[Sca-cooks] "aceite de bazo" (oil from the spleen)

Robin Carroll-Mann rcmann4 at earthlink.net
Fri Dec 8 18:13:51 PST 2006


Stefan li Rous wrote:

>However, the correction is not much clearer than the original  
>mistake. :-( What is "oil from the spleen"? What would you ask for in  
>the grocery store to get this? Or what would be a good substitute?  
>Any idea why this specific item was called out, instead of just "oil"  
>or whatever?
>  
>
Sorry if I wasn't clear.  There is no such thing as "oil from the 
spleen".  That was the spelling error in the transcription.  The 
original merely says, "oil underneath, so that it does not stick".  For 
Spanish cooking, olive oil is the default, unless some other kind is 
specified. 

The original says "aceite debaxo".  The modern spelling would be "aceite 
debajo".  The 1929 transcription says "aceite de bazo", which completely 
changes the original meaning.

Another error -- though this one was so silly it was easier to spot -- 
was in a recipe for fava beans.  The original says to take the whitest 
beans that have not been eaten by weevils.  The transcription carelesly 
substituted "cocidas" instead of "comidas", thereby telling the reader 
to use beans that have not been *cooked* by weevils. 

The missing words are a more insidious problem.  The transcription omits 
the last sentence of recipe #116 (Agalura Sauce), which describes the 
color of the finished sauce.  A more serious omission is in recipe #28 
(Pottage of Coriander Called the First).  The section that lists which 
"fine spices" to use has been left out.

Harumph!

-- 

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



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