[Sca-cooks] Eggplant query

[Johnna Holloway]

To start, Charles Perry talks about them here
http://zesterdaily.com/cooking/the-secret-to-medieval-eggplant/

Great article here: "The Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae illustrated in medieval manuscripts known as the Tacuinum Sanitatis."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2685323/

.pdf here with lots of illustrations
History and Iconography of Eggplant 

http://tinyurl.com/avko6r5

There are images also at:

http://www.coquinaria.nl/english/recipes/03.3histrecept.htm

http://www.oldcook.com/en/medieval-vegetables

Johnnae

On Feb 22, 2013, at 7:33 PM, David Friedman wrote:

> Local grocery stores normally carry at least two varieties of eggplant. What I think of as the standard eggplant is large with dark blue skin. There are also thinner, lighter varieties with paler skins, variously labeled as Japanese, Chinese or Filipino eggplants.
> 
> Does anyone know what varieties existed in period? Eggplants show up in at least Italian and Middle Eastern recipes, and presumably should show up in paintings, but I don't remember seeing any.