I was fascinated to find out that our English word
‘fenugreek’ is a legacy of the Romans. The word comes from the Latin fænum
Græcum meaning ‘Greek hay’-
because it was used extensively as fodder for animals.
Fenugreek is a
leguminous plant with the botanical name is Trigonella fœnum græcum.
It has been used by humans for at least six thousand years, and all parts of
the plant have something to offer - it is both a herb and a spice. It is most
familiar to us in the West as an ingredient in curry powders. You may be more
familiar with it in Indian grocery shops as methi.
As we would expect, various medicinal properties are associated with fenugreek.
If you need scientific proof for many of the claims, you will have to wait a
while, for there is as yet no high-level evidence for its benefits. It is
claimed to be good for arthritis and diabetes and poor libido, so if the proof
comes in, and if drug companies manage to locate and extract its active
molecules, they will be sure to have a steady and increasing market for their
product.
Unlike many other ‘Indian’ spices, fenugreek never became
indispensible in Western cuisine. It was difficult to find any examples of its
use, other than in curry powder, except for a single recipe in one of the
cookery books of the famous Victorian chef, Alexis Soyer. The book is Pantropheon: or, a history of food and its preparation(1853),
and the recipe is for Noix de Veau
à la Tarentaise. I give you the recipe with a ‘please explain’ plea, as I
am quite puzzled by it. The dish appears to be Soyer’s interpretation of an
ancient Roman dish, but the appellation ‘à
la Tarentaise’ indicates it is in the style suggestive of food from the Vallée de la
Tarentaise, a valley of the Isère River in the Savoy region
of the French Alps.
Noix
de Veau à a Tarentaise.
Take a noix de veau [nut of veal], cook it in a
saucepan with pepper, alisander*, and fenugreek seed; add, later, some wild
marjoram, pine nuts, and dates; then moisten with a mixture of honey, vinegar,
garum**, mustard, and oil. When the cookery of these various substances shall
have made an homogeneous whole, serve.
*alisander:
‘herb Alexander’, also known as Horse-parsley, Smyrnium, Black pot-herb;
somewhat like celery; native to the Mediterranean, but widely naturalized in
British coastal regions. Smyrnium
olusatrum, Fam. Umbellliferae
*garum: a
universal condiment made from fermented fish used by the Romans.
Quotation for the Day
The winter
hours were long to him who had no spice-warmed cup.
Eliza Cook, Sunshine
(1846)
3 comments:
Fenugreek is also really helpful for nursing mothers. When taken in a high enough quantity, it helps increase milk supply. (Though, from my experience, it makes you smell like maple syrup.)
This recipe could be referring to the province of Taranto in southern Italy. Taranto is also the namesake of the tarantula spider and the tarantella dance, which is supposed to ward off the effects of spider-bite.
Greetings again,
From personal experience I know that the claims of it's helping alleviate lung congestion are true. Just make a "tea" of a Tablespoon of it in a cup of boiling water. Drink it while the taste is still strong and foul, not when it has cooled and mellowed. (for one, it congeals... for another, it is somehow less effective...)
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