Re: Argh! I've been baited!

[nix@iolinc.net (Malone, N.)]

Poster: nix@iolinc.net (Malone, N.)

> OK, now... I know that the 1598 ed. of Gerard's Herball documents potatoes,
> tomatoes (red AND yellow), yams, peppers. I used to bait M. Jaelle myself with
> the tomatoes. A lot of the gardening stuff the Americas had was available at
> least in the literature by late period-- remember, we're talking over a
> hundred years between 1492 and 1600.  Whether it was available in actual fact
> is another matter, as she would probably say, but what the snort.....

Why not bell (sweet) peppers, I wonder? Same family...

One thing I often point out is that, of the nightshade family of plants,
those with culinary value will get used much sooner in those parts of
the
Old World whose climates more closely resemble the parts of the New
World
where the specific plant is commonly eaten, or where the new food is
closer in "character" to foods already in use. Thus England took to
potatoes much sooner than it did tomatoes, but vice versa in Italy
(where
potato dishes are still uncommon) and peppers go to the hotter
climes first. However, not having had time to do much research, I don't
know when 'taters/'maters/peppers came into more-than-rare use in
different parts of the world.

Evan
Italian-English (but 190 years before Columbus)


There are earlier reference to potatoes (for animal feed) as
replacements for Kohlrabi in the German states. I haven't a clue about
Yellow tomatoes in period, I've never seen a definative reference, yams
are period but sweet potaoes are not. Yams are pre roman. As to peppers,
I said "not bell" to eliminate the entire family, but many things we
call peppers, mandarin reds, pin peppers, and several indian ocean
varieties similar to today's banana and cayenne peppers are very period
and hit Europe with the Avars raiding the late Roman colonies and
Byzantium.
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