crisper texture than some of the other pine nuts I can  
get.

As a small aside, the Stone pine and the pinon pine, are the major species
producing umbrella and pinon nuts.  Commercial interests also collect nuts
from other species of pines (whose nuts may have textural differences to the
primary species) and market them as umbrella and pinon nuts.

Bear


Date: Mon, 09 Aug 2004 08:42:20 -0700
From: Susan Fox-Davis <selene at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] keeping qualities of almonds
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Stefan li Rous wrote:
> We already have discussed how whole spices keep much better than
> ground spices but do unblanched almonds keep better than blanched
> almonds? Anyone know?

Yes.  Skin keeps the goodness inside.  Better still, keep the unblanched
nuts in a zipper bag in the freezer.

Selene


Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 21:56:37 -0500
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Hester Spoon Nuts
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

>> If it's Pre-Columbian, then forget cashews.  They are a tropical New 
>> world nut from Anacardium occidentale.
>>
>> Bear
>
> I thought there were cashews in Asia, but they may have been brought 
> there.
>
> Adamantius

According to the quick ref, it New World.  Since cashew derives from a
Portuguese word derived from Tupi, I suspect it is Brazilian and a
Portuguese import into Asia.

Bear


Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 08:56:07 -0400
From: Daniel Myers <edouard at medievalcookery.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] sugared nuts
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On Oct 22, 2004, at 12:41 AM, The Borg wrote:
> Does anybody have a recipe for sugared nuts? My room mate in Dun Carriag had
> one but I don't remember what book she got it out of and I can't find 
> one.

My version of Rumpolt's recipe is online.
	http://www.medievalcookery.com/recipes/almonds.html

My wife prefers almonds flavored with rose water, the local group likes 
hazelnuts with cinnamon, and the midrealm laurelate (I'm told) liked 
walnuts flavored with saffron the best.

- Doc
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
  Edouard Halidai  (Daniel Myers)
  http://www.medievalcookery.com/


Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 09:06:29 -0400
From: Bill Fisher <liamfisher at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] sugared nuts
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 00:41:51 -0400, The Borg <the_borg1 at comcast.net> wrote:
> Does anybody have a recipe for sugared nuts? My room mate in Dun Carriag had
> one but I don't remember what book she got it out of and I can't find one.
> 
> Elewyiss

I think platina has one that is just  nuts, sugar and heat?

I'd be sure but I can't find my book......*grumbles*

Cadoc


Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 1422:18 -0400
From: Elaine Koogler <ekoogler1 at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] sugared nuts
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

I used this recipe with great success at an event some time back.
Thought this might help:

*Confiture de noiz*

Prenez avant la saint Jehan noiz nouvelles et les pelez et perciez et
mectez en eaue freshce tremper par .ix. jour, et chacun jour renoivellez
l’eue, puis les laisser secer et emplez les pertuiz de cloz de giroffle
et de gingembre et mectez boulir en miel et illec les laissiez en
conserve. – (Menagier de Paris*/ /*from /Early French Cookery/, Scully).

Yield—about 2 cups

Redaction—by Scully

1 cup liquid honey
10 - 15 whole cloves
2 Tbsp. finely sliced slivers of fresh ginger
8 oz whole or halved (or large pieces) walnuts

1. Combine honey and spices over low heat.
2. Let spices marinate in warm honey for 5 - 10 minutes.
3. Add walnuts and bring toa boil.
4. Cook, stirring occasionally until honey reaches soft ball stage.
5. Spoon out walnuts (include some cloves & ginger), and set them to
cool and harden on tinfoil.
6. Store in tightly sealed container.

This is REALLY good stuff...and my feasters seemed to really enjoy it.

Kiri


Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2004 16:23:04 -0400
From: Daniel Myers <edouard at medievalcookery.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Sugared Nuts
To: alysk at ix.netcom.com, Cooks within the SCA
	<sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On Oct 22, 2004, at 2:09 PM, Elise Fleming wrote:
> Doc replied:
>> Was only repeating what one mistress told me. Perhaps therewas a
>> sampling error in my data collection ;-)
>
> Or, more likely, it was one large, vocifierous Laurel who oohed, aahed, and
> ate lots of the saffron ones and made lots of noise about how delicious
> they were.  They were super!!!  May I have the ecipes??  Please???

