[Sca-cooks] broccoli and cauliflower

[Daniel Myers]

Quoted from Stefan li Rous - 5/24/02, 1:07 AM -0500:
>> >Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean Foods
>> >Broccoli (late period)
>>
>> Oooh!  Pet project of mine!  What evidence have you found to support this?
>> I have a very strong suspicion that modern broccoli (as well as
>> cauliflower) only remotely resembles anything available in period.
>
>You might want to glance through this file in the Florilegium:
>cabbages-msg      (33K)  2/21/01    Period cabbages. Broccoli, Cauliflower,
>                                       Brussel Sprouts. Recipes.
>http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-VEGETABLES/cabbages-msg.html


After digging through this, I'm even more convinced that period "broccoli"
and "cole-flowers" were so different from what's now found in groceries
that it would be misleading to claim that either broccoli or cauliflower is
period.

With the incredible variability of B. oleracea and the fact that even
modern farmers have troubles at times with keeping them from crossbreeding
and producing undesirable forms, I simply cannot see that ancient or
medieval agriculture could have produced anything close.  The accounts I've
seen quoted from primary sources generally seem to describe something like
the flower clusters from cabbage that's gone to seed, and one account seems
to specifically call for this.

So while I would say that flower clusters from many varieties of B.
oleracea were cooked and eaten in period, I would not include broccoli or
cauliflower.


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 Edouard Who Is Not 'Lainie's Edouard (Daniel Myers)
 I BELIEVE! http://www.bookofrefreshments.com
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