[Sca-cooks] Indian Maize in Italy in period??????

[Elaine Koogler]

Wanda Pease wrote:

>I took this excerpt from the Medici Archives Project at:
>http://www.medici.org/  Go through the food and wine segment.  The original
>Italian is on the same page I think.  Please note that I don't make any
>suggestions for this piece.  The people who are doing the translations are
>professionals, not second year high school students.
>
>I suspect that if Cosimo de Medici told someone to plant a "field" with
>something he expected results better than simply poking a seed in the
>ground.  No reason I know for Corn/maize not to grow in Italy in the 16th
>Century.  No terrible climate reasons at any rate.
>
>No claims that people ate the stuff.  However, don't we know that it was
>around by about 1620 due to the Arcimbolo picture?
>
>Regina
>
>  
>
I saw the signature at the bottom of the message and wondered if it was 
you who wrote it.  But it was such a great thing that I had to share it 
with the cooks...especially as we've had such wonderful discussions in 
the past about the use of corn/maize in Europe.

Kiri