spices-msg - 10/22/14 Information on medieval spices. Period documentation. Sources. NOTE: See also the files: herbs-msg, herbs-cooking-msg, p-herbals-msg, seeds-msg, p-spice-trade-msg, saffron-msg, garlic-msg, merch-spices-msg, gums-resins-msg, spice-mixes-msg, galangale-msg, ginger-msg, G-of-Paradse-msg, nutmeg-mace-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: jeffs at math.bu.EDU (Jeff Suzuki) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: spices etc. Date: 28 Nov 1994 15:01:52 -0500 >Indian (like from India) spices were, I understand, sold by placing >the spice on one side of a scale and gold on the other. When the >weight balanced you had payed for the spice -- it's weight in gold. Depends on the period and the spice. Saffron is far more expensive than pepper. Sugar is not cheap either. For lots of other _neat_ info regarding the cost of spices etc. in late period Italy, see Frank Swetz, _Capitalism and Arithmetic_, which also includes a facsimile copy of _The Treviso Arithmetic_, the first mathematics textbook ever printed, even if it does use the pernicious Arabic numerals. Tio dell'abaco 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: bjm10 at cornell.edu (Bryan J. Maloney) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca,rec.crafts.brewing,rec.food.historic Subject: Re: Need help identifying spice Date: Thu, 14 Mar 1996 18:35:33 -0400 Organization: Cornell University rcpj at panix.com (Pierre Jelenc) wrote: > Bryan J. Maloney writes: > > However, I am at a bit of a loss to divine the identities of two spices > > (not being a proper cook). What are "auence" and "spikenard"? > > Avens: a plant of the genus Geum (rose family). > > Spikenard: Nardostachys jatamansi (a type of valerian). Okay, so what are these plants marketed under and/or what are their modern common names? From: dpeters at panix.com (D. Peters) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca,rec.crafts.brewing,rec.food.historic Subject: Re: Need help identifying spice Date: 14 Mar 1996 19:50:30 -0500 Organization: Panix Pierre Jelenc wrote: >Bryan J. Maloney writes: >> >> Okay, so what are these plants marketed under and/or what are their modern >> common names? > >That's what they're called: avens and spikenard. > >They are not used in cooking anywhere that I know of; your only chance is >with a plant nursery, I suppose. I bought my spikenard from the Indiana Botanical Gardens in Hobart, IN; my catalogue got lost in the move east, but I would think that Directory Assistance could help you. If you like giving your custom to SCA merchants, try the Pepperers' Guild. Have fun. D.Peters From: mjbr at tdk.dk (Michael Bradford) From: jeffebear1 at aol.com Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: medieval spice names wanted Date: 26 Dec 1996 04:00:46 GMT Grains of paridise, 4 pepper blend, cardamon etc. are availible mailorder or walk in from DragonMarsh 3737 6th St Riverside, Ca 92501 (909) 276-1116. They carry over 4000 herbs and spices plus a whole lot more. You can order a herb & oil list or just request your list. Most items are around $1.00 an oz. They carry such items as saffron and galangal root at affordable prices. Great for the SCA recreation cook. Lady Morigianna From: "Philip W. Troy" To: sca-cooks at eden.com Date: Wed, 09 Apr 1997 13:13:07 -0400 Subject: Re: Medieval spices Sean Ellwood wrote: > Any suggestions on how to look check and see if certain spices were > available in Medeival China or Europe. > > Sven Carlson Sure! One place to look for such information is in books like "Food in History" by Reay Tannahill. Another is Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking". Finding such accounts for China could be hard, since there's not too much for those who can't read accounts in Chinese. Except of course for accounts by people like Marco Polo, who is, at best, not always trustworthy, and William of Rubrick (I think that's his name) who is far more so. Europe is pretty easy. The extant recipes indicate quite clearly what spices would have been available in the place and time the recipes were written. They call for them, don't they? : ) Regards, Adamantius From: gfrose at cotton.vislab.olemiss.edu (Terry Nutter) Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 17:04:04 -0500 Subject: Re: SC - Re: sca-cooks Re: Spice Use and Food Poisoning, etc. Hi, Katerine again. Philippa asks: >Just to play devil's advocate.... I quite understand growing up using what >to some would be "heavy handed" spicing, but for what reason did this heavy >use of spice start? It is now tradition, but what were the origins? And >even if it weren't to cover the taste of meat going slightly "off", could it >have been because the wild vegetables and gamier meat had stronger basic >flavors which are balanced better by stronger spicing? >Just a thought. First, where spicing is heavy, the reason is often that people like the taste. That simple. For virtually every major item that occurs in medieval dishes that call for spice, we also have surviving recipes that call for few spices or none. Chicken, in particular, runs the gamut from unspiced dishes to dishes that call for (some unknown quantity of) half the spices on the rack. That suggests that the intent is not to cover, but to vary the cuisine. But more crucially: what makes you think that medieval dishes were heavily spiced? Every study I've seen that purports to support that conclusion does so by looking at household accounts, and distributing total spice purchases over kitchen purchases. But that's nonsense, for four separate reasons. First, spices were also used in the bakery and brewery. Second, spices (especially salt and pepper) were used in preserving -- and soaked out before eating. Third, whole spices were sometimes burned on the fire for scent. Fourth, food that comes in as local produce or as rents will not appear in the purchases, but constitutes a large part of what was eaten in non-urban upper class settings. Every study that actually looks at the spices used for a particualr meal and the food in it reaches the opposite conclusion: that medieval spicing was not particualrly heavy handed. Since recipes by-and-large do not include quantities, you cannot tell from the recipes themselves. So: what makes you think that the phenomenon you are trying to explain ever existed? Cheers, - -- Katerine/Terry From: gfrose at cotton.vislab.olemiss.edu (Terry Nutter) Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 08:52:23 -0500 Subject: Re: SC - Re: Spice Use and Food Poisoning, etc. Hi, Katerine here. Allison responds to Phillipa: >As for the current heavy use of pepper in foods, I think that followed >the popularity of Mexican--or American-version Mexican--foods. Tests >have been done by restaurant chains and food companies, and they have >found that more people ate more food if it were heavily spiced. Pepper was the cheapest medieval spice, and the one most heavily documented as used widely not only in upper class cookery but in every class right down to peasants. The current use is a revival (not particularly of medieval practices; relative to a significant drop here in the middle of this century). Medievals used a number of pepper-like spices, including cubeb and grains of paradise (I'm not speaking botannically, but in terms of general flavor class), both of which I've fed to people with no interest whatsoever in historical cuisine, to rave reviews. The bottom line, I think, is that people everywhere use spices because they *taste good*. That so many spices show up across so wide a swath of culinary traditions suggests that this is simply a human tendency. How much spices we eat results, among other things, from the food we're used to. Whether people in general like the flavor of any spices at all seems more strongly related to the interaction between human taste and smell and the spices themselves. - -- Katerine/Terry From: Charles Dean Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 23:30:20 +1000 (EST) Subject: Re: SC - Re: sca-cooks Re: Spice Use and Food Poisoning, etc. Hi all, This posting prompted me to expound a pet theory of mine. > But more crucially: what makes you think that medieval dishes were heavily > spiced? > > Every study I've seen that purports to support that conclusion does so > by looking at household accounts, and distributing total spice purchases > over kitchen purchases. But that's nonsense, for four separate reasons. > First, spices were also used in the bakery and brewery. Second, spices > (especially salt and pepper) were used in preserving -- and soaked out > before eating. Third, whole spices were sometimes burned on the fire for > scent. Fourth, food that comes in as local produce or as rents will not > appear in the purchases, but constitutes a large part of what was eaten > in non-urban upper class settings. > > Every study that actually looks at the spices used for a particualr meal > and the food in it reaches the opposite conclusion: that medieval spicing > was not particualrly heavy handed. Warning Charles' pet theory on spices follows: I believe that medieval cooks did use more, in quantity, of spices in dishes than we do today. There is good evidence that their spice consumption was higher that is now current by volume. We do have some recipes that give spice quantities that seem excessive to our modern tastes. I also believe that our cooking ancestors had a very similar palette to our modern one, in what was an acceptable amount of spicing. Two factors are also not taken into account when looking at medieval spicing. Firstly most of the spices we taste today have had 400+ years of plant breeding to make them taste stronger. You can see shifts in amounts of spices called for in recipes between Mrs Beaton's cooking book and modern versions, a much smaller period than 1200 to today. Secondly medieval spices were (often) transported over large distances, often for more than a year. In most cases they were kept in non-air tight containers. Most spices loose flavour when exposed to air. Spices were often stored longer then as is done currently as supply was more infrequent or spasmodic. Given the above reasons it is reasonable to assume that the spices available to the medieval cook had considerably less flavour than the modern versions that we are using for comparison. If you accept my premsies above then end the result is that our medeival cook could produce a result in flavour intensity that was little different to the effects we create today in modern cooking but using more in quanity of spice to achieve it. I am assuming that is is far more likely that spice flavour intensity varied rather than some sort of genetic shift changed our modern palatte from our medieval ancestors. Charles - --------------------------------------------------------- Charles Dean charles at macquarie.matra.com.au Matra Internetworks - Internet service providers. Ph (06) 251 6730 Fax (06) 253 4840 PO BOX 714, Jamison Centre, ACT 2614 AUSTRALIA From: "Sue Wensel" Date: 16 Apr 1997 10:46:58 -0500 Subject: Re: SC - spicing > Clare said: > As to the strength of a spice,-- barks, seeds and roots keep their > scent and taste far longer that flowers and leaves. Herbs need to be used > up much more quickly than spices. I have cloves that I use for various > things that are at least 5 years old. The volatile oils in spices are a > bit more long lasting that volitiles oils from leaves and flowers. (That's > why old potpourri smells different ) There are exceptions of course. I agree with this point. In addition, storing bark/seeds/roots, unground, in waxed paper helps retain the volatile oils without increasing the amount of moisture. Keep these dry and they will retain their strength for a long time; get them wet and "use them or lose them." We have better drying techniques on a mass scale now than was possible in period. Therefore, I think our leafy/flowery spices last longer. We also have better storage containers now than then, with the advent of plastic. However, I do not think that it is out of line to assume that many (but by no means all) of the leafy/flowery spices used in period in upper class houses were grown in the manor gardens and used fresh. They would dry them for use during the winter. If indeed this were the case, then how does that change our conversions of period recipes? The standard conversion is 1 teaspoon of dried herb for 3 of fresh. Derdriu swensel at brandegee.lm.com From: Uduido at aol.com Date: Tue, 6 May 1997 22:18:03 -0400 (EDT) Subject: SC - Paprika << Since we have been discussing the sources for a variety of foods I was curious if anyone could add to my knowledge about paprika. According to my sources, the Turks introduced paprika to Hungary during their occupation. The Turkish occupation occured after the Battle of Mohacs in 1526. >> Possibly. Hot pepper seeds were brought back on all three of the first Columbus voyages. By 1528, they were a MAJOR agricultural crop in the Mediterranean Basin. I tend to personally avoid at all costs the use of new world foods in a feast because to many people it allows too much of an intrusion of the Current Middle Ages into the dream they are trying to achieve at an event. Bearing that in mind when I do European and Middle Eastern cuisine I never go out of my way to use any recipes that contain new world foods. And do not have any redacted in my collection. I also never decide what I would like to cook and then go searching for "period" recipes to justify it's use. All of the above I do do with thoughts of my guests and their ultimate enjoyment of unquestionably period food. Lord Ras Date: Mon, 2 Jun 1997 16:56:23 -0400 (EDT) From: Varju at aol.com To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: That Period Hot Pink The Turks introduced paprika to Hungary in the 1500's. Now, what it got used for after that I don't know. Noemi From: david friedman Date: Mon, 30 Jun 1997 21:49:28 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: SC - mustard history Linneah quotes an article on mustard and asks: >I like mustard but I don't often see it at feasts. Was it really as >ubiquitous as the above makes it sound? _Food and Drink in Britain_ (C. Anne Wilson) quotes figures for a fifteenth-century English household which in a given year used 3/4 lb saffron, 5 lb pepper, 2 1/2 lb ginger, 3 lb cinnamon, 1 1/4 lb each of cloves and mace, and 84 lb mustard seed. Mustard, after all, was locally grown and was a whole lot cheaper than spices which had to be imported from the Orient. Elizabeth/Betty Cook Date: Sun, 20 Jul 1997 18:34:47 -0700 (PDT) From: david friedman Subject: Re: SC - RECIPE CHALLENGE II Adamantius writes: >Somebody raised the point that it was unclear as to whether "clowes >gilofre" meant cloves, the spice, or the clove pink gillyflower. >Actually, the point was rammed down my throat that I was an idiot for >even considering that the spice might have been intended, but that is >neither here nor there... Period (and modern) French for cloves is "girofle"; a clove is "un clou de girofle"; given how much of period English cooking comes from French, I can't see why anything but the spice would be meant. Elizabeth/Betty Cook Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 23:44:41 -0400 (EDT) From: Uduido at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - opinions desired on feast menu/ (long - sorry) <> Yes. If not any Italian market should have them since they are a major seasoning in Italian sausage. Lord Ras Date: Thu, 14 Aug 1997 08:46:02 -0400 (EDT) From: Griff41520 at aol.com To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: period spices? In regards to period spices, the cook book PLEYN DELIT goes into detail about period spices. They recommend as a substitute for "grains of paradise"-cardomom. Also Galingale can be found in Asian or Indian markets as galangal. To me it has a flavor somewhere between lemon grass and ginger. You can find the cookbook at the chivalry sport web site-www.renstor.com/index. look under books. Ivy Kingdom of Trimaris Shire of Tri Os Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 08:26:58 -0400 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: Re: SC - Re: Questions Kathleen M Everitt wrote: > What are grains of Muske? Musk is any of various animal sex-attractant, pheromonal secretions. They were, in period, and are, now, very common in perfumes. They used to be taken and processed from glands of the musk deer or several other mammals. Essentially they were used to add an exotic perfume to foods. Adamantius Date: Sun, 05 Oct 1997 09:49:58 -0400 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: Re: SC - honey dormice recipe Decker, Terry D. wrote: > Recipe By : Apicius > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - > > NOTES : Glires: Isicio pocino, item pulpis ex omin membro glirium > trito, cum pipere, nucleis, lasere, liquamine farcies glires et sutos in > tegula positos mittes in furnum aut farsos in cilbano coques. > > Dormice: Stuffed dormice with pork filling, and with the meat of whole > dormice ground with pepper, pine nuts, silphium, and garum. Sew up and > place on a baking tile, and put them in the oven; or cook the stuffed > [dormice] in a pan. > > Translation from Giacosa, Ilaria Gozzini; A Taste of Ancient Rome, > University of Chicago Press, 1992. > > Stuffed Dormouse: Is stuffed with forcemeat of pork and small pieces of > dormouse meat trimmings, all pounded with pepper, nuts, laser, broth. > Put the dormouse thus stuffed in an earthen casserole, roast it in the > oven, or boil it in the stock pot. Just thought I'd throw a small note in here: laser and silphium are not the same thing. IIRC (which is as close as you're going to get on a Sunday morning before I've had my tea) silphium was a more or less unidentified (at least to us) plant resin which appears to have gone extinct or otherwise unavailable between the lifetime of Marcus Gavinus Apicius, and the time at which the earliest Apicius manuscript (7th century?) is dated. Laser appears to be the more readily available substitute for silphium, and is believed to be asafeotida gum, presumably ground to a powder. This is available as an extract in some herb or health-food stores, and as the genuine article, powdered resin, in Indian markets under the name "hing powder". G. Tacitus Adamantius, always interested in Soul Food ; ) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 1998 07:26:37 -0800 From: "Anne-Marie Rousseau" Subject: Re: SC - spices vs. herbs? Hi all from Anne-Marie The strict definition is that if its from a leaf, its an herb, and if its from bark, seeds, flowers, or a non-plant material etc its a spice. According to my reading, in the middle ages, herbs did indeed encompass things like swiss chard and spinach (this according to the lists of "herbs" we are giving in things lke Charlemagnes _de Villis_ and other period gardening lists). And this list isn’t limited to culinary herbs, either. Hope this helps... - --AM, who's 20th century mom says "if its cheap its an herb, if its expensive and imported, its a spice" :) Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 10:27:02 -0000 From: "Yeldham, Caroline S" Subject: SC - Spice query (was recipe with long spice list) I'd echo David/Cariodac's query about tumeric. Scully in 'The Art of Cookery' quotes the inventory of Pegalotti (1315 - 1340), a Florentine grocer who stocked amongst other things, "anise, pepper, white, black and long, ginger (6 types), tumeric, cinnamon, cassia buds, cassia, caraway, grains of paradise, sugars (8 types) alum, mastic, zedoary, cloves, clove stalks, clove leaves, nutmegs, cubebs, cardamons, galingale, mace, cumin, carobs, aloes, saffron, grape wines, quince wine, pomegranate wine, honey, molasses, carob syrup, dates, figs, currants, pistachios", but I haven't seen any recipes with tumeric, zedoary (or alum, aloes or mastic for that matter). Any ideas anyone? Could they be medicinal? Scully mentions pomegranate wine as given in cases of illness. 