SC - on overspicing in the new middle ages

[margali]

Hauviette,

here are some remarks and further notes about "sapa". I confess, that I
could not follow the mustard-thread closely, so I may be mistaken what
the question is. In case I went astray, just hit the delete-button.

Looking at several ancient and medieval places where lat. "sapa" or it.
"saba/sabba" is used, it seems to me that it is a sweet product made of
must (or grape juice?) that is boiled down to up to 1 / 3 of its
original volume. The most important texts for the Platina question are
of course not the ancient texts, but 15th century Italian cookery texts
like Martino, the source for Platina, and the Neapolitan Recipe
collection. Let me mention a few aspects:

Anthimus, in #3, says: "mel aut sapa aut carenum" (honey or sapa or
carenum): it seems that there is a diminishing degree of sweetness here.

In the notes to a commentary to the text of Varro, Dieter Flach
mentions, that in Florence there is a saying "sweet as sapa" still
today.

Very important seems a passage in #101 of the Neapolitan Recipe
collection: "he falla agra cum agresto he dolce cum sabba" 'make it
sour/tart with agrest/verjuice and sweet with sapa/must that was boiled
down') -- I would not be surprised if the use of _sapa_ had something to
do with the tempering of sour and sweet (for dietetic reasons). --
However, in other recipes, the use of such ingredients is mentioned as
an alternative ("con un pocho d'agresto, o aceto, o vino cotto, cioè
sapa"; "Et fallo voi lo dolce o forte como ti piace", Faccioli p. 156).

In versions of Martino, there is some variation in the use of the
expressions "sapa" etc. and "vino cotto".

I think the best way to solve the sapa-problem in Platina is to look
for _sapa_/_saba_/_sabba_ and for _mosto cotto_/_vino cotto_ etc. in the
four Martino-versions now published (Benporat, Faccioli, Montorfano) and
in the Neapolitan recipe collection.

Best, Thomas
Further notes on _sapa_ (just ignore the German passages)
- -- Petronius LXVI "habuimus caseum mollem ex sapa"
- -- Apicius 1.22 (Konservierungsrezept)
- -- Anthimus #3 ("ubi tamen fuerit mel aut sapa aut carenum"; Abnehmender
Grad an Süße!!)
- -- Columella 1,6,19 // 11,2,71 // 12,10,3 // 12,19,1 ("Quem admodum
coquatur sapa") // 12,20,1 // 12,40 // 12,48,2 // 12,49,3 // 12,49,6 //
12,50,2 // 12,50,3 // 12,58,2
- -- Varro 1.58 // 1.59.3 // u.ö.
Siehe auch den Kommentar Flach I:331 ("Süß wie die sapa" noch heute in
Florenz).
- -- Cato 7.2 // 7.4 (zwei mal) // 104.1 // 107.1 ( zwei mal) // 109 (beim
Abmildern von herbem Wein) // 113.2 // 143.3 // 
- -- Palladius 11.18 (bis auf 1/3 eingekochter Most)
- -- André (dt. Ausg. Seite 142f.: Most auf ein Drittel oder die Hälfte
eingekocht
- -- Petrus de Crescentiis IV 25 "Sapa, ubi ad tertiam redacta descendit";
aus Most; Unterschied zu caroenum: dieses nur auf 2/3 eingekocht.
- -- Neapolitan Recipe Collection (saba, sabba): 1, 21, 101 ("he falla
agra cum agresto he dolce cum sabba"), 105, 115, 121, 123, 219
(see also: mosto cotto: 93, 101, 122 ("bono mosto cotto per farla
dolce"), 185, 218; < glossary)
- -- Martino: e.g.: Urb. lat. 1203 Nr. 115: "con uno pocho di agresto ho
aceto ho vino cotto cioe sabba"; Riva del Garda #134 only: "o vino
cocto"; etc.)
- -- Messisbugo, cf. Catricalà 236 ('mosto cotto')