SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #2573/Arianna?

[Kay Loidolt]

And it came to pass on 8 Sep 00,, that Nanna Rögnvaldardóttir wrote:

> Brighid wrote:
> 
> <rant> I think the fish names are going to age me prematurely.  And
> Dionisio Perez (the modern editor of the 1529 de Nola) isn't helping.  He
> blithely says in a footnote that he thinks "tallina" is a variant spelling
> of an Andalucian word ("tollina") for a small tuna, when the recipe
> clearly describes a bivalve.  Ay de mi!! </rant>
> 
> I wonder - In Mediterranean Seafood, tellina is given as the Italian name
> of the wedge shell (Donax trunculus). Would that be it?

My modern Spanish dictionary says that tellina is the word for mussel, 
and that's what I was leaning towards.  Ah, but in looking up the Latin 
name of what you call the wedge shell, I find that it is also called the 
wedge clam.  That works for me.  I think my dictionary was going for the 
nearest equivalent in English.

The clueless footnote just makes me wonder about the man -- didn't he 
actually *read* the recipe?  You're supposed to soak the tallinas in cold 
water until they open, and the dirt ("tierra") that is inside them comes 
out.  Does that sound like a small tuna to anyone?  I thought not.

Thank you for the information.  What is "Mediterranean Seafood"?  A 
book?  It sounds like something I should know about.


Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
harper at idt.net