Platina on Sage
Jan. 3rd, 2005 02:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnyjadwigaOk, so what does that learned man, Platina, formerly librarian of the Vatican, say about sage in his _On Right Pleasure and Good Health_?
He says "We use warm and dry sage in many condiments, and it is no wonder, since the herb is healthful, for it is even effective against paralysis, is helpful when smeared on the teeth, and settles the poisonous bites of snakes."
Now, this is curious because I can't find a recipe for a condiment involving sage in his book. Perhaps there are some in Martino; sage in green sauces is pretty common.
Platina suggests sage in a pie recipe (eggs and herbs and cheese). He also gives a recipe for sage fritters, and suggests sage for one of the flavorings in scrambled eggs (along with chard, parsley, borage juice, mint, and marjoram), and to season intestines (with mint) or fish intestines (with mint and parsley). He suggests that roast pig, while cooking, should be sprinkled with "vinegar, pepper, saffron, mixed together with springs of sage or rosemary or bay.
That reference to smearing it on the teeth links it to the recipe in Gervase Markham's _The English Housewife_"
"For teeth that are yellow: Take sage and salt, of each alike, and stamp them well together, then bake till it be hard, and make a fine powder thereof, then therewith rub the teeth evening and morning and it will take away all yellowness."
My Redaction: Mixture #2
60 fresh (small) sage leaves
2 tablespoons sea salt
I beat the sage leaves into the salt in groups of 10-20 leaves, adding sufficient leaves to form a rather dry paste. More sage and less salt would have formed a thicker paste; I may try that next time. When spread on a baking sheet baked for 20 minutes in a 300 degree oven, it did form a hard crust. I left it in the oven overnight to dry, crumbled it up, and stored it in a container.
From the results, I suspect that equal weights of salt and sage are meant, and that the fresh sage is indicated.
This is easy to make in a food processor.
He says "We use warm and dry sage in many condiments, and it is no wonder, since the herb is healthful, for it is even effective against paralysis, is helpful when smeared on the teeth, and settles the poisonous bites of snakes."
Now, this is curious because I can't find a recipe for a condiment involving sage in his book. Perhaps there are some in Martino; sage in green sauces is pretty common.
Platina suggests sage in a pie recipe (eggs and herbs and cheese). He also gives a recipe for sage fritters, and suggests sage for one of the flavorings in scrambled eggs (along with chard, parsley, borage juice, mint, and marjoram), and to season intestines (with mint) or fish intestines (with mint and parsley). He suggests that roast pig, while cooking, should be sprinkled with "vinegar, pepper, saffron, mixed together with springs of sage or rosemary or bay.
That reference to smearing it on the teeth links it to the recipe in Gervase Markham's _The English Housewife_"
"For teeth that are yellow: Take sage and salt, of each alike, and stamp them well together, then bake till it be hard, and make a fine powder thereof, then therewith rub the teeth evening and morning and it will take away all yellowness."
My Redaction: Mixture #2
60 fresh (small) sage leaves
2 tablespoons sea salt
I beat the sage leaves into the salt in groups of 10-20 leaves, adding sufficient leaves to form a rather dry paste. More sage and less salt would have formed a thicker paste; I may try that next time. When spread on a baking sheet baked for 20 minutes in a 300 degree oven, it did form a hard crust. I left it in the oven overnight to dry, crumbled it up, and stored it in a container.
From the results, I suspect that equal weights of salt and sage are meant, and that the fresh sage is indicated.
This is easy to make in a food processor.
