nuts-msg – 3/6/12 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. ************************************************************************ 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 ************************************************************************ From: polsons at cruzio.com (The Polsons) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Acorns give a payne? Date: Sun, 07 May 1995 18:35:47 -0800 Suze.Hammond at f56.n105.z1.fidonet.org (Suze Hammond) wrote: > JTN> From: jtn at cse.uconn.EDU (J. Terry Nutter) > > JTN> Greetings, all, from Angharad ver' Rhuawn. > > JTN> As to acorns, I have definitely heard of their use in porriges (though > JTN> not bread); I've also heard that they don't taste very good. This > JTN> does not, of course, contradict their use in hardship (indeed, it > JTN> indicates it); but it does suggest that people hungry enough to eat > JTN> acorns are hungry enough to try other unfamiliar grains. > > > BTW, do acorns require as much preparation as tapioca to be edible? > > JTN> No. My impression is that they need to be ground, then soaked, to > JTN> leech out the problem substance (which I have a feeling might have > JTN> been an excess of tannin, but I certainly wouldn't swear to that). > JTN> This came from a description of making acorn porrige in Europe. I > JTN> seem dimly to recall something about American acorns not being as > JTN> problematic, but again certainly wouldn't swear to it. > [...] > JTN> Certainly. My understanding is that they taste pretty vile. Anyone > JTN> on the net ever tried them? > > They were a staple food item of many Indian tribes on the central West > coast before the white invasion. I tasted some as a curious child. I don't > recall them being especially "vile". About as bitter as raw peanuts, or > uncooked split peas. > > Of course they were native oaks. "Pin oaks" I think they're called. > > ... Moreach Okay, here's the deal. I have done reenacting of the CA Indian life arts for some years. Acorns must be leached of their tannic acids before you can eat them. Yes, tannic acid is the same stuff you use to tan hides, or as a dye mordant. Here's how you leach acorns according to the Central CA Indians: Shell the acorns, peel them of their inner skin, and grind the clean nuts into a fine flour (a blender works okay, but leaves some lumps). Make a mound of sand about 12" high, level off the top, and make a 2" deep level basin in the middle. Cross section: /-\_________/-\ / \ __ / \__ Line the basin with cloth, evenly distribute the acorn flour in the basin, and pour hot water over the flour until the basin is full. Use a branch or basket so the water doesn't make a dent in the flour. When the water in the basin is gone, add more water. You'll be flooding the basin 10 times, and the water should go from hot to warm to cold by the last rinse. Remove the flour by patting it and sticking it to your fingers in clumps. I have recipes for authentic CA Indian acorn foods, including soup (or mush if you like it thicker) and bread if anyone's interested. I like the flavor. It reminds me of mild walnuts (and it makes an absolutely WONDERFUL ice cream!) Hope this helps...! 8-) ********************************************************* Willow Polson, Editor polsons at sirius.com Recreating History Magazine "The Resource for Living History Enthusiasts of All Eras" ********************************************************* Newsgroups: rec.org.sca From: rayotte at badlands.NoDak.edu (Robert Ayotte) Subject: Re: Acorns give a payne? Date: Mon, 8 May 1995 03:41:11 GMT Organization: North Dakota Higher Education Computing Network You have to have the correct species, not all acorns are good to eat. White and live oak are sited by McGee as most often eaten. They have a high carbohydrate percent (68) which is really very high and low fat content. Oaks also invest their fruits with their favorite defense chemicals, Tannins, and as such they need to be ground and steeped in several changes of water. There are undoubtedly other species that were eaten. Horace From: Maryanne.Bartlett at f56.n105.z1.fidonet.org (Maryanne Bartlett) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Cooking for 50 Date: Sat, 13 May 1995 11:52:00 -0800 -=> Quoting J. Terry Nutter to All <=- JTN> As to acorns, I have definitely heard of their use in porriges (though JTN> not bread); I've also heard that they don't taste very good. This JTN> does not, of course, contradict their use in hardship (indeed, it JTN> indicates it); but it does suggest that people hungry enough to eat JTN> acorns are hungry enough to try other unfamiliar grains. They can be used in bread. They make a good flat bread, much like corn bread, actually, or can be mixed with finer flours to make yeast-raised loaves. I've also used acorn flour to make something like a cross between a cracker and a tortilla chip. Mixed with barley flour, I've made deep-fried fritters (kinda like hush puppies) of them that are a big hit. I had a reference (mine's buried, too!) to an acorn loaf being prepared as an insult for somebody. I think it implied that he was not used to better, which would imply that some people did eat this. I *was* working from the original language on this one so I may have screwed up the translation, but "acorn" was clear as was the word that implies some kind of bread or loaf. > BTW, do acorns