Certainly!  The basic recipe is the one I got from Rumpolt (see below).
   For the flavorings, I added 2-3 tablespoons rosewater to the sugar
syrup for the almonds, a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon for the
hazelnuts, and one whole ja of saffron (.1 oz? - the standard bottle
from the grocery - about $8 worth) for the walnuts.

http://www.medievalcookery.com/recipes/almonds.html

Sugared Almonds

1 pound almonds, blanched and peeled
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. rose water
dash cinnmon  (I think I left this out for the batch of almonds I made
for Pennsic)

Mix sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer
until the syrup reaches 225°F, then add the rose water and set heat to
low. Then put the almonds into a large an over low heat. Add the syrup
to the almonds a couple of tablespoons at a time, stirring them
constantly and allowing them to dry out before adding more. As things
progress then shaking the pan may work better than stirring it. When
the almonds are competely coated sprinkle with cinnamon and allow to
cool.

Source [Ein new Kochbuch, M. Rumpolt, M. Grasse (trans.)]: Almonds
coated. [...] Of assorted roots that have a welltasting scent/smell. If
you wish such comfits to coat with sugar so take a clean coper vessel
that has two handholds hang it in the height on a rope at both
handholds set a glow kettle with glowing coals thereunder put the
comfits into the vessel and make it fine warm pour nice clarified
(clean) sugar thereto and stir it often therewith ill the confits the
sugar takes to it so it becomes nice white and dry. Also coats one
assorted grains with sugar and assorted spices so it becomes good and
also welltasting.

Mandeln vberzogen. [...] Von allerley Wurtzeln die ein wolgeschmackten
geruch hben. Wenn du ein solches Confect wilt vberziehn mit Zucker so
nim[m] ein sauber töepffern Becken das zwo Handhaben hat hengs in die
höeh an ein Strick zu beyden Handhaben setz ein glut Kessel mit
glüenden Kohlen darvnter thu das Confect in das Becken vnndmachs fein
warm geusz schöen geläeuterten Zucker darzu vnd rüer es offt darmit
bisz das Confect den Zucker an sich nimpt so wirt es schöen weisz vnd
trucken. Also vberzeucht man allerley Korn mit Zucker vnd allerley
Gewüertz so wirt es gut vnnd auch wolgechmack.

- Doc
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
   Edouard Halidai  (Daniel Myers)
   http://www.medievalcookery.com/


Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 10:57:12 -0600
From: "caointiarn" <caointiarn1 at juno.com>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] a question on pine nuts
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

okay, if you have One pine nut in your right hand, and TWO pine nuts in  
your left hand,  what do you have???

  a difference of a pinyon . . . . .

{giggiling manically and running for the Rock}
Caointairn


Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 09:06:31 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Book of Edible Nuts was Indian Nut
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Dover released an inexpensive paperback of

The Book of Edible Nuts in 2004.

Used prices start under $10 also for the book, in
case anyone wants to pick up a copy.

Johnnae

Daniel Phelps wrote:
> Check the Flori as I think that there is some information there in regards
> our previous discussion a while back.  Be that as it may check the popular
> reference book "The Book of Edible Nuts" by Frederic Rosengarten,  
> Jr. snipped
>
> Daniel


Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 14:02:27 -0400
From: "Daniel  Phelps" <phelpsd at gate.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Book of Edible Nuts was Indian Nut
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

> Dover released an inexpensive paperback of
> The Book of Edible Nuts in 2004.
>
> Used prices start under $10 also for the book, in
> case anyone wants to pick up a copy.

I can recommend it as an excellent work regards the subject.  I picked up my
copy in West Palm Beach second hand.  Mine is hardback with a dust jacket
and signed.  He also wrote a book on spice titled "The Book of Spices" but I
do not have a copy.

Daniel


Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2005 06:37:06 -0700 (PDT)
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 15:35:06 -0400
From: "Daniel  Phelps" <phelpsd at gate.net>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] re Nuts; The Walnut
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

While looking up the entry for acorns in Rosengarten I read the  
following on walnuts:

"The green immature walnut, including the husk, is edible.  In England,
young walnuts are traditional delicacies when pickled.  While still green,
the are gathered in June or July, then soaked in salt and water for about
ten days before being placed in vinegar.  Green walnuts can also be made
into walnut marmalade, added to jams, or preserved whole in syrup.  A nut
brandy can be prepared from green walnuts."

