From Excitable Pressure Cookers to A Dish of Snow
via Forbidden Fruit, Greek Goddesses, Armenian Princesses and Earwigs
Hello gentle reader,
It’s wonderful to be with you again in this incredibly hot week. I’ve spent some of the weekend trying to plan meals that require either very little heat in their preparation or very little intervention if heat is involved. I think I have fallen in love with my electric pressure cooker, it cooks wonderfully all on its own, bringing very little cooking warmth to the kitchen. I used to be terrified of my mum’s stovetop pressure cooker but this modern version has removed my fear of imminent explosion and flying metal debris whilst steaming new potatoes for potato salad and poaching chicken to serve cold. All this and it uses much less fuel, good for the environment and my electric bill.
Although summer is not my favourite season, I love the colours of the food, whether its the pale pink and green of more traditional British dishes such as poached salmon and cucumber, the gorgeous red and yellow tomatoes or the hot pinks of berries in jelly and summer pudding. I also adore the startling pink/red of pomegranate and the deep greens of fresh herbs like parsley, mint and basil. Pomegranates aren’t in season but strangely for an autumn fruit they seem to scream summer to me. The foods of hotter countries where they are used are particularly appealing right now, their delicious full flavours, tempting appetites slightly dented by the heat. The slight sourness of pomegranate is particularly welcome and incredibly refreshing.
Did you know that the pomegranate is one of contenders for the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden? Alongside figs and the more ubiquitous apple it is one of the three most likely. There is also a case to be made for both citrons and peaches. I’m not a bible scholar but apparently the original translation does not specify a type fo fruit. Just fruit in general and then when the bible was translated into Latin the translator used the word malus possibly as a play on words as the elating word for evil was malum. The reason we see so many different fruits is that its harder to be ambiguous in painting than it is with literature. Artists need to pick a fruit and so they did, pomegranate had already found its way into the bible story of Noah and the Ark so Titian picked the pomegranate. He did pop in some figs and fig leaves in the painting too but that is not what Eve is picking.
Pomegranates are huge in greek mythology too. They are the fruit that Persephone ate the seeds of ensuring that she must remain in the underworld with Hades for 3 months of the year bringing us winter as her mother Demeter mourns her absence. They are also one of the fruits of Aphrodite, as it was believed along with the anemone flower to have been made from the blood of her human lover Adonis as he lay dying. They are also connected with Hestia and Hera as they are connected with plenty and fertility. The pomegranate is clearly the choice of every self-respecting goddess.
The pomegranate is also the fruit of Armenia, where it grows in plenty, in fact Armenian brides used to throw the fruit hard at the lintel of their house after they returned from their wedding and the resulting burst fruit and seeds ensured the fertility of the union. Armenian women who wanted a son would often eat a bread made from a dough mixed with pomegranates. They often appear in Armenian tales and in fact one of the most popular sign-offs to Armenian fairy tales is “Three pomegranates fell down from heaven: One for the story teller, one for the listener, and one for the whole world.” It’s not just in Armenian tales either, they appear in the 1001 Nights and in at least three stories play a significant role. It also appears in the Shahnameh, the historic Persian text.
Armenia is probably king of the pomegranate folktale though, their version of Snow White is Nouri Hadige which translates as The Pomegranate Seed. It also has star billing in The Old Woman’s Son which is possibly my favourite Armenian folktale where a clever princess saves both the day and her family’s finances despite all the odds. I’ve included my telling below in case you fancy a listen., its about 15 minutes long.
Now for a little remedy which I must admit I found disturbing, and passionately hope I will never have to use. In fact I think will heed my doctor’s advice and also pass it on to you: “never put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear”. If an earwig comes anywhere near your ear I would recommend heading straight to a medical professional with the right kind of tweezers and not waiting for it to die of poisoning/drowning. This comes from The Lady's Companion or An Infallible Guide to the Fair Sex published in 1763
This recipe however, is charming and sounds like it might be the perfect pudding for the weather provided you don’t mind the heat of the oven whilst the apples are baking. It is one of many interestingly named dishes from The Experienced Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffald (10th Edition) of 1786.
So, we come to an end, gentle reader. If you have enjoyed this and would like to read further such nonsense, please don’t hesitate to subscribe for free at the button below. You’d be very welcome and it would be a joy to write to you.