require as much preparation as tapioca to be edible? JTN> No. My impression is that they need to be ground, then soaked, to JTN> leech out the problem substance (which I have a feeling might have JTN> been an excess of tannin, but I certainly wouldn't swear to that). I would. If you don't soak 'em long enough your flour tastes like *really* strong tea. You know, when you leave the bag in for a hour without realizing it and then take a swig? Blech! > And if acorns tasted as good as tapioca, I'm sure they would still be in > use for food, despite the special processing needed. (Tapioca, after all, > is made from manioc root, which is highly toxic.) JTN> Certainly. My understanding is that they taste pretty vile. Anyone JTN> on the net ever tried them? Yes, and prepared properly, they're good. They don't have the *usual* flavour for bread, but neither does cornbread. Actually, if you've ever worked with *any* nut flours (particularly pecan), the process (and taste) bears a great resemblance to the acorn variety. The reason that I mentioned pecans, is that there is a papery membrane around the acorn that *has* to be completely gotten rid of, just like pecans, or they taste like somebody's old shoes, complete with a soapy flavour. If they "taste vile" this is most likely why! ...and, since *somebody* is going to call me on this, I have made my stuff from American acorns, starting from picking 'em up and peeling 'em. BTW, that my bet why they're not more popular. They take forever to peel, worse than chestnuts. Oh, and you can use them in stuffing like chestnuts, too! --Anja-- From: Gretchen M Beck 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 Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 19:00:35 -0500 (CDT) Subject: SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #156 >From: "Mark Harris" >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 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 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" 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: Wed, 24 Dec 1997 09:17:40 -0500 From: "Sharon L. Harrett" Subject: Re: SC - recipe request > If I may trouble the list, I have a friend looking for a recipe for 'acorn > cakes'? Can't imagine why as acorns are so bitter, Puck, Acorns were a staple food for the indigenous peoples of North America. for centuries. The bitterness in acorns is tannin, which is suloble in water. The old method was to place your acorns in a net in a running stream and let the running water carry away the tannin, then roast them and grind them to meal. Somewhat easier method is to peel your acorns, then boil them in water, changing the water as it becomes dark with tannin, until the water remains clear. Drain them, then roast as you would peanuts in a slow oven until dry and brittle. Grind in a grain mill or coffee grinder, or salt and eat them as is. I can't find a recipe here in the house, but if you can find sources of Native American recipes, they'll be there. Survival cookbooks also will be useful, as will the Euell Gibbons publications. Oh, by the way, White Oak acorns contain the least tannin, thereby being the best for food. They are high in protein and B-vitamins, IIRC. Happy Gathering! Ceridwen Date: Wed, 24 Dec 1997 10:59:00 -0500 From: margali Subject: Re: SC - recipe request kappler wrote: > If I may trouble the list, I have a friend looking for a recipe for > 'acorn cakes'? Can't imagine why as acorns are so bitter, > > Merry Yule, Puck acorns tannic acid leaches out and leaves a very mild flavored flour, and acorn cakes are easy, parched acorn flour, a dolop of melted lard, salt and water to make it a thick paste, pan fry relatively dry[no extra fat, it has lard in it] sort of like you do scones margali Date: Wed, 24 Dec 1997 11:01:26 -0500 From: margali Subject: Re: SC - recipe request Sharon L. Harrett wrote: > Puck, > Acorns were a staple food for the indigenous peoples of North > America for centuries. Happy Gathering! > Ceridwen acorn mast was also a pesant staple in europe from prehistoric times as well. margali Date: Thu, 25 Dec 1997 10:52:04 +0200 (METDST) From: Par Leijonhufvud Subject: Acorns (was: SC - recipe request) On Wed, 24 Dec 1997, kappler wrote: > If I may trouble the list, I have a friend looking for a recipe for 'acorn > cakes'? Can't imagine why as acorns are so bitter, but then again so are > hops and you know how we Pucks love our beer!:-) Acorns (Quercus ssp). The bitter flavour comes from tannic acid. While tannic acid isn't really toxic in the kind of quantities you are likely to be able eat, but why make life harder than nessesary? Leach the acorns by shelling, and perhaps coarsly split, them and placing in a basket in a flowing stream (whose water you'd be willing to use for cooking/drinking) for perhaps a week. You most likely have such a source handy; the tank of your toilet (unless your tastes are *wierd* remove any sanitary "bluing" stuff first). Simply place the acorns in a netting bag and forget about them for a week or so. Dry, grind and use. You can also roast them and get rid of most of the bitter flavour. Simply place the acorns on the coals of your fire; when the shell is brown and charred they are done (about 15'). Or use an oven at 275 C (525 F). In case anyone is interested, acorns contain 18% water, and 73.2% of the dry weight is carbohydrate (mainly