Does anyone have any information regarding period recipes for pickled
walnut, marmalade or walnut preserves?  Has anyone tasted any of  
these?  How about walnut brandy?

Daniel


Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2005 00:52:10 -0400
From: Daniel Myers <eduard at medievalcookery.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] re Nuts; The Walnut
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On Sep 10, 2005, at 3:35 PM, Daniel Phelps wrote:
> Does anyone have any information regarding period recipes for pickled
> walnut, marmalade or walnut preserves?  Has anyone tasted any of
> these?  How about walnut brandy?

I've never tried it out, but there's this one:

WALNUT PRESERVE. Take, before St. John's Day, fresh walnuts and peel
them and pierce them, and put to soak in cold water for nine days,
and each day renew the water: then let them dry, and fill the holes
with cloves and ginger, and boil in honey, and thus keep them
preserved.  [Le Menagier de Paris (Janet Hinson, trans.)]

- Doc


Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2005 10:21:58 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] re Nuts; The Walnut
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Nostradamus included a recipe "How to Preserve  Walnuts"
in his book. It's translated in The Elixers of  Nostradamus.
It's basicly says preserve them with sugar or honey but in times
of shortages you can use the following recipes. Then there are pages
of the following recipes. He also uses walnuts in some of the cosmetics.
I don't have time at the moment to copy it out, but will do so
later if no one else.

Johnnae


Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2005 22:53:27 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] re Nuts; The Walnut
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Another recipe for walnuts can be found in
Peter G. Rose's translation of The Sensible Cook. The recipe
is titled "To candy green walnuts." Again you are to pick them
on St. John's Day. see page 97 of the text.

This recipe may also be found in the book Matters of Taste, edited
by Donna Barnes and Peter Rose. See page 114 for recipe.

  The modern recipe is included in the accompanying recipe book
under the title "Candied Young Walnuts." It's on page 27.

Johnnae llyn Lewis


Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 21:06:00 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Middle-Eastern 'Nibbles'?
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

So the "bellaria" mentioned by Platina don't count as
spiced nuts? Even with sugar?

"There is an order to be observed in taking food, since everything that
moves the bowels and whatever is of light and slight nourishment, like
apples and pears is more safely and pleasantly eaten in the first
course. I even add lettuce and whatever is served with vinegar and oil,
raw or cooked. Then there are eggs, especially the soft-cooked kind, and
certain sweets which we call bellaria, seasoned with spices and pine
nuts, or honey, or sugar. These are served very appropriately to
guests." Platina I.16

On Sugar

"By melting it, we make almonds (softened and cleaned in water), pine
nuts, hazelnuts, coriander, anise, cinnamon, and many other things into
sweets. Platina II.15

Milham, M. trans. Platina. On Right Pleasure and Good Health. MRTS, 1998

Johnnae

lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:

>> Now here's the second question-what would a Middle Eastern
>> Savoury/nibble be like? Cheese? Spiced roasted almonds?
>
> I've never seen spiced almonds in a period cookbook, but there are
> smoked and spice olives, which i have made for several feasts. (recipe
> below)
>
> Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
> the persona formerly known as Anahita


Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 21:29:21 -0700
From: "Nick Sasso" <grizly at mindspring.com>
Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Middle-Eastern 'Nibbles'?
To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

> -----Original Message-----
> So the "bellaria" mentioned by Platina don't count as
> spiced nuts? Even with sugar?
>
> "There is an order to be observed in taking food, since everything that
> moves the bowels and whatever is of light and slight nourishment, like
> apples and pears is more safely and pleasantly eaten in the first
> course. I even add lettuce and whatever is served with vinegar and oil,
> raw or cooked. Then there are eggs, especially the soft-cooked kind, and
> certain sweets which we call bellaria, seasoned with spices and pine
> nuts, or honey, or sugar. These are served very appropriately to
> guests." Platina I.16

On first reading, the syntax would suggest that "bellaria" are some sort of
sweet that is seasoned with both spices and nuts, or a sweetener.  That
would suggest that the whole item is more that simply nuts and sugar/spices.
Maybe a pastry of some sort or other??   It also is worth noting that  
the nuts and sugar are in an 'or' statement.

niccolo difrancesc


Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2005 14:47:13 -0700
From: Susan Fox <selene at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Another ME question
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On 10/26/05 2:27 PM, "cldyroz at aol.com" <cldyroz at aol.com> wrote:
> In preparing Hais, it calls for ground pastachios. All I can find are the
> roasted and salted kind. the Almonds in the recipe are raw, so I would think
> the pastachios should be, as well.
> I am also having serious issues over the price ($10 a lb). This is a nut we do
> not like, and if I buy what is available on the market, (which is by one pound
> packaging) there is a lot of waste happening.

