[Sca-cooks] Re: Zucche = gourd?

[A C Baker]

Brighid ni Chiarain wrote:

> There is a picture of this gourd, which I find in local Chinese and
> Indian grocery stores on the following web page:
> http://www.cucurbit.org/family.html?=lagetx.html

        Thanks for the wonderful link!

> Click on "lagenaria" in the index frame on the left.  Look at the
> rightmost picture in the sixth row down.  (Light green, shaped kinda
> like a butternut squash.)  If you place your cursor over the image, a
> label pops up: "Edible 'opo squash' fruits".  Click on the image for
> an enlarged view.

        Urm - no, that's the "penis sheath gourd" (Yep, this wonderful
link is extremely informative!!! :-)  As it happens, the images are not
arranged in a table, and so, their absolute positions are not fixed.
The one which is rightmost, sixth row down, will vary between browsers!
In my view, the "Edible 'opo squash' fruits" are sixth row, second
from the left!


>>         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".)!

        Further reading in "The Medieval Kitchen" confirms that Il
Platina used Maestro Martino as a primary source, and was responsible
for many of the Maestro's recipes reaching far wider audiences.

> I have cooked with this squash, though not in the recipe you're
> using.  It does indeed have a texture rather like zucchini, and a
> similar mild flavor.

        The first time I tried the Torta di zucche, I used the squash
to hand: Turks Turban.  The result was rather too sweet, but this should
be less of a problem with courgettes/small zucchini.

        Wish us luck!

        Best,

        Amanda