starch). About 5% fat, and 9% protein (by dry weight). (The nutritional data are from Kallman "Vilda vaxter som mat och medicin", 1997) Roasted and eaten like chestnuts (with butter) they are rather nice. /UlfR Date: Thu, 25 Dec 1997 23:17:00 EST From: melc2newton at juno.com (Michael P Newton) Subject: Re: SC - recipe request On Wed, 24 Dec 97 02:28:22 PST "kappler" writes: >If I may trouble the list, I have a friend looking for a recipe for >'acorn cakes'? Can't imagine why as acorns are so bitter, >Merry Yule, Puck ok, Puck, 2 acorn recipes: Acorn muffins 1C acorn flour 1C cornmeal 1C flour 3 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp onion or garlic salt 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 1/2 C milk 2 Tbsp. bacon drippings melted preheat oven to 425F, sift together the dry ingredients. Beat egg and milk together, stir in the bacon drippings. Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened, don't over mix. Pour into well greased muffin tins and bake 15 min. or until brown and crusty (18 muffins) Acorn griddle bread 1 Tbsp. butter 3 Tbsp. wild leeks (white part) or chives, chopped 1C cornmeal 1C acorn flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1 Tbsp flour 1C buttermilk 1 egg, well beaten 1 tsp Tabasco, or other hot pepper sauce Melt butter in a small skillet over low heat and cook leeks/chives until wilted but not brown. Sift together dry ingredients. Add buttermilk and leeks/chives to dry ingredients and stir well. Stir eggs and hot sauce into batter. Drop by Tbsp. onto hot greased griddle and bake until bubbles at edges begin to break, turn and bake until the 2nd side is brown. (serves 4) For acorn flour, you need to: Put the decupped, cracked and hulled acorns in a pot cover them with boiling water, and boil from 2-4 hours, changing the water for fresh, already boiling water whenever it becomes dark. They are leached enough when they no longer have bitter taste. They will darken as they cook. Drain and let dry off, then roast them for about an hour in a 300F oven. then you can eat them as nuts or grind them into flour, using either a food processor, or a grain mill. From Billy Joe Tatum's Wild foods field Guide and Cookbook. true, the recipes are OOP, but there you have the ones I have.... Lady Beatrix Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 16:12:59 -0600 From: "Decker, Terry D." 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 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 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 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 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." 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." 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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" 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" 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: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 09:10:15 -0400 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: Re: SC - Re: Pennsic Tales As for acorns, I suppose it might sort of defeat the purpose, but you can buy pre-leeched acorns, peeled and soaked free of tannins and other objectionable chemicals, at good Korean groceries. I haven't been able to find out what people do with them. Adamantius Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 16:12:27 -0700 (PDT) From: Huette von Ahrens Subject: SC - Acorns I recently looked up acorns in the "Oxford Companion of Food". Unfortunately, the book is at home and I am at work. However, IIRC, it talked about a variety of acorn from the holly oak in Spain that a person could eat without leaching. Also, while OCOF agreed with everyone's opinion that in England during period acorns were only eaten during famines because of the tannin problem, it quoted a passage from Cervantes' "Don Quixote" which mentions that there was a passion in Spain for eating this particular acorn roasted like a nut. Huette Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 23:56:31 -0400 From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" Subject: Re: SC - Acorns And it came to pass on 22 Aug 00,, that Huette von Ahrens wrote: > it quoted a passage from Cervantes' > "Don Quixote" which mentions that there was a passion > in Spain for eating this particular acorn roasted like > a nut. FWIW, the 16th century Spanish health manual by de Villena includes a "chapter" (one paragraph) on acorns. However, it only discusses their health characteristics, and does not give any indication if these were eaten as food, or only medicinally. I don't remember seeing any Spanish recipes for them, but that proves nothing. Lady Brighid ni Chiarain Settmour Swamp, East (NJ) Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 01:31:38 +0200 From: TG Subject: Re: SC - Acorns This is from the 'Book of nature' of Konrad of Megenberg' (around 1350): "die aicheln k¸elent mÍr wan die kesten, aber die fr¸ht paid sterkent diu gelider und fuorent wol, iedoch allermaist diu swein, den menschen niht sÙ wol, man mische dann die kesten mit zukker. (...) wer die aicheln prÊtt und si izt, die sint guot f¸r die harmwinden und ir pulver ist guot f¸r den f‰uhten lauf." (Megenberg343) Roughly: 'The acorns have a cooling effect (humorally speaking) that is stronger than that of the chestnut. But both make the body