[Sca-cooks] The truth about Green Beans Savory in Meridies
Terry Decker
t.d.decker at att.net
Thu Sep 3 22:50:53 PDT 2009
The particular entry in Fuchs is that of Smilax hortensis or Welsch Bonen.
As this text was published in Basil, "Welsch Bonen" probably takes the Swiss
translation of "French Bean" AKA P. vulgaris. If you want to view the wood
cut try here, http://www.med.yale.edu/library/historical/fuchs/406-7.gif .
Leonard Fuchs's Herbal is extremely important because it contains the first
appearance of a number of plants from the New World. That being said, keep
in mind that the appearance of a plant in an herbal doesn't mean it's being
used culinarily, just that someone somewhere has a sample. In the case of
green beans, they were probably in limited use before Fuchs was published.
There is a record of New World beans being given to the Pope in 1528 and an
apochryphal tale of them coming to France with Catherine de Medici.
Bear
> Hmm...
> I am serving green beans this weekend at Harvest Day/Tournament of
> Chivarly- without cheese, though, just a side of bacon vinaigrette.
> Cheese is more expensive than meat. Bacon's been very popular in the
> Midrealm lately, to the point of evoking battle cries of "Baco
> Invictus!"
>
> For said bean, I found a reference to a woodcut in Fuchs, as discussed
> here on Clifford Wright's site.
>
> http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/topic_id/6/id/5/
> "The earliest depiction of a New World bean in Europe is thought to be
> the woodcut in the herbal published by Leonhart Fuchs in 1543. "
>
> Gwyneth
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