Roasted pistachios would work well enough, you can always shell them and
rinse them a bit to rid them of skin and salt and allow to dry on a towel.
However if you don't like them, don't use them!

> Walnuts, I do have on hand, in plenty, and they are more or less free
> (i.e.-already paid for, 'left-overs' from a mundane project).
>
> Would walnuts work in Hais?

I do not see why they would not work.  You might want to handle them a
little more gently since they crush more easily than almonds or pistachios.
I would rub the whole nutmeats a bit to rid them of loose skin, which is the
part that many people [myself included] cause a bit of sensitivity in the
mouth.  Then chop finely and continue with the rest of the recipe as
written.

Desert peoples are practical folk, if you have walnuts, use walnuts!

Selene


Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 08:03:19 -0500
From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius"
	<adamantius.magister at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are sugared almonds?
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On Nov 10, 2005, at 6:58 AM, Volker Bach wrote:
> I was idly wondering whether it would be defensible to add sugared almonds to
> the dessert table of a feast themed '13th century Mediterranean'. Arab
> influences are not a problem (the dessert subteltie is supposed to be 'the
> Fleet of Roger II returning from Mahdia with tribute', but I don't know that
> much about sugar cooking. How old is that particular confection?
>
> Giano

Off the top of my head, I _think_ one of the early specific
references to them is Chiquart's early 15th century "Du fait de
cuisine", but I get the feeling they're older than that.

Adamantius


Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 16:36:38 +0100
From: Volker Bach <carlton_bach at yahoo.de>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are sugared almonds?
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Am Donnerstag, 10. November 2005 14:03 schrieb Phil Troy / G. Tacitus
Adamantius:
> Off the top of my head, I _think_ one of the early specific
> references to them is Chiquart's early 15th century "Du fait de
> cuisine", but I get the feeling they're older than that.

That's what I thought. I can place them in the fifteenth century, and unless
I'm much mistaken the 'epices de chambre' mentioned in the fourteenth use a
similar process, but before that it gets dark for me. I haven't done much
sugar cooking or related research, though.

Giano


Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2005 19:19:31 -0500
From: Daniel Myers <eduard at medievalcookery.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are sugared almonds?
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

The recipe I have on hand comes from Rumpolt (1581)

http://www.medievalcookery.com/recipes/almonds.html

- Doc


Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 11:22:13 -0800
From: David Friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are sugared almonds?
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Islamic cookbooks go further back than that.
There are two translated ones from the 13th
century, and an untranslated collection from the
tenth century.

The 13th c. Andalusian cookbook, webbed on my
site, has quite a lot of recipes that use almonds
and sugar or honey, but I haven't found anything
that I would describe as "sugared almonds."
Generally the almonds are pounded or at least cut
in pieces. For instance:

Sukkariyya, a Sugar Dish

Take a ratl and a half of sugar and throw in
rosewater and water to cover. Stir it and pound
it. Clarify it with a sieve in a ceramic [hantam]
vessel and add an û qiya of honey for each ratl.
Take a ratl of peeled white almonds and cut them
into thirds and quarters. Return it to the fire,
cook it until it coagulates, and take it to a
platter which has been greased with almond oil
and roll it out on a marble sheet. Cut it as you
will. Dust it with sugar and do the same with
pistachio, pine nuts and walnuts. And test it to
see whether it takes them. And throw it on the
salâ ya (stone work surface)...[some five words
missing]...thin and it is very good. Then make
with it what you may want. If you want it with
camphor and aromatic spices, grind whatever of
them you want and sprinkle them over it, if God
wishes.

