[Sca-cooks] Them Peanutses

[tgl at mailer.uni-marburg.de]

Hello.

I am currently unsubscribed, for several reasons. In a moment of
nostalgy I flipped through the archives in order to look if there was
something new to me and came upon the erdnuss/peanuts-thread. I thought
I should say a word here.


David said to Giano re: erdnuss/peanuts:

> > How sure are you these are really peanuts?

I am not "Giano", but I am pretty sure the "Erdnuss"-recipes in De
Rontzier (1598) are _not_ peanut recipes.

> > Have you checked whatever the German equivalent is of the OED?

I am not "Giano", but I checked the 'Deutsches Wörterbuch' of the Grimm
brothers (32 vols.; the German equivalent of the OED), Hermann Paul's
historical dictionary of German & the Kluge etymological dicionary in
newer editions, and the Pfeifer etymological dictionary in a first step.
Roughly, they say:

-- the German expression "erdnuss" was used as early as in Old High
German (9th/10th century).

-- the modern usage/ sense 'peanut' is only found in German texts from
the 18th century onwards.

-- Before the 18th century, the term "erdnuss" was used for several
kinds of "Knollengewächse", among them the "Platterbse" (Lathyrus
tuberosus). Marzell's 'Wörterbuch der deutschen Pflanzennamen'
(dictionary of German plant names) lists a few more.

Then, Giano said:

> my etymological dictionary puts 'Erdnuss' into the
> late 16rth century and relates it exclusively to
> what is today called by that name. Wouldn't be the
> first time for linguists to get it wrong ...

Hm, hm, hm. Very strange. -- Before we go any further: could you please
name author, title and publishing information of your sources? I.e.: of
your dictionary and of the source where you got the translated recipes
from?

For your convenience, here are the German recipes from De Rontzier 1598,
page 537 and 538:

Von Erdnu:essen.

JTem/ man seud sie ein virtelstundt
in Wasser/ gibt sie darnach mit Saltz vnnd
Pfeffer zu tisch.

2. Wenn sie gahr sein schelt man sie/ macht sie in
einem kleinen Topffe ab mit Buttern/ Pfeffer vnnd
Wein/ etc.

3. Jtem/ mit kleinen Rosin/ Buttern/ Pfeffer vnd
Muscaten.

4. Man bratet sie in Buttern/ wenn man sie wil
zu tisch geben gibt man Pommerantzensafft/ Saltz
vnd Pfeffer daru:eber/ etc.

Thomas