[Sca-cooks] Indian Nut

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

I've got the translation of the 14th century Tuscan cookbook HTML'ed. 
I've put in a hyperlinked Index and added section headings for ease 
of use... It's just about ready to go on-line. Vittoria Aureli has 
done a wonderful job translating, but there are a few things she 
couldn't find...

One is Indian nut (noci d'India), which is used in only one recipe 
(number 96). I wonder if anyone has a good idea what it might be in 
this setting. I doubt it's coconut, but what do i know?

Civero of hare and other meats [cf. French civet].
[95] Cut apart a whole hare, and, when it has been washed a little, 
cook it in water; then take the cooked liver and heart, grind them 
well in a mortar, and when said hare is cooked, take spices, pepper 
and onions, and fry them in lard with said heart and toasted bread: 
and when all these things have boiled together, put it on the table. 
Note that you must mince and grind the cooked heart and liver in a 
mortar with spices and toasted bread, and dilute it with good wine 
and a bit of vinegar. And then it has been cooked and the hare fried 
with onion, pour said sauce over the hare, and let it cool to room 
temperature, and serve. And you can do the same with pernici, that is 
partridges.

[96] Another preparation. Take cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, Indian nut 
[noci d'India], fowl livers, egg yolks, and little birds, whole or in 
pieces, and fry them in lard: then cook them in said broth, and cook 
as described above.

-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita