garlic-msg - 1/29/08
Medieval use of garlic. Storing garlic. Recipes.
NOTE: See also the files: mustard-msg, spices-msg, capers-msg, herbs-msg, herbs-cooking-msg, seeds-msg, ovens-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.
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Thank you,
Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous
Stefan at florilegium.org
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I would encourage all cooks to remember the wise words of Ruperto de Nola:
"And there are also many who grease it with garlic and oil. But each one
cooks it according to his appetite. Because there are many lords who do
not eat garlic and oil, and others who do eat it."
--
Brighid ni Chiarain
From: g_duperault at venus.twu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: re:feast formats
Date: 8 Nov 93 11:24:46 +600
Organization: Texas Woman's University
Good gentles,
Someone asked about baked garlic as an appetizer. The recipe is
simple. Take the biggest head of garlic you can get and bake it at about 325
until it's done. (About an hour). Serve as is. The guests peel off a clove and
squeeze out the soft paste onto bread or crackers, or whatever. (From Jeff
Smith's _The Frugal Gourmet_)
In my experience the garlic has been rather hot to handle straight out
of the oven, rather sticky to squeeze onto bread, and does not reheat or keep
for leftovers --it gets dry. But real yummy!
FYI Jeff Smith's _The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines_ is
not a bad source for modern Greek and Roman foods. I've made a few Greek
students less homesick....I've also used it to compare medieval recipes
against, for things like amounts and cooking times. AND, he recommends Apicus
in his bibliography. (I believe there are some modern adaptations --not weird,
just using modern measures, etc.--in the collection, too.)
Avwye
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
From: tabron at binah.cc.brandeis.edu
Subject: Re: Baked Garlic (re: Feast Formats)
Organization: Brandeis University
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1993 20:01:08 GMT
PBOYNTON%SESCVA at snybufva.CS.snybuf.EDU (ROWENA NI DHONNCHAIDH) writes:
[snip]
> Sigh... I'm a little paranoid about what the cooks want to do with
>garlic now. (And about whether the cooks have done those recipes in school
>issue aluminum pots!) Rowena
>
You needn't be afraid, as long as you DO NOT BREAK THE SKIN of the garlic
cloves! Wonderfully ambrosial nectar that no one will ever be able to identify
as garlic soup can be made in any sort of pot, but if you break the skin the
garlic oils will escape and become hideous, rather than being gently cooked.
I have a recipe for garlic soup (soupe d'ail) I got from a Michael Field
cookbook and his claim is perfectly true: people who claim they hate garlic or
cannot eat it will never be able to identify the resulting wonderful stuff as
basically only chicken stock and garlic.
Raedwynn aet thaem Grenan Wuda
Dark Horde
From: "Philip W. Troy" <troy at asan.com>
To: sca-cooks at eden.com
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 1997 10:18:42 -0400
Subject: sca-cooks Re: Garlic
Mark Harris wrote:
> So, was garlic used in medieval cooking? How? As a seasoning
> cooked into foods? Squeezed on top of foods? Today roasted
> garlic seems to be a fad in some areas. Is there any evidence
> of roasted garlic then? Was it grown all over or just around
> the Mediterranean?
Garlic was grown all over Europe. It doesn't seem to figure especially
heavily in court cookery, but it may have been used extensively in
lower-class households. Recipes survive for Aquapatys, a dish of
semi-pureed, boiled garlic, served on toast sops, and for Sawse Madame,
which is a stuffing of fruit (i.e.grapes) and garlic cloves, roasted
inside poultry and made into a sauce with the drippings. This last is a
favorite of mine. Plain roasted garlic sounds vaguely Provencale to me;
I haven't heard of any evidence of its periodicity, but that means
nothing.
> Stefan li Rous
Adamantius
From: L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt <liontamr at postoffice.ptd.net>
Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 16:22:20 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #102
>Lasairina at aol.com wrote:
>
>> Actually, preserving garlic cloves in oil is okay, and the oil is wonderful
>> for cooking after the cloves are used up. Graham Kerr uses it frequently in
>> recipes. I, too, would be a little leary if it fizzed, though. Can oil
>> ferment?