> By the time one gets to the early 14th or 13th centuries
> there aren't that many surviving recipe collections anyway.
> Recipes circa 1300 and earlier?
> It's dark for everyone. Regular recipes are hard to locate for  
> those eras.
> Confectionary recipes are even harder to find. There are mentions in
> apothecary literature and in household accounts that such things were
> purchased or available for purchase, but recipes for them????
>
> Johnnae
>
>> That's what I thought. I can place them in the
>> fifteenth century, and unless I'm much mistaken
>> the 'epices de chambre' mentioned in the
>> fourteenth use a similar process, but before
>> that it gets dark for me. I haven't done much
>> sugar cooking or related research, though. Giano


Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 07:35:22 -0600
From: James Prescott <prescotj at telusplanet.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] pistachio marzipan?
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>,	SCA-Cooks
	maillist SCA-Cooks <SCA-Cooks at Ansteorra.org>

At 16:46 -0500 2006-10-13, Stefan li Rous wrote:
>  'Lainie mentioned:
>  "Lessee what I can remember... Gyngerbrede, shortbread,
>  marzipan, pistachio marzipan, White Torta, candied orange peels, apricot
>  roses, some almond and honey candy..."
>
>  "pistachio marzipan"? I assume, since you also mention just
>  "marzipan" that this is marzipan made using pistachios, rather than
>  almonds?

"Ouverture de Cuisine" by Lancelot de Casteau (Liege 1604) has two
recipes for sugar nut mixtures, neither strictly a marzipan since
(among other things) the nuts are chopped coarsely rather than
ground finely.  One is made using pine nuts, and one is made using
pistachios.  The pistachios are removed from the shells, soaked
in hot water to make them green, chopped coarsely, then dried
before being added to a sugar/rose water/egg white syrup.

Thorvald


Date: Mon, 01 Jan 2007 13:21:08 -0500
From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Strange questions for the New Year
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

On Jan 1, 2007, at 12:57 PM, Devra at aol.com wrote:
> The local (to Weight Watchers)  greengrocers seem to
> carry green, fuzzy, unripe almonds and also pistachios.  What does
> one do with these?

They can be sliced (raw or lightly blanched) and put in salads (this
is apparently a Middle Eastern Thing), behaving a lot like edamame or
baby fava beans, and then, of course, one can dig out the Menagier
recipe for compost that calls for new nuts...

>         Devra the slightly confused  (and a happy new year to all)

Adamantius


Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 19:07:12 -0800
From: Lilinah <lilinah at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Strange questions for the New Year
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

> The local (to Weight Watchers)  greengrocers  seem to
> carry green, fuzzy, unripe almonds and also pistachios.  What does  
> one do with these?

I don't know about the pistachios, but green almonds are eaten as is,
fuzzy part and all dipped in salt.

Here are various info bits i found on the net (i didn't save the
URLs, but if one puts partial quotes into a search engine, they
should turn up)

--- Quote One ---
...Take the dish shown on the cover, for example, a quiet still life
of sliced prosciutto, green almonds and white rose nectarines. The
shiny green almonds in the photograph, slipped out of their fuzzy,
green pods, are marvelous things, a San Francisco cult ingredient at
the moment, but are only available at a very few farmers' markets,
and even then, for just a few weeks in early to mid-spring. The
nectarines, a delicious white-fleshed variety, are also an organic
farmers' market specialty (you won't find them at Ralphs) and don't
become really ripe until summer. The Parma prosciutto isn't rare, but
is pretty hard to find outside of certain urban areas. The recipe is
simple - slice nectarines, shell almonds, serve - but in its platonic
form, it might be possible maybe one or two weeks each year, and then
only in the Bay Area. The dish made with blanched regular almonds,
Rodgers' alternate suggestion, was almost mockingly inadequate
--- End One ---

--- Quote Two ---
My friend Joan has client-friends, Sue and Karl, who run Morton
Almond Farms, a 40-acre family almond farm near Modesto, Calif. Last
week, Sue showed up at work with a big zippered bag of green almonds,
which Joan couriered back to Pittsburgh in her carry-on.

The whole fruit, about an inch long, is picked in the early stage of
growth before the shell and nut have hardened, and it is covered in
downy fuzz. Cut through, the outer skin is the color of wasabi, the
flesh the hue of avocado and the baby nut is a pale, well, almond
color. Infant almonds are in markets in the Middle East and the
Mediterranean, where there is a profusion of almond orchards.

