Part 9

However, the taste for this vegetable was not always confined to the people, in the southern countries of Europe; it gained, at times, the high regions of the court. It is reported that, in 1368, Alphonso, King of Castile, who had an extreme repugnance to garlic, instituted an order of knighthood; and one of the statutes was, that any knight who had eaten of this plant, could not appear before the sovereign for at least one month.[IX-189]

The priests of Cybele interdicted the entry of the temple of this goddess to persons who had made use of garlic. Stilphon, troubling himself very little about this interdiction, fell asleep on the steps of the altar. The mother of the gods appeared to him in his dream, and reproached him with the little respect his breath disclosed for her. “If you wish me to abstain from garlic,” replied Stilphon, “give me something else to eat.”[IX-190]

The ancients, great lovers of the marvellous, believed that this despised vegetable possessed a sovereign virtue against the greater number of diseases,[IX-191] and that it was easy to deprive it of its penetrating odour by sowing and gathering it when the moon was below the horizon.[IX-192]

The Greek and Roman cooks used it but very seldom, and it was only employed as a second or third-rate ingredient in some preparations of Apicius which we shall hereafter mention.

“Garlic is called the physic of the peasantry, especially in warm countries, where it is eaten before going to work, in order to guarantee them from the pernicious effects of foul air. It would be too long were we to relate all that has been written in favour of this vegetable; let it suffice to say that it is employed in numerous pharmaceutical preparations, and among others in vinegar, celebrated by the name of _aromatic_ vinegar.”--BOSC.

ESCHALOTS.

Alexander the Great found the eschalot in Phœnicia, and introduced it into Greece. Its Latin name, _Ascalonica_, indicates the place of its origin, Ascalon, a city of Idumea.[IX-193] Its affinity with garlic set the ancients against its culinary qualities, and this useful plant, too much neglected, only obtained credit in modern times.

PARSLEY.

Hercules, the conqueror of the Nemæan lion, crowned himself with parsley; a rather modest adornment for so great a hero, when others, for exploits much less worthy, were decked with laurels. A similar crown became, subsequently, the prize of the Nemæan[IX-194] and Isthmian Games.[IX-195]

Anacreon, that amiable and frivolous poet, who consecrated all his moments to pleasure, celebrates parsley as the emblem of joy and festivity;[IX-196] and Horace, a philosophic sensualist of the same stamp, commanded his banquetting hall to be ornamented with roses and parsley.[IX-197]

Perhaps it was thought that the strong, penetrating odour of parsley possessed the property of exciting the brain to agreeable imaginations; if so, it explains the fact of its being worn by guests, placed round their heads.

Fable has made it the food of Juno’s coursers.[IX-198] In battle, the warriors of Homer fed their chargers with it;[IX-199] and Melancholy, taking it for the symbol of mourning, admitted it at the dismal repasts of obsequies.[IX-200]

Let us seek to discover in this plant qualities less poetic and less brilliant, but, assuredly, more real and positive. In the first place:--

Wash some parsley with the roots adhering; dry it well in the sun; boil it in water, and leave it awhile on one side; then put into a saucepan some garlic and leeks, which must boil together a long time, and very slowly, until reduced to two-thirds--that done, pound some pepper, mix it with gravy and a little honey, strain the water in which the parsley was boiled, and pour it over the parsley and the whole of the other ingredients. Put the stewpan once more on the fire, and serve.[IX-201]

The following recipe is much less complicated and more expeditious:--

Boil the parsley in water, with nitre; press out all the water; cut it very fine; then mix, with care, some pepper, alisander, marjoram and onions; add some wine, gravy, and oil; stew the whole, with the parsley, in an earthen pot or stewpan.[IX-202]

If the illustrious pupil of Chiron, the warlike Achilles, had known the culinary properties of parsley as well as he knew its medicinal virtues, he no doubt would have been less prodigal with it for his horses;[IX-203] and the conquerors of Troy would have comforted themselves, during the tediousness of a long siege, by cooking this aromatic plant, and enjoying a new dish.

Parsley, according to some writers, was of Egyptian origin; but it is not known who brought it into Sardinia, where it was found by the Carthaginians, who afterwards made it known to the inhabitants of Marseilles.

CHERVIL.

