[Sca-cooks] Dates stuffed with marzipan

[Johnna Holloway]

Thanks for the source. I suspect that it's not all that old. Did some 
looking. It's not in
Meg Dod's which dates to 1829. Also checked Mrs. McLintock which is 1736.
Didn't find them in Cleland which is 1755. Most of my Scots cookery 
books are boxed
but I went through what I have available and didn't find them listed.

I had a bit more time tonight so I searched ECCO which is the 18th 
century database
(Scotland's printed culinary texts start in the 18th century)-- nothing.

EEBO-TCP turned up some interesting material. Dates do appear in English 
texts
of course. It was suggested that they wouldn't be found in recipes 
because they weren't being
grown in Scotland. They were imported into England at least prior to 
1600. They show up in
The castel of helth gathered and made by Syr Thomas Elyot knyghte which 
dates to 1539.
The Secrets of Alessio has them being used in various waters. That's 1558.
Partridge also includes them also in a water.
Dawson mentions dates in confects but doesn't include a recipe. They are 
listed at least twice in a list of dishes.
Wooley includes dates and blanched almonds in a pudding in The Cooks 
Guide as did Dawson 75 years
earlier.
The title London in its splendor consisting of triumphant pageants in 
1673 mentions a pageant that offers
"betwixt two Silver Panyers that are fraught with several sorts of 
Fruits, as Raysons, Almonds, Figs, Dates, Prunes, and other variety of 
Grocery Wares..."
but this isn't a mention of stuffed dates.

Johnnae



Jennifer Carlson wrote:
> snipped I found myself with an extra chub of marizpan, and a package of dates.  So, I wondered if the two might have married in period, and went hunting for recipes, and hit the aforementioned website of "traditional Scottish recipes."  The website, www.rampantscotland.com, made no claim that the stuffed dates were medieval - just traditional, which as we all know is a commercial term of such fluid meaning as to mean nothing. 
>