In Iran, in early spring, street vendors offer salted fresh, green
almonds as a popular snack. Cookbook author Paula Wolfert says they
can be scattered on a salad of orange and mint or included in a
tagine or stew. Chopped, they're often added to yogurt. Since this
was a first for me, I was content to be minimalist. I served them
chilled and dipped into coarse salt and nibbled them, velvety coating
and all. The flavor is slightly acidic, slightly green-herby and not
at all like the mature almonds we buy shelled.
--- End Two ---

--- Quote Three ---
In Turkey, when they are crisp, fuzzy and green, they are delicious
with a glass of anise flavored raki. If you find them too sour, you
can soak them in salted water for a short time or if you don't,
simply split the hull in half, discard the gelatinous liquid, pick up
one of the halves and dip into into fine salt before popping in your
mouth.
In southeastern Turkey, they are used as a garnish in cold yogurt soup.

By midsummer when the fruit mutates, the membrane turns into a hard
shell, and the fluid inside turns into a moist, sweet teardrop-shaped
fresh green almond---this is when I've seen Tunisians scatter them on
salads and Moroccans use them in their chicken with turmeric and
ginger kdra tagines. To open them up you will need to stick them in a
350 oven for a few minutes then run a knife along the slit. Some
chefs soak them in salted water with a little milk to firm them up so
they can be sauteed or sliced.

Two years ago, I bought some from Big valley farms... http:// 
www.bignut.com
--- End Three ---
[Urtatim notes: I don't know the date of the above post - it could
have been from summer 2006, or from 10 years ago]

--- Quote Four ---
...Alan Davidson (Oxford Companion to Food) wrote a splendid long
entry in which he mentioned that "'green' (immature, soft) almonds
are eaten in some places as titbits" without adding more specifics.
- snip-

He wrote that in Western Europe, Provence is the northern limit of
almond cultivation. Any search for old French recipes using "green
almonds" would (I guess) have to concentrate on Provence, although I
vaguely remember seeing almond trees and orchards as far north as the
Loire (where, of course, the climate is generally mild). He wrote
that the almond was being grown in the south of France as early as
the 8th c BCE, and suggested that it was the Phoenicians (ancestors
of modern day Lebanese) who introduced its cultivation.
-snip-

Finally hit a jackpot when I discovered a splendid recipe in Claudia
Roden (the volume on Jewish Food) for "Agneau aux fe`ves vertes et
aux amandes". She notes that this is an ancient Berber dish (Morocco)
and as the seasons for green almonds and springtime favas coincide,
the dish is usually made during the Passover season (served between
Purim and Pesach//elsewhere, I learned that Iraqi Jews nibbled on
green almonds seasoned with salt and pepper while the Haggadah is
being read). Her recipe actually calls for blanched almonds although
she notes that the original dish is made with the small unripe fruit.
I don't have the recipe with me at the moment, but remember it as
being quite simple. Lamb is browned, and then simmered in
water/salt/pepper/a bit of mace until tender. Two chopped onions are
sauteed and stirred with the green almonds, favas and honey into the
stew. My! I will have to find someone to make me this dish this
spring!

Olney, of course, mentions green almonds. This occurs three times in
the index to his coffee-table volume on Provence. He says that green
almonds are usually chopped up and used in omelettes (he gives a
recipe for zucchini and green almond omelette), salad and dessert. He
notes that the season in Provence is late June/early July (more on
the season for this state of the fruit later). He also gives a recipe
for a mace'doine of fruit in Bandol wine. Since he provides this
recipe from the Var, I thought that the cookbook he wrote with Lulu
(Madame Lucien Peyraud of Tempier) would defintely have another
recipe. But I didn't see any on one quick look-through. There's
nothing in his other books either. And nothing either in the first
cookbook of one of his most famous disciples, Alice Waters.

I have not yet searched carefully through the cookbooks of celebrity
chefs (but found one recipe for a peach/green almond dessert in Roger
Verge's book on fruits). A colleague familiar with the European
Michelin circuit told me that it is becoming the
ingredient-of-the-moment! He said that it has been spotted at Raco de
Can Fabes, Santi Santamaria's Michelin 3-star a short drive away from
Barcelona. I had not thought to check my El Bulli cookbooks but will
comb through Ferran Adria's (and Alberto's!) recipes tonight to see
if anything could be found.

