[Sca-cooks] Penguins and potatoes was medieval dog recipes

[Terry Decker]

Let's dispel that idea with two quotes (lifted from Cindy Renfrow's website) 
from Gerard's Herbal:

"Flos Solis Pyramidalis. Jerusalem Artichoke.
These rootes are dressed in diuers waies; some boile them in water, and 
after stew them with sacke and butter, adding a little Ginger: others bake 
them in pies, putting Marrow, Dates, Ginger, Raisons of the Sun, Sacke, &c. 
Others some other way, as they are led by their skill in Cookerie. But in my 
iudgement, which way soeuer they be drest and eaten they stirre and cause a 
filthie loathsome stinking winde within the bodie, thereby causing the belly 
to bee pained and tormented, and are a meat more fit for swine, than men..."

"Battata Virginiana, siue Virginianorum, & Pappus. Virginian Potatoes.
The temperature and vertues be referred vnto the common [sweet] Potatoes, 
being likewise a food, as also a meate for pleasure, equall in goodnesse and 
wholesomenesse vnto the same, being either rosted in the embers, or boyled 
and eaten with oyle, vinegar, and pepper, or dressed any other way by the 
hand of some cunning in cookerie."



While these quotes are from the 1633 edition of the Herbal, it is obvious 
Gerard knew the difference between the two plants, ergo Virginia Potatoes 
and Jerusalem Artichokes are two different critters.

It is possible that the plant in question is a root the natives called 
Openauk, as described in Thomas Heriot's (or Hariot) "A briefe and true 
report of the new found land of Virginia..." ( 
http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/hariot/hariot.html ) as quoted here:

 "      OPENAVK are a kind of roots of round forme, some of the bignes of 
walnuts, some far greater, which are found in moist & marish grounds growing 
many together one by another in ropes, or as thogh they were fastnened with 
a string. Being boiled or sodden they are very good meate."

The other possibility put forth is they are potatoes from the sack of 
Cartagena.

Gerard received his specimens in 1586 and his nomenclature ties the 
speciemens to Virginia.  He either received them from a member of the fleet 
that had returned from its last stop in Virginia or he received them from 
someone who already had specimens they were working with.  The former favors 
the white potato, but can not rule out the Openauk.  The latter would almost 
certainly be an Openauk.

In support of the Cartagena theory is the historical record of Drake's 
fleet.  El Draco's Caribbean raid was with a fleet of over 20 ships and 2400 
men.  By the time they reached Virginia, the fleet has in bad shape with 
over half of the men dead and many others sick.  The colonists weren't doing 
well, so Drake consolidated his crews and gave the colonists the ships they 
needed to come home.  Given the state of the colony, they probably didn't 
have much to resupply a vessel and most of the stores would have been what 
was left from Cartagena and St. Augustine (Florida), if any stores were 
siezed during their last raid.

Solanum tuberosum from other sources were described by other naturalists 
over the next 15 years, so Gerard's Potatoes of Virginia are more curiosity 
than serious consideration.  Since we haven't discovered any information 
about who and where he received the specimens from, all references to what 
they were and their place of origin is speculation and opinion.  Being of a 
pyratical bent, I kinda like the Cartagena theory.  Choose the one you like. 
The only requirement is it fit the facts and it be labelled speculation.

Bear


>I had always understood that the references to Virginia Potatoes
> were to Jerusalem Artichokes...
>
> Capt Elias