This plant, which Columella has described,[IX-204] furnished a relishing dish, prepared with gravy, oil, and wine; or served with fried fish.[IX-205] At the present day it is highly commendable in salad.

WATER-CRESSES.

The water-cress, the sight alone of which made the learned Scaliger shudder with terror, is supposed to be a native of Crete. It was, doubtless, the cresses of Alen (Suabia), which are cultivated in our gardens, and not those commonly found in brooks and springs.

The Persians were in the habit of eating them with bread:[IX-206] they made, in this manner, so delicious a meal, that the splendour of a Syracusan table would not have tempted them.[IX-207] This is one of those examples of sobriety which may be admired, but are seldom followed.

Plutarch did not share the opinion of the Persians, but scornfully ranked cresses amongst the lowest aliments of the people.[IX-208] Nevertheless, the Romans, as well as the Greeks, granted to this cruciform plant a host of beneficent qualities, and among others, a singularly refreshing property. Refreshing! to say the truth, it refreshes much in the same way that mustard and pepper do.[IX-209] Boiled in goat’s milk, it cured thoracic affections;[IX-210] introduced into the ears, it relieved the toothache:[IX-211] and finally, persons who made it their habitual food found their wits sharpened and their intelligence more active and ingenious.[IX-212]

However, it does not appear that cresses ever enjoyed, in Rome or Athens, a culinary vogue equal to their officinal reputation; it was said that its acrid taste twisted the nose,[IX-213] and this coarse jest naturally did it harm to a certain degree with the rich and delicate. Be that as it may, those who dared, ate it dressed in the following manner:--

With garum, or oil and vinegar;[IX-214] or with pepper, cummin-seed, and lentiscus (leaves of the mastic-tree).[IX-215]

The water-cress _par excellence_ grows in springs, rivulets, and ditches, in Europe. Its piquant taste is rather agreeable; it is eaten as a salad or seasoning, with poultry and other roasted meat. This plant increases the appetite, fortifies the stomach, and possesses anti-scorbutic qualities.

A great consumption is made of it in certain countries. It is cultivated in running waters, either in gardens, or sown in the shade, where it is watered abundantly. The less it sees the sun, the softer it is.--BOSC.

X.

PLANTS USED IN SEASONING.

We will point out, as briefly as possible, those plants mostly used in the kitchens of the ancients to heighten the flavour of their dishes, or to give them a particular taste, according as the dish or fancy might require it. In them especially lies the secret of those _irritamenta gulæ_, or excitements of the palate, which Apicius brought so much into fashion.

POPPY.

The seed of this plant was offered, fried, at the beginning of the second course, and eaten with honey.[X-1] Sometimes it was sprinkled on the crust of a kind of household bread, covered with white of eggs.[X-2] Some of it was also put into the panada, or pap, intended for children[X-3]--perhaps to make them sleep the sooner.

SESAME.

This seed was used in nearly the same manner as the poppy, and it occupied a distinguished rank among the numerous dainties served at dessert.[X-4] Certain round and light cakes were covered with this seed.[X-5] The Romans brought sesame from Egypt.[X-6]

SOW-THISTLE.

This plant furnished a kind of milk, which was sometimes drunk: sometimes various kinds of meat were seasoned with it.[X-7] It was afterwards given up to rabbits, and there is every probability that they will retain undisputed possession of it.

ORACH.

Few vegetables have been more exposed to injurious accusations. Pythagoras reproaches it with causing a livid paleness, dropsy, and the scrofula, in those persons who eat it.[X-8] Nevertheless, a greedy curiosity introduced it into the catalogue of culinary preparations, and the guests of Apicius tasted more than once the fatal orach without knowing its pernicious properties. History does not say that they suffered any pernicious effects from it.

This plant is also eaten like spinach, and mixed with sorrel to soften its acidity.--BOSC.

ROCKET.

Persons about to undergo the punishment of the whip were recommended to swallow a cup of wine, in which rocket had been steeped. It was asserted that this draught rendered pain supportable.[X-9] And again, that this plant, taken with honey, removed the freckles which sometimes appear on the face.[X-10]

Whatever may be the degree of credence accorded to these two recipes, this vegetable enjoyed some reputation among the ancients, who mixed the wild and the garden rocket together, so as to temper the heat of the one by the coldness of the other.[X-11]

FENNEL.

