SC - was dill seed used?

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Stefan li Rous wrote:
> 
> This reminds me, since I've recently been using dill to season various
> things, I was wondering about this. Is dill mentioned as a period herb/spice
> in any of the period cooking recipes we have? I imagine it does grow in
> Europe. I would think it would be used like mustard seed. Not in fancy
> feasts, since it would be local and not imported, but perhaps there is
> mention of it. Perhaps in Le Menegier(sp?) ?

If there is, I haven't seen it. I'd think that since the heaviest modern
concentration of dill use seems to be in the cuisines of Eastern Europe,
the Balkans, and Scandinavia, it might suggest dill isn't especially
common in the rest of Europe, or at least might not be indigenous to
places like France and England. I dunno, maybe they just didn't like the stuff.

Wait. Scratch that. Partly. I see in the dictionary that dill is
represented in Middle English usage as "dille" and dylle", from the
Anglo-Saxon "dile', which is related to the Old High German "tilli",
possibly based on Indo-European roots meaning "to swell". This would
suggest it was at least known in medieval England and perhaps France,
but I still don't recall seeing it mentioned in any of the period
recipes I'm familiar with. Possibly, as you suggest, it wouldn't appear
in recipes intended for "fancy feasts", and maybe few written recipes
requiring it exist. Another possibility is that it had a wider medicinal
than culinary usage.

Dill, BTW, is a favorite of mine, because in my opinion dried dillweed
is a closer approximation to the fresh article than just about any other
herb. It seems to lose the least of its flavor, color, and texture,
possibly because of its structure and the resultant tendency to dry out
quickly, leaving something that doesn't just taste like mulch, as things
like dried tarragon, basil, and parsley tend to do.
  
Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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