galangale-msg – 3/8/07
Period use of the spice galangale. Period documentation. Sources. Grinding it.
NOTE: See also the files: herbs-msg, herbs-cooking-msg, p-herbals-msg, seeds-msg, rue-msg, saffron-msg, garlic-msg, merch-spices-msg, gums-resins-msg, spice-mixes-msg, spices-msg, ginger-msg.
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NOTICE -
This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.
This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org
I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.
The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.
Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).
Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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From: rousseaua at immunex.wa.com
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Cubeb
Date: 22 Aug 95 14:44:40 PST
Organization: Immunex Corporation, Seattle, WA
Hey all from Anne-Marie in An Tir
Grains of Paradise and Galangale are both readily available here in Seattle.
My favorite herbal apothecary has whole galangale, which resembles a ginger
root you've let sit in the produce drawer of your fridge for about a century.
I've also found the powdered stuff (aka galinga) wherever they sell stuff for
Thai cooking. One thing, I've noticed that the already powdered stuff seems
pretty wimpy, but I can't imagine getting any usable spice out of the petrified
whole stuff. Any suggestions?
--AM, who thinks one of the best things about living here is being able to get
bottles of rosewater in half liter sizes for really really cheap, and just
across the street from work! Hee.
From: jtn at newsserver.uconn.edu (Terry Nutter)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Cubeb
Date: 23 Aug 1995 04:31:32 GMT
Organization: University of Connecticut
Greetings, all, from Angharad ver' Rhuawn.
Anne-Marie asks about galangale:
: One thing, I've noticed that the already powdered stuff seems
:pretty wimpy, but I can't imagine getting any usable spice out of the petrified
:whole stuff. Any suggestions?
Well, there are two approaches.
(1) You can chop it down to small pieces, then soak them with wine to help
break down the fibres (thus learning why the medievals always had you
mix with wine before grinding), then put it in a mortar and pestle and
engage in some _serious_ upper body exercise.
(2) You can chop it down to small pieces and run it through a commercial
spice grinder. Warning: it's been known to break the things. I have
one that takes care of it, but they won't all.....
-- Angharad/Terry
From: DDFr at Midway.UChicago.edu (David Friedman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Cubeb
Date: 23 Aug 1995 07:16:55 GMT
Organization: University of Chicago Law School
> Hey all from Anne-Marie in An Tir
>
> Grains of Paradise and Galangale are both readily available here in Seattle.
> My favorite herbal apothecary has whole galangale, which resembles a ginger
> root you've let sit in the produce drawer of your fridge for about a century.
> I've also found the powdered stuff (aka galinga) wherever they sell stuff for
> Thai cooking. One thing, I've noticed that the already powdered stuff seems
> pretty wimpy, but I can't imagine getting any usable spice out of the
> petrified whole stuff. Any suggestions?
Dried whole galingale root breaks spice grinders. On the other hand, frozen
whole galingale root has about the texture of ginger.
--
David/Cariadoc
ddfr at best.com
ddfr at aol.com
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Cubeb
From: una at bregeuf.stonemarche.org (Honour Horne-Jaruk)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 95 22:47:07 EDT
rousseaua at immunex.wa.com writes:
> Hey all from Anne-Marie in An Tir
>
> Grains of Paradise and Galangale are both readily available here in Seattle.
> My favorite herbal apothecary has whole galangale, which resembles a ginger
> root you've let sit in the produce drawer of your fridge for about a century.
> I've also found the powdered stuff (aka galinga) wherever they sell stuff for
> Thai cooking. One thing, I've noticed that the already powdered stuff seems
> pretty wimpy, but I can't imagine getting any usable spice out of the petrifi
> whole stuff. Any suggestions?
Respected friend:
A nutmeg grater and a fighter who needs to work on his quads (or are
those tri's?). It takes time, but it does work. (Then again, I once got a
quart of grain ground at Pennsic by offering fighters a chance to see how
hard it is to use a quern...)
Yours in service to the Society-
(Friend) Honour Horne-Jaruk R.S.F.
Alizaunde, Demoiselle de Bregeuf C.O.L. SCA
Una Wicca (That Pict)
From: dpeters at panix.com (D. Peters)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Cubeb
Date: 31 Aug 1995 22:09:45 -0400
Organization: Panix
>rousseaua at immunex.wa.com writes:
>> My favorite herbal apothecary has whole galangale, which resembles a ginger
>> root you've let sit in the produce drawer of your fridge for about a century.