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 Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 17:15:37 EST From: KKimes1066 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 From: Mark Shier Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Spices Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 14:40:01 -0800 Organization: Island Net on Vancouver Island B.C. Canada Anyone interested in medieval culinary spices should track down a copy of "Spices in the Medieval Diet", by Bruno Lauroix, in Food and Foodways 1, 1985, pp 43-76. Lauriox uses account records, cookbooks and medical treatises to look at spice use. Among other things, he concludes that the idea of pepper being extremely expensive and restriced to the nobility is a modern fiction. He is cautious on the amount of spices consumed, but he does not think that consumption was much higher than today. mark der gaukler Date: Fri, 24 Apr 1998 14:37:49 -0700 From: vincent_tom at burr-brown.com Subject: Re: SC - Source for Gallingale >Excuse me for showing my ignorance - what is Gallingale? It's a cousin to Ginger, with a bit more of a peppery flavor to it. It's only popular now to Medievalists and Indonesian cooks, as far as I know. Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 12:07:11 -0400 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: Re: SC - Spices in cooking [was Jamaican Jerk (was jerked meat)] Anne-Marie Rousseau wrote: > > My favorite debunker of the spoiled food myth is to point out that we have > shopping lists for big households and when you look at the amount of spice > they buy, it really isnt that much. Where lots of people get confused is in > the variety and number of DIFFERENT spices (especially those of the exotic > garlic salt crowd). Medieval food often (but not always) will call for > small amounts of lots of different things. This seems exotic until you look > at the lable of a Heinz 57 bottle, or read the ingredients of your Kentucky > Fried Chicken. Your basic ketsup has far more types of spices in it, say, > than your basic egredouce. Yeah, if you look at a source like Le Menagier, who, while not royalty or anything, seems to have been well-to-do, the evidence found in his work seems to suggest extreme frugality with spices (including suggestons for best ways to re-use the cloves, etc., how to clean the last bit of powdered pepper out of your mortar so it doesn't go to waste, and a number of other indicators that suggest that while a number of spices were used, even by the "middle class", their use was not profligate). Add to that the fact that it seems evident that there were definite seasons for slaughtering several farm animals, as well as for hunting game, and the picture is much more of a society whose consumption of fresh meat was centered on the colder months of the year, say, November to February. Following that you have Lent, with meat-eating severely curtailed, if not entirely eliminated, for a month and a half or so. That leaves us with half of spring and the summer to be eating this alleged rotten meat, in spite of the fact that we know a lot of salt meat was eaten at these times, together with the fresh meat of smaller domestic animals and game, like chickens and rabbits. The recipes I have seen that are specifically identified as being for summer seem to center on chicken and capon, which would be killed on an as-needed basis. Finally, there are the recorded laws against disguising day-old meat as fresh, with pretty stiff penalties, especially for those who processed it in things like pies to make the freshness, or lack thereof, a more burred issue. I just can't buy the idea that there was so much meat just lying around going off. Adamantius Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 09:34:01 -0500 Subject: SC - Spice cabinet-what do we stock? Nick Sasso wrote: > What items would be considered necessary, recommended and luxury > items in a recreationist's spice collection. This includes spices, dried > herbs, condiments and other flavorings. From: Meadhbh: maddie teller-kook I would recommend the following: Saffron Cubebs Grains of Paradise Black Pepper Cloves Bay Leaf Oregano Basil Marjoram Garlic Ginger Galangale Rosemary Lovage Borage Rose Petals (organic only) Calendula Nutmeg and Mace From Bear "Decker, Terry D." Cardamom Coriander Anise seed Fenugreek (for early Medieval and ethnic cooking) From: "John Henschen" cardamom coriander From: Failenn "DAVIS, VICTORIA" savory From: Amy E. Sousa/Lady Elisabeth Borden, Barony of the Bridge, EK : Chervil Hyssop and Sage From: Rudd Rayfield cinnamon From: Ras sugar Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 14:15:25 -0400 From: Nick Sasso Subject: SC - Spices, pantry and import of each The list I have been offered here is appreciated greatly. It offered a few things I had not considered. The question that seems of even more import is: which ones are absolute necessities, and which are important yet less so? When I present to a group of new cooks or curious people, they will be a bit overwhelmed by a laundry list of things they have to buy to be medieval cooks. I figure that the list of general must haves includes SPICES: saffron, grains of paradise, black peppercorns, galingale, cardamom, salt, cubebs Additionally, as available for purchase, or in an herb garden: FRESH HERBS garlic, sage, rosemary, ginger, borage, (No one mentioned) Rue, chervil, marjoram, CONDIMENTS: verjuice, vinegar, garum/liquimen Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 12:20:29 -0700 From: "Anne-Marie Rousseau" Subject: Re: SC - Spice cabinet-what do we stock? Hi all from Anne-Marie my kitchen for tourneys has the following... balsamic vinegar white wine vinegar good quality olive oil whole nutmegs and grater cone sugar and grater cassia (cinnamon) ginger whole garlic salt peppercorns and peppermill a big jar of my poudre forte (contains all kinds of stuff, and is a good general medieval seasoning. means I have to pack less!) saffron Fresh herbs I bring according to the recipes I plan on making...for this weekend I have marjoram, parsley, sage, and mint. - --Anne-Marie, who is packing for coronation as we speak Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 15:17:21 EDT From: DianaFiona at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - Spices, pantry and import of each I figure that the list of general must haves includes SPICES: saffron, grains of paradise, black peppercorns, galingale, cardamom, salt, cubebs Additionally, as available for purchase, or in an herb garden: FRESH HERBS garlic, sage, rosemary, ginger, borage, (No one mentioned) Rue, chervil, marjoram, CONDIMENTS: verjuice, vinegar, garum/liquimen ============================================================ >> Everyone's going to have slightly different prefferences on the listings, depending on what sources they use most. My slight adjustments would include moving ginger to the (Dried) spices list, dropping the cubebs, and adding cinnamon, cumin and corriander. In the fresh herbs, I'd drop borage and add parsley, thyme, mint and hyssop--and, reluctantly, fresh corriander (I hate it, but it *was* pretty popular......). I'd probably add mustard to the condiments--I haven't seen it *in* that many dishes, but it's easy to get and so *good*. ;-) Ldy Diana Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 00:51:27 -0400 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: Re: SC - Re: Spice Cabinet-what do we stock? I thought it might be nice to include a list from a period source: Taillevent's Viandier (Scully translation) . "170. Spices Necessary for This Present Recipe Book: ginger, cinnamon, cloves, grain of paradise, long pepper, aspic [this might be a mistranslation for spikenard], round pepper, cassia buds, saffron, nutmegs, bay leaves, galingale, mace, laurel leaves, cumin, sugar, almonds, garlic, onions, shallots, herb bennet, sorrel, vine leaves or vine shoots, currants and green wheat in winter. For steeping, white wine, verjuice, vinegar, water, greasy broth, cow's milk and almond milk." The two references to bay leaves and laurel leaves may be an error: bay leaves are pretty much regarded as the edible form of laurel leaf; maybe the second reference is to bay berries? This is interesting in that it appears to show some differences between French and English verions of medieval court cookery. Note the absence of cubebs, coriander seed, caraway seed, anise or fennel seed, which appear pretty frequently in the contemporary (late 14th century) English recipe books. What would I add? Mustard, cubebs, coriander seed, anise, fennel, caraway, saunders, parsley, sage, marjoram, hyssop, dittany, and pellitory (iffy). I'd also want some honey and some good oil, but those might not be appropriate for a discussion on spice cabinets. Adamantius Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 08:09:34 -0500 From: vjarmstrong at aristotle.net (Valoise Armstrong) Subject: 11 th C. spices and zedoary (was: Re: SC - Spice cabinet-what do we stock?) All the discussion of what spices we stock for recreating period cooking tickled something in my memory. In my never-ending search for all things German I found the following on the web page for Francesco Sirene There's a chart called A Medieval and Renaissance German Spice Chest. I rummaged through my files and found it. Apparently this was complied from 7 cookbooks ranging from mid-14th to late 16th centuries by Michel Balard. Complete bibliographical info is on the page. One of the spices on the list that I don't recognize is zedoary. Anyone know what that is? This is from an English translation of a French-language article on German cookbooks, I'm not sure which language zedoary comes from. On the the 11th century part - On the same page there a quote from a 13th century book that quotes an earlier work by al-Tartushi, who visited Mainz in 1083 and described the spices available: "On occasion spice, which comes from only the farthest Orient, is found there, whereas Mainz is situated in the farthest Occident: for example, pepper, ginger, cloves, spikenard, costum, and galanga, which are imported from India, where they occur quantity." Full bilbiographical information is on Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 08:20:54 -0500 From: vjarmstrong at aristotle.net (Valoise Armstrong) Subject: Re: SC - Spice cabinet-what do we stock? I just posted the message on 11th century spices and thought I ought to check and make sure the page I referred to was still there on the Francisco Sirene site. It was and I also found pages on late Roman, Norse, and Russian spice chests, as well as some great suggestions on how to put together a spice chest for your particular persona. The address is: http://www.silk.net/sirene/spiceche.htm Valoise Date: Sat, 18 Jul 1998 14:31:49 -0500 From: "Decker, Terry D." Subject: RE: 11 th C. spices and zedoary (was: Re: SC - Spice cabinet-what do we stock?) > One of the spices on the list that I don't recognize is zedoary. > Anyone know what that is? This is from an English translation of a > French-language article on German cookbooks, I'm not sure which language > zedoary comes from. Zedoary is the dried powdered rhizome of the Indian plant, Curcuma zedoaria. The word is probably Persian in origin. The plant originates in the Himalayas and is grown in Madagascar (thank you, quick ref and Root). Don't ask me about the taste, I've never used any. Bear Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1998 22:18:04 -0500 From: "Decker, Terry D." Subject: RE: SC - Is allspice period? > Isn't allspice a native of the West Indies? If so would it be possible > for it to be LATE period? Does anyone know of any late period > recipes that call for allspice? > > Henri > mailto:mikel at pdq.net I've seen two versions of this. One says Columbus found allspice in Jamaica in 1494. The other says he missed it, and it was found by later explorers. It was one of the spices used for curing boucan (17th Century). The first recipe I know of it being used in is a terrapin soup from the early 19th Century. If you come across it in an older recipe it may be called pimiento or pimento. Bear Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 12:18:39 EDT From: THLRenata at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - Galingale and grains of paradise... You might also try DragonMarsh in Revierside, CA. They have a huge selection of herbs and spices, including both GoP and galingal. They can be reached at Dragonmrsh at aol.com or www.dragonmarsh.com. There was some trouble with the website last week, so you might just want to e-mail them and get their catalog. Renata Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1998 13:54:29 -0500 From: "Decker, Terry D." Subject: RE: SC - An article on medieval spices It is a scholarly journal. Try this URL: http://www.gbhap-us.com/journals/325/325-top.htm > ---------- > From: Mark.S Harris[SMTP:rsve60 at email.sps.mot.com] > Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 1998 11:12 AM > To: SCA-Cooks maillist > Subject: SC - An article on medieval spices > > I was editing this message to put in my spices-msg file and thought > that some of you might find it interesting but not have seen it yet. > > Can anyone tell me about this "Food and Foodways"? I assume it is > a journal of some type. > > Stefan li Rous > stefan at texas.net > > ============= > From: Mark Shier > Newsgroups: rec.org.sca > Subject: Spices > Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 14:40:01 -0800 > Organization: Island Net on Vancouver Island B.C. Canada > > Anyone interested in medieval culinary spices should track down a copy > of > > Lauriox uses account records, cookbooks and medical treatises to look > at spice use. Among other things, he concludes that the idea of pepper > being extremely expensive and restriced to the nobility is a modern > fiction. He is cautious on the amount of spices consumed, but he does > not think that consumption was much higher than today. > > mark der gaukler Date: Sun, 06 Dec 1998 12:45:02 -0800 From: Vicki Strassburg Eldredge Subject: SC - Time to give something back With all the wonderful information I've received from this list, it's only fair that I share when I find something really cool. (This may be redundant for some of you, but I know I was excited by it.) A chart follows which gives a spice, and then the name it can be found under in various ethnic stores. ~Maedb >From _The Complete Book of Spices (A Practical Guide to Spices and Aromatic Seeds)_ by Jill Norman, (c) 1990 ISBN 0-670-83437-8 ajowan ~ ajwain, carom, lovage (indian) anise ~ saunf (indian) yan kok (chinese) jintan manis (malaysian) asafetida ~ hing (indian) caraway ~ kala jeera, shia jeera (indian) cardamom ~ elaichi (indian) wok lok wuat (chinese) kapulaga (indonesian) buah ~ pelaga (malay) kravan (thai) cassia buds ~ nagkesar (indian) cayenne ~ lal mirch (indian) pisi hui (thai) coriander ~ dhania (indian) ketumber (indonesian, malay) pak chi met (thai) cubeb ~ tjabe djawa (indonesian) cumin ~ jeera (indian) jinten (indonesian) jinten putih (malay) yee raa (thai) cumin,black ~ kala jeera (indian) curry leaves ~ kari patta (indian) daun kari (indonesian) daun kai pla (malay) bai karee (thai) dill ~ sowa (indian) adas cina (indonesian) fennel ~ saunf (indian) wooi heung (chinese) adas (indon., malay) fenugreek ~ methi (indian) galangal,greater ~ laos (indones.) lengkuas (malay) khaa (thai) galangal,lesser ~ sa leung geung (chinese) kencur (indon.) kaffir lime leaves ~ daun jeruk purut (indonesian) bai makrut (thai) lemon grass ~ sereh (indonesian, malay) ta krai (thai) mace ~ bunga pala (malay) dawk chand (thai) mango powder ~ amchoor (indian) mustard seeds ~ rai (indian) biji sawi (malay) nigella ~ kala jeera, kalonji (indian) pomegrante ~ anadana (indian) poppy seeds ~ khas khas (indian) kas kas (malay) saffron ~ kesar (indian) kunyit kering (malay) screwpine ~ rampe (indian) daun pandan (indonesian) bai toey hom (thai) sesame ~ til (indian) chee ma (chinese) bijan (malay) dee la (thai) star anise ~ pak kok (chinese) bunga lawang (indonesian, malay) poy kak bua (thai) tamarind ~ imli (indian) asam (indonesian) asam java (malay) mak kam (thai) turmeric ~ haldi (indian) wong geung (chinese) kunjit (indonesian, malay) kamin (thai) zedoary ~ amb halad, gundhmul, kachar (indian) kentjur (indonesian) - -- ~ Me (vicki, maedb, taltos) Date: Mon, 18 Jan 1999 20:27:54 -0500 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: Re: hot foods (was Re: SC - Period Chili) Kornelis Sietsma wrote: > On the subject of hot foods - chilies may by OOP, but are there period > recipes for hot foods using mustard, pepper, or horseradish? > > You can get a good decent heat from any of these products - but was this a > period practice? And how old are "devilled" foods? While mustard, pepper, and horseradish were used in period, they seem rarely, if ever, to have been added to other foods to make them significantly hot. The only recipe text that comes close to this usage (that I can think of offhand) is Hugh Plat's 1609 kielbasa recipe (To Make a Polonian Sawsedge), in which he instructs us, as I recall, to make the sausage good and hot with ginger and pepper. I seem to recall one or two other references to using spices liberally so long as you _don't_ make the dish too hot. (And no, before people latch onto the above, it is in no way intended to suggest people used a lot of spices to disguise rotten meat. Fresh meat was generally cheaper than spices.) All this being said, though, while there were both mustard and pepper sauces used pretty consistently throughout the SCA's period (the only horseradish sauce I can think of offhand is in Kenelm Digby, published in 1669), I think it would generally have been considered to be medically unsound to eat _very_ hot foods, what with choleric humours, an' all. Adamantius Østgardr, East Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 23:02:06 -0600 From: "Decker, Terry D." Subject: RE: SC - Quantities of salt and spices used. > When we discuss quantities of spices added, we would do well to consider their > shelf life. In period, spices were usually on the (Silk) Road something like > three years after their harvesting, before they came to the cooks' hands. Another common route for spices was from India to Mocha at the beginning of the monsoon. From Mocha to the two major ports at the head of the Red Sea. Transport overland to Alexandria or the Levant. Then by sea to Turkey and Italy or overland to Persia. This sea route was used for almost a thousand years without hindrance, moving at least one large shipload of spices every year. Spices brought over the sea route appear to have brought premium prices, being fresher and untainted by animal sweat. > Our spices, OOTH, are whisked from their plant-y birth to Mccormick's > bottelery, [or wherever] and thence to our shelves in mere weeks. Obviously, > what we use is likely to give a much bigger bang than what they had! > > Surely this must be a factor. > > Devra the Baker Not necessarily. Ground spices lose potency faster than whole spices. And it is often hard to tell how long a ground spice has been in distribution. I buy most of my spices from a health food store and difference in potency between those and the spices from the large distributors is truly noticeable. Bear Date: Tue, 02 Feb 1999 09:04:41 -0500 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: Re: SC - Quantities of salt and spices used. Devra at aol.com wrote: > Our spices, OOTH, are whisked from their plant-y birth to Mccormick's > bottelery, [or wherever] and thence to our shelves in mere weeks. Obviously, > what we use is likely to give a much bigger bang than what they had! > > Surely this must be a factor. Possibly. On the other hand, we don't know how long they sit around in McCormick's warehouse before processing and canning, and, more or less conversely, it's hard to gauge the shelf life and adulteration level of spices sold already ground in the medieval marketplace. That being said, though, the three-year trip on the Silk Road probably didn't abuse whole spices any more than three years of storage in my overheated-through-lack-of-ventilation kitchen, and I have cinnamon sticks, nutmegs, cloves, peppercorns, cubebs, galingale, grains of paradise and long pepper (some several years old) and when I grind