SC - Substitute for Lovage

[Marilyn Traber]

In a message dated 2/19/00 10:36:40 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
owner-sca-cooks at ansteorra.org writes:

<< No, storage usually isn't a problem; they're rarely in the house for
 more than a couple of hours. I've heard of people cooking them upright
 in a tall pot, like a coffee pot, though.
  >>

In Apicius, this method is outlined as
Asparagos siccabis, rursum in calidam summittes: callosieres reddes

from Flowers & Rosenbaum
"Dry the asparagus. Plunge again into hot water: this will prevent them from 
getting too soft"
rursum suggests that the boiling of asparagus is interupted, ie first they 
are blanched then dried and put again into boiling water

>From Vehling
"Asparagus (Tor. IN order to have it most agreeable to the palate)must be 
(peeled, washed and) dried 1  and immersed in boiling water backwards 2

1Vehling believes the asparagus must be dried because the cold water clinging 
to the stalks is likely to chill the boiling water too much.
2Vehling translates rursum in calidum as rursum being a contraction of 
revorsum or revursum (reverse in English)- 

I have to say that although Vehling is off on a lot, sometimes he has some 
insight that Flowers & Rosenbaum lack.

On a search in a Latin dictionary
rursus, rursum, and arch. rûsum or russum (rursum and rusum are the most 
usual forms in the ante-class., and rursus in the class. per.), adv. [contr. 
from revorsus or revorsum, from reverto; cf. prorsus and sursum], turned back 
or backwards, back, backwards (opp. prorsus): rursus retro, Non. 

Maybe we should all hold on to those Vehling editions of Apicius?

Hauviette