MR: Orange Juice known in Period

[edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com (Alfredo el Bufon)]

Poster: edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com (Alfredo el Bufon)

In the Oxford English Dictionary, I found the following citation,
which is, apparently, from a passage on the alchemical properties
of oranges:

     1533 Sir Thomas Elyot _The_castel_of_helth_ II.xiv:

     The iuyce of theym is colde in the second degre.

So, we know that orange juice was known.  But was it used for
human consumption?  Was it as sweet as modern orange juice?
For these questions, I turn to a somewhat later citation:

     1598 _Epulario,_or,_the_Italian_banquet_ C ij:

     Take the iuce of an Oringe, or else Vergice.

The OED explains that "vergice" is a variant spelling of
"verjuice" which it defines as follows:

     The acid juice of green or unripe grapes, crab-apples,
     or other sour fruit, expressed and formed into a liquor;
     formerly much used in cooking, as a condiment, or for
     medicinal purposes.  Also in comparisons, as, _as_sour_
     (_bitter,_tart,_ etc.) _as_verjuice._

I'm no cooking expert, but I imagine that you couldn't safely
substitute verjuice for OJ in a recipe unless the orange juice
tasted a lot more like RealLemon than MinuteMaid.

-- Alfredo
 
Alfredo el Bufon
Elvegast, Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia
edh@ascc01.ascc.lucent.com
______________________________________

And so it was that latere,
As the Millere toold his tale,
That hire face, at first Iuste gostely,
Toornd a whytere shade of pale.

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