SC - Redaction class on-line

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Alderton, Philippa wrote:
> 
> I was under the impression that paprika is a member of the same pepper
> family that we discovered in the Americas so that you would no more likely
> find a period recipe for Hungarian paprika than you would find a period
> recipe for Italian spaghetti sauce using tomatoes. Opinions, Adamantius or
> Cariodoc?

Hey! We non-opinionated Shrinking Violets are shy about being singled
out!!!

FWIW, I more or less agree with what you say, except that where chili
peppers are concerned, one must remember that one of the things that
Columbus and his whole gang were specifically LOOKING for in their
travels were spices, and they must have considerd chilies as such, or
they wouldn't have called them peppers.

That being the case, the potential arguments about eating them, since
they too are nightshades, might have been negated to some extent by the
fact that they were obviously valuable as spices.  Circular logic, yes,
but it works.

So, yes, while many New World imports were known by period Europeans, it
might be that chilies (and paprika, sweet peppers of some kind, although
not the standard Bells) might have caught on in parts of Europe sooner
than tomatoes, potatoes, and some of the others. It does appear that
when paprika did become a significant item of European produce, it was
around the edge of the Mediterranean first, going from Spain and North
Africa to Turkey, and from there to the eastern Balkans, and from there
to Hungary. 

Not too much up on the exact dates, though, since I don't feel the fact
that the foods were known, and even eaten, in period Europe, makes them
typical of any period European cuisines, and as such, don't pose a clear
educational representation.

Adamantius
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================