[Sca-cooks] *Sigh* That tomato thing - again

[Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise]

 >  I'm not part of the demo in question, but my impression is that it 
>is to show an array of foods that were *available* in the period the 
>SCA covers, not necessarily for foods that were commonplace (It has 
>been mentioned in another place that oranges are being included for the 
>demo in question, I doubt that many medieval Normans or renaissance era 
>Venetians ate the typical orange that can be bought at Food Lion in 
>October very often). 

It's curious how similar Seville (sour) oranges and modern sweet oranges 
look from a distance. Certainly seville oranges were grown in the 
Mediterraean area during the Renaissance period, having been imported 
through the Middle East.

But it's true that Northern Europeans might well have experienced 
oranges as either in much older and poorer condition than we see in our 
stores, or merely as preserved products such as candied orange peel or 
marmalade. Johannae, you've done  a lot of research on the orange; can 
you speak to that point?

-- 
-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net 
"History doesn't always repeat itself. Sometimes it screams
'Why don't you ever listen to me?' and lets fly with a club."