SC - Period Beet Recipes (was: summer feast)
WOLFMOMSCA at aol.com
WOLFMOMSCA at aol.com
Mon Oct 18 06:12:23 PDT 1999
In a message dated 10/17/99 9:12:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
stefan at texas.net writes:
<< Is there any particular reason you think this is to be done with beet roots
instead of beet leaves? This sounds very much like some of the tarts I think
I've seen that were done with various herbs.
>>
Actually, there are a couple of reasons I think this is done with the root,
not the greenery. It's really late period, for one. If it was from an
earlier period, say 15th, as opposed to 16th century, then it would fit with
the greenery tart theory. But by Elizabethan times, folks were using the
root as well. Another reason comes from Gerard. Gerard's Herbal, admittedly
published in 1597, but obviously a work which did not spring full-blown from
John Gerard's forehead in that year, mentions the root part of the red beet
as being both good and wholesome, and left it up to "cunning" cooks to devise
"many and divers dishes". He states the "red and beautifull root (which is
preferred before the leaves, as well in beautie as in goodnesses). The Roman
beet is different from the white & green beets previously grown as potherbs.
Having made up some of these, the visual effect is actually quite stunning.
It makes a pretty tart. Fresh beets are a winter crop here in Florida, so
I'll grab some fresh ones later in the season and try it again. The dish is
actually a bit on the sweet side, and the bitter back-bite of the canned
beets was more than I liked. Others may find the startling change of taste
from the front of the mouth to the back very piquant and pleasing, but I
didn't. It's probably just my own taste biases which made this less than
appealing as a feast food for me, but it is quite in keeping with Elizabethan
tastes for opposing tastes in the same dish.
Walk in peace,
Wolfmother
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