History admin 6 years agoNovember 22, 2021

Turkey, Saffron and History

For 35 years I have been part of a historical recreation club, where we lived as if we were in the time periods defined in the groups charter. (the fall of Rome to 1600’s) In this club/group we study the everyday life of the people and then recreate it as closely as possible by wearing the clothing, eating the food, making the tools and artworks they had, and also recreating the arts of war by many of the guys and girls wearing armor and fighting in tournaments and wars that are held all over the world, for the last 50 or so years.

Through this club I found an interest in the food of the time periods and I have many of the available cook books that you can find. I have helped others cook many feasts; planned, prepared and cooked several feasts of my own. In doing so I found that most of the recipes are amazingly delicious and flavorful, not at all what today we imagine they had to eat. Through Movies and literature in our modern life we have gotten the impression or images of personalities like King Henry the VIII (early 1500’s) holding a turkey leg and swilling huge mugs of beer. (a lot of this is from the Renaissance fairs around the country) Where in reality, turkey had not been imported from the New World until after 1492, and did not become a common food stuff until the 1700’s.

There is a Mogul Sultan in the early 1600’s who loved the turkey so much he had his court artist create paintings of it. There are several paintings in the late 1500’s that show turkey’s in the kitchens being plucked or hanging with the other meats. This is how we know it slowly gained popularity in the Mideast and Europe, through paintings and Illumination of books.

a miniature painting by a Mughal artist, painted in 1612. It is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

A Turkey-Cock, Brought to Jahangir from Goa in 1612, from the Wantage Album, Mughal, circa 1612

But I didn’t want to write about the turkey in this, it is just a very good example of how our modern perceptions have been shaped by entertainment, books, movies, television programs, etc.

Through the available cook books of the time periods, we get a look at the animals, vegetables, flavorings and especially spices that were used. Sugar was considered a spice for a long time and often used in meat dishes. Another unusual ingredient found in many recipes is rose water, it can be found even today in Middle Eastern dishes and desserts. If you are looking for it, find your local Mideastern grocery store, it is in the flavoring area. Saffron is also available in that type of store, quite often less expensive than what you find in the grocery store.

Saffron was and still is the most expensive spice there is. Because of how you have to harvest it; three little strands, by hand from each single bloom of the saffron crocus. I have some of them in my garden, they grow a grass-like leaf in the spring and the purple flower blooms in the fall, in my neck of the woods usually in late October to early November, depending on when the first snowfall or cold streak is.

I take a pair of tweezers, gently open the petals and pluck the dark red strands from the heart of the flower. I am sure the neighbors think I am nuts, out there on my knees bent over the little crocus flowers in the front, tweezers in hand and picking things out of them; then carefully placing them in a container to dry.

Be careful!! Saffron crocus are NOT the everyday variety that you find in most gardens, the ones that bloom in the early spring!! They are their own very special type and are available through reliable bulb sources. I got mine 10 or 12 years ago and they have propagated fairly well in my yard. This past year, 2020, I got the best harvest ever, from over 20 blooms, I was thrilled…….. (usually, it has been about 5-8 blooms, so this was impressive to me)

There is no machinery made that can replace the human hands to harvest this delicate spice. That is why you pay $12 or more for a small envelope of saffron.

Do you see the long red stamen that is coming out of the center of the flower? That is a strand of Saffron, three strands per flower.

Another good source of information is the numerous paintings, etchings, Illuminations and other artistic examples of food stuffs from the time periods. One of my personal favorites is Pieter Aertsen who painted everyday life during the 1500’s in Amsterdam and surrounding Dutch/Nederland’s/Flemish areas. He almost always had the settings in a kitchen or market place full of food and everyday people going about their everyday life and business.

This is a link to my pintrest page that has all kinds of these paintings that you can look at.

https://www.pinterest.com/valoztemp/aertsen-and-beuckelaer/

Joachim Beucklelaer is Pieter Aertsen’s nephew and fellow artist Who followed in the style of painting everyday life scenes, usually with the religious theme in the far background of the painting. I saved these not just for the food but for the clothing as well. I love to sew as well as cook and the clothing is a lot of fun to wear. The cheeses in these painting is a whole other story, someday I might just tell you about it.

These are just some of the things about food and old recipes that I have researched and collected for a long time. While most of this blog will focus on the 1800’s and 1900’s, I wanted to show you how long and how far back some of my interest have gone. I did not plan on talking about turkey’s and saffron, that is just how it all came out of my mind today. Funny how the brain takes you down trains of thought just by thinking about one thing and something comes along that changes the direction of your writing.

These two pictures have a turkey in them from the later 1500’s (by their clothing!) I cannot find the artist or date for them yet.