[Sca-cooks] Squash in Scappi's Opera

[Terry Decker]

Scappi is about 1570 and New World cucurbits appear in Fuchs' herbal of 
1540, so squash were known and probably eaten in Scappi's day.

As to Scappi, common squash is probably a bottle gourd.  Hairy squash is 
almost certainly one of the hairy gourds or loofah.  The description of 
Savona squash in Scappi makes me think it is a gourd.  The instructions for 
storing Turkish squash, the instructions for harvesting and the name make me 
think this is a New World cucurbit, specifically a variant of C. pepo. 
Genoese is completely open to question.  There is not enough information to 
determine whether this is a squash or a gourd.

Bear

> On one of the local culinary lists I'm on a discussion came up about 
> squash, whether they were found and used in pre-1700 Europe, and if so, 
> what breeds. I've been going through not only all of the great recipes in 
> Scappi, but the extremely useful indexes as well.
>
> In the index listing all ingredients by type squash are listed under 
> vegetables and herbs above ground: Squash (common, hairy, Genoese, Savona, 
> Turkish). But I don't know what any currently available equivalents might 
> be, any thoughts on what appropriate substitutions might be?
>
> As for how they would have been cooked in renaissance Italy, listings for 
> squash in the index under preparations include: squash, in a think soup in 
> lent, in a thick soup with almond milk, in a think soup with meat broth, 
> stuffed in lent, squash and onions in a thick soup, stuffed boiled and 
> oven baked, fried, tourte without cheese, and rinds.
>
> Sounds like some potential ideas for a wonderful fall meal, vegan or 
> carnivore options as well. :)
>
> In joyous service,
> Raffaella