SC - haroset balls for Passover

[Aelfwyn@aol.com]

Thomas Gloning wrote:
> 
> As far as I can see, the descriptions in the herbals of the time of
> Sabina Welser suggest that the word "pfifferling" meant the chanterelle.
> The herbal of Lonicer (1616) says:
> "Die dritten sind Pfifferling oder Pfefferling/ welche man also nennet
> vmb deß hitzigen Geschmacks willen/ der sich dem Pfeffer gleichet. Diese
> werden bey den Lateinischen Boleti orbiculati genannt" (fol. 86a; 'The
> third kind of mushrooms are the pfifferlinge or pfefferlinge. They are
> called this way because their taste is hot, comparable to the taste of
> pepper. These mushrooms are called boleti orbiculati [round mushrooms]
> in Latin').

More on the boletus mushroom: they're round (i.e. they have a round
cap). They taste slightly of pepper when raw (as do agarics like your
basic champignon from the supermarket). Chanterelles possess neither
characteristic, within my experience with them. Boletus edulis, a.k.a.
steinpilze, have tubular spore openings instead of gills on the
underside of their caps. I wonder if the word "pfifferling" might be a
diminutive of some term meaning "piper" (something like pfeifferling)
rather than "pepper", which is how Lonicer seems to translate pfifferling.

Of course the science of taxonomy was young and incomplete in the 17th
century, and the fact that someone is writing about Latin terms for
mushrooms doesn't necessarily mean these mushrooms are of the genus
boletus. I think it's an interesting theory, though, since chanterelles
have no distinct cap, let alone a round one, and don't really taste like
pepper. 

I think we may have gotten off the topic of the mold used, though, eh?
BTW, the suggestion was raised that perhaps a somewhat two-dimensional
rendition of the mushroom may have been what was intended. If what
Sabina Welserin et al intended was really chanterelles, that might be an
excellent explanation.

Adamantius
Østgardr, East 
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================