resins-msg - 6/21/02 Resins used in period and how they were used. Modern sources. Camphor, myrrh, frankinsence, mastic. NOTE: See also the files: spices-msg, cook-herbs-msg, p-herbals.msg, amber-msg, amber-buying-art, spice-mixtures-msg, wood-finishes-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 seperate 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 orignator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous mark.s.harris@motorola.com stefan@florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 21:32:07 EST From: LrdRas Subject: Re: SC - camphor rsve60@email.sps.mot.com writes: << What *is* camphor? I thought it was a petroleum product. How would they have produced it in the Middle Ages? How else was it used in the Middle Ages? Stefan li Rous >> What is camphor? Camphor is a gum resin produced by the camphor tree. The petroleum based product you refer to is "Camphor Oil" .....a modern medicinal dating back to the 19th century CE used to reduce the symptoms of upper respiratory distress during cold and flu season especially on young children. It is applied to the chest area and the rising fumes make breathing easier. It is oftentimes more effective than others forms of medicine such as antihistamines. Ras Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 03:51:32 +0000 From: James and/or Nancy Gilly Subject: Re: SC - camphor At 21:59 25-1-98 +0000, Stefan li Rous wrote: >What *is* camphor? I thought it was a petroleum product. How would >they have produced it in the Middle Ages? How else was it used in >the Middle Ages? Says the *Britannica*: camphor, an organic compound of penetrating, somewhat musty aroma, used for many centuries as a component of incense and as a medicinal. Modern uses of camphor have been as a plasticizer for cellulose nitrate and as an insect repellent, particularly for moths. The molecular formula is C10H16O [C-ten H-sixteen O]. Camphor occurs in the camphot laurel, *Cinnamomum camphora*, common in China, Taiwan, and Japan.... (*Encyclopaedia Britannica*, 15th edition, Vol II, p 492. Copyright 1977 by Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.) Alasdair mac Iain Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 08:58:41 -0600 (CST) From: jeffrey s heilveil Subject: Re: SC - camphor Camphor is the root of the camphry plant, ground. It can be mixed with alcohol to make a tincture, and then mixed with a thickner to create an ointment. It is a cheap and easy way to teach elementary herbalism, and I made it a long time ago in an intro Botany course. Bogdan Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 21:15:35 EST From: LrdRas Subject: Re: SC - spices vs. herbs? acrouss@gte.net writes: << frankincense and myrrh >> IIRC< both are plant products. Frankincense is the resin of an aromatic Asian or African tree and myrrh is a fragrant gummy substance with a bitter taste which is used in medicines, perfumes and incense in modern times. There are period Middle Eastern recipes which use it as a food ingredient. It is obtained from a shrub that grows in Arabia and East Africa. I do not have my plant manuals at hand right now but will look up the scientific names if you want them.. Ras Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 16:03:59 -0800 From: david friedman Subject: SC - Mastic (was: My entry to Queen's Prize Tourney) At 8:08 PM -0500 3/29/98, Lady Beatrix of Tanet wrote: >Many Thanks, but I have one question: What is Mastic? Mastic or gum mastic is a resin used as a seasoning in Islamic cooking; you use it in very small quantities, say 1/16 teaspoon per 1 or two pounds of meat. The taste suggests turpentine to us. In very small quantities it adds an interesting tang to a dish, but it doesn't take much to make the dish inedible. To find it, try a Middle Easter, Iranian, or Indian grocery store, or a specialty spice place. It looks like little pale yellowish/tannish blobs. Elizabeth/Betty Cook [Submitted by: "Philippa Alderton" ] From: Gaylin Walli To: herbalist@Ansteorra.ORG Subject: Re: HERB - Resins Date: Tuesday, November 03, 1998 2:19 PM Raisya asked: >I bought frankinsence and myrrh at Pennsic this year, but didn't have a chance >to label them immediately, and now I've forgotten which is which. Does anyone >here know? One is yellow, the shade of butter, the other is brownish, the >color of a darkish honey. I think the yellow is frankinsence and the brown is >myrrh, but I'm not sure. The red-brown one is the myrrh. The yellow one is the frankinsence. References: "[Myrrh] flows as a pale yellow liquid, but hardens to a reddish-brown mass, being found in commerce in tears of many sizes, the average being that of a walnut." (http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/myrrh-66.html) "When the milk-like juice which exudes has hardened by exposure to the air, the incision is deepened. In about three months the [Frankincense] resin has attained the required degree of consistency, hardening into yellowish 'tears.'" (http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/f/franki31.html) Jasmine Jasmine de Cordoba, Midrealm, g.walli@infoengine.com [Submitted by: "Philippa Alderton" ] From: N.D.Wederstrandt To: herbalist@Ansteorra.ORG Subject: Re: HERB - Resins Date: Tuesday, November 03, 1998 4:10 PM Not necessarily. Different grades of frankincense are different colors. Ethiopean frankincense is a very bright golden yellow and is getting harder to find because the wars over in the Middle East have caused the groves to be burnt. Arabian frankincense is a mixture and can range from dull gold with bright yellow bits to darkish brown.... Indian frankincense is the darkest and is the most common.... It often is cut with other types of resins. I have an Organic Chemistry Manual that explains the types but it is at home and this week I'm been off list dealing with Laurel's Prize Tourney. The difference I have always found is that myrrh is darker and has a very bitter taste to it. Frankincense is less bitter and even the dark is not as dark as myrrh. Smell wise - myrrh always has a bitter edge to it. BTW, ethiopean has the cleanest and brightest scent to it....It is also the prettiest. Clare [Submitted to the Florilegium by: "Philippa Alderton" ] From: Gaylin Walli To: herbalist@Ansteorra.ORG Subject: Re: HERB - 'syropp of ela campane' Date: Wednesday, November 04, 1998 9:29 AM Phlip asked: >Any ideas, folks? This is how I would look at it. 