SC - RAISYA at aol.com: Re: skirrets

[LYN M PARKINSON]

Greetings all,

Here is a post from Christianna's friend, after I sent her Duke Sir
Cariadoc's recipe on skirrets, and my veggie version, since she didn't
have any skirret recipes.  The quote she quotes is from the Miscelleny. 
I thought some of you might be interested in her additional information.

It really is a Good Thing to get the herbalists talking to the cooks!

Regards,

Allison
allilyn at juno.com, Barony Marche of the Debatable Lands, Pittsburgh, PA
Kingdom of Aethelmearc
- --------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: RAISYA at aol.com
To: allilyn at juno.com
Subject: Re: skirrets
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 11:24:52 EDT


Allilyn,

THANK YOU!!!  I've found I regularly get the same question about ANY
fairly 
obscure garden plant:  "Well, how was it used?"  (Especially since I
often 
teach gardening to cooks :).)  So I've tried to collect at least one
period 
recipe, either cooking or "household" for each of them.

>skirrets are, according to the OED, "a species of water parsnip,
formerly
>much cultivated in Europe for its esculent tubers." We have never found
>them available in the market. 

The description of skirrets as "a species of water parsnip" doesn't fit
with 
the information I have on them.  They're an umbelliferae, which makes
them a 
relative of carrots.  The cultivation information I have doesn't fit a
water 
plant.  It needs to be kept watered, but that may partly be because the
young 
shoots can be eaten as well as the root, drying out would probably damage

their tenderness.  It's a Chinese plant in origin, but it was brought to 
Europe by the Romans.  I suspect the Europeans only ate the roots. 
Carrots 
are a good substitute, but it's possible you could find skirrets in a 
Chinese/Asian market.

It's a pretty unique food plant, from a gardener's point of view, and I'd

love to try growing it, but I haven't found anyone that carries it.  If 
you're interested in it, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF HERBS by Lesley Bremnes, p.
129 
has beautiful photos.

Thanks for the references on celery in England!  I'll have to find out
which 
cook I know has Hagen's books.

Do you have any particular areas of interest that you're researching? 
I've 
been collecting source lists of plants, even did a special one just on
fruits 
for the brewers.

Raisya

- --------- End forwarded message ----------

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