SC - Baklava: A Summary of the evidence

[david friedman]

Thorvald said:
> The quotes I have already given, and those to follow, among other 
> things mentioning four varieties that were either devoted to, or 
> preferred for, verjuice seem quite sufficient for me.  They aren't, 
> however, the proverbial smoking gun.

Agreed. Although they are interesting. I suspect, like the fat
pig/thin pig or the were pigs feed substatial amounts of grain
arguments, what we are likely to find is a mix of answers depending
upon time and place.
 
> A book on French medieval viniculture might answer the question
> definitively.  Alas, I don't have one.

Myabe there is something in this bibliography in the PLANTS, HERBS
AND SPICES section of the Florilegium. However, I don't read French
even if I had such a book:
p-agriculture-bib (19K)  3/23/99    Bibliography of period agricultural 
                                       practices by Laurie Brandt (Pegasus)
 
> I can add one more (non-smoking) reference:  In Menagier (Power p.
> 215) "Note that at that season wherein fresh verjuice is made..."
> 
> Also another, from Scully, Early French Cookery, 1995, p. 27:  
> "Verjuice is a variety of grape that is fully formed by midsummer 
> but whose taste is acidic and bitter.  Because this taste was so 
> highly esteemed in the late Middle Ages, and because both the juice 
> and the mash of verjuice grapes are used so extensively in the
> recipes of this period, it is vital for us, if we cannot obtain
> those ingredients, to be able to substitute something that is
> very similar.  What seems in most instances to be a satisfactory
> alternative to verjuice is plain grape juice invigorated with a
> dash of lemon juice for tartness."
> 
> And a third, Scully on the same page quoting from Taciuna sanitatis:
> "[Verjuice] is made from sour grapes which have been harvested before
> the sun enters Leo.  They are condensed by being left in tubs for
> several days together with the marc, covered with a heavy cloth, 
> until the marc rises and the dregs are deposited on the bottom,
> clarifying the verjuice...."
> 
>   Note: the sun currently enters Leo about July 23.  In the Middle
>   Ages it would have entered Leo earlier in the year relative to
>   the seasons.  I believe that in 1400 it would have entered Leo 
>   about July 16 modern calendar.

None of these though, with the possible exception of the second one,
and it is a secondary source, indicate that verjuice was made from a 
variety of grape grown only for verjuice. They just say from an early
picked grape. Although I saved your earlier message for the Florilegium,
I don't remember the details of the quoted passages right now.

Perhaps some grapes were grown just for verjuice. Especially in a place 
like England where a shortened growing season might give an increased 
chance that all you would get is unripe grapes, anyway.

If you were a vine grower, and you had to trim off and cull a bunch of
your grapes anyway, would you not try to sell them for verjuice, even
if it sold for a lower price than the verjuice from specially grown
varieties? Medieval folks don't seem to have been wasteful when they
could avoid it.

- -- 
THLord  Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas         stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****