[Sca-cooks] Spanish tomato sauce, late 16th c.? -- from Gerarde's Herball 1597

[emilio szabo]

Let us have a look at Gerarde's, Herball, 1597, p. 275f. (apples of Loue)


"The vertues.
In Spaine and those hot regions they vse to eate the apples prepared and boilded 
with pepper, salt, and oile: but they yeelde very little nourishment to the 
bodie, and the same naught and corrupt.
Likewise they do eate the apples with oile, vineger and pepper mixed togither 
for sauce to their meate, even as we in these cold countries do mustarde" (p. 
276).
http://caliban.mpipz.mpg.de/gerarde/high/IMG_0637.html


As for the history of tomato I would like to have your comments on the quoted 
passage from Gerarde.


There are two possible understandings of the phrase in question:


(1)
eate [ the apples with oile, vineger and pepper mixed togither for sauce ] to 
their meate, even as we in these cold countries do mustarde


(2)
eate the apples with [ oile, vineger and pepper mixed togither for sauce ] to 
their meate


I must confess that I prefer the first reading, because there is mention of 
"their meate", which I assume is some different kind of food than the tomatoes.


Bear, you are right, that the writers of herbals used the works of their 
predecessors, they had widespread correspondences. Therefore, the next step is 
to look for the sources. Agnes Arber has a wonderful bibliography in her book on 
herbals, many of them are online ... 



Conrad Gesner, in his Horti Germaniae (Gardens of Germany, 1561) says in the 
passage about "Pomum aureum uel amoris dictum" that the fruit is "nec insuauis, 
nec noxius in cibo" (not unpleasant and not unwholesome to eat). This work is 
online with books.google.com, look for Valerius Cordus, Annotationes 1561, it is 
the last appendix.


E.