>
>Not as such. Garlic can, though. One of the things you need to watch out
>for is the fact that garlic can apparently harbor botulism, which is why
>the commercial processed garlic in refrigerated jars is packed with
>either citric or ascorbic acid. I was interested in the fact that a
>comment was made about garlic reacting with vinegar: I know some
>interesting colors are sometimes produced this way, but it hadn't
>occurred to me this might be dangerous.
>
>I have had good results with cooking peeled garlic cloves VERY gently in
>olive oil, without browning, until soft. While still hot I pour it into
>a sterile canning jar and seal it up. This will keep for a reasonably
>long time; I would guess six months or so, or longer if refrigerated.
>The oil is good for just about anything that might use olive oil or
>garlic, and the garlic is exceptional spread on home-made croutons (not
>that silly bread kibble McDonald's put on Caesar salad).
>
>Adamantius
>>
>> Garlic in vinegar is the bad one, so I've heard. For some reason, the acid
>> in the vinegar reacts badly with the garlic, which then reacts very badly
>> with you....
>>
>> Lassar Fhina
Actually, I believe that garlic should be blanched in boiling water first,
then used in these preparations. It then loses relatively little of the
flavor or texture, doesn't change color, and still does it's wonderful job.
The brief boil (and then plunge into very cold water) takes care of the
worry of bitterness due to excessive cooking AND any nasty bugs lurking
therein, which may cause it to ferment or expose you to unbeneficial
organisms. Garlic is then perfectly safe to preserve and use as a flavoring
agent just like raw herbs in vinegar or oil. That's the method I prefer.
Another way to make garlic vinegar or oil safely is to heat the oil or
vinegar with the garlic in it, then allow it to cool. This produces a
harsher but faster flavor meld than when simply allowed to mellow together,
but if heated high enough, the germs would die.
I'm not claiming any period sources here, but of all the recipes I've read
for herbed oils and vinegars, Garlic is singled out as the ingredient to
take extra care of. I have successfully made both garlic oil and garlic
vinegar without any problem by blanching first.
Really, any process that heats the garlic enough to kill lurking organisms
would be a safe treatment for longterm storage of garlic. However: in case
anyone is inclined to get hysterical, raw garlic is perfectly safe when kept
in the usual proscribed methed: loose or loosley covered, not airtight, and
either chilled or room temperature so long as the buds are firm and creamy
white or greenish white. It is the storage in a mostly airless environment
(say, when covered with oil or vinegar or whole/chopped and cold packed raw
without preservatives) that spells trouble. You'd get a bacteria cocktail.
And now that I've done my job and selfishly murdered your appetites, I can
now rest in the knowledge that we can all eat garlic safely. Well, except
for those of us with extraordinarily long canines.
Aoife
From: "Philip W. Troy" <troy at asan.com>
Date: Fri, 02 May 1997 10:25:55 -0400
Subject: Re: SC - Two questions...
Lasairina at aol.com wrote:
> Actually, preserving garlic cloves in oil is okay, and the oil is wonderful
> for cooking after the cloves are used up. Graham Kerr uses it frequently in
> recipes. I, too, would be a little leary if it fizzed, though. Can oil
> ferment?
Not as such. Garlic can, though. One of the things you need to watch out
for is the fact that garlic can apparently harbor botulism, which is why
the commercial processed garlic in refrigerated jars is packed with
either citric or ascorbic acid. I was interested in the fact that a
comment was made about garlic reacting with vinegar: I know some
interesting colors are sometimes produced this way, but it hadn't
occurred to me this might be dangerous.
I have had good results with cooking peeled garlic cloves VERY gently in
olive oil, without browning, until soft. While still hot I pour it into
a sterile canning jar and seal it up. This will keep for a reasonably
long time; I would guess six months or so, or longer if refrigerated.
The oil is good for just about anything that might use olive oil or
garlic, and the garlic is exceptional spread on home-made croutons (not
that silly bread kibble McDonald's put on Caesar salad).
Adamantius
Date: 7 Nov 1997 12:06:28 -0800
From: "Marisa Herzog" <marisa_herzog at macmail.ucsc.edu>
Subject: Re: SC - for bread-smearing
Oh goody, the doctor just told my wife she is to eat at least a clove of
garlic each day, appropriately mixed into some other food. Since she
likes garlic anyway, this will be great.