It was employed but seldom in the preparation of dishes or pastry; but it was believed that the juice of its stalk had the property of restoring or strengthening the sight.[X-12]

DILL.

This plant, which, according to the ancients, weakened the eyes,[X-13] was much renowned for its exquisite odour,[X-14] and its stomachic qualities.[X-15] A much-admired perfume[X-16] was made from it; it produced an agreeable sort of wine or liqueur;[X-17] and a small number of choice dishes, for the enjoyment of connoisseurs, owed to it the reputation they had acquired.[X-18]

ANISE-SEED.

The production of an umbelliferous plant, which grows wild in Egypt, in Syria, and other eastern countries. Pliny recommends it to be taken in the morning, with honey and myrrh in wine:[X-19] and Pythagoras attributes to it eminent Hygeian properties, whether eaten raw or cooked.[X-20]

HYSSOP.

The Greeks, the Romans--and before them, the nations of the east[X-21]--believed that hyssop renews and purifies the blood. This plant, mixed with an equal quantity of salt, formed a remedy much extolled by Columella.[X-22] It was crushed with oil to make a liniment, used as a remedy for cutaneous eruptions.[X-23] An excellent liqueur was obtained from it, known under the name of hyssop wine;[X-24] and lastly, this plant was used in a number of dishes, which it rendered more wholesome and refreshing.

WILD MARJORAM.

Nearly the same qualities were attributed to this herb as to hyssop;[X-25] and it was employed still more frequently in the composition of the most delicate condiments. Dioscorides[X-26] and Cato[X-27] make copious remarks on a much-esteemed liqueur, which they called wild marjoram wine.

SAVORY.

An odoriferous herb, which entered into the seasoning of nearly every dish.[X-28]

THYME.

Besides the various culinary purposes for which the ancients used this plant, they, like ourselves, extracted from thyme aromatic liqueurs,[X-29] the preparation of which will be given in another part of this work.

WILD THYME.

We find it rarely spoken of by magiric writers. Pliny believes it to be most efficacious against the bite of serpents.[X-30]

SWEET MARJORAM.[X-31]

Was much employed in the Isle of Cyprus; very little, if at all, in Rome, where they knew little more of sweet marjoram than the oil extracted from it.[X-32]

PENNYROYAL.

The ancients entwined their wine caps with pennyroyal,[X-33] and made crowns of it, which were placed on their heads during their repasts, by the aid of which they hoped to escape the troublesome consequences of too copious libations.[X-34] On leaving the table, a small quantity of this plant was taken, to facilitate digestion.[X-35]

Pennyroyal occupied, also, an important place in high gastronomic combinations.

RUE.

The territory of Myra, a city of Lycia, produced excellent rue.[X-36] Mithridates looked upon this vegetable as a powerful counter-poison;[X-37] and the inhabitants of Heraclea, suspicious--and with reason--of the villany of their tyrant, Clearchus, never stirred from their dwellings without having previously eaten plentifully of rue.[X-38] This plant cured also the ear-ache;[X-39] and to all these advantages, it joined that of being welcomed with honour on all festive occasions.[X-40]

MINT.

There was formerly--no matter where or when--a beautiful young girl, who was changed into this plant through the jealous vengeance of Proserpine.[X-41] Thus transformed, she excited the appetite of the guests, and awakened their slumbering gaiety.[X-42] Mint prevented milk from curdling, even when rennet was put into it.[X-43]

SPANISH CAMOMILE.

The Romans sometimes mixed with their drink the burning root of the Spanish camomile;[X-44] and we are astonished at meeting with the name of this formidable plant among the ingredients of some of their dishes.

CUMMIN.

The condiments prepared with cummin had a very great reputation; and culinary authors frequently mention this vegetable, which the Greeks and Romans invariably used.[X-45]

ALISANDER.

The same might be said of alisander, which, in the time of Pliny, passed as an universal remedy,[X-46] and which Apicius honours by naming in many of his dishes.

CAPERS.

Young buds of the caper tree, a shrub--native of Asia, where the species are in great varieties. It was but little thought of at the tables of the higher classes, and therefore was left to the people.[X-47]

The buds of the caper are gathered, and thrown into barrels filled with vinegar, to which a little salt is added; then, by means of several large sieves made of a copper plate, rather hollow, and pierced with holes of different sizes, the different qualities are separated, and classed under different numbers. The vinegar is renewed, and the capers are replaced in the barrel, ready for exportation.

