[Sca-cooks] Scully's Neapolitan Recipe Collection and some queries

[David Friedman]

I've been looking at Scully's _Neapolitan Recipe Collection_ in the 
hope of finding answers to a few of the puzzled Rebecca encountered 
in translating a different southern Italian cookbook, and a few 
points struck me.

1. He repeatedly refers to "squash." My guess is he means the white 
flowered gourd, which unlike squash is old world.

2. He refers to kidney beans, which as I understand it are new world.

3. He thinks eggplant was a new introduction to Italian cooking in 
the 15th century. But it's common in Islamic cooking at least by the 
10th century, and between then and the 15th a good deal of southern 
Italy was under islamic rule for a substantial length of time.

Some other points ...  . Scully's manuscript has a recipe for 
figatelli, which are used as an ingredient in the cookbook Rebecca is 
translating. It uses mesentary, which I gather is also used in 
classical french cuisine and called "the crow." Any idea whether a 
modern butcher could supply it or what he would call it?

The following are terms which Rebecca isn't sure of the meaning of; 
suggestions invited:

Apolinos
Barbari (Barbaro, barbare)
Battuto (need second meaning, other than beaten. Maybe batter?)Borvij
Calcinelli (small shellfish. What kind?)
Capricto
Carus
Cesame
Civero
Crepa
Cumere
Eucabam
Locanica
Lonche
Moriada
Mortimolo
Mortia: Unknown. "Mortita" is "a kind of meat like jelly"
Muliazeto
Obitelli
Odoricti (Odoritti)
Ola: Unknown. Some kind of flour? Barley is Orzo. ***
Pugne: Unknown. Probably plural of Pugna, but since Pugna means "fistfight"...
Quillies: Unknown.
Renfusa
Scorza aromatica
Vone
-- 
David Friedman
www.daviddfriedman.com
daviddfriedman.blogspot.com/