them they still have considerably more oomph than anything ground and tinned. I agree this must be a factor, but what the effect is is hard to say. There are good arguments to be made on both sides of this issue. Adamantius Østgardr, East Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 21:22:30 -0600 From: "Decker, Terry D." Subject: RE: SC - Medieval vs Renaissance Cooking > There seems to be a dramatic difference between the two -- grains or paradise, > cubebs, galengale and other popular medieval spices went out of style for > one thing. > > Does anyone know why this happened and approximately when? > > Renata The change appears coincidental with the opening of direct trade between Europe and the Far East. I believe Hourani speculates that the change in spices may have occurred because of problems along the normal spice routes in conjunction with above mentioned direct trade, which initially had a lower carrying capacity than the well established trade. Bear Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 09:21:53 -0500 From: "Decker, Terry D." Subject: RE: SC - cumin > Does anyone know the difference between "cumin" and "black cumin" > Phillipa Cumin is Cuminum cyminum. Black cumin is Nigella sativa. The spice cumin is made from the fruit of the cumin. The spice black cumin is made from the seeds of the black cumin. Just to make matters fun, cumin is sometimes used to referred to black cumin. Bear Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 10:50:15 -0500 From: "Decker, Terry D." Subject: RE: SC - cumin The quick ref gives Nigella sativa as the answer. This apparently is the plant commonly identified by the name "black cumin." The site you quote is the only one to flatly contradict this usage and identify Cuminum nigrum exclusively as "black cumin." A quick check of Francesco Sirene's web site: http://www.silk.net/sirene/b.htm produces the information about the common usage and points out that while the seeds of Cuminum nigrum are smaller and darker than regular cumin, calling them black is stretching it. He also states the black cumins are also known as black caraway. So unless the recipe comes from the area which uses Cuminum nigrum, the odds are black cumin is Nigella sativa. Some other names for Nigella are nutmeg flower, love in the mist, fitch, and gith. I believe the last two names would be those most likely to appear in a medieval text. Bear Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 09:28:13 -0700 From: "David Dendy" Subject: Re: SC - Bhuna Prawn and Puri ><< Also where would I get the dry-roasted spices from? Maybe dry roast > >them myself or are they obtainable like that I wonder? >> > >Most India type recipes (and other cuisines as well) specify that you roast >the spices before grinding or adding them. This is usually accomplished by >simply putting them in a small pan on the stove burner or, less often, by >putting them in the oven. Roasted spices, per se, are not often offered on a >retail level, so far as my experience has been. > >Ras The purpose of dry-roasting spice just before use is to bring out the essential oils with the heat. Therefore buying previously dry-roasted spices would be self-defeating, as once the essential oils are brought out they do not linger long, and so the flavour would have fled. Francesco Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 09:37:12 -0700 From: "David Dendy" Subject: Re: SC - curry leaves? >I´m not sure why they are called curry leaves but it comes from Hindi, >where they are called kari phulia or karipatta. Indonesian daun salam is >rather similar and can sometimes be used as a substitute. > >Nanna The reason is concealed within the name. Curry (or "kari") did not originally mean "spice mixture", as it does to westerners today, but "stew". It was the British who took home the idea of a spicy stew, and started calling a standardized spice mixture "curry powder". (No self-respecting Indian cook would use the same spice mixture in all dishes, or buy it ready-made and losing flavour in a jar) So curry leaves are called that because they are used in curries ("stews"), not because they are a substitute for the so-called curry powder. Francesco Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 18:08:30 -0000 From: "=?iso-8859-1?Q?Nanna_R=F6gnvaldard=F3ttir?=" Subject: Re: SC - curry leaves? From: David Dendy Francesco wrote: >The reason is concealed within the name. Curry (or "kari") did not >originally mean "spice mixture", as it does to westerners today, but "stew". >It was the British who took home the idea of a spicy stew, and started >calling a standardized spice mixture "curry powder". (No self-respecting >Indian cook would use the same spice mixture in all dishes, or buy it >ready-made and losing flavour in a jar) So curry leaves are called that >because they are used in curries ("stews"), not because they are a >substitute for the so-called curry powder. Yes, I knew that, of course, but I was really wondering why *this* spice was called curry-something - I mean, lots of spices are used in curries without taking their name from them. But I checked my Indian cookbooks just now and the answer was really self-evident - almost any recipe from Kerala or Tamil Nadu (in Southern India) includes 10-20 curry leaves - other spices may vary but lots of curry leaves and chilies are almost always called for. The curry leaves were probably even more prominent before chili peppers were brought to India. So it is perfectly natural that they should be called curry leaves (a similar modern European example might be lovage, which is so prominent in many dried vegetable soup and stew mixtures that it is called "the Maggi herb" in many countries, Maggi being the best-known manufacturer of such products). Nanna Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 10:09:01 -0500 From: "Decker, Terry D." Subject: RE: SC - spikenard A good place to start looking for spices is on Francisco Sirene's web site: http://www.silk.net/sirene/index.htm The following is from his spice finder and catalog: SPICA INDICA (ancient Rome) = Spikenard (Spices). Spikenard (Spices) = Nardostachys jatamansi. This root (or more properly rhizome) has a heavy and peculiar odour, like a mixture of valerian and patchouli. The taste is bitter and aromatic. Used in India from early times in perfume and medicine, it was imported to the Greco-Roman world. It scented the precious ointment offered to Jesus. The Roman cookbook of Apicius calls for it in sauces for meat, seafood, and fowl. It is an ingredient in some medieval hypocras and clarry recipes. [n.b. -- do not confuse this with American Spikenard (Aralia racemosa), a totally different plant, which is what is usually offered as 'spikenard' in North America.] Bear Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 23:08:41 -0700 From: "David Dendy" Subject: Re: SC - questions: TO BOIL PHEASANTS, PARTRIDGES, CAPONS AND CURLEWS > Seton1355 at aol.com writes: > << What is canel flour?>> > > Ground cinnamon The original phrase quoted, as I recall, was "flower of canel". I agree that canel is cinnamon. However, though "flower" might be a homonym for "flour", it could also mean "flower" in the sense of the finest or best; ex., "the flower of chivalry". Of course, if the latter meaning is intended, that still does not preclude it from being the finest *ground* cinnamon. Lady Brighid ni Chiarain Settmour Swamp, East (NJ) Actually, it is neither. "Flower of canel" is cassia buds -- the 'flower' bud of the cassia/cinnamon tree (similar in appearance to cloves). The idea that for some reason canel/cassia/cinnamon ground up was referred to as "flour/flower", when all other spices ground up were powders, is something perpetrated by early translators of cookery books, who were not very familiar with spices, and didn't know that cassia buds were a popular spice in period Europe. Francesco Sirene P.S. If you want to try cassia buds, we can supply them. 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: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 23:19:54 -0700 From: "David Dendy" Subject: Re: SC - SPICES >My good lord husband recently gifted me with the book SEVEN CENTURIES OF >ENGLISH COOKING: A Collection of Recipes by Maxime de la Falaise. >This is from the back of the book. >Phillipa I'm not sure of your question. Are you asking about the reliability of these statements from the book? (This book is one of the dinosaurs of historical cookery works; many years ago, when it came out, it was ground-breaking in reconstructing past cuisine, but today is long out of date in reliability and authenticity -- although I must admit some of the recipes still taste nice.) When she wrote it, exotic spices were unavailable, and I suspect she was simply guessing. Today all of the genuine articles are readily available (we sell them, for example. And our powder forte and powder douce are made to actual 14th century Italian recipes. [PS We do have powder douce now, and I'll be getting it onto the web-catalogue in a day or two].) >CUBEBS >A mixture of black pepper and allspice can replace the taste of cubebs. Not very close. Get the real thing. >SAUNDERS >A red coloring made from powdered sandal wood. Use of cochineal, carmine, or >red food coloring. I don't like any of these options. Saunders is "red sandalwood", a completely different species from the normal white sandalwood familiar to head-shop patrons. >POUDER-FORTE >A mixture of dried chives, mace and pepper I have no idea where she gets the chives from. >POWDER DOUCE >A blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper A little closer, though there are actual authentic recipes available. Francesco Sirene 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: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 07:57:29 -0700 From: Anne-Marie Rousseau Subject: Re: SC - flour of cinnamon Hey all from Anne-marie... Ras sez: >The origin of the word flower and flour is identical so I fail to see how >pieces is more logical than ground especially when such an interpretation >confuses the recipe rather than clarifying it. Consider that one of the >definitions of flower itself is 'a finely divided powder. With all the >evidence in hand, I would still go with finely ground cinnamon (e.g., flowers >of cinnamon) unless more substantial evidence is forthcoming. interestingly, Taillevent calls for "fleur de cassia". James Prescotts translation interprets this as cassia buds, which are available from Francesco as well as from WorldSpice. Thorvald/James told me that he tried the recipe with the dried buds and it was yummy, albeit less cinnamon-y than if you used the flour of cassia, ie ground cinnamon. I personally think its very rude of those Mssr Taillevent to use that particular term and not tell us what he meant. Hmph. - --AM, who got the cookbooks unpacked first after her move this weekend :) Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 00:40:59 -0500 From: Stefan li Rous 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" Subject: Re: SC - Spices in Poland From: Stefan li Rous >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 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: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 09:28:19 -0500 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: Re: SC - Comparitives: East vs West LrdRas at aol.com wrote: > castorquinn at crosswinds.net writes: > << what spices flowed through to Western Europe, > before about 1300? I am talking here of exotic spices, not the native > spices , if there were any (were there?). >> > > A quick glance at period recipes reveals cassia, cinnamon, galengal, long > pepper, black pepper, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, grains of paradise, mace, > raisins of Corinth, etc. Not to pick nits, but are you looking at a source "before about 1300"? I don't imagine there'd be a huge difference, but since there aren't all _that_ many pre-1300 sources available to us (and people always seem to ask for stuff from before all those lovely 14th-century sources, don't they ; ) ?), any differences might be hard to quantify accurately. > Native 'spices' were pretty much NOT used in noble cookery, SFAIK. Native European spices would include, among others, caraway, mustard, fennel, anise, and cumin, and while they may not rate the spiff factor that grains of paradise enjoy, they are used with fair frequency, and I gather the proliferation of Dark Ages/early medieval literary references to dishes of chicken in cumin sauce would suggest the domestic spices _might_ have rated higher in early period than they did later. I read this in a book by Richard Barber, I forget which, but it seems sensible that in, say, the reign of Charlemagne, for example, when the spices from the far East seem to have been somewhat more difficult to come by than in later years, the slack might have been taken up by domestic products. Adamantius Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 10:48:48 -0500 From: "Richard Kappler II" Subject: Re: SC - Comparitives: East vs West >> << what spices flowed through to Western Europe, >> before about 1300? I am talking here of exotic spices, not the native >> spices , if there were any (were there?). >> Cassia and cinnamon were mentioned by St. Isidore, Archbishop of Seville. In a grant made to a monastery in 716 by Chilperic II, cinnamon and cumin were included. In 745, Gemmulus, a Roman deacon, sent pepper and cinnamon to Boniface, Archbishop of Mayence. In the 9th century, cloves, pepper, cinnamon as well as local indigenous plants were used in a monastery in Switzerland for seasoning fish. In Charlemagne's royal gardens you would find fennel and fenugreek. By the end of the 12th century nutmeg and mace were to be found in Northern Europe. Also mentioned in this time period was coriander. regards, Puck Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999 12:28:22 EST From: LrdRas at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - Comparitives: East vs West troy at asan.com writes: << Not to pick nits, but are you looking at a source "before about 1300"? >> Trait de Cuisine is c. 1300 which would seem to indicate that the recipes were used somewhat pre-1300. They list the usual spices that came from the Orient. It is from this that I made my preliminary list in my former post. Is there some indication that Trait is actually later than noted? Seasonings listed include pepper, ginger, parsley, sage, white garlic, mustard, green garlic, cinnamon, cumin, long pepper, sugar, 'hot' pepper (?), 'a leaf of some sort', cypress root, saffron, lavender, cloves, salt, sour pepper (?), verjuice, malt (vinegar (?)), cider, sour wine, grain verjuice, onion and an unknown ingredient called 'ciconant.' Thyme, marjoram, rosemary, chives, shallots, sorrel, oregano and bay laurel are not mentioned although I would suspect that they might come under the general term 'herbs' although this supposition lends little credible support to any theory that they were 'widely' or 'commonly' used in noble households. An Old Icelandic Medical Miscellany, although from a 15th century CE manuscript is most likely a copy of a manuscript dating from the 1200s CE, seasonings listed in this manuscript include salt, saffron, cloves, mace, cardamom (surprisingly), pepper, cinnamon, ginger, mustard seed, vinegar, cumin, nutmeg, ginger, parsley, garlic, wild thyme, sage, and mint. 'Common' herbs such as Bay laurel, oregano, rosemary and marjoram are not mentioned. An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the Thirteenth Century is very much pre-1300s and is also European (e.g., Spain) which clearly shows that the spices I mentioned were very much in use in Western Europe pre-1300s CE. In fact, Spain is further west than even England. :-) Seasonings listed are pepper, coriander seed, lavender, cinnamon, cilantro, mint, onion, garlic, vinegar, saffron, cumin, ginger, cloves, rue, celery leaves, citron leaves, lemon leaves, thyme, fennel seed and flowers, Chinese cinnamon, powdered sugar, butter, camphor, rosewater, lemon, rosepetal jam, cilantro juice, galinale, clove basil, celery juice, fennel stalks, caraway, pine nuts, bee balm, musk, etc. (I ended my quest in this manuscript on page 14 of 49 pages. Up to that point I found no mention of bay laurel, rosemary, oregano, chives or marjoram. I also found no mention of grains of paradise in any of the 3 cited pre-1300 CE manuscripts. Please forgive me that small mistake. :-) I also did not include listings in any of several manuscripts from the Middle east dating back to the 900s CE although, as the location of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, it would have been technically an area of Western Europe. :-) I am not disputing your claim that several local 'spices' were ordered to be grown in Charlemagne's gardens but whether these were used in noble cookery or as medicinals still is to be answered. Yours in Service of the Dream and the Kingdom of Aethelmearc, Ras Date: Sun, 05 Dec 1999 09:24:48 -0800 From: Anne-Marie Rousseau Subject: Re: SC - mustard recipes hiya from Anne-Marie Ras sez: ><< just how fine can an > underpaid and underappreciated powderer scullery get them? > >Very fine. With use of bolting cloths in particular. Also remember that in >large household, manor houses and castles scullery persons would unlikely >have been powdering spices. This task was often accomplished by wandering >'spice grinders'. Another thing to think about would have been the purchase >of the ground seed at the apothecaries. Many tasks that we assume were done >in the kitchen were not done any more in the middle ages than they are now. I've never seen a reference to them being wandering, only that they were a special job. cool! I also have seen in le menagier an admonition that one should buy spices whole, which suggests that it is possible to buy them ground, but that its not a good idea (at least according to one middle aged Parisian :)) as for the scullery crack, I was referring to myself, of course! - --AM Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 10:19:18 EST From: Seton1355 at 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: Wed, 05 Apr 2000 19:04:35 CEST From: "Christina van Tets" Subject: SC - spice substituting Earlier I spoke about a text I am working on which specifies where you can and can't substitute. Thought you might be interested. Herewith the promised recipes: 6. To make kimmeneye of chickens. Take cumin and bread. Grind it together and drive it through a strainer with a thin broth. Then you shall let it cook together until the chickens are cooked enough. Then take yolks of eggs with saffron crushed with wine. Let this simmer or boil very little in order that it may bind only a little. 