[Sca-cooks] Middle Eastern Food

[david friedman]

>Hi there
>
>In "The Food Chronology" by James Trager he notes that the artichoke is used
>by the Romans.  He quotes Pliny's "Historia Naturalis".  This is in the 1st
>century.  (p31)   The next mention of the artichoke is in 1533 and I will
>quote here  "Cooks attending Catherine de' Medici introduce to France such
>vegetables as broccoli, globe artichokes ... fonds d'artichauts...." (p91).

The problem is distinguishing references to the cardoon from 
references to the artichoke. While I gather some people still 
interpret the classical references as describing artichokes, the more 
common view seems to be that Latin "cynara" etc. refer to the 
cardoon. Apicius actually uses "carduos."

The plants are very similar--cardoons look like artichoke plants on 
steroids (I have both growing here). But the "artichoke" part of the 
cardoon is very small--you can boil it and eat it, but nobody but  my 
children would bother. What you eat is the stalk. My understanding is 
that none of the classical references describe eating the flower bud, 
the way you do with an artichoke, and some refer to eating the stalk.

>Also if you check out Apicius there are three recipes using artichokes:
>Artichokes with Fish-pickle dressing (Carduos)
>Artichokes with Hot Herb dressing (Aliter carduos)
>Cumin spiced artichokes (Aliter carduos elixos - steamed artichokes).

Reading the recipes, they sound rather more consistent with cardoons 
(cook the stalk as an edible vegetable) than with artichokes.
-- 
David/Cariadoc
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/