[Sca-cooks] Fried Oranges

[Terry Decker]

Cosman titles the recipe Valencye.

Historically, this is very suspect.  Cosman is presumably working primarily
from 15th Century sources, but chasing down actual sources can be very
tricky.  Cosman also is notorious for not specifying original source and her
recipes are modern adaptations rather than careful recreations (please note
the very modern baking powder in the recipe).

This is an orange fritter recipe of the sort I would expect from the 15th
Century Italian cooks, but I don't recall seeing anything similar (and I'm
researching a 15th Century Italian feast at present).  Perhaps someone else
has come across it in an original source.

Another strike against the recipe is that it calls for Valencia oranges.
The first sweet oranges were introduced into Europe by the Portuguese in the
early 16th Century (a couple of <suspect> sources date the introduction in
1529).

Bear


>OK, i found this recipe on a website with recipes for a feast held in
>memory of Marion Zimmer Bradley, known in the SCA as Mistress Elfrida
>of Greenwalls.
>http://www.nmia.com/~ariann/mzbfeast.htm
>
>The posters (who were on this list at one time, IIRC) got it from
>Fabulous Feasts, one which i do not own and which i've heard is a
>questionable source. Does anyone have any idea what actually period
>recipe this is based on, if any?
>
>Anahita
<recipe clipped>