SC - Chocolate..Period or not...

[UnruhBays, Melanie A]

Sofonisba wrote:
<useful recipe source info snipped>
>    Rice seems to be safely within period for Italy, at least.  Me
>speculating here.... I belive arborio rice is currently grown in the Po
>river valley in Italy.  Is it a native species there?  Perhaps rice didn't
>have to be imported from anywhere else.

Oh, yes, very definitely NOT native to Europe. It's South East Asian in
origin (or from the southern part of East Asia).

To quote Bear aka Terry Decker, whose post you've no doubt read by now:
>IIRC, the Arabs introduced rice from India to Spain, Cyprus and Sicily.  The
>initial conquests in India were in 712.  Spain was invaded in 711.  Cyprus
>was taken around 683.  And Sicily was taken in the 9th Century.  So rice was
>likely introduced to Spain and Cyprus early in the 8th Century and Sicily
>some time in the 9th Century.

I love that great Muslim/Sicilian connection! And the rulers of that
kingdom were ostensibly Norman, weren't they? What a wonderful
concatenation of cultures! Can anyone recommend a resource (books are fine)
with info on this period? It would be fun to have a bunch of Italian,
Norman, Muslim, etc. personae (such as some people i know in real life) who
can relate to each other in one period.

So, Sophonisba, how about us looking into a Sicilio-Norman-Muslim
mini-event? Great food, great fabric (all those imported silks), good
fighting...

Anahita


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