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

[Johnna Holloway]

As to where Gerard obtained his 1597 information where he wrote: "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)

I suspect in fact it comes from repeating the advice here:

Castor Durante  "I pomi d'oro mangiansi nel medesmo modo che le  
melanzane con pepe, sale e olio, ma danno poco e cattivo nutrimento"
  Translation: The golden apple one eats in the same way as the  
eggplant with pepper, salt and oil, but it gives little and evil  
nutrition.

  Source: "Herbario nuovo", Roma, 1585, dall'introduzione di Piero  
Camporesi a "La scienza in cucina e l'arte del mangiare bene" di  
Pellegrino Artusi

  Translation: New herbal, Rome 1585, from the introduction of Piero  
Camporesi to “The science in cooking and the art of eating well” of  
Pellegrino Artusi.

(from our infamous tomato article as previously discussed.)

----- Piero Camporesi in The Magic Harvest. Food, Folklore and Society  
states that Castor Durante wrote that tomatoes can be eaten 'in the  
same way as aubergines, with pepper, salt, and oil; but they give  
little and poor nourishment." page 127. The footnote gives the page as  
372 in Durante's Herbario nuovo.

Johnnae