[Sca-cooks] Paella was Tomatoes( was Philip)

[Micheal]

 Half expecting to see you sitting in the living room. Because I find myself 
nodding yes as I read you note.
  But here`s the twist only in Spain does Paella reach the level of notice 
that it does. Why ? that is my project.
 Da

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net>
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 10:44 AM
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Paella was Tomatoes( was Philip)


> In considering paella, we can easily reach a conclusion (which may or may 
> not be wrong) that the dish predates tomatoes in the Mediterranean.
>
> Now let me ask, does the dish predate rice in the Mediterranean?
>
> Tomatoes arrived in the 16th Century and may not have been used in paella 
> before the 17th Century.  Rice became an available crop in the 
> Mediterranean Basin some time between the 8th and 10th Centuries with the 
> Islamic Expansion.  Prior to that, rice was a very expensive product used 
> primarily to thicken sauces.  Therefore, paella with rice was probably not 
> known before the 8th Century.
>
> The history of the dish may be obscure, but rather than run willy-nilly 
> around the Mediterranean trying to compare recipes, concentrate on the 
> Kingdoms of Valencia and Catalonia and the culinary influences that came 
> there.  Culinarily, the region was first settled by Greeks.  The region 
> became a Roman province with a very strong Roman influence.  The Visigoths 
> probably did not add much culinarily to the region and there is little 
> documentation.  The Moors brought the rice and their culinary style.  The 
> results of these culinary migrations should show up in the Medieval and 
> Renaissance Catlan recipes.
>
> Where would I look?
>
> I've done very little research of the Greek corpus.  Most of my forays 
> have been modern works about the original sources.
>
> The Roman corpus is more promising.  Paella is a derivation of patella, 
> which suggests a strong Roman tie.  A quick look at Apicius shows there 
> are recipes for Patellam Tyrotaricham Ex Quocumque Salso Volueris (Patella 
> with Cheese and Salt Fish) and Patellam Lucretianam (Patella a la 
> Lucretius), which may bear some relation to paella.
>
> The Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook and the Sent Sovi will probably be 
> critical to any study of paella.
>
> Were I attacking this problem, I would look at the modern variations of 
> paella and the techniques of preparation, then look for similarities and 
> differences of preparation in older dishes while considering the evolution 
> of ingredients.  It would be speculative, but hopefully it would be a 
> logical progression with evidence to support the leaps of faith.
>
> Bear
>
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