9. Item. You should know that one puts no spice in any kimmeneye other than cumin and saffron. This is fairly clear, I think, about what you could legitimately get away with in the confines of the recipe. Kimmeneye is also spelt kimmeneyde, if that's any use. 11. To make another jeleye. Take fish and cut then in pieces according to whether you want them small or large, but it must be washed very clean, then it must be dried very well from the water. Then take the half [of that] quantity in wine, and the third [of that] quantity in vinegar. You will boil the aforesaid fish well in this, and see that you skim it clean, and remove all the scum so that you take off all the white and there is none left, and let it boil until it is enough. So take it out of the water and let itdrain well in a colander or on a wooden mat which will drain it well. Then take spices that are strong. That is, lots of galingale - some do not put galingale, but other spices - much saffron, nutmegs, ginger, cardamom, mace and grind it up small in a mortareach by itself or all together, to a powder, and put it through a strainer with the broth in which the fish was boiled. Whoever also wants to, takes the scales or the skin of the fish, one part, and cuts it up and puts it into the broth and one must let that simmer until it is reduced to a third or less. And when it is boiled lay the fish in dishes as they ought to lie. That is, with their scales/skin on the bottom and with the insides outwards. Then take as many dishes as you want to make and fill them with fish. Then you shall pour the sauce over them and let them cool and so they will set when they are allowed to cool. These recipes are all from Een Notabel Boecxken van Cokeryen, by Thomas vander Noot, printed in Brussels about 1514. Sorry the recipes are long, but I thought it wouldn't be fair to send you half a recipe just to illustrate a point. As you can see, the first recipe states very clearly that you _may not_ substitute in this dish, whereas the second is much more relaxed about what goes into it, as long as the spices are strong. In short, I don't think there can be one simple rule about substituting. Cairistiona Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 14:04:23 CEST From: "Christina van Tets" Subject: SC - sp[r]ice M (of 007 fame??) asked: >Since when was rice become a spice? According to a fantastic book I have in front of me, entitled 'History Source Books: The Elizabethan Age: The Queen, Nobles and Gentry' (it's a school text, going almost entirely from primary sources which it presents for the kids - heh heh, I'm indoctrinating my English students), the steward of Ingatestone Hall (and therefore possibly others too?) called anything which came from a hot country a spice. Among the list of 'spices' here are currants, rice, almonds, prunes, dates and raisins. Maybe this is a key? Cairistiona Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 10:25:23 -0400 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: Re: SC -spice and economics "Decker, Terry D." wrote: > This point is open to question. In 716, Chilperic II the King of Neustria, > abated the taxes on one pound of cinnamon, two pounds of cloves and 30 > pounds of pepper for the monastery of Corbie in Normandy. And in 745, the > archbishop of Mainz, Wynfrith Boniface, received a gift of pepper from the > Roman deacon Gemmulus. > > There are a number of references which suggest the spice trade did not > disappear, but continued through Byzantium into Europe at a slower and more > costly pace. > > Bear I'm inclined to agree. I think there's a good case to be made for the diminution of eastern spice supplies reaching Europe, with a concommitant rise in the use of domestic spices such as cumin, anise, mustard and caraway, but I'm not aware of the emergence of a spiceless cuisine among those classes that were accustomed to having them. At least not the most basic imported spices like pepper. Adamantius Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 20:05:32 -0500 From: "Decker, Terry D." Subject: RE: SC - transporting ingredients If you look at the import duties of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, spices delivered by sea paid a higher duty than spice delivered by caravan. This suggests that spices shipped by sea via India and the Red Sea were more potent and valuable than those brought overland. Spices shipped by sea would have been sealed in containers which would protect them from water. This would also help protect them from the air. Bear > One thing you may have noticed: when quatities of spices *are* mentioned > in period recipes, it looks like a ridiculously large amount. It is. > Their spices weren't very potent. (this is corroborated by explorers' > surprise at the flavors when they reached the Spice Islands) As a friend > once told me, "These things were put in hide bags and transported on the > back of an animal for months, then put on a leaky boat for more months. > Care to guess what happened to the essential oils?" > > If you want everything to taste good, worry less about how they > transported it and look instead at the physical conditions you have to > deal with--heat, humidity, wind, rain, marauding drunks. Screw top jars > are fine and medieval people would have killed for them. Come to think > of it, they'd kill for our quality of spices. > > Morgana Date: Mon, 01 May 2000 15:22:16 -0400 From: Elaine Koogler Subject: Re: SC - transporting ingredients By the way, on the subject of storage, I have found that my spices last longer when stored in colored bottles. To that end, (and with a great deal of protest from my lord) I have used Mickey beer bottles (barrel-shaped, large mouth, green in color) and found corks to fit the mouths. They really have worked well over the years. Phillip keeps asking me if I don't need more! Kiri Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 15:05:44 -0700 From: lilinah at earthlink.net Subject: Re: SC - transporting ingredients > The spice shelf in my kitchen >smells sooo good that I can hardly bring myself to transfer the spices from >their paper bags to their jars. > >Gwynydd Best to do so, though, if you want them to retain their fine flavorful and aromatic essential oils. Regardless of how they were kept in Medieval times. You'll get to enjoy them longer. If you really like it, you could take a small amount of your favorite and put them in a little cloth pouch like a sachet and keep it in the cupboard to remind you of what you are protecting. Although i now have most of my medieval herbs and spices in smallish glass jars, light is also hazardous to spices and herbs and if you're spices are kept in a standard kitchen spice rack most of the time, many will loose their color as well. Furthermore, heat causes the essential oils to volatilize - thus the flavor is gradually lost into the air, even in a closed jar - it isn't hermetically sealed, after all (unless you have one of those vacuum sealing machines i saw on the shopping channel at my mom's house) - so the volatile oils will seep out. So, if you want to preserve their flavor and appearance, i recommend that you keep you herbs and spices in a cool place, not over or near your stove and/or oven, and either use the brown jars (but then you can't see as easily what's inside) or keep your jars in a dark place. Anahita just discovered my galangal has lost its flavor so i need a new batch, but my 25 year old cubebs are still amazingly fragrant. Date: Tue, 2 May 2000 04:28:07 EDT From: CBlackwill at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - transporting ingredients ekoogler at chesapeake.net writes: > By the way, on the subject of storage, I have found that my spices last longer when stored in colored bottles. To that end, (and with a great deal of protest from my lord) I have used Mickey beer bottles (barrel-shaped, large mouth, green in color) and found corks to fit the mouths. They really have worked well over the years. Phillip keeps asking me if I don't need more! < You may want to consider changing the bottles you store your spices in, and see if a brown bottle doesn't keep them longer... It is my experience that when sunlight passes through green glass, it can cause some kind of reaction. I know this to be the case with beer (from scholarly research only, you understand, and never any practical experience with the stuff). My coriander, powdered ginger and cardamom pods all went rancid after about a week in green glass. Balthazar of Blackmoor Date: Tue, 02 May 2000 08:21:07 -0400 From: grizly at mindspring.com Subject: Re: Re: SC - transporting ingredients As with hops, I suspect that the volitiles are susceptible to the blue range of the visible light spectrum. The photoreactive materials in the spice are going to fire off in the presence of full spetrum white light as well as any portion with the blue range. Therefore, green glass will let it pass while brown will block most/all of it. You might try using some tinted contact paper if you don't have resources for all new glass jars. I also find that the freezer is my friend. Spices will last years in the freeze that would og in months on the shelf. A few small ball jars and I'm off to the races. niccolo Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 18:28:13 -0400 From: Darice Moore Subject: Re: SC -spice and economics "Decker, Terry D." wrote: >> This point is open to question. In 716, Chilperic II the King of Neustria, >> abated the taxes on one pound of cinnamon, two pounds of cloves and 30 >> pounds of pepper for the monastery of Corbie in Normandy. And in 745, the >> archbishop of Mainz, Wynfrith Boniface, received a gift of pepper from the >> Roman deacon Gemmulus. >> >> There are a number of references which suggest the spice trade did not >> disappear, but continued through Byzantium into Europe at a slower and more >> costly pace. I've been doing quite a bit of research on the Franks (my persona is Frankish) and I recall from one book that throughout the Merovingian era, there was quite a lot of squabbling among the Frankish kings as to who would "get" Provence included in their holdings. Provence was the import/export center, and whoever controlled it received the extensive importation duties on such items as silk, spices, et al. Importation continued, though it may not have been practiced as frequently as before. - - Clotild Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 21:40:00 -0400 From: "Siegfried Heydrich" Subject: SC - neat spice site Got this from Netsurfer, and it's something you'll like. Clipped is the copy, and the URL. Been there, looked at it, Sieggy sez check it out! Spice World Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages provide the ultimate reference for serious spice users. If bland doesn't suit your palate, learn what you can use to enhance your meals. The site centers around 113 (at press time) spices covered in the fullest detail, from characteristics to uses to history to cultural importance. A cross-index in numerous languages lists over 4,200 terms and words relating to the 113. No matter how exotic a spice's name in a recipe, you can find its English or German equivalent quickly and easily. This tasty Web site is easy to navigate and attractive, and will only improve, we suppose, when Digiscents goes gold. Spices: http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/index.html DigiScents: http://www.digiscents.com/ Sieggy Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 09:04:21 EDT From: ChannonM at aol.com Subject: SC - Re: Fennel from Platina People have asked for the recipe so here is my rendition. Please note that Platina describes oil as having warming properties and salt drying ones. I have considered also that he describes food to be eaten in the first course (P)What should be eaten first 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 aples 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 we call bellaria, seasond with spices and ine nuts or honey or sugar. These are served very appropriately to guests. Recipe Roasted Fennel- basted with olive oil, salt and fresh cracked pepper, roasted on a fire if the weather permits, if not, then served raw, sliced very thin with a light sprinkling of red wine vinegar. (P) Book 3 # 18 Pliny calls fennel ferulaceum because it grows out of rods [feruli] just as many others do. It has warm and dry force but yet is not simple, for its taste reveals that bitterness is mixed in it. It has been said that snakes, to which fennel is very pleasant, shed age upon eating this herb and lay aside weakness of eyesight, which they contract by a long stay in subterranean places, by rubbing their heads on fennel-stalks. We use this vegetable both raw and cooked, not without reason, for it generates good humors, helps the chest, and opens the clogged courses of veins. Hauviette Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2000 13:16:35 -0700 (PDT) From: Angus Subject: Re: SC - grains of paradise vs black cardamom - --- "Christina van Tets" wrote: >Have been going over Francesco's marvellous description of grains of >paradise again. So are these the same thing that my Nepali friends here >have been waving around as black cardamom? > >Cairistiona According to Gernot Katzer's spice pages (http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/index.html) they have the following characteristics: *used part: GoP --- Seed. The seeds have approximately the size and the shape of cardamom seeds (3 mm), but are reddish-brown in colour. BC --- Seeds. Normally, the large (typically, 3 cm), brown pods are sold as a whole. *Plant family: GoP --- Zingiberaceae (ginger family). BC --- Zingiberaceae (ginger family). *Sensoric quality: GoP --- Spicy, hot and warm, a little bitter. BC --- Black cardamom has a fresh and aromatic, but also smoked aroma. Camphor is easily discernable in its odour. *Main Constituents: GoP --- In the acetone extract of Ghanese grains or paradise, the following hydroxyphenylalkanones were found: 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-decan-3-one (called (6)-paradole),1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-hendecan-3-one (called (7)-paradole) and 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-hendeca-4-ene-3-one (called (6)-shoagole) in approximately equal parts. (Phytochemistry, 14, 853, 1975). Other work reports (6)-paradole and (6)-gingerole (5-hydroxy-(6)-paradole). BC --- The seeds contain 3% of an essential oil, which is dominated by 1,8-cineol (more that 70%). Smaller and variable amounts of limonene, terpinene, terpineol, terpinyl acetate and sabinene have also been reported (Phytochemistry, 9, 665, 1970) *Origin: GoP --- West Africa (Nigeria to Ghana). Most imports stem from Ghana. In the countries of origin, the seeds are used not only to flavour food, but they are also chewed on cold days to warm the body. BC --- Several species of the genus Amomum are distributed all over the mountainous area from the Himalayas to Southern China. Furthermore, some African cardamoms (genus Aframomum, in Madagaskar, Somalia and Kameroon) have a similar taste and appear sporadically on the Western market. *Etymology: GoP ---In the Middle Ages, the spice was termed graines of paradise because of its high value. Guinea and Malagetta refer to the region of origin. About the elements -amomum in the genus name see cardamom. BC --- For the botanical genus name Amomum and for cardamom, see cardamom. The botanical species name subulatum derives from Latin subula "awl", referring probably to the awl-shaped and pointed leaves. About the genus Amomum: I am not sure on the origin of the old genus name Amomum and the modern form Cardamomum. The Greek name k·rdamon is recorded for a plant of probably Persian origin, but this seems more probably refer to a kind of cress. In the New Testament (which was largely written in Greek), the name ·moomon appears in reference to an aromatic plant. This could be derived (and some books state so) from the adjective ·moomos "blameless, without reproach"; given, however, that ·moomos is a regional and poetic form, this seems less probable than (what other books state) the derivation from Aramaic hemama (of whose origin I know nothing). The modern genus name Elettaria is derived from the local name in a South East Asian tongue (cf. Hindi elaichi). The sensoric qualities and main constituents of Grains of Paradise and Black Cardamom are totally different so it's not the same spice =(. (otherwise I would have raided a nearby store a long time ago, the sell black cardamom at a good price. /Angus MacIomhair Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2000 21:50:40 -0700 From: "David Dendy" Subject: Re: SC - grains of paradise Cairistiona asked: >Have been going over Francesco's marvellous description of grains of >paradise again. So are these the same thing that my Nepali friends here >have been waving around as black cardamom? No, they are different spices. Grains of Paradise are *Aframomum meleguetta*, and come from West Africa; Black Cardamon is *Amomum subulatum* and comes from northern India. As you may tell by the botanical names, they are related, but less so than, for example, black pepper and cubebs. They are not only different species but different (albeit close) genera. It's notoriously hard to describe tastes, but one might say that grains of paradise taste like a very much hotter, more peppery cardamom, while black cardamon taste like a rougher cardamom, a little musty. Francesco Sirene, Spicer / sirene at silk.net Visit our Website at http://www.silk.net/sirene/ Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 12:16:40 -0400 (EDT) From: Jenne Heise Subject: Re: SC - Herb blends for soft cheeses--a question > Sorry, I don't have any documentation. I do think I'll look into the > origins of black caraway. They are used quite a bit in Russian, Greek and > Middle Eastern foods, not so much in the new world. Nigella (black cumin or black caraway) is alleged by Sophie Hodorowicz Knab and by Maria Dembinska to be period as used in Polish _breads_. Interestingly enough, there is very little documentation on cheeses and milk products in the (secondary) sources on eastern europe that I have. - -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise jenne at tulgey.browser.net Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 09:12:29 -0400 From: "Jen Conrad" Subject: SC - Fw: Ian Hemphill's _Spice Notes_ From the rec.food.historic newsgroup. Luveday > Those of you not visiting Australia may miss out on a new compendium of > herbs and spices. It is _Spice Notes_ by Ian Hemphill and can be ordered > from > > http://www.herbies.com.au/ > > I have no connection whatsoever with Hemphill, except that I have just > bought a copy of the book. > > For each item there is a list of names in other languages, a general > introduction, origin and history, processing, buying and storage, and > use. Some 2 to 10 pages are devoted to each item. > > Items covered are: > > Ajowan, Alexanders, Allspice, Amchur, Angelica, Aniseed, Annatto Seed, > Asafoetida, Balm, Barberry, Basil, Bay Leaves, Bergamot, Black Limes, > Borage, Brown Cardamom, Bush Tomato, Calamus, Candle Nut, Caper, > Caraway, Cardamom, Celery Seed, Chervil, Chicory, Chilli, Chives, > Cinnamon and Cassia, Cloves, Coriander, Cress, Cumin, Curry Leaf, Dill, > Elder, Epazote, Fennel, Fenugreek, FilÈ Powder, Galangal, Garlic, > Ginger, Grains of Paradise, Horseradish, Juniper, Kaffir Lime Leaves, > Kokam, Lavender, Lemongrass, Lemon, Myrtle, Lemon Verbena, Licorice > Root, Lovage, Mahlab, Mastic, Mint, Mustard, Nigella, Nutmeg and Mace, > Oregano and Marjoram, Orris Root, Pandan Leaf, Paprika, Parsley, Pepper > - Mountain, Pepper - Pink, Schinus, Pepper - Szechwan, Pepper-Vine, > Pomegranate, Poppy Seed, Purslane, Rocket, Rosemary, Safflower, Saffron, > Sage, Salad Burnet, Salt, Savory, Sesame, Sorrel, Star Anise, Sumac, > Sweet Cicely, Tamarind, Tarragon, Thyme, Turmeric, Vanilla, Vietnamese > Mint, Wattleseed, Zedoary. > > A final section in this 497 page book deals with the art of combining > spices into curry powders, etc.. > > Don't buy the book for its illustrations - there aren't any! > > The text is light but scholarly. > > Richard Wright Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 22:21:21 -0000 From: "=?iso-8859-1?Q?Nanna_R=F6gnvaldard=F3ttir?=" Subject: Re: SC - Steamed Pudding Recipes - 2nd installment [about comments that pimento = allspice] Kiri wrote: >All right. Now I'm confused. When I think "pimento", I think of a reddish >pepper sort of thing that's sweet that I mix with mayo and cheddar cheese to >make pimento cheese. Surely this isn't what you're talking about! The pimento >I know is definitely a new world thing, and I've never seen it any way but in a >small glass jar. > >So please, 'splain! "...when Spanish explorers encountered the plant in Jamaica at the beginning of the 16th century, they thought the berries resembled those of the pepper and gave them names such as "Jamaica pepper", and "pimento" (from pimienta, the Spanish word for peppercorn). As for the peppers, pim(i)ento was originally used as a term to cover all peppers. I¥ve read somewhere that the Spaniards (presumably a different set of Spaniards from those who encountered the allspice berries) thought that since this new spice was hotter and more potent than pepper (pimienta, which is female), it had to be a male version, so they called it pimiento (male). I have no idea if that is true. Allspice is called pepper in many languages (Jamaica pepper, Nelkenpfeffer, kryddpeppar, poivre de la jamaique, etc.), pimenta in others, but some names also refer to its taste and aroma, which often seem like a blend of several spices (in Icelandic, it is called allrahanda, which means "all sorts"; this term is also used for mixed spice blends of the type I described in my earlier post and sometimes you have no idea which of these things the term refers to in a recipe. Nanna Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 21:22:30 -0500 From: Philip & Susan Troy Subject: Re: SC - Steamed Pudding Recipes - 2nd installment Nanna RˆgnvaldardÛttir wrote: > Allspice is called pepper in many languages (Jamaica pepper, Nelkenpfeffer, > kryddpeppar, poivre de la jamaique, etc.), pimenta in others, but some names > also refer to its taste and aroma, which often seem like a blend of several > spices (in Icelandic, it is called allrahanda, which means "all sorts"; this > term is also used for mixed spice blends of the type I described in my > earlier post and sometimes you have no idea which of these things the term > refers to in a recipe. To add to the confusion, some French cooks refer to allspice as quatre-epice, regardless of the fact that they also use an actual blend of four spices (pepper, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon) for a largely similar purpose. Adamantius Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2000 11:44:45 -0500 (EST) From: Jenne Heise Subject: Re: SC - orris/iris root > After taking a closer look at a bottle of 'Bombay Sapphire' (gin) I came across a spice/herb I haven't heard of. All spices used in the gin are listed and one of them is orris. On the label it says 'Orris (Iris root), from Italy'. > I checked the spice pages at > http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/index.html > but couldn't find any info. Anyone out there who could enlighten me ? Um. Orris root is the rhizome from the Florentine Iris. These Irises have a rhizome (sort of like a root, rather than a bulb: ginger, galangal, and tumeric are all rhizomes), which is dried and powdered and sold as 'Orris root'; also, the essential oil is extracted and sold as 'orris oil'. Freshly ground Orris has a violet scent and I've read that it was the primary ingredient in violet powder, along with oil of Parma violet. It isn't generally used in cooking, though the Encyclopedia Britannica does note that it is used in some gin. If you want to make a period-style body powder or sachet, Orris powder makes a good base. -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise jenne at tulgey.browser.net Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2001 21:02:50 EST From: LrdRas at aol.com Subject: Re: Saumon Gentil (was: SC - Re: SC- Turkish Food) jenne at mail.browser.net writes: << Uh-- guys, where did the Gillyflowers go? And where the did the cloves come from? >> Gilliyflower being used to mean carnations is a later meaning of the word original the term meant cloves. From Miriam-Webster: gil*ly*flow*er (noun)[by folk etymology from Middle English gilofre clove, from Middle French girofle, gilofre, from Latin caryophyllum, from Greek karyophyllon, from karyon nut + phyllon leaf -- more at CAREEN, BLADE]First appeared 1551 : CARNATION 2 Ras Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 08:53:28 -0400 (EDT) From: Jenne Heise Subject: Re: SC - figs > There's another ingredient here that I think you may need to be > concerned with if you want the ingredients to be period for pre-1600 > Europe and I think that is the allspice. > It was my understanding that allspice is a New World spice. I'm not > sure when it became commonplace in Europe, especially in England. Yup, you would be right, Stefan. The Encyclopedia Britannica sez, "The first record of its import to Europe is from 1601." However, replacing allspice is relatively trivial, since the taste is a combination of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. Add some grated nutmeg, a bit more cinnamon & cloves, and omit the allspice. - -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise jenne at mail.browser.net Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 10:27:45 -0700 (PDT) From: Chris Stanifer To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: [Sca-cooks] False Cubeb Alert During my search for a reliable cubeb source, I came across this information, which I decided to post "just in case"... "Description : Among numerous false cubebs, the fruits of Piper Crassipes are probably the best known. And since they occur so frequently in commercial lots of cubeb that they am often distilled with true cubeb, or even distilled as true cubeb by unexperienced distillers. The fruits of Piper Crassipes are generally smaller than true cubebs and when crushed between the fingers or in a mortar, they emit a sweet, cineole type odor, in contrast to the spicy warm, aromatic woody odor of true cubebs. The color of Piper Crassipes fruits is grayish, while true cubebs are brown or reddish brown in color. Oil of Piper Crassipes is a greenish yellow, somewhat viscous liquid of faint, but fresh medicinal odor, slightly reminiscent of niaouli oil and with a dryout of a clove terpene type odor or cedrela odorata type odor." Is there a danger of getting "false cubeb" when we order cubebs from our suppliers? I don't know... but now that we know the difference, we can keep an eye out for it. Balthazar of Blackmoor Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 14:59:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Ruth Frey To: Subject: [Sca-cooks] More on cubebs. > From: Chris Stanifer > In the previous site, the author advises that "true > cubebs" can be differentiated from "false cubebs" by > an examination of color. True cubebs are a reddish > brown, while false cubebs are more gray... > > However, in this site the author indicates cubebs are > grayish in color.... hmmnn.. Interesting. I recently came upon a possible cubeb confusion myself, doing some research. Most modern sources say that "cubeb pepper" and "tailed pepper" are the same thing; however Gerard (1633 ed.) clearly differentiates between the two. He has an entry on tailed pepper, which he describes as being similar to, but not the same as, cubebs. However, he doesn't seem to have an entry on cubebs (though I have found a few glitches in his index before, and that's a biiiiig book to page through looking for one entry -- I might be wrong). FWIW, the "cubebs" I have on hand (ordered from Seattle Spice Merchants, good company) are definitely a dark reddish brown. They have an excellent spicy flavor that works well in marinades for meats. Whatever they are, I like 'em! :) For those interested, Seattle Spice Merchants can be found at: http://www.worldspice.com Good prices, rare stuff, fast service (in my experience, but then I live in the NW), and very trusting -- order the spice via email, they send it to you with an invoice, and then you send them a check. I didn't know anyone still did business that way! :) -- Ruth Freebourne Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 13:09:29 -0700 (PDT) From: Ruth Frey To: Subject: [Sca-cooks] "Pleyn Delyt" > In one recipe, the second edition calls for allspice. Allspice is not > documented as being used in period (some sources say that Columbus > brought it back, others that it was not imported until 1601), I'd > advise using a different spice. I don't have the book at hand, and can't look up the recipe you refer to, but one frequent modern substitution I've seen recommended is the use of 1/2 allspice and 1/2 pepper to simulate cubebs, for those who can't find them. It actually seems a reasonable substitution, flavor-wise, and I'm sure it can make a big difference for someone just starting out who really wants to try the flavors but might not have a full spice cabinet yet. Not that real cubebs aren't more Period, and very tasty, besides! I would vastly prefer to use them. FWIW, the other, similar substitutions I've seen are 1/2 pepper and 1/2 cardamom for Grains of Paradise, and 1/2 pepper and 1/2 ginger for galangal. Again, neither is as satisfactory as the Real Thing, but they're a start. -- Ruth From: "=?Windows-1252?Q?Nanna_R=F6gnvaldard=F3ttir?=" To: Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cardamon Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 02:54:06 -0000 From: Ron Rispoli >Could someone tell me the differences between white, green >and black cardamon? White and green are the same, the white has just been bleached. Black or brown is a different species (actually several species) and is usually thought to be inferior, although it isn't neccessarily, it is just used differently (tends to be used more in meat dishes and such, not in sweet dishes). Nanna From: grizly at mindspring.com Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 23:08:24 -0400 To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cardamon sca-cooks at ansteorra.org wrote: > Hail the list,Could someone tell me the differences between white, green and black cardamon? thanks. >> On researching Gernot Katzer's spice pages, I found this link for you: http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/index.html Green and Black cardamom can be found in the index under 'C' for cardamom. White is right out. No reference niccolo difrancesco Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 11:27:05 -0700 From: Susan Fox-Davis To: sca-cooks , Iron Chef Subject: [Sca-cooks] Spice website I've just been turned on to a pretty awesome website listing a whole world full of spices, their uses, their names in every language I can think of and many I can't, etc. Selene Sue Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2001 12:29:59 +1000 From: "Craig Jones." Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] garam marsala To: sca-cooks Organization: Airservices Australia ""Two questions. "" ""How does one get the cardamom out of the pods? (I always buy mine ""already free and clear of the little pod) Use a fingernail to split the pod and gently invert. The seeds are loose inside. I always buy pods if I can get then as they keep the seeds fresher. ""and ""WHAT is a cinnamon quill? I have heard of cinnamon "sticks", even cassia ""sticks, but never quills. Quill, stick. It's the same thing... Drake. ""Micaylah To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2001 03:59:01 -0500 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] spices question From: Morgana Abbey Nigella seeds: nifty little black seeds, mildly onion-like flavour. Related to the ornamental "love-in-a-mist." Used in pastries, especially Indian ones. Morgana From: "Terry Decker" To: Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] spices question Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2001 06:26:35 -0600 >> Nigella seeds > >What are Nigella seeds and where are they used? >-- >THLord Stefan li Rous Barony of Bryn Gwlad Kingdom of Ansteorra IIRC, they are the seeds of wild fennel, which is several plants in the genus Nigella. Bear Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2001 09:28:44 -0800 From: Susan Fox-Davis To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] spices question Morgana Abbey wrote: > Nigella seeds: nifty little black seeds, mildly onion-like flavour. > Related to the ornamental "love-in-a-mist." Used in pastries, especially > Indian ones. They are also known as "black caraway" although I am not sure they are closely related to the familiar brown caraway. I discovered them first in real Armenian string cheese, not the pale American version, this stuff comes in skeins, you could practically tat with it. I seem to remember seeing a mention of them in Russian rye bread, which sounds really nice. Selene, Caid To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Iron Chef Medieval Persian... From: "Christina L Biles" Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 08:30:17 -0600 Anahita wrote: >>>Of course i couldn't find musk flavoring either, which was supposed to be in the dates and in the syrup... Anyone know where i can find some? I hear they have musk flavored life-savers in Australia... anyway to get some musk flavoring? There is an herb - musk seed, musk mallow, Egyptian alcee, target-leaved hibiscus, Ambrette Seed, Hibiscus abelmoschus - which is used as a musk substitute. Specifically, an oil prepared from the seeds is used. So, you might try looking for ambrette oil. -Magdalena From: "Terry Decker" To: Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] vanilla beans Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 06:26:11 -0600 >Vanilla is New World. I can't think of any late period recipes using >them, but I don't know the late period sources that well. > >Elizabeth/Betty Cook According to my notes, the first recorded appearance of vanilla in English is in Indian Nectar (1662), where it is described as a flavoring agent for chocolate. A couple of sources place its arrival in Europe as 1527 with the return of Hernando Cortez. I have nothing suggesting vanilla was actually used prior to 1600. If there is, it is most likely in Spanish sources. Bear Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 10:57:12 -0500 From: johnna holloway To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] vanilla beans "Then, in 1602, Hugh Morgan, apothecary to Queen Elizabeth I, suggested that vanilla could be used as a flavoring all by itself, and the versatility of the exotic bean was finally uncovered." http://www.nielsenmassey.com/historyofvanilla.htm [note the source of the story] This story is repeated in the Florilegium, but cites another flavouring company. Oddly, enough Andrew Dalby repeats "It was Hugh Morgan, apothecary to Oueen Elizabeth I, who is said to have suggested the use of vanilla as a flavouring for other foods." Dangerous Tastes, p.148. If the Hugh Morgan connection is true, then the uses seem to have been medicinal. It may well occur in medicinal recipes in the 17th century, but there don't seem to be other recorded instances or recipes in the literature to support the claim. Johnnae llyn Lewis Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 11:11:02 -0500 From: johnna holloway To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] vanilla beans One more source on vanilla--- There are recipes for chocolate that use vanilla published in France by M St. Disdier in 1692. See Sophie and Michael Coe's The True History of Chocolate. pp.162-164. She mentions Hernandez's account of an Aztec recipe for chocolate that inflames the venereal appetites on pages 90-94. It also includes mention of vanilla. Johnnae llyn Lewis From: "Decker, Terry D." To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2002 12:43:22 -0600 Subject: [Sca-cooks] Cloves and possible addition to the glossary > original stuff. Also, I wasn't sure what powdour gylofre > (cloves) until AFTER I made the first batch. > > --Artemesia You're running up against Norman English. Glyofre is the clove tree (Syzygium aromaticum). The term "clove" means "nail" and it derives from the Latin "clavus" through the Old French "clou (de girofle)" or "nail (of the clove tree)." Using the term nail to mean a whole clove is fairly common. In German recipes, you will find them referred to as "neglein" or "naegelen" or "gewuertz naegelen." Modernly, they are "Gewuertz Nelke" or "spice nails." Bear Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 21:57:24 -0500 To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org From: Angie Malone Subject: [Sca-cooks] encyclopedia of spices I found an interesting site that included a spice encyclopedia. I think it is actually a place that sells spices but the encyclopedia looked useful. Here's the URL: http://www.theepicentre.com/index.html Angeline From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002 21:57:56 -0500 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] encyclopedia of spices Interesting site. For spice and herb information, I rather like Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages: http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/index.html Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom From: "David Dendy" To: Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] "Blattes de Bysance" in the Baghdad cookery book Date: Tue, 14 May 2002 23:38:04 -0700 The direct meaning of the "blattes de Byzance" is the operculum or shell-hinge of a species of mollusc, used in perfumery. However, Arberry's translation was confused because the editor of the Arabic version of the text, not finding the actual word used in his modern Arabic dictionaries, had altered the spelling to what he guessed it might be, and so got the wrong word. I include below a bit out a survey of spice mixes which I am working on, which should give you an idea of the real thing Francesco Sirene ATRAF AT-TIB ("PARTICLES OF PERFUME") This is the spice mix most often called for in the Wusla; in the Kitab al-tabikh it appears in eight recipes, including meat stew, fish dishes, savory relishes, and sauces. [Arberry, "Baghdad Cookery-Book", pp. 36, 203, 205-207. Arberry's confusion about the name and composition of this seasoning, which he translates as "blattes de Bysance" (an odiferous substance, the operculums of the shells of Strombus lentigosus, which is used in perfumery), is corrected in Rodinson, "Recherches", p. 132.] " . . .definition of "atraf at-tib"; it is a spice mixture very often used in cooking; this mixture includes lavender, areca (betel) nut, bay leaves, nutmeg, mace, cardamom, cloves, rosebuds, beechnuts, ginger and pepper, this last being previously ground separately." [Rodinson, "Recherches", pp. 132, 152. My translation from the French.] Considering the complexity and types of ingredients in this mixture, it seems to be an ancestor of the modern Moroccan mixture called ras el hanout ("top (or head) of the shop"), perhaps because it is the finest and best the spice merchant has to offer. Ras el hanout will include anywhere from ten spices upwards to perhaps more than a hundred ingredients. From: Robin Carroll-Mann >Does anyone who what this mystery ingredient is? Our cook's >guild is doing Middle Eastern for the next meeting, so I've been >reading through the Anonymous Andalusian and al-Baghdadi. The >literal translation seems to be "cockroaches of Byzantium". I >thought I'd seen this discussed somewhere, but a Google search >isn't turning anything up. > >Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2002 09:56:54 -0400 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Marzipan On 27 Jul 2002, at 1:24, Patricia Collum wrote: > May I ask- what is sanders? > > Cecily Sanders is the powdered bark of red sandalwood. It was used as a food coloring in the Middle Ages. It can be ordered from specialty spice dealers. Alternatively, you could use a small amount of red food coloring. Brighid ni Chiarain *** mka Robin Carroll-Mann Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom rcmann4 at earthlink.net From: "Decker, Terry D." To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" Subject: Nigella was (Re: [Sca-cooks] Looking for an sources of:) Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 12:37:19 -0600 Nigella is the seed of Nigella sativa (also known as fennel flower or wild fennel). Nigella is also referred to as black caraway, black cumin and black onion seed. Chernushka (or charnushka) is the Russian name. Bear Date: Tue, 19 Nov 2002 11:05:12 -0800 To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org From: lilinah at earthlink.net Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Nigella, was Looking for an sources of: Some additional information on nigella (Nigella sativa): Nigella was used by the Romans, according to one web site - and we all know how trustworthy the web is in general :-0 Can anyone verify or expand on this? It is currently used in Iran, Lebanon, and Turkey, as well as Armenia, North India, and Pakistan. Nigella is known as kalonji in Indian markets and sometimes "black onion seeds", although it isn't an onion. Nigella is in the Ranunculaceae (buttercup) family. I've found some inaccurate attributions. Nigella is NOT black cumin and it is NOT black caraway. Black cumin is also known as kala jira, kala jeera, and kala zeera. Botanically it