[Sca-cooks] help with a preserving recipe

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Jul 9, 2007, at 12:03 AM, Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise wrote:

> This one is period-- Thomas Hyll, The Gardener's Labyrinth
>
> "And to preserve the Rape or Turnup roots to serve the winter and Lent
> time, the owner may work after this manner, by washing first the  
> roots,
> and these raw, bestow in ranks one upon another, and in each rank  
> strew
> salt, fennel seeds and sauerie [savory], or onely cover them with  
> salt,
> close couched, and on such wise letting these remain for eight days,
> powre so much fair water on them as will cover them, which done,  
> let the
> vessel stand in some vault, or seller, to serve for the above said
> times, or longer if the owner will, if so be he fill up the vessell,
> when these lie bare and drie." p. 171.
>
> Now, here's the question: when I do this, do I use whole or sliced
> turnips? I'd think whole ones. Also, should I top and tail them, or
> leave them with the stub end of the greens and the root end?

Probably whole, with stubs of both the stem and root ends, is the way  
to go (consults jar of half-sours in the fridge). I'm not sure if the  
theory involves excessive moisture loss, or minimizing entry points  
for undesirable microbes, but unless they're really large, I suspect  
this rule would apply.

Umm... you may find that some of the rules for things like kraut  
apply... you may want to make sure you've got a well-ventilated place  
to work and store them...

Adamantius