<snip>
the roasted garlic is also yummy all by itself- and you don't have to have one
of those fancy roaster thingies, I just use a covered corningware dish.
take most of the husk off the head of garlic, trim the top a bit, drip a nice
bit of olive oil over it, sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper, vinegar or other
herbs optional(rosemary is nice). Bake in a covered dish at 250 for an hour
or so- when the cloves start bursting out the top of the husks it is done.
you can try to be neat and pull the cloves out with a little fork, or you can
just pull off the husked cloves and squeeze them onto the bread like little
condiment packages.
this is definitely happy food.
- -brid
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 1997 14:28:41 -0600
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - for bread-smearing
>the roasted garlic is also yummy all by itself- and you don't have to have
>one of those fancy roaster thingies, I just use a covered corningware dish.
<snip>
>-brid
Try standing them in some chicken broth while you roast them. It is a
technique I got from the now defunct Portobello Road Restaurant.
Bear
Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 10:28:49 -0800From: "Crystal A. Isaac" <crystal at pdr-is.com>Subject: SC - Roasted garlicRoasted garlic is a wonderful thing. I though there was a adpated recipefor it inL. Sass's _To the King's Taste_. Is that recipe wrong? I know the bookis not perfect, but it certialnly seems like roasted garlic should bewithin medieval cookery.I'll look it up later if nobody beats me to it.Crystal of the Westermark
Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 18:41:19 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: SC - Aquapatys = roasted garlic?
> Roasted garlic is a wonderful thing. I though there was a adapted recipe
> for it in
> L. Sass's _To the King's Taste_. Is that recipe wrong? I know the book
> is not perfect, but it certialnly seems like roasted garlic should be
> within medieval cookery.
>
> Crystal of the Westermark
I agree, roasted garlic is a terrific thing. I am fairly certain,
though, that the recipe in TTKT is for aquapatys, from the Forme of
Cury [#77]. It is boiled garlic, which, while tender and yummy, is a bit
different from roasted garlic, lacking the characteristic caramel brown
and the garlicky/nutty flavor.
Adamantius
From: James and/or Nancy Gilly <KatieMorag at worldnet.att.net>
Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 11:45:05 -0600
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: SC - Aquapatys
Some one was asking for the boiled garlic recipe from To The King's
Taste.
Aquapatys [from: Forme of Cury, #77]
Pill garlec and cast it in a pot with water and oile and seeth it. Do
thereto safron, salt, and powdor-fort and dress it forth hool.
Boiled Garlic.
Peel garlic. Cast it into a pot with water and oil, and boil it. Add
saffron, salt and strong powder. Serve it forth whole.
Sass's version.
1 cup water
cloves of 6 bulbs of garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons of butter or oil
1/8 teaspoon saffron
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch mace
garnish: 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Add garlic cloves, butter or oil, saffron, salt, cinnamon, and mace.
3. Cover and cook over medium flame about 7 minutes or until garlic is
easily pierced with a fork.
4. Drain and serve with a garnish of parsley.
Serves 4-6
Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 10:21:09 -0700 (PDT)From: Russell Gilman-Hunt <conchobar at rocketmail.com>Subject: SC - garlic in British IslesThe esteemed and lovely margali wrote:>The only thing that really pops into my mind- when did garlic get into>common use in the British Isles? I seem to think that onions were used more>often, being local and traditional with game birds...and the use of garlic>wasn't prevalent in W.W.II[my dad is here and he spent several months there>before the war, and again afterwards-the wonders of a military career. I>just asked him and he really doesn't remember garlic, but lots of onions,>parsley, marjoram, thyme, horseradish and pepper.]My notes for "Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200" by Da/ibhi/ O/ Cro/ini/n,says that both wild garlic and celery must be supplied to all sickpeople, as much as they want. (p 98) I think he said it was in theBrehon Laws.Conchobar
Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 14:52:27 -0700
From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Subject: SC - Garlic in British Isles (was: rasher/game birds)
At 4:01 PM -0400 5/1/98, marilyn traber wrote:
>The only thing that really pops into my mind- when did garlic get into
>common use in the British Isles? I seem to think that onions were used more
>often, being local and traditional with game birds...and the use of garlic
>wasn't prevalent in W.W.II...
