[Sca-cooks] Indian Nut

[Terry Decker]

The problem with a coconut from Cape Verde is the cookbook (which is 
probably the Anonimo Toscano) is late 14th or very early 15th Century.  The 
Portugese only located the Cape in 1456.

It is possible that coconuts were shipped as part of the spice trade into 
Egypt then into Italy which would make the nuts expensive and rare.  I have 
to admit, I haven't encountered the idea in any of my readings.

One also needs to remember that coconuts are primarily found in the Pacific 
and Indian Oceans and that those in West Africa were brought there  probably 
by trade, which may have occurred after the Portuguese started regular trade 
with India.

The history of the coconut looks like it might be fertile ground for a 
little research.

Bear


> lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:
>
>> 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?
>
>
> It seems to be coconut according to a somewhat later source:
>
> http://cocos.arecaceae.com/nautical.html
>
> 1550 <http://cocos.arecaceae.com/1550.html>
> Sao Tome - The same letter that spoke of coconuts in Santiago (Ramusio) 
> mentioned sugar production in Sao Tome. It also stated that coconuts had 
> been brought there from the coast of Africa: ". . . Vi anno condotto dalla 
> costa dell'Etiopia l'albero della palma, che fa il frutto che essi 
> chiamano cocco e qui in Italia chiamano noci d'India . . ." At that time 
> Ethiopia was any part of Africa beyond Arab influence. If the arguments 
> against the direct introduction from East Africa are valid (Harries) then 
> the coconuts brought to Sao Tome could only have come from the coast at 
> Cape Verde. This is consistent with an ordinance passed by King Manuel 
> that allowed traders going to Sao Tome to take on provisions at Beziguiche 
> (Blake). The Portuguese base there was the island of Palma (the 
> significance of this name in the present context must not be taken too 
> literally since a number of towns, islands and promontories have so been 
> named). The island was purchased by the Dutch in 1617, captured by the 
> French in 1677 and occupied occasionally by the British. Now known as 
> Goree island it has become part of the important entrepôt of Dakar. This 
> sequence of events has afforded an opportunity for coconuts to be taken to 
> Dutch, French and British possessions in Africa and America from a source 
> that was not directly controlled by the Portuguese.
>
>
> Feeling like a nut, Selene
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