is Bunium persicum. It is related to the "light" cumin we commonly use. The seed called black caraway is usually just black cumin. Both cumin and black cumin and caraway are in Apiaceae (parsley family). Nigella is not an Apiaceae and is therefore not related to any cumin or caraway. Another confusing seed is known in North India as ajwan, ajowan, ajwain. Botanically it can be called Carum ajowan, Trachyspermum ammi, Ptychotis ajowan, or Trachyspermum copticum, according to Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages - and i trust him. He has done amazing research. I've corresponded with him and he really wants good information. Ajwan, too, is in the Parsley family (Apiaceae), along with cumin, black, cumin, and caraway. Anyway, ajwan is colored and shaped like cumin, but a bit shorter and rounder. It is sometimes called lovage seed, but Gernot Katzer thinks this is a misnomer. Lovage is also in the Apiaceae family but it is botanically Levisticum officinale. Other Apiaceae are anise, asafoetida, celery, chervil, coriander, dill, fennel - along with cumin, caraway, lovage, and ajwan... and the long lost silphium. For good information on nigella, see: http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?Buni_per.html This site is an excellent source of information on a huge range of herbs and spices. He gives botanical names, pharmaceutical names, names in a really wide range of languages, and historical, sensory, and culinary information. http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?spice_welcome.html The site is written in frames (and well written) but Gernot gives you the option of not using frames, if you prefer. Anahita From: jenne at fiedlerfamily.net Date: Thu, 12 Dec 2002 18:35:00 -0500 (EST) To: Subject: [Sca-cooks] UCLA Medicinal Spices Exhibit Very cool site reviewed in LIIWEEK: Spices: Exotic Flavors and Medicines Contains basic facts, photographs, and illustrations of nearly thirty herbs and spices. Explores the importance of spices, culinary aspects, perfumes and incense, and the use of spices as aphrodisiacs and medicines. Includes a timeline history of the spice trade, and a chart measuring the hotness of various spices. Searchable and browsable. From the Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, University of California, Los Angeles. http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/biomed/spice/index.cfm -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa jenne at fiedlerfamily.net Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 10:56:25 -0500 Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Anniversary of Amore From: Daniel Myers To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org On Friday, January 24, 2003, at 02:40 PM, CorwynWdwd at aol.com wrote: > [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ] > In a message dated 1/23/2003 10:35:39 PM Eastern Standard Time, > kattratt at charter.net writes: > >> Sandalwood is edible isn't it? Corwyn? I think I have seen it in >> recipes... I know that Vanilla and Sandalwood together are a great >> aphrodisiac.... > > RED Sandalwood was (and sometimes still is) used as a food coloring. > While I > don't know if the standard yellow stuff is food safe, I'd assume so... > probably tastes yucky, but in the amounts you'd use it probably > wouldn't kill > you... I think I'd use some food grade musk with some rose maybe... Yikes! No, yellow sandalwood is *NOT* food safe. Yellow Sandalwood (Santalum album) is a completely different plant from Red Sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinus). One site selling Yellow Sandalwood has this warning: "Not for use by persons with diseases of the parenchyma of the kidney. Do not use for more than six weeks in succession without consulting a physician." Another site notes: "Some people may experience mild skin irritation from topical application of sandalwood oil. Persons with kidney disease should not use sandalwood internally. Until more is known, sandalwood oil should be avoided for internal use during pregnancy and lactation.=A0 Infants and children should not take sandalwood oil internally." Also note that most sites advocating its use recommend something in the range of 1 to 2 grams for *external* use. So while a very small amount would probably not be harmful, its use in larger amounts is not advisable, and it should not be given to anyone unawares. Red Sandalwood on the other hand is essentially harmless - if used in too great a quantity however, your food will taste like sawdust. - Doc Edouard Halidai (Daniel Myers) http://www.medievalcookery.com/ Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2003 23:10:27 -0700 From: Maggie MacDonald Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Question on Cubebs To: Cooks within the SCA At 09:20 PM 10/16/2003,Barbara Benson said something like: > I have come across some one else providing a suggestion for a Cubeb > substitution. They said that a combination of black pepper and allspice > would be a good substitute. > > This is a sub that I have not come across, and I am having a hard time > envisioning the flavor combination. > > Anybody have 2 cents worth? > > I know allspice isn't period, but in a crunch this might be useful. > > Serena da Riva Yes, thats about the flavor of a cubeb, if you had to fake it with something else. There is a recipe somewhere, is it losyns? that calls for cubebs to be crushed and put in. In the Joy of Cooking, so I hear, is a noodle recipe similar to losyns, with the noodles, cheese, etc .. and it calls for pepper and alllspice? nutmeg? to be sprinkled over. Just yet another giggle as to how a recipe is slowly adapted for modern use. Maggie MacD. Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 05:54:32 -0600 From: Sue Clemenger Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Question on Cubebs To: Cooks within the SCA > I have come across some one else providing a suggestion for a Cubeb > substitution. They said that a combination of black pepper and allspice > would be a good substitute. Yeah, that's not actually too far from a sorta-flavor match. Cubebs aren't that hard to find, if you need some, though. I betcha the Pepperers' Guild (link off His Grace's website was working last time I checked) sells them. Heck, I can even get them locally. --maire Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 09:09:15 -0400 (EDT) From: Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Question on Cubebs To: Cooks within the SCA > I have come across some one else providing a suggestion for a Cubeb > substitution. They said that a combination of black pepper and allspice > would be a good substitute. > > This is a sub that I have not come across, and I am having a hard time > envisioning the flavor combination. > > Anybody have 2 cents worth? Hm... a little allspice in with the peppers should work. However, I would think that in period a different substitution would be used-- I read somewhere that juniper berries were sometimes used when you couldn't afford cubeb, or you might use pepper by itself. -- Pani Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 08:28:41 -0700 From: "Anne-Marie Rousseau" Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Question on Cubebs To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" >>>>> Hm... a little allspice in with the peppers should work. However, I would think that in period a different substitution would be used-- I read somewhere that juniper berries were sometimes used when you couldn't afford cubeb, or you might use pepper by itself. -- Pani Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net <<<<<< Hmm! I wouldn't consider juniper berries a match in flavor at all, in spite of them being vaguely the same shape (round) and same color (black) ;). If you don't have cubeb, I'd use pepper and a tetch of ginger. If you don't even have ginger, you could just use pepper. The flavor of cubebs is a little more "interesting" than that, but a good tellicherry peppercorn might come sorta close. You can buy cubebs from worldspice at www.worldspice.com. Tell Tony hiya from Anne-Marie :) --AM Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:41:36 -0400 (EDT) From: Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Question on Cubebs To: Cooks within the SCA > Hmm! I wouldn't consider juniper berries a match in flavor at all, in > spite of them being vaguely the same shape (round) and same color > (black) ;). Oh no, definitely not a match in flavor. I just mentioned them because I've seen references to them being used _in period_ in dishes in place of cubebs. -- Pani Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 17:40:24 -0400 (EDT) From: Subject: [Sca-cooks] juniper as pepper substitute To: Dalby mentions juniper as a cheap pepper substitute on p. 133 of _Dangerous Tastes_ -- Pani Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 02:49:31 -0400 From: Alex Clark Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Question on Cubebs To: Cooks within the SCA At 12:20 AM 10/17/2003 -0400, Serena da Riva wrote: >I have come across some one else providing a suggestion for a Cubeb >substitution. They said that a combination of black pepper and allspice >would be a good substitute. >. . . >I know allspice isn't period, but in a crunch this might be useful. Having just bitten a whole cubeb and a whole allspice berry, I don't think they're all that similar (other than in size, shape, and color). Cubebs taste at least about as much like caraway seeds as like allspice. I suspect that this suggested substitution only works to the extent that allspice is similar to a lot of other spices, as its name suggests. Of course it's also different from each of the others, but often not as distinctively different as some other spices are. This makes it an obvious (though not always suitable) choice for many substitutions. As a practical substitute, I'd suggest using a much smaller amount of freshly ground black pepper. The flavor is similar, though pepper is hotter. But the ideal solution would be to keep up a supply of cubebs. :-) Henry of Maldon/Alex Clark Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2003 13:01:31 -0400 From: "Barbara Benson" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] OT: milled pinks To: "Cooks within the SCA" The flower dianthus, in period known as a "Pink" has leaves that are clove scented and flavored. They were used in period as a cheap clove substitute. I don't know anything about Animal Horn, but the Pink (or Gillyflower) would give you the clove scent and flavor. As with Phlip, I have no clue about this tidbit of information in relation to your question, but I think it might be relavent. Serena da Riva > > Does anyone know what milled pinks are? > > > > I have a German cookie recipe which calls for "a little milled pinks" > > which I want to try. > > > > Marina > > Phlip: > Margali said that last year, we were discussing leavening agents, of the > more exotic variety, ground pinks refers to ground animal horn, and that in > the modern version of the recipe, Germans use ground cloves to get the same > sharpness of flavor in the dough. This is from her German friend, Christian- Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 16:52:09 -0600 From: "KarenO" Subject: [Sca-cooks] juniper berries in period recipes? To: "Cooks within the SCA" > On 10/21/2003 , Harris Mark.S-rsve60 wrote: >> Marina answered me with: They are also very nice mixed with white >> wine in a marinade for roast pork.(also not period) <<< >> >> So, do you put them in whole or crush them? >> Stefan My spice book says that the berries were used by enterprising Romans to adultarate pepper, and were burned in the Middle Ages to clean the air of pestilence. They are a natural foil for game & fatty foods. Actually the berries crush very easily -- I use them often for marinades & as an addition for my pepper mix. They go well with beef, apples, cabbage, game pork, & goose; and they combine well with bay, caraway, celery, garlic, rosemary, savory, thyme, & marojam. Andrew Dalby writes: "Their use in Roman cookery is really one more indication of the popularity of pepper, because juniper berries served as a cheap pepper substitute." Caointiarn Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 08:06:48 -0500 From: James May Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Need some Help with Spanish Recipes.... To: Cooks within the SCA > what are grains of paradise? > Angharad ferch Iorwerth; MKA Vicki Shaw A good site to bookmark is http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/index.html You can find most spices listed with some history, alternate language spelling, botanical info, uses, and sources. Jehan Yves Date: Fri, 04 Jun 2004 20:33:28 -0600 From: Thebard thebard3 at earthlink.net> Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Malabathrum and unrelated Penzey's paprika recall To: Cooks within the SCA Sharon Gordon wrote: > Does anyone know of a source in the US for the spice malabathrum or > for a live plant? > > I checked the florilegium, where it's listed as an ingredient in a > recipe, but no discussion of a source. Looked a few of my more esoteric sources and from what I’ve found out it’s almost impossible to find outside of N. India. But was told that if you're lucky, and near a large city, you can sometimes find them in ethnic markets labeled Indian Bay (Cinnammum tejpata). But I’ve had a few people tell me that Boldo leaves (Boldu boldus) from S. America can be used as a substitute, if you can find them, but they are slightly bitter. I was told that you could also use a small piece of cinnamon bark as well. Sorry I couldn't find anything more useful, hope this helps a little though. Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2004 22:20:38 -0400 From: Daniel Myers Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Malabathrum and unrelated Penzey's paprika recall To: Cooks within the SCA Subject: [Sca-cooks] Fw: Link to spice page To: my hubby found this....... it lists the history and origin o a lot of spices (where from, etc) and i thought it might be useful. http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/spiceref.html Kirsten Houseknecht Fabric Dragon kirsten at fabricdragon.com Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 14:33:34 -0400 From: "Sharon Gordon" Subject: [Sca-cooks] Spice:The History of a Temptation To: New book: Spice : The History of a Temptation by JACK TURNER Publication date: August 10, 2004 Publisher: Knopf Binding: Hardcover ISBN: 0375407219 Amazon Rnk: 404 Info about book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375407219/ref=pe_al_s_e9/104-3015165-0070345?v=glance&s=books Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 14:00:05 -0400 From: Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise Subject: Anise v. Star Anise Re: [Sca-cooks] Herby things To: Cooks within the SCA > Aniseed could probably be substituted for star anise, but I would taste > carefully because it is strong stuff! I have only found star anise for > sale pre-ground in a Chinese market. Bear in mind that period European recipes that call for anise or aniseed are calling for Pimpinella anisum, regular anise. Star anise does not appear to have been imported to Europe in the period covered by the SCA. -- -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 14:14:16 -0400 From: Elaine Koogler Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Herby things To: Cooks within the SCA Susan Fox-Davis wrote: > Aniseed could probably be substituted for star anise, but I would > taste carefully because it is strong stuff! I have only found star > anise for sale pre-ground in a Chinese market. I got the actual stars from Penzey's...and I wouldn't substitute aniseed...I think the flavors are somewhat different. Kiri Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 13:49:30 -0800 (PST) From: Samrah Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] cardamom (was rosewater) To: Cooks within the SCA With all due respect, I will have to disagree with Jadwiga on this one. Not getting uppity or snippy here, my herbalist soul craves whole and/or fresh anything whenever available, and cardamom is my favorite spice ;o) My family has used both ground and whole cardamom for generations. Yes, the ground stuff does lose its potency faster than whole spice. All spices do. (I never use ground nutmeg, always grate whole myself.) But if you start with a fresh ground cardamom, preferably from an Indian market, it will be fine for several months. Then you can add more spice or purchase new spice. I paid $8 for 7 oz whole, and about $3.50 for 3-1/2 oz. ground in the beginning of December. Both are still in good shape. The prices at regular (ie, non-ethnic) markets for cardamom can be outrageous, even wholesale. And, in my experience, the quality is not as nice, even from the "high-class" type suppliers/establishments. Much better to deal with Indian markets if you can find one. Samrah (in mostly sunny Wintermist, Caid, mka Bakersfield, California) PS. I have also used essential oil of cardamom as a flavoring. It is expensive, but very nice. Thus spaketh Jadwiga, honourable herbalist and cardamom-lover: > Ground cardamom does NOT keep effectively. Getting whole cardamom and > grinding it when you need it is the ONLY way to go. Ok, so I love > cardamom and I'm an herbalist so I'm a little emphatic. But really, > ground cardamom loses most of its essential oils in a week to a month > and it just isn't worth it. Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2005 03:29:02 -0700 From: James Prescott Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] cardamom (was rosewater) To: Cooks within the SCA My East Indian friends recommend the green cardamom (colour of shell) over the black, so that's what I buy. In my opinion, worth every penny to get the whole stuff and mortar it before use. Thorvald Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 22:25:20 -0500 From: "Martin G. Diehl" Daniel Myers wrote: > On Mar 10, 2005, at 12:09 PM, JohnnaHolloway wrote: >> British Library has an online display up on Books for Cooks >> http://www.bllearning.co.uk/live/text/cookery/ > > Aaarrrggh! > > "Food was flavoured with as many spices as could be > afforded, just to disguise the flavour of salt, > pickling vinegar or putridness." > > *sigh* > > - Doc Here is a different spin on that ... "The Consumption of Spices and Their Costs in Late-Medieval and Early-Modern Europe: Luxuries or Necessities?"; http://www.economics.utoronto.ca/munro5/SPICES1.tm Vincenzo Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2005 18:01:26 -0400 From: "The Borg" Subject: [Sca-cooks] New site To: "Cooks List" I just found this lecture The Consumption of Spices and Their Costs in Late-Medieval and Early-Modern Europe: Luxuries or Necessities? by Prof. John Munro of University of Torornto. I thought you all might be interested. http://www.economics.utoronto.ca/munro5/SPICES1.htm Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 15:14:03 -0700 (PDT) From: Samrah Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] nibbles: fennel docs To: Cooks within the SCA kingstaste at mindspring.com wrote: Fennel seeds as well. I have a reference but don't know where it came from, about keeping fennel seeds in one's pockets to nibble on during long church services. It sweetens the breath and is an appetite suppressant. Christianna <<< Just in case anybody needs docs on this stuff. It is probably easier for me to look it up than many folks ;o) If anybody actually needs full-on bibliography, please let me know, otherwise I just list IBSN. I remember the reference to munching on fennel seeds during boring church sermons, but can't seem to find the source either. Fennel is mentioned in Gerard, p. 242, (my copy is IBSN 1 85958 0513), but I hate Gerard as a source. He knew their were 1500 errors in his herbal and had the dern thing published anyway--much less how much info we have now found to be incorrect! Lathrop, Herbs How to Select, Grow & Enjoy, IBSN 0-89586077-5, p. 67, dates fennel to 490 BC in Greece. Sunset Herbs an Illustrated Guide IBSN 0-376-03324-X, p. 56, states "In continental Europe, the spread of fennel was furthered by the decree of Charlemagne, who specified its cultivation on the imperial plantations." Fennel is also an excellent diuretic (Lawless, Enc. of Essential Oils, IBSN 1-85230-311-5, p. 97), and from personal experience. Many of you probably know this, but it is used as a seasoning in Italian sausage so quite often around here we order pizza for swollen feet, etc. Usual disclaimers: I'm not an M.D., not prescribing, consult your health care professionals, etc., just sayin' occasionally we order Italian sausage pizza.... Samrah Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 07:44:21 -0800 From: Susan Fox Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] An interesting proposal... To: Cooks within the SCA It's worth mentioning for the benefit of USAians that what most of Europe calls "pimento" is what we call "allspice" rather than the sliced mild red peppers in a jar that we usually see labeled "pimentoes". Dame Selene Colfox Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2006 07:59:14 -0700 From: Susan Fox Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Outlandish Seige contest - further thoughts To: Cooks within the SCA I love nigella seeds. They are not really "peppery" so much as mild but pleasant. Mostly we see them imbedded in Armenian string cheese, the kind that looks like a real braid of yarn; and on top of Afgan flat bread. I might strew them over a salad or creamy soup like a Vichyssoise some time. They are often labeled as "Black Caraway" but are actually unrelated. Cheers, Selene Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2006 09:28:06 EDT From: Devra at aol.com Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Spice Islands To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org This month's Saveur Magazine has an article on food of the Spice Islands. A prime example of change in food (almost every recipe includes large numbers of Thai chilie peppers) the article has something very nice: photos of whole fresh nutmegs in their fleshy casings, fresh galangale, and fresh tumeric. Their comments on the shelf life of spices are also very -um- enlightening. Devra Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2006 08:16:34 -0400 From: Johnna Holloway Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Spice Islands To: Cooks within the SCA The book to read that they don't mention is Giles Milton's Nathaniel's Nutmeg which came out in 1999. It's all about the 17th century battle over Run. Johnnae Devra at aol.com wrote: > This month's Saveur Magazine has an article on food of the Spice Islands. A > prime example of change in food (almost every recipe includes large numbers > of Thai chilie peppers) the article has something very nice: photos of whole > fresh nutmegs in their fleshy casings, fresh galangale, and fresh tumeric. > Their comments on the shelf life of spices are also very -um- enlightening. > Devra Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2006 11:06:25 -0400 From: "grizly" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] filet powder To: , "Cooks within the SCA" -----Original Message----- Does anyone know exactly what is in filet powder? It shouldn't be hard to make our own. ~Aislinn~ Et si omnes ego non.> > > > > > > Powdered sassafrass leves. See http://www.foodreference.com/html/artfilegumbo.html to wit: FILE (GUMBO FILE) File, or as it is also known because of its association with gumbo, gumbo file, is the powdered dried leaves of the sassafras tree. The Choctaw Indians (Mississippi and Alabama) first used this seasoning. It has a flavor resembling that of root beer. It is an essential flavoring and thickening ingredient of gumbo and other Creole dishes. File is generally added after cooking, when the dish has been removed from the heat, but still hot, because it becomes stringy with cooking. Buy in small quantities, file powder loses its flavor when stored for long periods. Store in a cool dry place for 3-4 months. 1 pound = 6 cups. niccolo difrancesco Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 23:11:59 -0500 From: "Terry Decker" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Green cardamom? To: "Christiane" , "Cooks within the SCA" Cardomom appears in the writings of Pliny and Dioscorides and it appears to have been a popular spice in Rome. It's original introduction into Europe was probably in the 4th Century BCE to the Greeks. The problem is we can't tell from the writing what type of cardomom was being used. There is also a question as to whether cardomom was substituted for grains of paradise or vice-versa, which generated an extensive debate on the list. You should be able to find it in the Florilegium. Bear > I picked up some green cardamom yesterday at an Indian grocery (whole pods > with seeds). I know of its use and versatility in Indian cooking, but I am > curious as to its historical use, in Western medieval and Middle Eastern > medieval cooking. > > Gianotta Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:35:57 -0600 (GMT-06:00) From: smcclune at earthlink.net Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cubebs, was Recipe(s) Request To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org -----Original Message----- > From: "Caointiarn" > > Where did you find cubebs??!! I'm done to a measly small number, and need > to find more! I'm teaching a spice class for the Kingdom Collegium, and > would like to get more. <<< Umm ... if I may ... while I wholeheartedly support doing business with SCA merchants, if you just can't find them that way ... Amazon.com has them for $16.33 for a 1-lb. bag: http://www.amazon.com/Blessac-The-European-importer-spices/dp/ B000CER5K2/ref=sr_1_4/104-0684337-9427949?ie=UTF8&s=gourmet- food&qid=1177603015&sr=8-4 or http://tinyurl.com/2am2rd Interestingly, they say that people who bought cubebs also bought Grains of Paradise and Long Pepper. Ya think?!? Arwen Southernwood Outlands Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 09:01:37 -0400 From: Johnna Holloway Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Setting up a new kitchen To: Cooks within the SCA One easy way to think about this is to take a look at Doc's site http://www.medievalcookery.com/index.shtm There's a section there on spices based on how often they appear in medieval cookbooks. http://www.medievalcookery.com/spices.shtm You might find that helpful as you can browse the list and see what appears. Johnnae > Snipped --what would you recommend as essential to own for > someone new to period cooking? What spices are essential, what > pantry items so necessary that you'd hate to be without? (Bonus > points for sources to purchase :) ). > --Brygyt Strangewayes > (mka Juliann) Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:01:20 -0400 From: Jehan Yves de Chateau Thiery Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Photos of Spices To: alysk at ix.netcom.com, Cooks within the SCA At 01:20 PM 10/18/2007, you wrote: > Greetings! For anyone who doesn't know what a cubeb, long pepper or mace > look like, go to tudorcook.blogspot.com/ where some lovely closeup photos > appear. There also are great photos of garlic and nutmeg. The blog is for > the Tudor Cooks at Hampton Court, in case you have not heard of this > fascinating web page. > > Alys Katharine Another good site for almost any spice in existence is Gernot Katzer's Spice pages at: http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/index.html He gives "history, chemical constituents, and the etymology of their names. Last but not least, there are numerous photos featuring the live plants or the dried spices." JehanYves Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 20:27:31 +1030 From: "David & Sue Carter" To: Subject: Nice Spice Book I have recently purchased this book, and wish to recommend it to list members: Ian Hemphill "Spice Notes: A cooks compendium of herbs and spices" Pan Macmillan Australia ISBN 0 7329 1052 8 Hardback, first published 2000 Ian is the son of Rosemary and John Hemphill, well known Australian authorities on spices, who have published numerous excellent books. Ian and his wife, as second generation Hemphills, have a specialty spice shop in Sydney. This book is 500 pages of detailed information, designed to be a cooks reference book. There is a current trend for such books at the moment and this is one of the better ones in that it actually info on ingredients history in it, not just promised on the cover. However, I would have preferred better citation of the facts, despite the comprehensive Bibliography. The book has 3 main sections The first is the shortest and is a general how to purchase and store spices. The second part is a A-Z . It has most any herb or spice you could want. For each on it gives other common names, the botanical name, names in other languages, weight per teaspoon (VERY useful), and some suggestions for quantities, complementary foods, combinations etc: and all this is in the margin notes. The text gives you origin and history, description, how it is processed, form and storage, tips for usage. Many of the entries have a full recipe (mundane). All the SCA relevant herbs and spices are here, including a good description of the different sorts of pepper, and a good account of how mastic is sourced. Asafoetida, grains of paradise, galangal etc are also here. The third section considers the art of combining spices, and while useful in its discussion of regional varieties, and its recipes for classic spice mixes, it is less SCA relevant than the other two sections. At $50.00 AUS, its not cheap (well, not for us Aussies, but anyone in the US or UK can do the math into their own currency and have a nice surprise), but my copy already has thumb marks and I learnt three new things just leafing through it in the book shop. Yours, Esla (Sue Carter) Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:59:33 -0600 From: "Terry Decker" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Seeking Costus... To: "Cooks within the SCA" Costus or costum is believed to be the root of Saussurea lappa and is sometimes carried in health food stores under the names costus, kut, kut root or kushtha. A couple of other common names are saw wort and snow lotus, but they are used rather loosely when referring to various members of the genus (containing 300 or so members). Bear > I'd love to get some of the root variously called Costus and Costum > in most of the books i've read, and also called putchuk and kusht in > "Flavours of Byzantium" by Andrew Dalby. > > We have an excellent spice shop in town, called "Lhasa Karnak", which > carries lots of seasoning and medicinal herbs and spices, but they > don't have it - heck, for reasons i don't know, they don't carry long > pepper - i have to get it at, of all places, "Whole Foods". > > I did a web search, but didn't turn up anyone selling it. Has anyone > come across it for sale? > -- > Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM) Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:23:07 -0500 From: Johnna Holloway Subject: [Sca-cooks] Book opinion request To: Cooks within the SCA Christina Nevin wrote: > Has anyone seen this book: > > The Spice Route: A History, by John Keay. Berkeley: University of > California Press, 2006, [first published by John Murray Ltd., London] > > Opinions please? MTIA, > > Lucrezia There are so many of these spice trade and spice route books out there that it's hard to say which brings what to the table and how useful any single title would be to any given person. In the past few years we have had: Jack Turner's *Spice: The History of a Temptation. *Michael Krondl's* **The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice *John Keay's* The Spice Route: A History *Andrew Dalby's* **Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices *Charles Corn's* **The Scents of Eden: A History of the Spice Trade *Wolfgang Schivelbusch's *Tastes of Paradise: A Social History of Spices, Stimulants, and Intoxicants *Next month* **Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination *by Paul Freedman is coming. Add in the various handbooks, guides, and encyclopedias of spices and herbs, and cookbooks like *Where Flavor Was Born: Recipes and Culinary Travels Along the Indian Ocean Spice Route *and* *one has dozens of titles to choose from. There's a full description of John Keay's book at http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10668.html I will say that he emphasizes the routes and the trade and less on the product. It does include footnotes and a bibliography. I have to admit that I have not read all of this one yet. It's certainly worth looking at though and you might well like it and want it for the shelves at home. I would try and see it from a library first or maybe you can come across it in a larger bookstore. Check it out before purchase unless it's cheap enough to buy sight unseen. Johnnae Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:04:36 -0800 From: Lilinah Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Book opinion request To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org Johnna Holloway wrote: > There are so many of these spice trade and spice route books out there > that it's hard to say which brings what to the table and how useful > any single title would be to any given person. > > In the past few years we have had: > Jack Turner's "Spice: The History of a Temptation" > Michael Krondl's "The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the > Three Great Cities of Spice" > John Keay's "The Spice Route: A History" > Andrew Dalby's "Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices" > Charles Corn's "The Scents of Eden: A History of the Spice Trade" > Wolfgang Schivelbusch's "Tastes of Paradise: A Social History of > Spices, Stimulants, and Intoxicants" > > Next month: "Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination" > by Paul Freedman is coming. > > Add in the various handbooks, guides, and encyclopedias of spices and > herbs, and cookbooks like "Where Flavor Was Born: Recipes and Culinary > Travels Along the Indian Ocean Spice Route" and one has dozens of > titles to choose from. I have and have read Keay, Dalby, and Schivelbusch. I loved Dalby, enjoyed Keay, and found Schivelbusch a great disappointment. Anyone have any comments on any of the other books? I know a couple have been mentioned before... -- Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM) the persona formerly known as Anahita Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:19:24 -0800 From: Dragon Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] The benefits of Anise To: Cooks within the SCA V A wrote: > Hey, cool -- another folk remedy gets verified by modern > science. ;-) In > Lebanon, anise "tea" (just whole aniseseeds steeped in hot water) > is used as > a panacea for headaches, stomachaches, cramps, and whatever else > ails you. > My mom used to make it for me as a kid whenever I had a cold. When > I got to college I discovered it worked on hangovers too. ;-) > > Now the question for us is, what did medieval people think about the > curative properties of anise...? ---------------- End original message. --------------------- Anise has been used for a long time as a digestive aid. With Artemesia absinthum (Common Wormwood) it is one of the two primary flavoring ingredients in absinthe which was originally used as a digestive aid and anti-parasite tonic. It is used in a lot of other liqueurs that started out as tonics and curatives, including pastis, anisette, ouzo, and Chartreuse, all of which date from period. I know it is also used for soothing coughs. I know that there are references to it in medical texts from classical times but I don't think Culpeper mentions it. Dragon Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:43:08 -0600 (CST) From: jenne at fiedlerfamily.net Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] The benefits of Anise To: "Cooks within the SCA" > Now the question for us is, what did medieval people think about the > curative properties of anise...? Excerpt from my "Local Spices: Savory Seeds" class notes: Anise (Pimpinella anisum) This is the favorite digestive/carminative of the period. Anise was one of the comfit seeds mentioned by Rumpolt.It was used in mustards and other sauces. Apparently anise seed was added to the doubly-baked breads or rusks called binavice or biscotum which were called "soldier's bread" by Syrennius, who "noted that anise seed was normally added not so much for the flavor as for health reasons" (Dembinska, Food and Drink of Medieval Poland). Banckes' Herbal suggests it to treat gas, induce sweating, and as diuretic and/or laxative, but says, "And the seed must be parched or roasted in all manner medicines; then it will work the rather." William Turner (16th cent): "Anyse maketh the breath sweeter and swagethe payne." The Roman Pliny mentioned it in bread. Edward IV of England reputedly had sachets of anise and orris root to perfume his linen.(Clarkson) Humorally, it is considered hot in the second degree and dry in the second degree. Candied anise seed shows up as a garnish on top of puddings such as the plum puree called Erboles, also. -- -- Jenne Heise / Jadwiga Zajaczkowa Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:16:16 -0600 From: "Terry Decker" Subject: [Sca-cooks] Anise and Bread - Pliny Re: The benefits of Anise To: "Cooks within the SCA" > The Roman Pliny mentioned it in bread. > -- > -- Jenne Heise / Jadwiga Zajaczkowa More precisely, "...seeing that the seed is held in esteem as a most agreeable seasoning for bread." Pliny, The Natural History, Book XX chap. 71 And, "Both green and dried, it is held in high repute, as an ingredient in all seasonings and sauces, and we find it placed beneath the undercrust of bread." Pliny, The Natural History, Book XX chap. 72 While it may have been in the bread, as caraway in rye, I think it likely this was on the crust in the manner of poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Bear Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:27:27 -0500 From: euriol Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Anise and Bread - Pliny Re: The benefits of Anise To: Cooks within the SCA I found another reference for a bread recipe with anise in the bread... I only have an english translation: Translation: by Andrew Dalby White Bread Bread made from wheat is the best and most nutritious of all foods. Particularly if white, with a moderate use of yeast and salt, the dough kneaded midway between dryness and rawness, and with a little anise, fennel seed and mastic, it is very fine indeed. One with a hot constitution should include sesame in the dough. If wishing to add more moistness to the bread, knead in some almond oil. -Dalby, Andrew, Flavours of Byzantium, Great Britain: Prospect Books, 2003 I have yet to find a transliteration of the original recipe. I tried this the first time with caraway, because I didn't have anise or fennel in my cabinet and I just wanted to give a try. I found the caraway too strong a flavor against the use of the white flour. I had not had come across a recipe before for mastic either, and after my first time trying this recipe looked for a source. Now I have some mastic, is it supposed to be ground to a powder or possibly dissolved in something? I've never used this ingredient before. But, I do look forward to playing with this recipe more. Euriol Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2008 16:44:01 -0700 From: Lilinah Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] roman feast To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org cailte wrote: > yeah, i can see a lot of spin on the ingredients and how > they are cooked (in both senses of the word) in the > vehling. but it's fascinating reading. > > except for the cumin. never did like cumin. boy, did i > transplant to the wrong part of the country! Have you tried pan roasting/dry frying whole cumin seeds before grinding them? While i generally have no problem with cumin, i find it has a much more agreeable flavor after it has been "roasted". (there has got to be a better word... Adamantius? anyone?) When i made