SC - Re: SC- Tidbits

[RANDALL DIAMOND]

In a message dated 2/7/2000 5:53:04 PM Eastern Standard Time,
Bluwlf17 at cs.com
writes:

<< How period are lemons?  Did they have citris trees in Europe? >>

>In southern Europe, yes.  I know lemons show up in Elizabethan recipes, and
>oranges as early as the 15th century for northern Europe.
>Brangwayna Morgan

>According to Barbara Santich in _The Original Mediterranean Cuisine_,
>citrus trees originated in India, and were introduced to Mediterranean
>Europe by the Arabs.  They were "reasonably common" in Italy by the
>13th century.

>Citrus fruits (and their juices) are most common in period recipes from
>southern Europe, especially Spain and Italy.
>Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Actually, lemons were a well known fruit in Roman times,
imported from Asia minor.   They never caught on in cooking
of that time however; they were only used as decorative fruit.
Probably there were a few instances of trees in southern
Italy grown from seed, but they were likely curiousities and
died out with the fall of Rome.  Therefore, they were Re-introduced
from the Arabic cultures, likely through Portuguese traders in the
early13th century.  Lemons were grown in Persia in biblical times.

Akim
"No glory comes without pain"