SC - .....Carrots

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/25/99 12:27:47 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
allilyn at juno.com writes:

<< There are late period paintings of big, fat, orange carrots.  I've never
 seen a maroon one, though.  Check the beautiful paintings reproduced in
 Castelvetro for a look at 16th and 17th C fruits and veggies. >>

I understand your intentions here but I would suggest that the inclusion of 
orange carrots in early modern art is not relevant to their availability in 
medieval gardens. Since 16th and 17th century CE fruits and vegetables are 
outside the realms of medieval cookery I seldom if ever take into account 
evidence first appearing in that time period. Even if they did exist then, 
their depiction is not proof that they existed during the 900 yrs. before 
then. 

Certainly you have some support for including orange carrots in feasts from 
the late 1500s and 1600s CE. However, both written and pictorial evidence 
appears to dismiss their use in the period preceding 1450 CE in the color 
orange. Of course, barring a garden or a friend who has a garden, a 
substitution of orange carrots in actual medieval feasts is acceptable, IMO.

Ras
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