stronger and they nourish well, but especially the pigs, less the men, except you mix the chestnuts with sugar. (...) If you roast the acorns and eat them, this is good for urinary trouble (urge to pass water, micturition), powdered, they are good against diarrhoea'. The medicinal passage is to be found later on in a recipe collection, the 'Konstanzer Rezepte: "Item wer die aichellen brent vnd si ist, die sint gu:ot f¸r die harnnwinden. vnd ir bulfer ist gu:ot f¸r f¸chten laff" (ed. Ehlert 1993, 15.1). In Maister Hanns (1460): "Item ysss gr¸n aicheln f¸r den Reissennden harenstain" (Roughly: 'Furthermore: eat green/fresh/unripe acorns against the painful urinary calculus'). Among the earlier quotes, that show that acorns have been eaten by men, Johannes Hoops mentions an anglosaxon runic source (in: Waldb‰ume und Kulturpflanzen, 1905, p. 476): ac by(th) on eor(th)an elda bearnum flaesces fodor 'the oak is on earth to the men nourishment of the flesh/the body' But in most passages, the acorn counts as food of inferior value (for pigs, oxen); Konrad von Megenberg again: "alsÙ nert auch den menschen wein und prot paz wan wazzer und aicheln: dar umb hofft der mensch d‚ zuo und lobt got, daz er imz gibt." Roughly: 'Similarly, wine and bred nourish men better than water and acorns. Thus, man longs for them and praises god if god gives it to her/him'. There were medieval German treatises about the medical value of oaks, see: - -- Telle, Joachim: Altdeutsche Eichentraktate aus medizinischen Handschriften. In: Centaurus 13 (1968/69) 37-61. The Lobera d'Avila-treatise, Lady Brighid mentioned, with the acorn passage, was also translated into German in 1531. Later on there were also abbreviated versions, e.g. in 1551. BTW, Villena, Don Henrique de Aragon, who wrote a different treatise, mentions _bellotas_ among the edible food, too (in 1423, if I recall correctly). Thomas Here are the references, in case someone needs them: Ehlert, T.: Die (Koch-)Rezepte der Konstanzer Handschrift A I 1. Edition und Kommentar. In: K¸hn, I./ Lerchner, G. (Hg.): Von wy?heit w¸rt der mensch geert. Festschrift f¸r Manfred Lemmer. Frankfurt a.M. 1993, 39-64. Heyne, M.: Das deutsche Nahrungswesen von den ‰ltesten geschichtlichen Zeiten bis zum 16. Jahrhundert. Leipzig 1901 (= F¸nf B¸cher deutscher Hausaltert¸mer Band 2). Hoops, J.: ‹ber die altenglischen Pflanzennamen. Diss. 1889. Hoops, J.: Waldb‰ume und Kulturpflanzen im germanischen Altertum. Stra?burg 1905. Konrad von Megenberg: Das Buch der Natur. Die erste Naturgeschichte in deutscher Sprache. Mit einem Wˆrterbuch. Hg. von F. Pfeiffer. Stuttgart 1861. -- Related source: Thomas Cantimpratensis: Liber de natura rerum. Editio princeps secundum codices manuscriptos. Teil 1: Text. Hg von H. Boese. Berlin/ New York 1973. Lobera de Avila, Luis/ Krautwadel, Mich. (‹bs.): Ein nutzlich regiment der gesundtheyt/ genant das vanquete oder gastmal (...). Augsburg 1531. [Sp‰tere Auflagen 1551, 1556, 1563.] Lobera de Avila, L.: Bancket der Hofe vnd Edelleut. DEs Gesundenn Lebens Regiment. Von eygenschafft/ nutz vnd schedlicheyt alles so zu Menschlicher speise/ tranck/ vnd gebrauch (...) von nˆten. Frankfurt a.M. (Egenolff) 1551. Lobera de Avila, L.: El Banquete de nobles caballeros. Donostia-San Sebasti·n (R & B Ediciones) 1996. Maister Hanns, des von Wirtenberg Koch: Guot Ding von allerlay Kochen (1460). Faksimile der Handschrift A.N.V. 12 der UB Basel. Hg. von Tupperware. Transkription, ‹bersetzung, Glossar und kulturgeschichtlicher Kommentar von T. Ehlert. Frankfurt a.M. 1996. Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2000 23:41:01 -0400 From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" Subject: SC - Acorns Lobera de Avila, _Banquete De Nobles Caballeros_ Originally published in 1530. Modern edition c. 1996. ISBN 84-88947-59-3 CAPITULO XXX DE LAS BELLOTA Y SU COMPLEXION Las bellotas son frias en el primer grado, secas en el segundo. Son dificiles de digerir, constipativas del vientre, provocativas de orina. Tarde descienden del estomago. Causan dolor de cabeza. Las cascaras dellas son estiticas. Aprovechan al fluxo de sangre, maxime a las mujeres. Aprovechan contra el veneno. Polvo de la substancia dellas provoca orina, y es bueno para estrangurria bebido con vino blanco o con aqua de regaliza (Rasis e Isaac.) My rough translation: Chapter XXX OF ACORNS AND THEIR NATURE Acorns are cold in the first degree, dry in the second. They are difficult to digest, constipate the belly, and provoke urine. They are slow to descend from the stomach. They cause headaches. Their shells are astrigent. They are useful for the flux of blood, above all in women. They are useful against poison. The powder of their substance provokes urine, and is good for "estrangurria" [a bladder ailment] when drunk with white wine or with licorice water. (Rasis and Isaac.) note: according to my dictionary of medieval Spanish, "estrangurria" is a condition of the bladder in which urine only comes out drop by drop. The word seems to be related to "strangulation". I do not know if there is an appropriate modern term. Lady Brighid ni Chiarain Settmour Swamp, East (NJ) Date: Wed, 23 Aug 2000 23:58:24 -0400 From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" Subject: Re: SC - Acorns And it came to pass on 23 Aug 00,, that Robin Carroll-Mann wrote: > Lobera de Avila, _Banquete De Nobles Caballeros_ Originally published in > 1530. Modern edition c. 1996. ISBN 84-88947-59-3 ::sigh:: That should be Lobera de Avila, Luis. And I was wrong in this morning's post when I referred to the author as Villena. Enrique de Villena wrote the 15th century carving manual... which has nothing to say about acorns. Lady Brighid ni Chiarain Settmour Swamp, East (NJ) Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 11:08:45 +0200 From: TG Subject: Re: SC - Acorns << Enrique de Villena wrote the 15th century carving manual... which has nothing to say about acorns. >> I think, they are mentioned in chapter six (De las cosas, que se acostunbran cortar, segunt las viandas de que vsan comer en estas partes): "De las frutas que se cortan o mondan e parten: melones, Áidrias, pepinos, alficoÁes, granadas, figos, uvas, azimbogas, naranjas, limones, peras, manÁanas, peros, membrillos, duraznos, priscos, nuezes, castanas, avellanas, BELLOTAS, piÒones, alfÛztigos e las d'este linaje." Th. Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 10:47:11 +0200 From: TG Subject: Re: SC - Acorns (Maister Hanns 1460 etc.) > > Maister Hanns, des von Wirtenberg Koch: Guot Ding > > von allerlay Kochen (1460). > What is "Hg. von Tupperware"? In America, Tupperware is a > manufacturer of plastic food containers. My mind is > boggling about a connection between them and 15th > century German cookbooks. "Hg." is "herausgegeben", published by. Over here, Tupperware has sponsored five facsimile editions of old German cookbooks: - -- Nuernberger Kochbuch 1609 (facsimile only) - -- Maister Hanns 1460 (facsimile, transcription, translation into modern German, comments) - -- Rheinfraenkisches Kochbuch 1445 (facsimile, transcription, translation, comments) - -- Muenchner Kochbuchhandschriften aus dem 15. Jahrhundert (facsimile, transcription, translation, comments) - -- There is also the Buch von guter Speise, but for this text the Hayer edition is more important. As far as I know, Tupperware donated about 2000 copies of each to the public libraries of Germany, the rest of the books is sold by Ludwig Auer, Donauwoerth (auer-verlag at t-online.de). Thomas Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 09:46:52 -0500 From: "Daniel Phelps" 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 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 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 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" 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 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" 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 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 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 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 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" 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" 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" To: 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 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 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" To: 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" 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! Date: Thu, 04 Oct 2001 12:56:39 -0400 From: johnna holloway To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re:Acorns/was Pennsic Hippies Druighad at aol.com wrote: > Anyone have any recipes for acorns? I think they were eaten at some point, > but I don't know for sure. > Finnebhir ------------------------------------- See the recipe for Chikeney #71 in An Ordinance of Pottage by Hieatt. Also be sure and catch Hieatt's comments about doing anything with acorns. Johnnae llyn Lewis Johnna Holloway From: "Daniel Phelps" To: Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] RE: Acorns Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2001 20:18:33 -0400 >Apparently the white oak group species are known as "sweet acorns". >Gibbons claims that they were a staple food of >primitive man in Europe, though he has shown no >documentation. Anyone have any? Go to the definitive book on edible nuts, "The Book of Edible Nuts" by Fredric Rosengarten, Jr. Pages 265 to 269 Two types bitter and sweet, white oak acorns (Quercus alba) found in North America are sweet. The European evergreen oak, (Quercus ilex) has selected Spanish and Portugese varieties which are sweet and similar to chestnuts in food value and taste. They are the belotas of Don Quixote. If you check back I believe I provided more information in our past discussion on swine. Daniel Raoul From: "Diamond Randall" To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2001 7:19:19 -0700 Subject: [Sca-cooks] RE: Acorns They can be prepared as candied nuts like the French prepare chestnuts. They can be boiled them in several waters to leech out the bitter tannins, roasted and then glazed. I tried this 30 years ago at Auburn when I found the recipe in Euell Gibbons' STALKING THE WILD ASPARAGUS. There were also recipes for acorn bread and pancakes and various acorn meal uses. Not all species are good to use. Apparently the white oak group species are known as "sweet acorns". Gibbons claims that they were a staple food of primitive man in Europe, though he has shown no documentation. Anyone have any? Akim Yaroslavich Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2001 10:00:44 -0400 