>> One thing, I've noticed that the already powdered stuff seems
>> pretty wimpy, but I can't imagine getting any usable spice out of the petrifi
>> whole stuff. Any suggestions?
If you have a Thai grocery in your community {Wish I did [sniff :-(]--I just
moved}, you could skip the powder and the dried root entirely, and buy
galangal root fresh. You can peel it with a carrot peeler and slice it
with a reasonably sharp knife; pieces of the fresh root can even be
chewed and swallowed by human teeth and throats (my recipe for Tom Kha
Kai says that fresh galangal is edible, although I prefer fishing them
out of the soup because they are rather fibrous.)
I have used fresh galangal in my redaction of Browet Farsure, and it
worked just fine. Perhaps the "dried is stronger than fresh" caveat for
herbs would apply here, too. Pick up a fresh galangal root and see for
yourself.
D.Peters
From: dragon7777 at juno.com (Susan A Allen)
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 1997 23:24:56 -0700
Subject: SC - Re: Galangal
On 17 Apr 1997 22:04:26 -0600 "Mark Harris"
<mark_harris at quickmail.sps.mot.com> writes:
>Susan said on Tuesday, April 15,
>>I bought some at a Thai, Vietnamese grocery,
>Was it powdered? I've found powdered galingale to be difficult to
>find.
Yes, powdered :: Galangal Powder, imported by STP Spices
product of Thailand, bought from the Viet Hoa Market for .69 for 28 g
(1 ounce)
Susan
From: L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt <liontamr at postoffice.ptd.net>
Date: Sat, 3 May 1997 20:26:44 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: SC - Galingale
>At 11:26 AM +0000 5/2/97, Jessica Tiffin wrote:
>>I'm having huge problems laying my hands
>>on cubebs, grains of paradise and the like. Would anyone happen to
>>know alternative, preferably Indian, but at a pinch Latin names for
>>these spices? I found galingale lurking in an Indian shop disguised
>>as something called galangal, and am hoping others may exist.
>
>Also sold as galangas, especially in thai groceries.
>
>Aphrodisia in NY sells by mail and over the phone; I don't know if they
>take foreign orders. Their phone number is in the Miscellany, near the
>beginnning.
>
>David/Cariadoc
It can also be called "Galinga". A friend found some in NYC at an Indian
Spice Shop for me and it was FRESH! What a wonderful Sauce Galantine that
made! She still has a nugget frozen in her freezer for Galingale Liqeur
(sauce is from To the King's Taste, and no, I can't lay my hands on it at
the moment). The gist of the sauce is broth, pulverised Galingale, spices,
thickened with breadcrumbs. I'll try to rummage for the recipe in the next
few days, if anyone is interested. I recall it being so simple that I was
able to "eyeball" it at the event with good results. It's excellent for the
meat sauce at the end of the feast, when the diners THINK they can't
possibly eat any more. It really does sharpen the appetite as "advertised".
The "giving courage" part (a supposed effect of galingale) I can't vouch
for, having no excuse to be brave after partaking!
Aoife (also rummaging for her totally non-period original Galingale Liqeur
recipe)
Date: Sat, 18 Oct 1997 17:21:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: ANN1106 at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - spice info
Galangal (galanga root, galingale) can be found in many Asian markets in the
US - have seen it in Chinatown in NYC and in Philadelphia. It is sometimes
referred to as Thai ginger, Laos ginger or Siamese ginger. The powdered form
is usually called Lao ginger.
Audrey
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 16:57:38 -0500
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: SC - Galingale
> From: "Yeldham, Caroline S" <csy20688 at GlaxoWellcome.co.uk>
> BTW John Hervey gives the The 'Fromond' List of Plants of c. 1500, a list of
> plants grown in England (including artichokes!) and also including
> galingale, which did surprise me, as I assumed it was imported. I'd be
> interested in comments.
>
> Caroline
Danger, Will Robinson!!!
Er, what I really mean to say is that the European galingale is a
tuberous plant with knobby roots, named for its vague resembance to the
Indonesian plant rhizome, the galingale that was used as a spice in
period...the European plant that is known as galingale in English is
called, IIRC, souchet in French.
I will locate and provide a more specific reference when I can...
Adamantius
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 17:15:37 EST
From: KKimes1066 <KKimes1066 at aol.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Galingale
It grows abundantly in the Thames, and is known as "Sweet Flag".
