SC - Paprika (also an introduction)

[david friedman]

At 11:50 AM -0400 5/7/97, Varju at aol.com wrote:
>The history professor that I had while I was in Hungary said there were only
>a few useful things that the Turks left them with. . .interesting
>architecture, some new needle work patterns, and paprika.  :-)   I was
>curious because I would like to try to do more period feast, but I am just
>stubborn enough that I want to stick with Central and Eastern European foods.
>
>
>I also realized that I never introduced myself.   My persona is that of a
>10th century Magyar, hence my interest in Central and Eastern Europe.

1. As you probably already realize, pepper is from the new world didn't get
to Hungary until the 16th century. The earliest reference I have seen is a
late sixteenth century reference to growing turkey peppers, which
apparently is what they called paprika.

2. Unless you include German as central European, or Islamic as Eastern
European, you are going to have a hard time finding period sources. I
believe there is a seventeenth century Hungarian translation of a sixteenth
century German cookbook. I have seen a reference to a Hungarian culinary
manuscript c. 1400, but have no reason to believe it has been published,
let alone translated. Domostroi is 16th c. Russian and has culinary
information, but very few recipes. I'm afraid that's about it, so far as I
know.

David/Cariadoc
http://www.best.com/~ddfr/