From: johnna holloway To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] RE: Acorns Diamond Randall wrote: >SNIPPED---- > recipe in Euell Gibbons' STALKING THE WILD > ASPARAGUS. Gibbons claims that they were a staple food of > primitive man in Europe, though he has shown no > documentation. Anyone have any? > Akim Yaroslavich -------------------------------------------- Besides the actual recipe in the 15th century Beinecke manuscript (previous message on acorns), there are references to acorns in Ann Hagen's volumes on Anglo-Saxon foods. They were commonly famine foods, so perhaps the extensive literature connected with famines would give some idea as to when and where for anyone wanting to document their consumption. The Beinecke recipe may be the only documented actual recipe that can be commonly found. Johnna Holloway Johnnae llyn Lewis Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2001 07:23:50 -0700 From: "Laura C. Minnick" To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] RE: Acorns Acorns are best known as pig food. You drive your hogs into the woods to eat acorns, and then send out the teenaged boys to round them up when it's butchering time. There is a plate in Tres Riches Heures showing the pigs being herded- December, I think. For people to be eating them would indicate serious hardship. Remember the Prodigal Son, who was reduced to eating pig food? Rough life for a Jewish boy... ;-) 'Lainie Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2001 10:23:58 -0400 From: johnna holloway To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] RE: Acorns Just checked Alan Davidson's Oxford Comp. to Food. He says most acorns are used for animal fodder, but that there are varieties that were eaten in the Mediterranean area. He gives an ilex (or holm or holly) oak [Quercus ilex, variation, rotundiforia) as commonly grown in Spain and Portugal where acorns are eaten like chestnuts. Don Quixote apparently mentions the Duchess asking for acorns to be sent to her. Maybe there are Spanish recipes for acorns that can be found. As for North America, Davidson cites a work by Lowell John Bean and Katherine Saubel entitled TEMALPAKH. Banning, CA: Malki Museum Press, 1972 as being definitive on Native American usage and preparation. Johnnae llyn Lewis Johnna Holloway Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2001 08:06:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Jennifer Whitbeck Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] RE: Acorns OOP To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org --- johnna holloway wrote: > apparently mentions the Duchess asking for > acorns to be sent to her. Maybe there are > Spanish recipes for acorns that can be found. Modernly, Spain has an interesting (for lack of a better adjective, or more accurate memory) liqueur made from acorns (licor de bellota). IIRC this is more common from the southwestern region of Extremadura. Consequentially, the extremaduros claim they have the best ham in Spain (doesn't everyone?); the "black hoof" ham (jamon de pata negra), which they say is so yummy due to its diet of acorns. My neighbor reports a bumper crop of acorns from her black (scarlet) oak this year, which I hope to harvest soon. If I have any successful, or period, experiments, I'll post results. Jennifer From: "Terry Decker" To: 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" To: 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 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." To: "'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 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" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] green almonds To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Walnuts and nut cracking devices To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Walnuts and nut cracking devices To: Cooks within the SCA 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" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Walnuts and nut cracking devices To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Hazelnut a new world food? To: Cooks within the SCA 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" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Hazelnut a new world food? To: "Cooks within the SCA" 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" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] hazelnuts To: "Cooks within the SCA" 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 > *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" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cilantro Potaje To: "Cooks within the SCA" 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: > 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 Subject: [Sca-cooks] Cilantro Potaje To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] pigeons and small birds To: "Cooks within the SCA " >> 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" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] pigeons and small birds To: "Cooks within the SCA" 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] keeping qualities of almonds To: Cooks within the SCA 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" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Hester Spoon Nuts To: "Cooks within the SCA" >> 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] sugared