Did a little website search as well. Found lots of references to
salted green almonds enjoyed as street food or as a snack item in the
context of Lebanese, Syrian, Israeli, Iraqi, Iranian cultures.
- snip -

Finally, one little question about why, given the importance of the
almond industry to California, no one has thought to market the green
unripe fruit. Could it be that this is not thought to be profitable
enough to sacrifice? Could it be bec of the fuzzy skin which is
thought to be potentially off-putting? Could it be folk wisdom (i.e.
folk prejudice) about the green fruit being poisonous (some varieties
of almonds do have some poison in them)? Or could it be that the
cultivars most planted/preferred in California are diff from those in
the MEast and just do not produce young fruit that is as alluring?
Could it be that it has simply lacked a powerful advocate among
celebrity chefs?
--- End Four ---

Yeah, yeah, the Berkeley Bowl had 'em and i bought them and wasn't
sure what to do with them, so i ransacked the net for info...
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita


Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 12:31:18 -0400
From: "Audrey Bergeron-Morin" <audreybmorin at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Shelf life of frozen ground nuts?
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

<<< It's not like they will go poisonous.  Smell them, taste them, if they seem tasty enough, go ahead and try. >>>

Yep. It depends what kind of freezer it is. I've had nuts kept in a
deep freezer taste fine after several years, while nuts kept in a
self-defrosting freezer start tasting like... well... freezer, after
about 3 months.


Date: Sat, 4 Jul 2009 20:32:34 -0600
From: James Prescott <prescotj at telusplanet.net>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Shelling pine nuts
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Many years ago I gathered pine nuts with my grandfather, and he put
them on a bit of cement and hit them "just so" with an ordinary
hammer.  There was a proportion of bounces when the blow was too
light; and a small proportion of failures, resulting in crushed
nut neat, when the blow was too hard or not 'pulled' in exactly
the right way.

Thorvald


Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 20:29:05 -0500
From: Elaine Koogler <kiridono at gmail.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] shelling walnut help

One important thing here...Ras was correct if you're talking about English
walnuts.  But Black walnuts are another story altogether!  They are VERY
difficult to crack and you rarely will get a whole half a nut out...But they
are really yummy with a very rich taste.

Kiri

Morgana asked:
<<< I'm about to acquire grocery bags of both English and black walnuts.  I
know we've discussed best ways to shell them, but I don't remember what
those were.>>>

Simply place the point of your knife firmly in the large end of the walnut
and twist. Voila! The nut seperates easily and cleanly into two halves
without any effort. :-)

Ras


Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2012 20:19:30 +0000
From: Gretchen R Beck <cmupythia at cmu.edu>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] hemp-tow

<<< Brighid explains in her translation of Nola that this is a coarse cloth.
In four of his recipes he uses it to rub unpeeled almonds. I am
wondering if this peels the almonds or what?

Suey >>>

Almost certainly. I've had some success peeling cold blanched almonds by rubbing them in paper towels. Rubbing in a coarse cloth would be nearly ideal for that task.

toodles, margaret


Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2012 17:39:00 -0400
From: Sharon Palmer <ranvaig at columbus.rr.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] hemp-tow

<<< Brighid explains in her translation of Nola that this is a coarse 
cloth. In four of his recipes he uses it to rub unpeeled almonds. I 
am wondering if this peels the almonds or what?
Suey >>>

Tow means the short, rough fibers left when the longer ones have been 
combed out, used for twine or rope, or rough cloth like burlap.  Yes, 
I'd say it used to peel almonds, probably after they have been soaked.

Ranvaig


Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2012 20:19:30 +0000
From: Gretchen R Beck <cmupythia at cmu.edu>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] hemp-tow

<<< Almost certainly. I've had some success peeling cold blanched almonds by
rubbing them in paper towels. Rubbing in a coarse cloth would be nearly
ideal for that task.

toodles, Margaret >>>

Indeed it is just about the only way to peel hazelnuts (which I have never
found for sale blanched). Toast them, and then rub them in a towelling
cloth. It works like a charm (apart from the odd stubborn one). Makes a big
mess of the cloth though :-)

Angharad


Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2015 00:36:18 -0400
From: Sharon Palmer <ranvaig at columbus.rr.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Green almond, fresh chickpeas

<<< Yesterday, while wandering through the Middle East neighborhood of 
one my local towns, I saw a couple of things in the grocery stores 
that got me pretty excited: green almonds and fresh chickpeas. I 
really wanted to just buy and play with them, but I am not aware of 
any historic recipe that uses either of these ingredients. Any 
suggestions?

