[Sca-cooks] musings on nightshade

[Terry Decker]

> --- Terry Decker <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>
>> He goes on to relate that Protestants refused to plant potatoes
>> > and one reason was that they weren't mentioned in the Bible.  Irish
>> > Catholics got around this
>> > by "sprinkling their seed potatoes with holy water and planting them on
>> > Good Friday."
>>
>> Source?
>
> It is hard to tell where he found that.  His bibliography is huge [26 
> pages].  At the end of the
> entire article he gives us these books for further reading.  Since I have 
> neither of them, I
> can't tell you which provided what.  Or if he found this someplace else 
> entirely.  I could tell
> you to ask him, but that might take a ouija board or a medium.
>
> Barehan, Lindsay
>  In Praise of the Potato.  London, Grafton Books, 1991.
>
> Robyns, Gwen
>  The Potato Cookbook.  London, Pan Books, 1980.
>
> You really need to buy his book.  It is only $30 in paperback new.  It is 
> the winner of the James
> Beard Foundation Book Award.
>
> Huette

'Tis a wonder that the poor white potato draws such fire when the same could 
be said of the sweet potato, tomato, chili pepper, etc.  It makes me think 
the tales are apocryphal.  If it's not, then I shouldn't have to waken the 
old boy from his final repose, it will be documented somewhere.

I haven't heard of the two books listed, but I would have chosen:

Salaman, Redcliffe N., The History and Social Influence of the Potato and 
Hawkes, J.G., The Potato:  Evolution, Biodiversity, and Genetic Resources, 
which probably says something about the way each of us thinks.

I should break down and get The Oxford Companion to Food, but other 
interesting tomes keep bubbling up to the top of the list.

Bear