[Sca-cooks] Re: Zucche = gourd?

[A C Baker]

Afternoon,

        (Don't you just love people who talk to themselves?)

        Don't know why I didn't see this when I looked last
night (but I've benefited from a good night's sleep in the
meantime...

http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-VEGETABLES/gourds-msg.html

Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 20:02:31 -0700 (PDT)

"The white-flowered gourd, Lagenaria sicereia," seems to "have been common
to both Old and New Worlds" (Whitaker). I am told that the Italian Edible
Gourd is a species of Lagenaria and available from, among others, J.L.
Hudson, Seedman (P.O.Box 1058, Redwood City, CA 94064). Simoons describes a
Lagenaria still used in modern Chinese cooking. We have obtained what we
think is the right gourd from a Chinese grocery store and used it in period
recipes with satisfactory results. The taste and texture are somewhat
similar to zucchini but less bitter. The Chinese, or perhaps Vietnamese,
name for one variety, which the grower assured us had white flowers, is
"opo."

David/Cariadoc

        So, I think this is my answer (I notice that a recipe
almost identical to which we will be using, 'Torta from Gourds' is
also included in this Florilegium file - but as from Platina,
rather than from 'Maestro Martino', as Redon et al. list it in
"The Medieval Kitchen".)!

        Thanks for your patience!

        Amanda