[Sca-cooks] herb seasoning question

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Feb 28, 2007, at 8:40 PM, Suey wrote:

> Apicius calls for silphium root in his recipes while Flower uses  
> asafoetida when trying
> them. She indicates that it must be used sparingly but states that the
> flavor is delicious. She recommends it for fish especially. In North
> Africa "it" was grown especially in Cyrene where "it" was  
> cultivated for
> export. There "it" was used in medicine and in cooking.  The Anonymous
> Al-Andalus 13th Century Cookbook calls for it in "Tabahaja," a dish of
> fried goat's meat. Today several Middle Eastern recipes call for
> asafoetida. [Anónimo/Huici.1966:250:149; Apicius/Flower.  
> 1958:28-29; ES:
> Anonymous/Perry. Sep 5, 02 and Pullar. 1970:242]
>     Unfortunately I have not had time yet to review Flower's  
> translation
> to see what recipes call for it.  I have no data on medieval  
> cookery in
> North African or on modern Middle Eastern recipes as I do not handle
> those subjects.

Here's what Flower and Rosenbaum have to say on laserpitium (the term  
I believe most often appearing in Apicius) in the introduction to  
their 1958 edition of De Re Coquinaria:

> Finally, at least a word must be said about the famous silphium,  
> also called laserpitium and laser. Pliny has devoted a long chapter  
> to this herb (XIX, 3, 15 if. (38 ff.)). From him and Theophrastus  
> (Hist. plant. VI, 3) we gain a great deal of information about it.  
> The silphium grew in abundance in Cyrenaica, and was one of the  
> chief exports of that province. It had become a kind of symbol of  
> Cyrenaica, so that it appears on the coins of Cyrene, and even on  
> reliefs. But in spite of all this no one has been able to identify  
> the plant. In fact, it was already extinct in Cyrenaica in Pliny's  
> time. He says that only a small quantity could be discovered under  
> Nero, and this was sent to him. Otherwise it was only from Persia,  
> Armenia, and Media that silphium was still imported, but this was  
> of far inferior quality to that of Cyrenaica. The silphium from  
> Cyrenaica was apparently expensive even when it was still grown in  
> great quantities. Pliny mentions that under the consulate of C.  
> Valerius and M. Herennius B.c.) thirty pounds of silphium were sent  
> to Rome and given to the State.
>
>
>
> Although the identity of the Cyrenaican silphium cannot be  
> established, that of the Persian variety is fairly certain: it was  
> most probably the asafoetida, also called Devil's dung. This plant  
> has retained its importance in the Middle East to this day, and it  
> is used for pharmaceutical purposes also in the north.
>
>
>
> We know from Pliny that the juice of both the stem and the root was  
> used. Its costliness is well illustrated by our recipe I, x: how to  
> make an ounce of silphium last. The Cyrenaican variety is mentioned  
> expressly only twice in our book; usually it simply prescribes  
> 'laser.' Apicius himself may still have known and used the  
> Cyrenaican silphium, but our late fourth or early fifth‑century  
> compiler could only have known the Persian or Armenian varieties.
>
>
>
> In recipes where laser is prescribed we have used asafoetida  
> extract obtainable at chemists. It is very strong, and must be used  
> with the utmost caution. The tiniest drop gives just enough  
> flavour. If more than a minute quantity is taken the entire dish  
> may be spoiled. But, used with care, it gives a delicious flavour,  
> especially in combination with fish.



Adamantius




"S'ils n'ont pas de pain, vous fait-on dire, qu'ils  mangent de la  
brioche!" / "If there's no bread, you have to say, let them eat cake!"
     -- attributed to an unnamed noblewoman by Jean-Jacques Rousseau,  
"Confessions", 1782

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