SC - New World Foods-list

[Decker, Terry D.]

The curcubitas referred to in Apicius are almost certainly members of the
genus Lagenaria, which contains calabashes, dipper and bottle gourds.  The
Lagenaria are believed to be of African origin and spread to Asia and Europe
in prehistoric times.  They are found in New World archeological sites
beginning around 7000 BC.  The dispersion to the New World is believed to
have been by current drift from Africa or Asia, although the Diffusionist
claim it as evidence of commerce between the New and Old Worlds in
prehistoric times.

The Lagenaria and the genus Cucurbita are both members of the family
Cucurbitaceae.  The Cucurbita are the squashes and pumpkins from the New
World.  While there is a botanical theory that some of the Cucurbita have an
Asian origin, none are found in Europe and there is no evidence that any
reached Europe prior to Columbus.  I tend to believe they were transported
as seed from the New World and quickly adopted to replace the Old World
gourds in cooking.  Vincenzo Campi's The Fruit Seller (circa 1580) shows a
green pumpkin-shaped squash (which was identified as a "marrow" in
accompanying text) and what is probably a pumpkin (stem hidden, making
actual identification impossible.  

While the marrow squash is a large, watery version of the zucchini, the
identification on the above squash as a marrow makes me think the Brits may
use the term very loosely.

BTW, your string bean is probably a yard long bean, which is of Old World
origin.

Bear 

> I have a question regarding Pumpkin.  In Apicius, there are many recipes
> that 
> specify pumpkin.  (Book III)  The latin word they use is cucurbitas.
> Granted 
> , whatever "pumpkin" they are referring to in those recipes is not what we
> 
> have today. There are references to green string beans, and "marrow" as 
> zucchini squash.  This may be where the problem lies in determining what
> is 
> and is not "period".  How do we tell the difference between what the
> original 
> recipe said, and the language the translaters use?
> 
> Aldyth
> Aldyth at aol.com
>