SC - Tatar herbs from Poland

[Huette von Ahrens]

Someone sometime ago, mentioned wanting to know what a
reference in a Polish account might be.  It was
something about a Tatar herb.  Unfortunately, I can't
find the message, but I have found something that
might be of help.

Yesterday, I received my copy of "Food and Drink in
Medieval Poland" [huzzah!].  Of course, I had to sit
right down and start reading.  In chapter 4, I found
this reference:

"Tartarian buckwheat [(Fagopyrum tataricum)] came to
Poland from central Asia during the thirteenth
century, along with sweet flag (Acorus calamus) and
Tartar bread plant (Crambe tatarica), a potherb often
used in porridges prepared with buckwheat grits.  The
fleshy, sweet root of this latter herb was grated into
vinegar like horseradish or cooked with parsnips,
carrots, or skirrets.  The leaves were often used by
country people to wrap around bread baked downhearth
in ashes or in bake ovens, which gave bread a nice,
golden crust."

Anyway, this passage jogged my memory about what we
had discussed sometime ago and I had to post this.

Huette

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