'syropp of ela campane' would probably be a syrup of the plant elecampane, often called Elfwort or Scabwort. The botanical of this plant is Inula helenium (L.) I think. One of the major constituents of the plant is the volitale oil "helenin" which is sometimes called "elecampane camphor." Camphor, throughout history, has been used to treat the symptoms of any of the numerous kinds of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis. An excellent write-up on Elecampane can be found in M. Grieve's (OOP) herbal online at http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/e/elecam07.html and this writeup includes pointers to period sources (including Gerard, Culpepper, and others) which may be of use to the SCAdian or recreator in tracking down the origins of the syrup's creation. Jasmine Jasmine de Cordoba, Midrealm, g.walli@infoengine.com Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 11:48:45 -0500 From: Roberta R Comstock To: sca-arts@raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Mastic On Sat, 11 Sep 1999 18:35:30 -0500 (CDT) writes: >Does anyone have the botanical name for the "mastic" bush? Just >currious... > >Timothy Mastic is an aromatic resin obtained from a small anacardiaceous evergreen tree, _Pistacia Lentiscus_, native to the Mediterranean region: used in making varnish. (Random House College Dictionary) This plant family is the same one that includes pistacio nuts, cashews, sumaca and poison ivy. Hertha Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 00:34:50 -0300 From: dwilson@nbnet.nb.ca (dwilson) To: Subject: Re: Mastic > Does anyone have the botanical name for the "mastic" bush? Just currious... > Timothy Pistacia lentiscus. And a good small article at http://www.tau.ac.il/~melros/Questions/Hebrew.html Sheepstealer Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 10:19:18 EST From: Seton1355@aol.com Subject: SC - MASTIC Well, one positive aspect to this whole bruhaha in Trimaris about feasting is that it has spured me on to start looking up recipes again. I recently asked what *mastic* is. Well, I found the answer! Phillipa Seton THE FOOD OF THE WESTERN WORLD An Encyclopedia of Food from North America and Europe. Theodora FitzGibbon Quadrangle / New York Times Book Co. 1976 MASTIC (Pistacia lentiscus) An evergreen resinous shrub native to Southern Europe, the sap of which is used as a culinary flavoring. .... The gum tastes fairly like liquorice, is obtained by making cuts into the tree bark. Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 10:47:09 -0600 From: david friedman Subject: RE: SC - REC: BAID MASUS Phillipa Seton said > For tonight's supper I made **Baid Masus** from His Grace's Miscellany. I > had never made it before. It was delicious! A very straight forward recipe > and easy to make. I didn't have any *mastic* however. (I hope everyone got > my previous post on mastic - a liquorice flavored sap) I believe the information you posted said that mastic was the sap, and the bark was liquorice flavored. Mastic doesn't taste in the least like liquorice. More like turpentine (think retsina for a similar effect in something consumable), which is why we use it in very small quantities. David/Cariadoc http://www.best.com/~ddfr/ Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2002 22:51:03 -0700 (PDT) From: Philippa Alderton Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Mastic for Stefan To: sca-cooks@ansteorra.org --- Stefan li Rous wrote: > > From Cariadoc's Mexcellany, the cooking section, > > the following recipes contain mastic: Looks like Cariadoc has expanded his Arabic recipes since Margali got her copy- might need to get the newest version. Cariadoc, wasn't there a Morroccan recipe in the 8th edition? I was looking for it to post for the lady who was looking for Morroccan recipes, but npow I can't find it. > > Aha, you say- so far this shows mastic only in > > Arabic cookery, but not European? > > Up to this point that was occuring to me... Well, why not list it as an ingredient very common in Medieval Arabic cookery, particularly in regards to lamb and red meats, but occasionally used with fish or chicken, and occasionally found in French cookery, depending on trading habits? Almost every Arabic meat recipe I found had mastic in it. Phlip Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 07:20:44 -0400 From: johnna holloway To: sca-cooks@ansteorra.org Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Mastic for Stefan. It's not in the index for Two Fifteenth, Curye on Inglishe, or in Wilson's Food & Drink in Britain. I would think that its use in non-Arabic cuisines would be somewhat limited. Johnnae llyn Lewis Johnna Holloway Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 08:57:18 +1000 From: "Craig Jones." Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] gum mastic source To: "SCA-Cooks maillist (E-mail)" Organization: Airservices Australia >Their gum mastic is $50 for 500 gms. I would suggest that a pound is probably more Mastic than I'll use in 3 of my lifetimes... When cooking a pot of Mastaji for 12 people, I'd probably only add 2 grams. It's strong stuff... It's a good price though... Drake. Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 07:19:55 -0400 From: johnna holloway To: sca-cooks@ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Mastic "Mastic for Beginners" by Andrew Dalby is in PPC 65. PP 38-45 which the introduction notes is longer than what is offered in his book Dangerous Tastes. Johnna Holloway Johnnae llyn Lewis Christina Nevin wrote: It's still used to make bread in Greece - ask Bear, he would know. > Apparently it's delicious. So any Greek-orientated Mediterranean grocery > should have some. > There was an extremely good article on it in PPC a couple of issues ago. > Lucrezia Edited by Mark S. Harris resins-msg 6 of 4