ASAFŒTIDA.

This plant, which we have excluded from our kitchens, and whose nauseous smell is far from exciting the appetite, reigned almost as the chief ingredient in the seasoning of the ancients. Perhaps they cultivated a kind which in no way resembled that of modern times. If it were the same, how are we to explain the extreme partiality which Apicius shows for it? and which he says must be dissolved in luke-warm water, and afterwards served with vinegar and garum.[X-48]

It is certain that the resin drawn by incision from the root of this plant is still much esteemed by the inhabitants of Persia and of India; they chew it constantly, finding the odour and taste exquisite.

“The neck of the root is cleared of the earth it is covered with, and replaced by a handful of herbs. At the end of forty days the summit of the root is out transversely; then a small bundle of herbs is laid over, so as not to touch it. A whitish liquor exudes from the cut, and every other day it is gathered; the cut is renewed until the root is quite exhausted. The result of this crop is laid on leaves, and dried in the sun.”--BOSC.

SUMACH.

The Romans made use of the seed to flavour several kinds of dishes.[X-49]

GINGER.

This root was known at Rome under the Emperors, and many persons have confounded ginger with pepper, although they in no way resemble each other. Pliny refutes this error, and represents it as a native of Arabia.[X-50] It was used with other condiments.[X-51]

“The Indians grate this root in their broth or _ragoût_; they make a paste which they believe is good against the scurvy. The inhabitants of Madagascar eat it green, in salad, cut in small pieces, and mixed with other herbs, which they season with salt, oil, and vinegar. In other places ginger is taken infused as a drink; it fortifies the chest, and awakens the appetite. It is preserved in sugar after it has been stripped of its bark, and soaked in vinegar. Delicious preserves are made of it with much perfume, and which keep a very long time.”--DUTOUR.

WORMWOOD.

The Egyptians had a great respect for the wormwood of Taposiris,--no doubt on account of the medicinal properties which physicians attributed to it.

Heliogabalus often regaled the populace with wormwood wine,[X-52] and the Romans gave it to the victorious charioteers. Pliny thinks this plant so salutary that nothing more precious could have been presented to them.[X-53] This explanation appears to have had but little plausibility, and it has been more rationally supposed that this liquor prevented or counteracted any giddiness they might feel. “You can cure yourself of dizziness,” says Strabo, “with the bitter leaf of wormwood.”[X-54]

The Roman wormwood wine was composed in the following manner:

They bruised one ounce of this vegetable, and mixed it with three scruples of gum, as much spikenard, six of balm, and three scruples of saffron; to which was added eighteen _setiers_, or 180 gallons English, of old wine. This mixture was left to stand some time, but was not heated or subjected to any other process.[X-55]

In pharmacy, wine is made of wormwood; also a syrup, a preserve, an extract, oil by infusion, an essential oil, and wormwood salt. It is supposed that several brewers on the Continent substitute the leaves and flowers of this plant for hops, in the manufacture of beer. It is, perhaps, a calumny, and we only repeat it in a whisper.

“The leaves of wormwood are used in salad to make it more digestible and heighten the flavour. They are preserved in vinegar, and to season dishes. Lastly, they are considered by some persons as a remedy, and the frequent use of them to be indispensable for the preservation of their existence.”--BOSC.

* * * * *

In concluding this chapter, it will be necessary to anticipate a question which naturally presents itself: did the Romans know the art of forcing fruits, and of procuring, at one season, the various vegetables or plants which belong to another period of the year?

Some verses from Martial will leave no doubt on the subject:--

“Whoever has seen the orchards of the King of Corcyrus (Alcinous), dear Entellus, must have preferred thy rural habitation. Thou knowest how to preserve from the rigours of winter the purple grapes of thy vine bower, and prevent the cold frost from devouring the gifts of Bacchus. Thy grapes live enclosed under a transparent crystal, which covers without concealing them.