the Apician Peach Patina with Cumin Sauce (Cuminatum in Patina de Persicis : Patina of Peaches in Cumin Sauce [Apicius, Book IV, Chapter II, Recipe 34 in F&R]) for my Greco-Roman feast, i roasted the cumin seeds before making the dish (peaches in a sauce of lovage, parsley, mint, cumin, black pepper, honey, fish sauce, wine vinegar). The peaches were absolutely superb and the dish was fabulously yummy, as weird as the ingredients may sound to some. I had no precedent for this in Roman cooking and i confess i did it only to improve the flavor of the dish. The recipes doesn't specify exactly which cumin sauce to use. There are quite a few in the book. Besides cumin, nearly all include black pepper, fish sauce, and wine vinegar. Most include mint, lovage, parsley, rue, and honey. And a few include bay leaf, malabathrum, coriander, or old wine. Faas in his book "Around the Roman Table" included the Peach Patina recipe and one of many cumin sauces (p. 242), but did not bother to "redact" the recipe, merely commenting, "This is a curious recipe. Boiled peaches in perfumed olive oil sounds fine - but with cumin sauce? A challenge to the chef." Side Bar: According to Gernot Katzer's terrific spice pages, Malabathrum/malabathron is the leaf of Cinnamomum tamala and Cinnamomum tejapata, and also called tejpat and Indian bay-leaf http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Cinn_tam.html Unfortunately, in my haunting of the many local Indian/Pakistani markets, all i've found is that ordinary bay leaves are sold as tejpat :-( Has anyone actually found *real* tejpat? Anyway, back to cumin and roasted spices: In "Cooking Apicius", Sally Grainger's companion book to her husband, Christopher Grocock's book "Apicis" (long title snipped but recently much mentioned on this list), she recommends roasting various spice seeds, although not peppercorns (p. 21-22). She doesn't give a clearly Roman reason, however. She says, "With the exception of peppercorn, spices benefit from the release of their fragrance by roasting before they are ground." In any case, i suggest giving a try to dry roasting the whole cumin seeds before grinding them and seeing if it makes cumin more palatable to you. -- Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM) the persona formerly known as Anahita Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2008 10:14:44 -0400 From: "Nick Sasso" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Long Pepper To: , "Cooks within the SCA" -----Original Message----- Be warned, however, that Frontier Herbs doesn't carry medieval cubeb any longer. As far as I and Alexandra from the Pepperer's Guild can tell, commercial sources of medieval cubeb were wiped out during the 2004 Tsunami. Peyton > > > > > I have called them and spoken with their "large Order" person. They DO carry the amounts in the small grinder gadgets for resale packaging. I was not able to secure any quantity of bulk spice, though. I tried to get anywhere from 10kg to 50kg. I was told the simply do not stock that sort of volume in bulk. The only sources I had found for quantity involved shipping from Idonesia or India, and I simply could not figure out customs and shipping hurdles involved. It is so not my line of competence. I could find simple FedEx shipping methods, but it ended up with prices similar or greater than simple retail online pricing. niccolo difrancesco Date: Sat, 7 Feb 2009 13:12:12 -0500 From: "Kingstaste" Subject: [Sca-cooks] More on packing lunches and food safety To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" , "'Gayle-home'" Reading up on the food safety issues of packing lunches in hot weather here: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/05/08/food-safety-for-packed-lunches-updated/ I found an interesting list of antibacterial foods: "New USDA- and NSF-funded research on foods with antibacterial properties has yielded a number of foods that fit nicely in the world food lunchbox. The strongest antibacterial foods (killing all bacteria) are evidently garlic, onion, allspice and oregano. The second strongest (killing up to 80% of bacteria) include thyme, cinnamon, tarragon, cumin (and lemongrass). The third strongest (killing up to 75% of bacteria) are capsicums, including chilies and hot peppers. The fourth strongest (killing 25% of bacteria) include white and black pepper, ginger, anise seed, celery seed, and lemon or lime juice. Honey has antibacterial properties, and the dodecenal compound in cilantro/coriander (both fresh leaves and seeds) is evidently one of the stronger antibacterials as well." I knew about cinnamon and of course vinegars, but it is interesting to see them ranked like this. Christianna Date: Sat, 7 Feb 2009 14:35:02 -0500 (EST) From: lilinah at earthlink.net Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Coriander Juice??? To: SCA-Cooks Malkin wrote: <<< I can buy onion juice in bottle at Smith's Food and Drug local. in the spice aisle. >>> Last fall i made a recipe from the 13th c. anonymous Andalusian cookbook that called for onion juice. I put a very coarsely chopped onion in the food processor. They're so moist they don't need water the way herb leaves do. Then i poured out the liquid into a measuring cup and squeezed the remaining pulp to get all the onion juice out. -- Urtatim (that's urr-tah-TEEM) the persona formerly known as Anahita Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:52:00 -0600 From: Kihe Blackeagle Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Allspice To: SCA Cooks <<< What would you say is the closest period equivalent to allspice? i.e., If you had a recipe that called for allspice and you only had access to period spices, what would you replace it with? -Kean >>> Amra in pedantic mode: allspice was not only known to but also used as a spice by Europeans prior to 1601ce, hence it is actually "period". Europe includes Spain last time I checked the maps and geographies . . . No, it wasn't used widely (I just found a reference online claiming the first significant imports to England in 1737). Yes, it was misleadingly named by the Spanish who did find it. (Multiple references to Columbus being credited with the European discovery of allspice; multiple references to 'pimento de jamaica' or similar approximations.) Yes, it is considered by some to be the "only" exclusively New World spice, largely becauses attempts to establish plantings in the Old World (including areas generally known for spice growing) never really "caught". Yes, prior to the introduction to the English in the 18th century the primary / most important use of allspice in cookery was associated with New World dishes, particularly the cookery of the Maya if I can trust the online source just referenced. Columbus established the foundations of Spanish trade with the New World before 1500; at least one of the spices he brought back during his pre-1500 voyages was allspice misidentified as black pepper. Yes, if I'm trying to recreate an Old World dish of pre-1500 records I will avoid use of allspice if at all possible. However, were I to (hypothetically) find a Spanish manuscript of 1577 that references 'pimento de jamaica' or some other odd form of 'pimento' which is not clearly East Indian pepper or chile or whatever other forms are known to associate to non-allspice spices, I'd gladly [and admittedly gleefully] use allspice -- and back up my usage with the appropriate documentation in the formal redaction, at least in submitting it and / or the dish concerned for inspection to any audience willing to accept that New World spices and foodstuffs did indeed enter European cookery prior to January 1st, 1601ce. Amra, Kitchen Idiot AND Curmudgeon-in-Training Adieu, Amra / ttfn - Mike / Pax ... Kihe Mike C. Baker / Kihe Blackeagle Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:59:09 -0600 From: Kihe Blackeagle Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Allspice To: SCA Cooks <<< Okay I confess to confusion- is Allspice a single botanical product or a blend of many (all-Spice)? >>> Single botanical source, the seed of a New World tree that -- according to sources I just referenced in a short online search, reproduced from memory here -- was "discovered" by Columbus and promptly misidentified as black pepper. Two seeds are present in the fruit that is harvested. European over-harvesting almost obliterated all of the wild trees; the Jamaican wild trees appear to be attributed to the good graces of bats spreading the seeds. The allspice name refers to the nature, which is to the human senses like a blend of other (Old World) spices. Adieu, Amra / ttfn - Mike / Pax ... Kihe Mike C. Baker / Kihe Blackeagle SCA: al-Sayyid Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri al-Amra, F.O.B, OSCA Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:02:25 -0500 From: Robin Carroll-Mann Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Allspice To: Cooks within the SCA The Cook's Thesaurus (a lovely website) suggests several spice combinations to substitute for Allspice. Equal parts, ground: cinnamon/cloves/nutmeg cinnamon/cloves cinnamon/cloves/nutmeg/black pepper http://www.foodsubs.com/SpiceUniv.html -- Brighid ni Chiarain My NEW email is rcarrollmann at gmail.com Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:02:47 -0600 From: "Terry Decker" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Allspice To: "Cooks within the SCA" Allspice are the berries of Pimenta dioica, a New World evergreen. It is also referred to as pimento, a term also used for a type of sweet pepper. Bear ----- Original Message ----- From: "betsy" <<< Okay I confess to confusion- is Allspice a single botanical product or a blend of many (all-Spice)? >>> Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:41:59 -0400 (EDT) From: lilinah at earthlink.net Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Bukenade To: SCA-Cooks Stefan li Rous wrote: <<< ...I can imagine doing this with spices.   Roasting them is often done in recipes, although I'm not sure if it   was done in period. >>> Pan toasting with no oil is called for in some recipes in some Arabic language recipes. I'll have to look to see which cookbook. In Isfanah Mutajjan the ground spices are fried in oil, but there are no herbs in the recipe, well, other than the spinach. So this doesn't address the issue of frying herbs in hot oil. Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM) Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:45:14 -0400 From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Bukenade To: Cooks within the SCA On Jul 12, 2009, at 11:03 PM, Stefan li Rous wrote: --On Thursday, July 09, 2009 4:53 PM -0400 Barbara Benson wrote: I think in this specific recipe the thing that intrigues me the most is the "erbes ystewed in grees" which I read as herbs stewed in grease. In my mind if you are stewing something in grease then it is being fried, at least that is how I would interpret the phrase. Does anyone else get that? Yes, I saw that last week and wondered about this. <<< I had the same thought -- make sense, heating/frying the   aromatics before adding to the stew. toodles, margaret  >>> But why does it make sense? I can imagine doing this with spices.   Roasting them is often done in recipes, although I'm not sure if it   was done in period. But wouldn't frying herbs in grease just give you wilted leaves and   some grease? Can someone tell this inexperienced cook (me) what this   does for you? This is done with spinach, right? But that's a texture   thing, correct? =========== Yes. As Bear and Urtatim, and possibly others, have discussed, the   technique appears pretty frequently in various Middle Eastern and   Asian cuisines, and can have various effects. One is to actually   change the flavor and aroma profile of the spices by toasting or   caramelizing them. Another is to blend the volatile essential oils in   the spices with other oil (where oil is used) to blend the flavor of   the spices with the flavors of the food. A third possibility is that   when whole spices have been stored for a while, they may acquire a   small percentage of off flavors due to oxidation, minor surface   rancidity, bacterial activity, whatever. Gentle heating seems to bring out the flavors from the interior, which may be more intense and more, if I can borrow the expression, like what God intended. Examples of this practice include the dry toasting of spices before   grinding into a curry powder or garam masala, say, or the caramelized   "masalas" that can be cooked down for hours in the case of some   southeast Asian dishes (I had my son's Burmese young lady friend tell   me the other day that the prawn curry I had made was nothing like the   way her mother makes it... rather it was like the way her grandmother   makes it, which apparently is the real deal, so I was pronounced The   O.G.). Some Southern Chinese cooks fry ginger, shallots, garlic and   sometimes chiles until _almost_ burnt, to flavor the oil before stir- frying meats or vegetables. I suspect, though, that the frying of the herbs in bukkenade is more   about counteracting a tendency of the herbs to harbor cold, moist   humors. I'm guessing that the reason this dish always seems to be   prepared with a white or sort of juvenile meat (veal, kid, rabbit,   chicken, etc.), in the way it is usually prepared, is that for some   reason somebody is looking to avoid the warm and dry qualities one   might find, say, in roast venison, but adding the herbs, especially   after boiling the meat, might go too far in the direction of cooling.   So why include the herbs at all? Presumably for sharpness of flavor to offset the richness of veal and egg yolks. Not trying to pretend this isn't a complete mystery to me, mind you... Adamantius Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:40:05 -0400 From: Johnna Holloway To: Cooks within the SCA Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Spices, Spice Names You could of course just use Doc's list at http://www.medievalcookery.com/spices.html Page down and there is an A-Z list of the spices and herbs and in which cookbooks they appear and which are handily included already in his index. Plus who carries which spice is also listed. It's like one stop shopping. Hope this helps, Johnnae lilinah at earthlink.net wrote: snipped <<< Has anyone complied a list of period and modern spice names for any cookbook? I know some cooks on this list specialize in one culture, so i thought maybe a few of you might have made a list of spices with their original and modern English names from your favorite cookbook. I'm not asking someone to do all the work. But i figured if i can get a few lists, it will give me a bit of a head start and i won't have to go through dozens of cookbooks from scratch. Thanks for any help. >>> Date: Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:54:39 -0400 From: "Daniel & Elizabeth Phelps" To: "Cooks within the SCA" Subject: [Sca-cooks] Regards a Pungent Spice Discussed Previously The "Devil's Dung" spice fights the flu. http://www.livescience.com/health/090910-flu-remedy.html Daniel Date: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:48:57 -0500 From: Johnna Holloway To: Cooks within the SCA Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Book about Spices <<< It is a book about spices, "Spices: A Global History" by Fred Czarra. I don't know how good, bad or indifferent it is, but the description sounded pretty interesting. Kiri >>> I have it. It shares the same problem as all the books in this series as they are way too short. They are very brief introductory books. Good but not exhaustive. Certainly not everything wants to know about the spice trade. (The historic worldwide spice trade in particular is such a huge subject; it cannot be done justice in just 176 pages in a reduced volume size. These are   pocket volumes.) Others are better. I like the volume on the Hamburger and then there's Andy Smith's volume on the Hot Dog. I think the series is going to be 15 volumes. They are, however very cheap as they are heavily discounted through Amazon. Good for presents and gifts. Johnnae Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 23:31:15 -0500 From: "Terry Decker" To: "Cooks within the SCA" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Real Cubebs? Possibly Piper guineense, West African Pepper or Guinea Pepper AKA False Cubeb.  To quote Wikipedia, "prolate-elliptically shaped, smaller and smoother than Cubeb pepper in appearance and generally bear a reddish tinge."  The taste is milder and less bitter than cubeb and it is commonly used as a substitute for cubeb. Bear <<< I buy a lot of spices at Lhasa Karnak, in Berkeley, which is generally reliable. But a few years ago there was a problem with cubebs (I forget which, a disease or insect infestation). Since then LK has been selling as cubebs something that definitely is not cubeb. They are tinier than cubebs, have no tail, and pretty much no flavor. The wrinkled black skin slips off easily revealing a red-brown smoothly skinned sphere. -- Urtatim [that's err-tah-TEEM] >>> Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:36:52 -0400 From: Sam Wallace To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Graters? "I would be interested to discover what they used in period to grate nutmegs...it would be extremely difficult to reduce a nutmeg to powder using a mortar and pestle." Actually, I have tried this as part of a project where I made a variety of spice mixes. I pounded cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, rose petals, and many other spices with them. My kids took turns doing the same (they wanted a chance to play with the mortars and pestles). It really was not that difficult even with the relatively small mortars that I use. I doubt someone working with a larger mortar would have much trouble at all. Guillaume Date: Sat, 7 May 2011 10:24:17 -0500 From: "Terry Decker" To: "Cooks within the SCA" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Gluten Free Dijon Mustard Turmeric is the ground rhyzome of Cucurma domestica (or similar from related plants).  The primary use is for yellow food coloring.  The word turmeric derives from the Middle English "termeryte" which derives from Old French "terra-merite" and is in turn derived from Latin.  The word means "saffron." It's use in English cookery appears to date from the early 16th Century. Bear <<< I know much of the "ballpark"  mustard is probably colored with turmeric but I'm surprised to see it being used this early. At least I don't remember turmeric being that common in medieval recipes, so is this a post-period recipe, or have I simply missed turmeric in medieval recipes?  Stefan >>> Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2013 04:53:18 -0400 From: Sharon Palmer To: Cooks within the SCA Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] spices <<< We're cleaning out our spices and came across two Indian spices - Amchoor and Ajwain. Anybody ever use these before? Haven't been able to pry the lids off yet to even smell them. Should we make an attempt or just purge? Shoshanah >>> I've read that amchur should be used in 8 months, but I have a large jar of amchur that is at least a decade old and still tastes the same. I use it regularly but not often, and it started as a large jar. Over the years, it has absorbed moisture, become hard, and no longer dissolves properly, It has by no means spoiled though. So I recently bought a new packet but haven't opened it yet. I need to compare the two. The new packet is white and more powdery than the old stuff ever was. The old stuff was black. Amchur is made from green mango and is a souring agent. I think a sealed jar would be fine. This is a nice spice, you should try it. Ajwain is a seed that is a relative of cumin and coriander and probably lasts about as long as they would. If they are whole not ground are probably ok, although they may have lost some of the pungency and aroma. I'd open the jar and smell it. Try sauteing a pinch in a bit of oil, see if it smells good. If you have ground ajwain and it's more than a year old, I'd toss it. Ranvaig Edited by Mark S. Harris spices-msg Page 76 of 76