SC - Period Recipes

[Lenny Zimmermann]

On Fri, 6 Jun 1997 2:59 PM -0500,  Peters, Rise J wrote:
>What other sorts of beans were available in Europe?  (I don't guess I could
>possibly be lucky enough that pinto beans were .... or any kind of "brown
>beans"?)

I believe it has already been mentioned that the beans known to have
existed throughout most of out studied time period are fava, garbanzo
and lentils. In the 16th century there are a few more that were added
by import from the New World, so you'll have to decide when and where
your recipe is used from. 

he best source I have on what was available in beans is (again)
Castelvetro's "The Fruit, Herbs and Vegetables of Italy". Here he
lists Broad Beans (or Fava/Faba), Turkish beans (these are not from
Turkey, but Castelvetro terms them such to mean they are "foreign",
mainly New World in origin) which are described as "white or flecked
with pink and tan." They also "grow very tall" and " have [a]...lovely
green foliage". The translator, Gillian Riley, proclaims in he
glossary that these are Runner Beans, which we also call French
Beans". 

He also lists another kind of bean, unnamed, that are "smaller, white
or faintly pinkish with a black spot in the middle." Kind of like a
black-eyed pea, apparently. Then he lists Dwarf Beans, which are he
states are native or domestic to Italy and are sown in large
quantities in wheat-fields after the harvest. "They do not grow high"
and he states they eat "the cooked tender green pods as a salad, and
do the same with the shelled fresh beans."

Chickpeas are mentioned and are mentioned as being seen in white and
red forms, the red being considered the better variety. Lentils are
also mentioned and he proclaims them as "one of the most, if not the
most, unhealthy vegetables one can eat, except for the broth, which,
they say, is a miraculous drink for children with smallpox. In general
lentils are only eaten by the lowest of the low." Those Italians sure
have a way with words, eh? ;-)

As a side note he also mentions peas (no further explanation as to any
particular kind or description of pea) and the Grass Pea, or vetch,
which, he says, tastes rather like Chickpeas. He dos state of theses
that "they are considered a rather common food, for they generate
wind, bad blood and considerable melancholy." Gillian Riley notes of
Grass peas that the "grew wild in Italy and were eaten a lot by the
Romans, but have fallen out of use, which is just as well, as they are
poisonous, even after a preliminary roasting, which is no doubt why
they were said to generate 'wind, bad blood and considerable
melancholy'."

Also of note is that Castelvetro discusses Lupin beans, but I do not
know if this is an actual bean or not. He mainly talks about
sweetening the bean by putting it in clear running water for 2 or 3
days. They are then "peeled and salted and nibbled more as a snack
than anything else, the sort of thing that appeals to pregnant women
or silly children. Dried lupins are used to fatten pigs and other
animals." Gillian Riley states these have been grown in Italy and the
Middle East since the times of the Romans.
So runner beans could probably be used, at least after the mid-late
16th Century. I'm not sure what the black-eyed pea looking bean is. It
could be a black-eyed pea, for all I know. (Not like I have this great
horticultural knowledge, or anything. I know diddley about such
things). 


Honos Servio,
Lionardo Acquistapace, Barony of Bjornsborg, Ansteorra
(mka Lenny Zimmermann, San Antonio, TX)
zarlor at acm.org