[Sca-cooks] sugar of A. was question...
johnna holloway
johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu
Thu Feb 20 06:07:21 PST 2003
I found this question when I signed on a moment ago.
Master A and Bear are probably right--
OED says--the place of origin or manufacture, as
sugar of Alisaunder (= Alexandria)
however farther down in the entry one finds
the plant from which it is made
OED then lists this quotation
1430 Two Cookery-bks. 50 Caste a-bouyn Sugre of *Alysaundre
This would be earlier than the 16th century or the
Elizabethans.
Both the words Alisaunder and Alysaundre are used
in Harleian MS. 279. I would think that both mean
Alexandria. Perhaps Cindy can offer an opinion as
glossaries and words from the various Harleians MS. are her
passion.
Johnnae llyn Lewis Johnna Holloway
> >Also sprach Robyn.Hodgkin at affa.gov.au:
> >>Could anyone enlighten me as to what sugre of Alysaundre is? Sugar
> >>of something obviously, but what?
> >>> >>Kiriel
-----------------
> >Alexandria? As opposed to sugre de Cyprus, for example?
> >> >Adamantius
------------
> This is a pretty good bet, especially if the recipe is Elizabethean. Sugar
> was grown in the Nile delta. Alexandria was the major Mediterranean trade
> port in Egypt. And there appears to have been an extensive sugar trade
> between Islam and England after Henry VIII's Act of Supremecy closed off
> European sugar sources.
> > Bear
More information about the Sca-cooks
mailing list