SC - Introduction

[Daniel Phelps]

- -----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Phelps <phelpsd at gate.net>
To: sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG <sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG>
Date: 16. janúar 1999 15:26
Subject: Re: SC - Salsify-update and useful info


>My copy of "Larousse Gastronomique the Encyclopedia of Food, Wine and
>Cookery" in English translation (Prosper Montagne, Crown Publishers, Inc.
NY
>1961 Library of Congress Cat. # 61-15788) says that what is called Salaify
>is actually two plants the "...root of the plant of the Compositae family
>which alone is entitled to it, but also for that of another plant on the
>same family which botanically is called scorzonera."  The entry goes on to
>say that the flesh of the roots of both plants are very similar in taste
and
>are prepared in exactly the same way.

The bothanical names are Tragopogon porrifolius (salsify, oyster plant) and
Scorzonera hispanica (scorzonera, black salsify). True salsify has brown
skin and the flowers are purple. There was another salsify type, Tragopogon
pratensis, yellow goatsbeard (which has yellow flowers), that was eaten in
the seventeenth century but that is now largely forgotten (as food, that
is).
There seems to be a long history of confusion between these two types, as
their taste and uses is very similar, but they do not even belong to the
same genus of plants.

Colin Spencer says in his Vegetable Book about scorzonera:

"It was not cultivated much before the seventeenth century. One of the first
to mention it is John Evelyn, who refers to it as viper-grass. After
pointing out its medical virtues, Evelyn goes on to say how good it is
stewed with beef marrow, spice and wine. He also says how pleasant it can be
raw in a salad. ... It came from Spain and crept into the rest of Europe,
especially France, Belgium and England, whose herbalists and gardeners all
took an interest in it at the end of the sixteenth century. The astonishing
fact is that the flavour is hardly distinguishable from salsify and, once
peeled and cooked, I would defy anyone to tell the difference."

Nanna

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