To reiterate an earlier statement.....
DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!
Sweet flag is a suspected carcinogen. Don't use it. Whole root
Galangale can be had very cheaply from Penzey's Spice Catalog.
That is the real stuff, and you can get it with in one or two days if
need it desperately.
Percival Beaumont Esq-App
Date: Sat, 2 May 1998 12:07:30 -0400
From: "LHG, JRG" <liontamr at ptd.net>
Subject: SC - What is Galingale
From: Jenny Johanssen <johanssen at matnet.com>
>Excuse me for showing my ignorance - what is Gallingale?
Galingale is a spice related to ginger and subject to the same varients of
hot/sweet as ginger, in it various forms. It looks like ginger al little,
too. It's flavor is different, however, and has more "bite" and "savor". I
often combine the two to get that whole gingery range. It works well as a
hot spice OR a sweet spice. Do not bother with dried or powdered galingale
that is more than 6 months old. You may as well use ginger, since the
unique flavors have dissapeared by then. Some day I will get real fresh,
rather than fresh frozen galingale from NYC, if it's possible, so I can
taste the difference.
If none is available, you may substitute ginger if you must, but the end
result will be a pale comparison. I do not know why the use of galingale
dropped off at the end of our period. It's a real shame!
In period dishes were originally made from it with such names as Sauce
Galantine. These are highly flavored, sharp sauces that were said to give
you courage, valor, and honor (thus the word "Galant"). They were
traditionally served with red meats and fowl, and really do live up to
their reputation of restoring the appetite. Even if you are stuffed full,
you can still eat roast beef with a galantine sauce!
Aoife
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 19:44:33 EDT
From: LrdRas <LrdRas at aol.com>
Subject: Re: SC - galingale uses?
stefan at texas.net writes:
<< Is there any use for the galingale that doesn't require grinding it? >>
Soaking in spirits for liqueurs; adding them to vinegars to make flavored
vinegars, adding them to spice bags....these are a few possible uses.
Ras
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 16:57:34 +1000
From: Robyn Probert <robyn.probert at lawpoint.com.au>
Subject: SC - Re: Galingale and verjuice.
Galingale is a rhizome which is closely related to ginger. It's botanical
name is Alpinia officinarum. It is a very common ingredient in Indonesian
food which is why you can buy it in Asian food stores.
Here in Sydney you can buy it fresh in any large supermarket/green grocer,
but for use in western medieval recipies you should buy it dried, preferably
in strips. Western medieval cooks did *not* have access to fresh galingale
and it tastes very different to the dry stuff, just as fresh and dried
ginger are totally different!
The powder gets old quickly, so dried strips are better. The coffee gringer
trick is what I use too, but I also cook with the strips, then remove them
before serving. The dried stuff is very cheap here.
Rowan
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
Robyn Probert
Customer Service Manager Phone +61 2 9239 4999
Services Development Manager Fax +61 2 9221 8671
Lawpoint Pty Limited Sydney NSW Australia
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 00:40:59 -0500
From: Stefan li Rous <stefan at texas.net>
Subject: SC - Spices in Poland
In reading "Food and Drink in Medieval Poland" I came across some
interesting comments about some spices I had not heard before.
p41:
This paragraph is about the middle to late 1300s.
He mentions the importation of two sorts of galingale ("lesser",.
Alpina officinarum, and "greater", Alpina galanga).
Have other folks seen mention of two types of galingale? Which one
is the one sold today as galingale? both? Any idea what the differances
are?
All the spices in this list were apparently imported through Cyprus.
He also mentions Cypriot "monk's pepper" the seed of agnia or chaste
tree (Vitex agnus castus). "The pepper was added to monastic dishes to
suppress venery or sexual desire."
Anyone have any more on this or similar spices? I've got a little bit
on period aphrodisiacs. This is the first time I think I've heard of
a period spice being used to achieve the opposite effect.
Hmmm. Maybe that's the solution for the SCA-Cook's list baby boom? :-)
- --
Lord Stefan li Rous Barony of Bryn Gwlad Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris Austin, Texas stefan at texas.net
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 23:45:43 -0700
From: "David Dendy" <ddendy at silk.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Spices in Poland
From: Stefan li Rous <stefan at texas.net>
>In reading "Food and Drink in Medieval Poland" I came across some
>interesting comments about some spices I had not heard before.
