SC - Currants

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/30/98 11:30:47 AM Eastern Standard Time, tyrca at yahoo.com
writes:

<< With all the recipes I have seen that reference currants, and having
 picked my share of ripe currants in late summer, I remain confused as
 to why these berries are refused as a possible food source?? 
 Especially in places that didn't necessarily have their own grape
 vines to make raisins from??  How far off-track am I?
 
 Tyrca >>

The primary reason is that 'raysons of courance' are raisons of Corinth.
Raisons of Corinth are grapes. So far as grape growing is concerned, the same
countries that grow grapews today, grew them in the MA (e.g. France, Spain,
Portugal, Italy, Germany, Greece). England also grew grapes but they never
became the large agricultural business that they were in the rest of Europe.
Where ever the Romans went , they planted mlarge tracts of vineyards.

Second, the word 'corance' or any of it's variations rarely occurs by itself
in period recipes. 

Third, we have no reason to believe that the gathering of  wild foods formed
any large part of a household's activities in the MA. OTOH, we have several
manuscripts and Book of Days which clearly explain the agricultural year.
There is no mention of gathering 'currants' or any other wild fruit, with the
possible exception of strawberries, in any of them. The cultivation of
'currants' as we know them today, is not mentioned at all.

Fourth, the word 'currant' was derived from Corinth rather late in the history
of the language. 

Unfortunately, a study of agricultural practices and commersial food
distribution during the Middle Ages is a vast undertaking and is impossible to
even brush upon in this forum. :-(

Ras

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