[Sca-cooks] Penguins and potatoes was medieval dog recipes
Terry Decker
t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net
Wed Jan 18 19:51:04 PST 2006
Peanuts don't make the cut as there were none in North America at the time.
Arachis hypogaea originates in the highlands of southern Brazil possibly
extending into Bolivia. They were brought to Europe and introduced into
North America with the slave trade in the 18th Century.
It is very possible that Openauk was Apios americana, the American
groundnut.
Bear
First thing that came to mind after I read the "on a string" discription
was the peanut.
just a thought
joy
radei
----- Original Message -----
From: "Terry Decker"
To: gedney1 at iconn.net, "Cooks within the SCA"
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Penguins and potatoes was medieval dog
recipes
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 08:30:22 -0600
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
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