You certainly get garlic referred to repeatedly in 14th-century English
recipes, as flavoring in various dishes and even as a vegetable on its own:
aquapatys (from Forme of Cury) is boiled garlic with seasonings, served
forth hot. The word garlic is Anglo-Saxon, meaning (if I remember
correctly) spear-onion.
Elizabeth/Betty Cook
Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 23:17:51 EDT
From: LrdRas <LrdRas at aol.com>
Subject: SC - Garlic-Varieties
Went searching through my gardening/plant books. Here is what I came up
with:
There are four types of garlic:
1. Italian: lg. white heads that contain about 15 cloves; mild flavor.
2. Tahitian: lg. heads; spongy texture; mold flavor.
3. Spanish: not as lg. as Italian garlic; sharp flavor; purplish color.
4. Elephant: giant cloves (single clove may be larger than a regular head of
garlic); Very mild flavor;
Ras
Date: Mon, 11 May 1998 16:05:27 -0700
From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Garlic in British Isles
I mentioned aquapatys; Stefan li Rous wrote:
>Can you send me a copy of this aquapatys?
The source is: _Curye on Inglysch: English Culinary Manuscripts of the
Fourteenth Century (Including the Forme of Cury)_, edited by Constance B.
Hieatt and Sharon Butler, published for the Early English Text Society by
the Oxford University Press, 1985.
Aquapatys. Pill garlec and cast it in a pot with water and oile and
see(th) it. Do (th)erto safroun, salt, and powdour fort and dresse it
forth hoot. [end of original; thorns replaced with (th)]
I don't have a worked-out version; the only term I can see that needs
explaining is powder fort, strong spice powder. You occasionally see
recipes saying something like "Add powder fort or ginger and pepper", which
gives some idea of what it is like. We keep a jar of our own guess at
powder fort on the shelf; it is mostly cinnamon, ginger, and pepper, with a
little cloves, mace, and cubebs.
Elizabeth/Betty Cook
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 17:35:00 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - garlic, chicken
Stefan says,
>>And I would be interested in additional good period recipes using garlic.
It does look like baked garlic is a modern invention though. :-(<<
Garlic sauce for all meats: take the garlic and cook it in the embers, then
pound it thoroughly and add raw garlic and crumb of bread, and sweet spices,
and broth; and mix everything together and boil it a little; and serve it
hot.
Frati, Ludovico, Libro de cucina del secolo XVI, as presented in Redon, The
Medieval Kitchen
So, garlic was ember baked. We know that boiled garlic (aquapatys) was
served as a dish. It may be inferred, but not proven that ember baked
garlic could have been served as a dish.
A modern method for preparing garlic combines the two. Put chicken broth in
a dish to provide about 1 inch depth. Cut the tops from an appropriate
number of bulbs of garlic and stand then top down in the broth. Bake at 300
degrees F for about an hour or until soft.
Bear
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 08:21:04 -0400
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>
Subject: Re: SC - My latest feast (and a few comments)
And it came to pass on 13 Apr 99,, that Stefan li Rous wrote:
> We did have a discussion on this
> list a year or two ago about whether roasted garlic was period or
> not. I don't think anyone gave any evidence that it was, then.
I don't remember if I was on the list then. Possibly not. Was the
question whether roasting heads of garlic is a documentable technique
or if the resulting puree was used alone as a condiment? The answer to
the first question is "yes". I know of a couple of recipes (sauces and
pottages, I think) which use roasted garlic as an ingredient.
Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1999 09:47:52 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - My latest feast (and a few comments)
Stefan li Rous wrote:
> I haven't looked in "The Medieval Kitchen" yet. Feel free to tell me
> to go look there, but this roasted garlic spread sounds interesting
> and I'd love to hear more details. We did have a discussion on this
> list a year or two ago about whether roasted garlic was period or
> not. I don't think anyone gave any evidence that it was, then.
I remember that conversation, and all I could think of at the time was
the 14th-century English aquapatys dish of boiled garlic on sops. If the