[Sca-cooks] Grapes (was Chekyns in browet)

[Laura C. Minnick]

At 07:07 AM 9/9/2005, you wrote:
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>
>
>Were there even green, ripe grapes in period? The only green when
>ripe grapes I know of today are seedless ones, and I assume those are
>a modern hybrid.
>_______________________________________________
>
>De Nola has one recipe which calls for three bunches of "white" grapes and 
>two bunches of "black".  (Likewise, figs are divided into white and black 
>varieties.)   These are not unripe grapes -- the term for those is 
>"agraz"  -- and the same word is used for the juice of unripe grapes.
>
>I don't know what "green" means in the case of the English recipe that 
>Lainie quoted.
>
>Is there a viticulturist in the house?

I double-checked other sources (the ME handbooks I have, and OED) and 
'grene' as unripe is indeed in use in the 14th c- question is whether it 
was meant that way in this recipe. I just emailed the Chaucer academic 
list- If they come up with anything I'll pass it in.

'Lainie
___________________________________________________________________________
"No people can be great who have ceased to be virtuous."
Samuel Johnson: An Introduction To The Political State of Great Britain