[Sca-cooks] Period or no?

[Elaine Koogler]

Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius wrote:

> Also sprach Elaine Koogler:
>
>> Then you need to try the Lomdardy Tarts from Dining with William 
>> Shakespeare (yes, I know that a lot of you think that it should be 
>> made with the greens rather than the root...we had this discussion 
>> some time ago).  I have fed that to dyed-in-the-wool beet haters who 
>> tried it because I said it was good (kinda scarey, isn't it??). They 
>> loved it!!
>>
>> Take Beets, chop them small, and put to them grated bread and cheese, 
>> and mingle them wel in the chopping, take a few Corrans, and a dish 
>> of sweet Butter, & melt it then stir al these in the Butter, together 
>> with three yolks of Eggs, Synamon, ginger, and sugar, and make your 
>> Tart as large as you will, and fill it with the stuff, bake it and 
>> serve it in.
>
>
> Do you remember, in the short form ;-), what it is that makes the 
> author of "Dining With William Shakespeare' believe beet roots are 
> what the recipe calls for? Is there some reason other than the 
> assumption moderns tend to make, and the fact that the author made it 
> work that way, so the question just sort of never came up?
>
> I'm not dissing the author of the idea (I have that book here 
> someplace; when I win the lottery I'll hire someone to catalogue my 
> library), I'm just wondering if it was the result of a conscious 
> decision or just a default that may or may not be justified -- to me, 
> the big reason for thinking it would be greens is the lack of 
> pre-cooking, or at least no specific mention of it. You can get away 
> with that using the tender parts of the greens; but I imagine the 
> roots would need to be pre-cooked: even with the breadcrumbs providing 
> some stabilizing effect, that's going to be a long time to cook eggs.
>
> FWIW, most of the beet-haters of my acquaintance are also won over by 
> the non-period but fun concept of beet frites, which are just raw 
> beets peeled, julienned in a mandoline, dusted in a little cornstarch 
> to dry their surface, and deep-fried like potatoes. A lurid pink they 
> become, too... we were always afraid to take the next logical step and 
> make beteraves gaufrettes a la mandoline...
>
> Adamantius
>
She states that beets came to Britain with the Romans, who first 
developed the red beet.  She references a statement from Gerard's Herbal 
to the effect that the leaves made a good sallat when boiled and eaten 
with oil, vinegar and pepper.  According to Lorwin, she then continues 
with information from Gerard, wherein he asks what could be done with 
the "red and beautiful root (which is to be preferred before the leaves, 
as well in beautie as in goodness) I refer unto the curious and cunning 
cooke, who no doubt when hee had the view there, and is assured that it 
is both good and wholesome, will make thereof many and divers dishes, 
both faire and good.  She goes on to state that beets were used in many 
ways bo cooks, including beet-root salads, both hot and cold.  She also 
cites William Vaughan, who discusses white beets and says that they 
should be boiled, and a reference to eating beet root after leeks or 
garlic to take away their bad smells.  All of this can be found on pp. 
238 - 239 of /Dining with William Shakespeare.

/Hope this helps.  What you mention about the fried beets is similar to 
what is often done with sweet potatoes...also the Terra Chips include 
beet chips, which, IMHO, are delicious!

Kiri