SC - Turnsole?
Elise Fleming
alysk at ix.netcom.com
Mon Jan 26 17:25:01 PST 1998
Greetings! I was hoping that Cindy Renfrow would toss in the material
from the article on period food colors we have been struggling with.
Here are my pre-Cindy-contribution notes. Turnsole might actually
refer to several plants. Take your pick!
Heliotrope. This would be the French flower, not the modern one
according to one SCA cook. I have not found a period reference except
by the name "turnsole". See the next entry.
Turnsole. See _Du Fait de Cuisine_. It recommends a good deal of
turnsole and soak it in milk. _The French Cook_ by Varenne (1653)
mentions turnsole grated in water with a little powder of Iris.
Turnsole must be used with an alkali to produce blue rather than red.
Alkanet and orchil. See Scully's _The Viandier of Taillevent_ and
_Forme of Cury_. Alkanet's color isn't as pronounced as orchil.
Prescott's version of Taillevent calls "orchil" as "turnsole". _Du
Fait de Cuisine_ says to clarify oil, add lots of alkanet, boil well
and not much; strain it. Scully in _Chiquart's 'On Cookery'_
identifies orchil as a lichen, "Gozophora (sic) tinctoria" which
changes color: red with acids, blue with alkalies. Chiquart also
calls orchil "tornesaut" or "tornesautz." See "turnsole" below and
note similarity of scientific plant name. Chemist: Alkanet is also
"anchusa tinctoria L." in Brunello's book. It is also listed as
"alkanna tinctoria" and used for coloring wines, cosmetics,
confectionery. Orchil is a name for a French dye derived from lichens
"ochrolechia tartarea L." and "lecanoraceae"; used as a coloring agent
for syrups and elixirs; listed in Merck index. The chemist continues
that turnsole is listed by Thompson as "crozophora tinctoria"; it is
red with an acid; violet with a neutral substance; blue with an alkali
Aly7s Katharine, always glad to muddy the waters!
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