[Sca-cooks] Gastronomica on Spice Trade, Apicius and Martino

[Stefan li Rous]

Suey commented:
<<< Someone had a reference back there to chile and tomatoes being  
taken to
Europe by Cris Colon. He could have but American foods took about 150
years to set in. >>>

Uh, not quite right. It is fairly easy to find examples of New World  
foods which were accepted in Europe pretty quickly and others which  
didn't catch on until 1600 CE or later. Generally the closer a New  
World food item was to a European variety, the faster it got accepted.

The two you mention above are examples of each situation.

Tomatoes did not catch on until mid to late 16th century or later. On  
the otherhand, chili peppers caught on fairly quickly.

Pineapples were another quickly accepted item, because they were sweet.
Potatoes were late, although Sweet Potatoes were accepted quicker  
than white potatoes.
I don't remember how quickly New World beans caught on, but they  
eventually drove out the cultivation and eating of most European beans.

For an overview of this acceptance of various New World foods take a  
look at these Florilegium files.

fd-New-World-msg  (24K)  4/29/07    16th C. food of and from the New  
World.
maize-msg         (62K)  1/11/06    Discovery of maize (Indian corn)  
in the
                                        Americas and its introduction  
to Europe.
turkeys-msg       (64K) 10/15/04    Use of turkeys in Renaissance  
Europe.
Turkeys-a-GB-art   (6K) 12/14/05    "On Turkeys and Great Birds" by  
Johnnae llyn
                                        Lewis.
   (Turkey's were accepted very quickly, perhaps because they  
resembled European birds such bustards(?). )
16C-Tomato-art    (16K)  9/ 5/02    "Sixteenth Century Italian and  
Spanish
                                        Tomato References" by Johnnae  
llyn Lewis,
                                        Helewyse de Birkestad, and  
Brighid ni
                                        Chiarain.
peppers-msg       (50K)  3/ 1/05    The introduction of peppers to  
Europe.
potatoes-msg      (89K)  1/23/05    Period white and sweet potato  
use. Recipes.
tomato-hist-art   (18K)  2/ 1/99    "You say tomato I say Xitomatl"  
by Lord
                                        Xaviar the Eccentric.
Tomatoes-art      (22K) 10/15/06    "Love, Death or Mere Curiosity?  
The Tomato
                                        in Renaissance Europe" by  
Mistress Renata
                                        Kestryl of Highwynds
tomatoes-msg      (34K)  1/17/05    Tomatoes in period.

<<< At first the plants were put on display like Japanese
plants today. No one knew what to do with them.  Even Granado's cookbook
during Philip II's reign in Spain includes only a couple of American
products. >>>

Which were these?

<<< It is not until Philip IV the next century or the
commencement of the Borbon reign in 1700 in Spain that you can begin to
see their incorporation in Spanish cooking.>>>

Nope. See the above files. Spain and Italy were often the first  
places many New World foods were first eaten, but many were being  
eaten long before the 1700s. Maize was being incorporated in polenta  
in northern Italy before then. However, Italy and Spain were not the  
only countries to quickly accept some New World foods. The "turkey"  
is called that because it was accepted in Turkey first and then was  
accepted from there to other parts of Europe.

Perhaps Lady Brighid can fill you in more on the Spanish manuscripts  
which include New World foods. I don't remember if there are any New  
World foods in her translation of Ruperto de Nola's 1529 "Libre del  
Coch" or not, but she may be familiar with later manuscripts as well.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****