[Sca-cooks] lavender in period European food recipes

[Stefan li Rous]

Jadwiga asked:
> I ask only because I want to know... can you enumerate recipes or
> references to lavender in food in period? I know it was used in the
> Middle East and Spain but am short of references to it in other parts 
> of
> Europe.
Well here are some references found in this file in the PLANTS, HERBS 
AND SPICES section of the Florilegium:
lavender-msg      (29K)  5/29/09    Period use of Lavender in food and 
elsewhere

 >>>>>>
She also gives a recipe for Conserve Of Lavender Flowers.  Again she 
does
not quote the original, but says it is a variation on the conserve 
recipe in
The Queens Closet Opened, by W.M.  the Cook to Queen Henrietta Maria 
c1655.
It is thus:

10 stalks of English or French Lavender Flowers
4 tablespoons icing sugar
2 dessertspoons Rosewater
<<<<<<

Well, a bit post-period and perhaps they are more for decorations than 
to be eaten, but I think not.

 >>>>>>
Source:
   Libro della cucina del secolo XIV/ The Medieval Kitchen:  Recipes from
   France and Italy,  by Odile Redon et al.

Primary Source:
Togli buono vino con un poco d'aceto, e, sciumato che sia quando bolle,
meetivi, dentro il pesceie, e cotto, cavalne, e fa bullire il vino 
tanto,
che torni a la terza parte: poi mettivi dentro zaffarano e altre 
spezie, con
alloro: poi colato il vino, mettivi spico, e lassa che sia freddo; poi
metti, sopra'l pesce, nel catino.

Translation: Take good wine and a little vinegar, and when it has been
skimmed upon boiling, put in the fish, and when they are cooked, remove
them, and boil the wine so that it reduces to one third; then add 
saffron
and other spices, with bay leaves;then when the wine has been strained, 
add
lavender and leave to cool; then put it over the fish in a dish.
<<<<<<<

 >>>>>>>
Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 00:13:36 +0200
From: Thomas Gloning <gloning  at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE>
Subject: SC - Period recipes for lavender?

Here are some further candidates for lavender (and/or spicanardi):

Enseignements (ed. Lozinski; ca. 1300)
   134 Se vos volez fere comminee de pesson
       ("... puis prenez canele e espic e girofle ...")
   157 Se vos volez fere gelee de pesson
       ("... poivre lonc, garingal, espic e un poi de safren..."

Viandier  (ed. Scully; 14th/15th cent.)
   68  VAT Gelee de poisson
   170 VAT Espices qu'il fault a ce present Viandier
   24  MAZ Soutil brouet d'Angleterre

Menagier (ed. Brereton/Ferrier; ca. 1393)
   251.10 Pour faire .iiii. platz de gellee de char
          ("... espic ..."
   270.31 Pour une quarte ou quarteron d'ypocras ...
          ("... espicnardi ..."

Recueil de Riom (ed. Lambert; ca. 1466)
   Nr. 9  Une gelee de cher de poulailhe, lappereaux, et de cochons
          ("... giroffle, maxis, et espic, et garingal, ...")

Martino  (ed. Faccioli; 15th cent.)
   p. 130 Per fare dui piattelli di gelatina
          (" ... et meza quarta di spiconardo ...")
          See Platina VI.24 (transl. _spikenard_)
          The German Platina 1542: "... Spicanarden ..."

Meister Eberhard (ed. Feyl; 15th cent.)
   R109   Oleum nardicum
          ("... Man nymbt spicanardi gancz vnd seudt ...")

Ein sehr K¸nstliches vnd f¸rtrefflichs Kochbuch 1560
   B5b   Wie man Rephu:ener sol kochen
         ("Auch mag man wol Rosenwasser oder Lauendelwasser daran thun")
   B6a   Ein pru:ee vber Hu:enner
         ("nim Spickwasser oder Rosenwasser"; _Spick_ 'Lavender')
   E7a   Sugar with roses/sugar with lavender
         "Ein Rosen zucker ein zu machen/ oder andern Zucker. NJm zu
          eim lot Rosen/ drey lot zuckers/ Aber zu Lauendel vier lot/
          zu eim lot Plu:emblein auch so vil" (Nr. 80).

Sabina Welser (ed. Stopp; ca. 1553)
   106   Ain kreitertortten z? machen
         ("... vnnd ain wenig lafendel ...")

There is another German cookbook from 1609 with several lavender
recipes; Wiswe mentions 15th century recipes for beer with lavender.
_Espic_ is also listed in a 14th century French document on spices,
mentioned in one of Pichon's footnotes to the Menagier.

Sorry that I did not key in and translate all these recipes... am a bit
under pressure with other stuff.

Thomas
<<<<<

Since Thomas didn't give the translations for the references he gave, 
some of these might not be for "food" items but it hopefully gives you 
a place to start.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****