[Sca-cooks] Lovage vs Angelica??

[Huette von Ahrens]

--- Elise Fleming <alysk at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> Greetings.  In an article about lovage, the
> editor equates it with
> angelica and writes "Remember, angelica is
> lovage."  The dictionary
> says that lovage is an apiaceous herb,
> "Levisticum officinale" and
> that angelica is an umbelliferous plant of the
> genus  Angelica, esp.
> A. Archangelica".  Therefore, these two can't
> be the same, can they?
> Do the two look alike?  Taste alike?
> 
> Alys Katharine

They don't look alike from the pictures I have
seen.  The only relationship I can see is a
common use as a substitute for celery.

The Oxford Companion to Food says of Lovage:

Lovage: Levisticum officinale, an umbelliferous
plant that grows in S. Europe and as far north as
England.  It resembles wild celery in appearance,
and was formerly used in the same way, but is
milder and sweeter with a distictively warm,
spicy fragrance.

Lovage was popular as a flavouring herb in
classical times, and is often mentioned in
Apicius.  The Romans called it ligusticum because
it grew abundantly in Liguria.  The altered form
of levisticum, common in late Latin, was the
origin of the English and other modern names, and
was later adopted as the botanical name.  The
hardier and coarser-flavoured plant which is
sometimes called 'Scotch' or 'black' lovage, but
whose correct name is Alexanders, was given
Ligusticum as its generic name (but has since
lost it in favour of Smyrnium).

Lovage continued to be grown in medieval kitchen
gardens.  The leaves were used as a flavouring
and to make a cordial; the stems were cooked like
celery; and the roots were made into a sweetmeat.
 The suggestion of 'love' in the name is also
seen in German; the plant had a reputation as a
love potion.

The eclipse of wild celery by the cultivated type
also led to the decline in the use of lovage,
which is now little known anywhere.  This is a
pity, because the flavour is distinctive and,
used with discretion, very good in soups, salads,
and meat dishes alike.

The Oxford Companion to Food says of angelica:

Angelica: the name for a group of tall
unbelliferous plants with thick stems, in the
genus Angelica.  Of the many species growing in
the most temperate regions of the world, the most
famous and useful, growing in Europe, is Angelica
Archangelica.

Parkinson (1629) observed that all Christian
nations call this plant by names signifying its
angelic associations, and "likewise in their
appellations hereof follow the Latine names as
near as their Dialect will permit".  The basis
for the angelic associations is not clear,
although it may be connected with the plant's
reputation as an antidote to poisons; and the
archangelic ones might be due to the fact that
the flower would be in bloom on 8 May (old
calendar), the day of St. Michael Archangel.

A. archangelica grows well in Scotland, Germany,
Scandinavia, and Russia.  It is among the few
tall plants which can withstand the weather in
Iceland and the Faeroes.  It will also thrive
further south, and is grown in both France and
Italy; and likewise in many parts of N. America,
where it has been introduced as a cultivated
herb.  It differs from most members of the genus
in having smooth stalks and leaves in all its
parts, and has a distinctive scent, often
described as musky.

Formerly the leaf stalks were blanched and eaten
like celery, and the leaves were candied.  The
roots were made into preserves, and angelica
water was a well-known cordial.  Its use as a
vegetable survives in some countries, e.g.
Greenland and the Feroes, where it is eaten
cooked.  Nowadays, however, much of the most
common use is to candy the stalks, cut into short
pieces, for use in cakes and confectionary.  In
England, it is frequently used to decorate a
trifle.  Most of the angelica grown commercially
for candying comes from France and Germany.

The candied stalks have been sold as 'French
rhubarb' in the USA.  Elsewhere, the addition of
a little angelica to stewed rhubarb is thought to
be a good way of reducing the acidity.

Growing and candying angelica have been a
speciality of Niort in France since the latter
part of the 18th century, and the Niortais now
have a monopoly in France. (Tales about the
origin of their specialization are of doubtful
validity, and it was not an invention of
Niort--the art of candying angelica was already
being practised in the south of France around
1600; but claims have been made that the angelica
grown at Niort is superior to any other.)  The
process of candying angelica is elaborate,
involving many stages and takes up to a year or
more.  Angelica jam is made and so are
chocolate-coated pieces of candied angelica. 

Huette

=====
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they 
shall never cease to be amused.

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