nuts To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] sugared nuts To: Cooks within the SCA On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 00:41:51 -0400, 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. > > 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] sugared nuts To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Sugared Nuts To: alysk at ix.netcom.com, Cooks within the SCA 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" Subject: [Sca-cooks] a question on pine nuts To: "Cooks within the SCA" 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Book of Edible Nuts was Indian Nut To: Cooks within the SCA 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" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Book of Edible Nuts was Indian Nut To: "Cooks within the SCA" > 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) From: Sandra J. Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] acorns To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org I don't have the reference handy, but I seem to recall seeing/hearing that "white oaks" were the ones with acorns that weren't as nasty. -Clara von Ulm >>> I have heard that there are certain varieties of oak that are not bitter. I am familiar with the NA processes and use of acorns and they to mention a specific oak that is not as bitter as others but the book I was reading stated that the Basque ate acorns. The acorn starch information comes from the fact that I can purchase it at a local Orient Store. I have yet to try it in a recipe. Lyse <<< Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2005 10:43:57 -0600 From: "TheBard3" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] acorns can be deadly! To: "Cooks within the SCA" I wa going to let this one go but I can't. The leaching process you put acorns through is to remove tannin, not arsenic. Almost all parts of an oak contain tannin, which is the reason the bark of select oak trees was used to tan leather. And not all acorns need to be processed as much as others to be made edible. By my records there may even be some white oaks who's acorns have such a low level as to be edible right off the tree. James P. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Glenn A. Crawford" > A word of caution: > Acorns are full of Arsenic and the leaching process has to be done > completely and right. That is why I don't mess with them! > > Glenn Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2005 13:01:54 -0400 From: "Jeff Gedney" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] acorns can be deadly! To: Cooks within the SCA >> A word of caution: >> Acorns are full of Arsenic and the leaching process has to be done >> completely and right. That is why I don't mess with them! > I was going to let this one go but I can't. The leaching process > you put acorns through is to remove tannin, not arsenic. According to "Arsenic: Medical and Biological Effects of Environmental Pollutants" (1977), untreated acorns have about a .1 PPM concetration of arsenic. This is slightly more than walnuts (.07 PPM) and much lower than hazelnuts (.7 PPM). That's pretty close to ground water levels, so I think that acorns arent particularly concentrating the substance above their environmental exposure. I think the acorns and arsenic issue is a non-issue. As an item of comparison, your basic apple can be .07 to 1.2 PPM depending on region (some regions such as cotton growing areas, treat the soil with arsenic as a bug and grub killer. I dont think arsenic is used any more as an aerially applied fog to kill weevils and beetles). Capt Elias Dragonship Haven, East (Stratford, CT, USA) Apprentice in the House of Silverwing Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2005 21:05:55 -0400 From: "Daniel Phelps" Subject: [Sca-cooks] Acorns To: "Cooks within the SCA" Quercus ilex is the European variety that produces edible acorns quite similar to chestnuts. See "The Book of Edible Nuts" by Frederic Rosegarten, Jr. Daniel Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 15:35:06 -0400 From: "Daniel Phelps" Subject: [Sca-cooks] re Nuts; The Walnut To: "Cooks within the SCA" 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] re Nuts; The Walnut To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] re Nuts; The Walnut To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] re Nuts; The Walnut To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Middle-Eastern 'Nibbles'? To: Cooks within the SCA 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" Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Middle-Eastern 'Nibbles'? To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" > -----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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Another ME question To: Cooks within the SCA On 10/26/05 2:27 PM, "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" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are sugared almonds? To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are sugared almonds? To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are sugared almonds? To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] How old are sugared almonds? To: Cooks within the SCA 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] pistachio marzipan? To: Cooks within the