[Sca-cooks] An almost final Feast Menu

Barbara Benson voxeight at gmail.com
Tue Apr 19 05:46:31 PDT 2011


> Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is an Old World member of the Cucurbitacaea.  The
> German recipe you remember is likely oil, vinegar, salt and sugar.
>
> For a period recipe, you might give this recipe a try:
>
> Cucumber Salad
>
> Peel the Cucumbers/and cut them broad and thin/ season them with oil/ pepper
> and salt.  But if
> they are salt-preserved/they are also not bad/ are better than raw because
> one can salt it with
> Fennel and with caraway that both can be kept over one year. And near the
> Rhine-stream one
> calls it Cucummern
>
> Rumpolt, Ein Neue Kochbuch, 1581

Saluti,

I prepared this dish for a German feast and went with the preserved
version. It was excellent in that it was a "make ahead" type dish to
an extent. I always find it good to save time in the kitchen. And it
is a dish served cold/room temperature which is another thing I find
an excellent addition to a menu temperature, texture and preparation
wise.

Cucumbers to fill jar
4 T Canning Salt
3 t Fennel Seeds
3 t Caraway Seeds
Oil
Black Pepper
		
Clean cucumbers. Mix salt, fennel, and caraway with water. Place
cucumbers in glass canning jar and pour brine over. Weight to ensure
that all cucumbers stay below the water. Allow to sit unsealed,
covered with a towel, in a "room temperature" location for two to
three days. Check to see if a scum forms on the top of the water. If
if does, remove with a paper towel or spoon. After they have reached
desired sourness remove weight and seal jar. Keep in the refrigerator
for several weeks before serving, shaking jar occasionally to
distribute seasoning.
	
On day of service, peel and thinly slice the cucumbers. Dress lightly
with olive oil and a small amount of pepper. Place in a sealed
container and hold in refrigerator for several hours before service.

And depending on where you would like your recipes to come from, here
is an English (slightly post period) pickle:
		
Pickled Cowcumbers
Delights for Ladies by Sir Hugh Platt, 1609.
To preserve cowcumbers all the yeere: Take a gallon of faire water and
a pottle of verjuice, and a pint of bay salt, and a handful of greene
fennel or Dill; boile it a little, and when it is cold put it into a
barrel, and then put your cowcumbers into that pickle, and you shall
keep all the yeere.
	
1 Gal Water
4 pints Verjuice
2 C Kosher Salt
1 big handfull chopped Dill
		
Wash and slice cucumbers. Make pickle and allow to cool completely.
Place cucumbers into a jar and pour in liquid. Keep refrigerated.

These were pretty darn salty - so you might want to cut the salt down
a bit. I kept them in the 'fridge because I didn't "can" them seeing
that this is not a USDA tested recipe. They would probably be fine
sitting out, but I didn't want to risk that.

I have a fabulous Cucumber, Onion and Basil salad recipe that is
Italian but you have already mentioned how over onioned you are in
this menu.

Ciao,
Serena



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