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

[Stefan li Rous]

Adele de Maisieres commented:

> Elaine Koogler wrote:
>
>    Duke Cosimo,
> > ordering Pierfrancesco Riccio to have   "Indian" grain  planted  
> in the
> > field below the Vivaio in the     garden at the Villa  at Castello.
> >    Extract: [...] Scrivere al Maiordomo  [Pierfrancesco Riccio] che
> > faccia sementare il campo  ch'? sotto il vivaio a Castello    de'
> > grani
> > d'India  Wanda
> >
> >
> > Comments???  Could they be using the term "maize" or "Indian Maize"
> > the
> > same way other writers used the term, "corn"...i.e., just another
> > reference to a kind of flour, but not to what we know as corn?
>
> I think that's interesting, but doesn't especially upset the apple  
> cart
> in terms of when corn appeared for culinary use.
>
> What I'd be interested to know is whether this was a serious,
> food-producing planting, or essentially an experimental one.

Yes, this very likely another mention of maize in Europe prior to  
1600 CE. There are a number including some which talk of using it to  
make bread.
See this Florilegium file:
maize-msg         (38K)  9/ 9/04    Discovery of maize (Indian corn)  
in the
                                        Americas and its introduction  
to Europe.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-BREADS/maize-msg.html

Including this message:
 >>>
Date: Thu, 09 Nov 2000 02:09:24 +0100
From: TG <gloning at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE>
Subject: Re: SC - Corn-Early Modern

There is a chapter on corn/maize in the herbal of Hieronymus Bock 1539,
later ed. 1570. He says that it is used to make bread ("gibt guot schˆn
wei? m‰l/ vnd s¸? Brot") and mush ("Etlich machen au? dem reinen Weyssen
m‰l Brei/ wie mit andern fr¸chten/ mit Milch abbereit").

The passage is on fol. 223 of the 1570 edition.

Thomas


Date: Thu, 09 Nov 2000 02:47:24 +0100
From: TG <gloning at Mailer.Uni-Marburg.DE>
Subject: Re: SC - Corn-Early Modern

There is also a chapter on corn/maize in the herbal of Leonhard Fuchs
1543. He says that it is used to make bread, that it was quite common in
his time and that it was grown in many gardens ("Dise korn seind
erstlich ... au? der Turckey in vnnser land bracht worden. Bekommen
gern/ darumb sie nun fast gemein seind/ vnd in vilen g‰rten gezilt
werden. (...) Man macht aber au? disem korn ¸ber die massen schˆn wei?
meel/ vnd becht darnach brodt darau?/ das macht leichtlich
verstopffung"; Fuchs 1543, chap. CCCXX).

Both Bock and Fuchs have pictures.

Th.
<<<

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****