SCA , SCA-Cooks maillist SCA-Cooks 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" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Strange questions for the New Year To: Cooks within the SCA 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 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" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Shelf life of frozen ground nuts? To: "Cooks within the SCA" <<< 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 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Shelling pine nuts To: Cooks within the SCA 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 To: Cooks within the SCA 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 From: Valerie Sawyer Date: April 12, 2010 2:33:01 PM CDT To: stefanlirous at austin.rr.com Subject: Tannin in Oak Greetings Stefan! Caught your comment on the Gleann Abhann list about tannins in acorns. Thought I might be able to confuse the situation a little more for you. There are two main categories that oaks are divided into, red and white. Trees in the red oak group tend to have more tannin than those in the white. On the West coast there are more varities that fall into the white oak category than the red - thus providing a food source for the native population until european settlement when things changed as you know. In parts of Europe this situation is similar but with fewer species that fall into the white oak group. Using oak flour for food would have been a short year survival tactic as you mention, especially toward the middle of the period we represent and almost unpracticed by the high middle ages except perhaps by the extreme poor. Also there would be a conflict in Europe between using acorns for flour for people or as forage for livestock and wildlife at all times. Lords holding wooded lands would have most likely given preference to the stock and wildlife over people most years and only relent and allow acorn harvest in poor seasons. Many of the manor rolls that I have gone over mention fines for taking acorns from various forests in England, along with other forest products. Hope this helps, Avice of York To: Gleann Abhann (mail list) Subject: Re: mortar baskets - eating acorns Posted by: "melinda" mlaf at sbcglobal.net maybard Date: Sun Apr 11, 2010 3:47 pm ((PDT)) Acorns: Acorns may be pounded into smaller pieces, and leached - the leaching is to remove the tannic acid. They can be leached whole, I've been told, but it takes longer. After leaching, they may be dried, ground to a powder, and used as a flour substitute - I understand it tastes rather nutty. They may also be roasted, then used as a coffee substitute - I was amazed, when I was experimenting with it, at how much like coffee it tasted. There is one acorn, (white oak, maybe, but I can't remember for sure) that has much less tannic acid - enough less that the leaching process is not needed, and some people even eat them raw, like nuts. at least, from what I've read and heard from others - I've only made acorn "coffee"... Melandra Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2010 18:30:35 -0600 From: "Terry Decker" To: "Cooks within the SCA" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Question about almond flour <<< I am working on a recipe that calls for 'pounded' almonds. The first time we made this we used almond flour for convenience reasons. Now I am making it again for my mom but do not have almond flour and she says if I try to grind whole almonds it will make butter not flour. Any suggestions or advice? -Eleida >>> European or American almonds? In the U.S. almonds are primarily a snack food and are varietals that are low in oil. European almonds tend to be varietals that have more oil and might turn into butter, especially if one adds salt to draw the oil. I've powdered quite a few almonds in the food processor and I haven't had any problem as long as I don't add any liquid. Bear Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2010 18:54:32 -0800 From: Karen Lyons-McGann To: Cooks within the SCA Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Question about almond flour Pulse the food processor and keep an eye on it. Shouldn't be a problem. I've chopped nuts pretty finely in mine. Butter is several steps further along and easy enough to avoid. Lady Bonne From: Elayne Hoover Date: December 30, 2010 6:06:44 PM CST To: Barony of Bryn Gwlad Subject: Re: [Bryn-gwlad] Tanning Beds... On Thu, Dec 30, 2010 at 6:02 PM, Elayne Hoover ‬ wrote: Wet summers make super-acorn Autumns. Acorns from Red Oaks will always have more Tannin than those from White Oaks. White Oaks are: Live Oak, Burr Oak, Mexican Oak. Red Oaks are . . . well . . . actually called Red Oak. And if you aren't sure what kind of oak it is, there's an easy test. Crack the acorn like you'd crack any nut and taste the meat inside. If it is mild, like an almond or pecan, it's a White Oak. Not much tannin. Good for replacing nuts in your recipes. If it is so bitter you wish you hadn't just put that in your mouth -- then that's a Red Oak. Plenty of tannin. You'd need to soak these for two days, changing the water twice, before you can use then in your chocolate chip cookies. As to whether the tannin can actually tan leather -- I dunno. I grow plants so I can eat them; I don't tan leather. Marie Edited by Mark S. Harris nuts-msg Page 62 of 62