I know that I could probably use the chickpeas in any of the many 
dishes that call for them, but all the recipes that I have looked at 
or can recall use dried chickpeas. I'm looking for recipes that 
specifically call for the fresh ones.

-- Galefridus >>>

I'm not sure about the chickpeas, but Rumpolt a recipe that calls for 
unripe almonds

Ochsen 52.  Take the roast from the back of the ox/ wash it off/ and 
salt it/ stick it on (a spit)/ and let it roast/ and when the ox is 
young/ then the roast will be even more tender/ then one finds on 
whole oxen much better roasts than this.  (I read that as young 
cattle are tender, but older ones taste better).

And when you want to dress it/ then take new walnuts/ that you have 
broken off from the tree/ while they are still in the green shell/ 
take the kernel out from it/ and shell them/ also green almonds/ that 
are still in the shell/ shell and crush them with walnuts and garlic 
a toe (a clove of garlic) or two.

Take a fair white weck bread/ and slice it/ pour a good hen broth/ 
that is lightly salted/ that there is no drop of fat on it/ a little 
in a dish/ soak the weck in it/ and let become cold together/

Then take the bread with the walnuts/ almonds and garlic in a mortar/ 
and pound together/ and if it is too thick/ then take the broth/ in 
which the bread soaked/ and make it thin with it/ then it stays a 
beautiful white.

And when you want to dress it/ then put it there under (put the sauce 
with the meat)/ and make it not warm/ but rather leave cold/ or give 
it (the sauce) separately in a dish.  And one call it white gesipff/ 
in Italian called Maniade/ is a good lordly dish/ you might give for 
king and Caesar.

Kappaun 22.  A capon to prepare with nuts (probably walnuts).  Take 
unripe walnuts/ that are cleanly shelled/ also fresh shelled almonds/ 
crush them with each other/ Then take a weck bread/ that in a capon 
broth/ that is not fatty/ has soaked/ if it becomes too thick/ then 
take a little cold broth from a capon/ make it soft/ also put a 
little garlic in it/ give under or over a capon.  In Italian one 
calls this dish Maniade.

The Florilegium has several comments about this recipe: .
http://www.florilegium.org/?http%3A//www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-CONDIMENTS/garlic-sauces-msg.html

Ranvaig


Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2015 19:32:59 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Green almond, fresh chickpeas

There's a recipe "To confect fresh almonds" in the Libro di Cucina. CXXVII
http://helewyse.medievalcookery.com/libro.html

Johnnae


Date: Sun, 12 Apr 2015 19:08:16 +1000 (GMT+10:00)
From: <lilinah at earthlink.net>
To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Green almond, fresh chickpeas

Green almonds are not yet at the nut stage. There is no hard shell. The outside is green and slightly fuzzy. The inside is like a slightly milky colored gel. Traditionally they are eaten as they are (you can't peel them, there's no nut inside), dipped in salt, as a snack. I have a vague memory of reading something about them in a period text, but can't recall which.

Fresh chickpeas are green in color and, altho firm, are edible lightly cooked. I don't recall any recipes for them in period cookbooks, but i'm not saying there aren't any, just my memory.

I'm currently in Lochac, so rather far from my books and can't double check.

Urtatim


Date: Sun, 12 Apr 2015 13:02:15 -0400
From: eloquent page <books at TheEloquentPage.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Green almond, fresh chickpeas

The walnut suckets call for green walnuts, and the fruit made into 
suckets is usually described as "green fruit", so I assume that they 
would have made suckets of green almonds as well.

Katherine
---------------------------
On 4/11/2015 5:27 PM, Stefan li Rous wrote:
<<< All I can think of is that in late period, the almonds would have been
made into wet suckets.

Katherine >>>

But would that be almonds in general, or green almonds specifically?

Galefridus was asking about "green almonds", which I took to be unripe almonds.

Stefan


From the fb "SCA Cooks" group:

Galefridus Peregrinus
12/5/15
Peeling walnuts redux:
I tried using the boil and brush technique and discovered that the soft toothbrush I had purchased would not do the job. We have a much stiffer food brush that we use for potatoes -- I tried that and it worked marginally better. But I discovered that the best tool so far for this purpose is a Scotch-Brite pad, which strips the skin right off and can actually get into the folds of the typical walnut meat. Still a real pain, but less of one than before!

<the end>
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