[Sca-cooks] 14th c Italian cookbook (long)

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

Ariane Helou wrote:

> 2) There are two recipes -- one for chicken in lemon sauce, one for 
> chicken in pomegranate sauce (which I can post here in case anyone is 
> interested) -- that both call for something called "amido non mondato" 
> to be ground in a mortar.  In modern Italian (and in its most frequent 
> usage), "amido" is starch.  During this period and for some time 
> after, it could also refer to a whole grain: rice, or wheat, or other 
> cereals.  (Florio's Italian-English dictionary of 1611 defines it as 
> "a kinde of graine or rise."  A 19th-c. essay on these texts, dated as 
> it is, gives support for the same interpretation.)

As others have said, "amido" is the Italian word for wheat starch.  My 
first thought, upon reading your question, is that "amido non mondato" 
sounds like a scribal error for unpeeled *almonds*.  Almonds are a 
common thickener in medieval cuisine (especially in the Mediterranean 
area), but ninety percent of the time, they are blanched and peeled.

However, Italian is not my language.  I checked "The Original 
Mediterranean Cuisine" by Barbara Santich.  She has both of those 
recipes in her book, with the original recipe, a translation, and a 
redaction.  She expresses the opinion that "amido" is an error, and that 
the word should be almonds.

Speaking as someone who has made her share of translation mistakes, 
never underestimate the power of scribal errors (and bad transcriptions).

-- 
Brighid ni Chiarain
Barony of Settmour Swamp, East Kingdom
Robin Carroll-Mann *** rcmann4 at earthlink.net