“What can avaricious nature refuse to the industry of man? Sterile winter is constrained to give up the fruits of autumn.”[X-56]

This curious passage gives us to understand that the Romans had hot-houses and, no doubt, glass bells in their orchards and gardens, to bring sooner to maturity some of those productions of the earth which, by their delicate flavour and perfume, raised the insatiable desires of a people, decidedly the greatest epicureans ever known in the history of gastronomy to the present day.

XI.

FRUITS.

When the Creator placed the first man in the Garden of Eden, he commanded him to nourish himself with the fruit it contained;[XI-1] and, from that epoch, the most ancient which the sacred work records, this kind of aliment is incessantly mentioned in the history of all nations, and at every period of their history.

The great Hebrew legislator seems to have considered fruit trees worthy of his especial care, for he forbad the Jews to cut them down, even on their enemies’ lands;[XI-2] and, in order to teach his people how to preserve them in all their vigour, he declares the fruits of the first three years impure, and consecrates to the Lord those of the fourth.[XI-3] He even goes further; he exempts from military service any one who has planted a vineyard, and all fruit trees conferred the same privilege until the first vintage.[XI-4]

Heathen nations also understood the importance of this branch of agriculture, and invented protective divinities--such as Pomona,[XI-5] Vertumnus,[XI-6] Priapus[XI-7]--whose sole care consisted in protecting orchards from the inclemency of the seasons, and dispelling insects and robbers, who would damage and plunder the crops.

Each kind had, moreover, a benevolent patron, who could not honestly refuse to be useful to it: thus the olive tree grew under the auspices of Minerva;[XI-8] the Muses cherished the palm tree;[XI-9] the pine and its cone were consecrated to the great Cybele;[XI-10] Bacchus complacently ripened the perfumed pulp of the fig[XI-11] and the rosy grape,[XI-12] which placed him on a level with the gods.

Among the Greeks, fruits appeared on table at the second course;[XI-13] and were eaten either cooked, raw, or in the form of preserves.

The Romans sometimes breakfasted on a small quantity of dried fruits;[XI-14] but the third course of their _cœna_, or principal repast, offered an incredible profusion of the productions of their own orchards, and of those of three parts of the world.[XI-15]

Rich patricians, after they had exhausted all the immense resources of an incredible luxury--in their garments, habitations, and banquets--contrived to plant fruit trees on the summit of high towers, and on the house tops;[XI-16] thus suspending forests over their heads,[XI-17] as well as vast reservoirs, to keep alive the most exquisite fish.[XI-18]

At Rome they had an expensive, but, as they thought, effective process of preparing pears, apples, plums, figs, cherries, &c., &c., and which was as follows:--

The fruit was chosen with great care, and put, with the stalks attached, into honey, leaving to each one sufficient space to prevent their touching each other.[XI-19]

Our housewives of the 19th century may, perhaps, be curious to try this Roman experiment, if the quantity of honey which it requires does not frighten them.

XII.

STONE FRUIT.

OLIVE TREE.

Throughout antiquity we find the olive tree acknowledged as something venerable and holy, and taking precedence of all other trees, even the most useful on account of their nourishing fruits, or the refreshing drink they furnished. The wise Minerva gave it birth;[XII-1] and its foliage, which adorned the brows of the goddess,[XII-2] served, thenceforth, to crown victory,[XII-3] or to give rise to the sweet hopes of peace.[XII-4] A green bough of olive rendered the suppliant inviolable.[XII-5] The deadly arrows of Hercules were made of its wood.[XII-6] From it princes borrowed their sceptre[XII-7] and the shepherd his crook.[XII-8]

If, abandoning mythological fictions which surround the olive with a charming but false poetry, we interrogate history for more certain information concerning this revered tree, we shall find that Diodorus, of Sicily, informs us Minerva discovered and made known to the Athenians its useful qualities.[XII-9] And a writer, in whose possession the most ancient records in the world were found--Moses--who has recounted the birth of vegetation,[XII-10] tells us also of a patriarch pouring purified oil on a stone altar,[XII-11] before the olive tree was known in Athens--nay, before Athens existed.

Profane historians honour Aristeus, son of Apollo, and King of Arcadia, with the invention of oil mills, and the manner of procuring the precious fluid,[XII-12] the abundance of which was such, in the East, that it was used in lamps,[XII-13] in anointing,[XII-14] in seasoning of dishes,[XII-15] and in numerous other instances too long to enumerate.[XII-16]