SC - Green fig uses?

[DianaFiona@aol.com]

>I have a quandary which has come up again: is tansy poisonous, and if so,
>why do I keep running into recipes in period or near period, which call
>for tansy as the main flavorings?
>It is especially madding considering that I have planted three tansy
>plants outside my kitchen window to repel the ants {which worked for a
>while}. When I bought them, they came with a warning that they were
>poisonous, then I found some recipes in my herbal books, but our local
>herbalist thought they were similar to wormwood, in that flavoring
>wouldn't kill you but it was to picky to mess around with.Now I find two
>more recipes in the _A concise encyclopedia of Gastronomy_, one of which
>says that a "Tansy" in England was the name of a custard flavored with
>tansy or other bitterish leaves. The other recipe is for a pudding.
>Has anyone else come across these or similar  recipes,preferably in
>period sources? Is it really poisonous or only in large quantities? Does
>anyone have any other uses for tansy?
>Lady Beatrix

Tansy does indeed have toxic properties that vary with the time of year (as
does the efficacy of most plants).  I haven't heard any stories of abortions
being induced from skin contact, but I do know that it has been used as an
abortafacient historically.  However, we already know that there were herbs
used in medieval times that we now know aren't safe.  Whether that is because
the plant has evolved into a greater strength or because we lost any built-up
resistance we might have had is impossible to say.

As I always say, a responsible cook will have at least one (preferably two or
more) good herbals near their cookbooks.

Derdriu
Guildmistress of the BMDL Herbalist Guild

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