>
>p41:
>This paragraph is about the middle to late 1300s.
>He mentions the importation of two sorts of galingale ("lesser",.
>Alpina officinarum, and "greater", Alpina galanga).
>
>Have other folks seen mention of two types of galingale? Which one
>is the one sold today as galingale? both? Any idea what the differances
>are?
We carry both types of galingale. Greater or Java galingale (southeast
Asia) is the milder of the two, perhaps like ature of ginger and
cardamon. Lesser galingale (southern China) is much sharper in flavour,
like a combination of ginger and pepper. Greater galingale would seem to
have been the preferred variety in medieval Europe, though both were used.
>He also mentions Cypriot "monk's pepper" the seed of agnia or chaste
>tree (Vitex agnus castus). "The pepper was added to monastic dishes to
>suppress venery or sexual desire."
We have monk's pepper if you want to try some (it's not in the web
catalogue; we use it in a spice mixture -- but if anyone wants some e-mail
and we'll quote you a price)
Yours spicily,
Francesco
David Dendy / ddendy at silk.net
partner in Francesco Sirene, Spicer / sirene at silk.net
Visit our Website at http://www.silk.net/sirene/
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 08:18:31 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Spices in Poland
Stefan li Rous wrote:
> Have other folks seen mention of two types of galingale? Which one
> is the one sold today as galingale? both? Any idea what the differences
> are?
Greater galingale has a larger cross-section (i.e. bigger slices) and awhitish flesh similar to ginger, while lesser galingale is smaller andwith a reddish-orangey flesh. It would be hard to discuss flavor differences in writing... . Greater galingale is also listed in The Von Welanetz Guide to Ethnic ingredients with a bazillion alternative names I won't go into here, except to say that many of the alternative names are in European languages, while the alternative names for lesser galingale (at least the ones they list) seem to be strictly Asian languages. This leads me to suspect the galingale known in period Europe may well have been Greater Galingale. On the other hand, what every herb and spice store I've seen sells as galingale is kentjur or Lesser Galingale (the little red guys), I could be wrong about this. I haven't discussed this in detail with the people at Aphrodisia. It may be that both found their way into medieval Europe.
> All the spices in this list were apparently imported through Cyprus.
>
> He also mentions Cypriot "monk's pepper" the seed of agnia or chaste
> tree (Vitex agnus castus). "The pepper was added to monastic dishes to
> suppress venery or sexual desire."
>
> Anyone have any more on this or similar spices? I've got a little bit
> on period aphrodisiacs. This is the first time I think I've heard of
> a period spice being used to achieve the opposite effect.
Ummm, I understand saltpeter is/was famous for being added to prison food, especially baked goods and meat dishes, for precisely that effect. Basically it messes up your blood pressure, rendering um, hydrostatic pressure regulation, um, impossible. Impotence in a can. It probably also caused some fatal strokes, though, with excessive repeated use. Salt would do the same, but the amount required would be unpalatable unless you used very frequent small doses (which many people do in their ordinary diets anyway...)
Adamantius
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 11:44:42 EDT
From: LrdRas at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Spices in Poland
troy at asan.com writes:
<< This leads me to suspect the galingale known in period Europe may well have been Greater Galingale. >>
La Managier mentions several types of galingale and it's uses.
Ras
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 11:38:18 -0400
From: "Sayyida Halima al-Shafi'i of Raven's Cove" <lkuney at ec.rr.com>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] galangale
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
I use (and sell) dried slices of galangale root and have no trouble
powdering it. I put the slices into a Braun coffee mill and whizz it
up. I then put it through a sifter and am left with a very fine powder
with which to flavor galantynes or anything else.
Sayyida Halima al-Shafi'i
Stronghold of Raven's Cove
www.lisasnaturals.com
Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2005 10:43:53 -0800
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] galangale
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Where to find fresh galangal:
I find it at the Berkeley Bowl - but they have an exceptional produce
section. It is also available in Thai markets (where it is called
kha). Southeast Asian markets - such as Vietnamese markets - might
have it - and those omnibus Asian markets may carry it fresh, along
with fresh turmeric (much nicer than dried), and some other
interesting Zingiberacea rhizomes, like kentjur/kencur and
kuntji/kunci ("c" in Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malayu is pronounced
like an American "ch" - the Dutch, who colonized Indoesia, wrote it
with "tj")
Dried galangal "chips":
In places that don't have fresh galangal, one can often find dried
galangal slices.