Dill / Dild - a useful and pretty spice herb

Anethum graveolens

Dill is an annual herb in the celery family apiaceae, and it is the only species in the genus Anethum. Dill is widely grown in Eurasia where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food. Dill is related to fennel and parsley and its leaves are very similar to fennel. The Danish name Dild comes from a Nordic word meaning pjalt (rag), which might indicate that the plant has a Nordic relation from origin, contrarily to all other spice- and kitchen herbs.

Dill originates from Central Asia and the plant grows wild in the Middle East. It was known in ancient Egypt, and from here it spread to Greece, Rome and the rest of Europe. Today dill is first of all used in northern, middle and eastern Europe while it used to a minimum in the Mediterranean.

Dill grows up to 40–60 cm with slender hollow stems and alternate, finely divided, softly delicate leaves.  The flowers are white to yellow, in small umbels. Fresh and dried dill leaves (sometimes called "dill weed" to distinguish it from dill seed) are widely used as herbs in Europe and Central Asia.

Culinary

Dill is a commonly cultivated spice herb and medical plant. It is a magnificent  culinary spice and also used in tea. The young fresh leaves are used in salads and fish dishes and as a ganiture. Later in summer the ripe dill umbels are used as a spice in fx cucumber pickling. Like caraway, the fernlike leaves of dill are aromatic and are used to flavor many foods such as gravlax (cured salmon) and other fish dishes, borscht and other soups, as well as pickles. Dill is best when used fresh as it loses its flavour rapidly if dried; however, freeze-dried dill leaves retain their flavor relatively well for a few months.

Dill seeds, having a flavor similar to caraway but also resembling that of fresh or dried dill weed, is used as a spice. Dill oil  is extracted from the leaves, stems and seeds of the plant. The oil from the seeds is distilled and used in the manufacturing of soaps.

In central and eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Baltic states, Russia and Finland dill is a popular culinary herb, used in the kitchen along with chives or parsley. Fresh, finely cut dill leaves are used as topping in soups, especially the hot red borscht and the cold borsht mixed with curds, kefir, yoghurt, or sour cream, which is served during hot summer weather and is called okroshka. It is also popular in summer to drink fermented milk (curds, kefir, yoghurt, or buttermilk) mixed with dill (and sometimes other herbs).In Scandinavia dill is a common spice/kitchen herb.

In the same way, prepared dill is used as a topping for boiled potatoes covered with fresh butter – especially in summer when there are so-called "new", or young, potatoes. The dill leaves can be mixed with butter, making a dill butter, which can serve the same purpose.


The etheric oil is used in the perfume industry and in some liqueors.

Folk Medicine

Dill was recommended for breastfeeding women, since it stimulates the milch production and secures that the baby will get a better sleep. Dill seeds were often used as a laxative, and dill-water was drunk against nausea, acid reflux, flatulence and other stomach trouble. Henrik Smid warns against the use of dill since it makes people lazy and incapable of sex.  If the flower umbels were hung up by the bed they worked somnolent. Dill in oil was said to be effective against ear ache - and it was recommended as the best means against hickups. The etheric oil has a driving and calming effect. Abscesses from the plague were rubbed with dill.

Dill Snaps

The dill seeds were written in the pharmacopoeia in 1772.

Medicine for livestock:
Dill was used as a prevention against rinderpest. Calves with tympania were given dill-tea. Dill was also used in diseases of the horse.


Superstition:
A young girl should wear dill, when walking in the woods. At her wedding the bride should have dill seeds in her shoes, and the groom should have dill seeds in his pocket. This would make a happy wedding. Valborg-evening 30/4 or Midsummernight 24/6 the cattle was given dill with garlic as a protection against witchcraft. If the dill plant was placed upon the brewing tub the beer was not bewitched. On Christmas night dill and honey were given the cows as a protection against witchcraft. 


History:

Dill has a long history and  is mentioned already ab. 1500 BC in the Egyptian papyrus-rolls . Dill was also used in the Roman Empire and is mentioned here in a collection of recipes Apicius from ca. year 400 BC. The Romans brought the plant with north - later it was also spread with the monks up to Scandinavia.

In Anglo Saxon England, as prescribed in Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England (also called Læceboc, many of whose recipes were borrowed from Greek medicinal texts), dill was used in many traditional medicines, including those against jaundice, headache, boils, lack of appetite, stomach problems, nausea, liver problems, and many other ills. Dill seeds can also be used to prepare herbal tea. In ancient Greece fragrance was made from the leaves of dill. Also, athletes used to spread essence of dill all over their body, as muscle toner.

In 1967 were at the market of Copenhagen sold 1.125.375 bundles of dill.


images from wikipedia 

Source: Klosterurter, Krydderurter i haven, Køkkenurter, Brøndegaard: Folk og flora. 

Crocus / Saffron

Danish: Krokus/ Safran)

Crocus is one of the very first spring flowers in the garden


Saffron is commonly used in the Oriental and Mediterranean kitchen.

The wild botanical crocus arrives already in January, and is succeeded by the various garden crocus with the big flowers from February into the month of March. The wild crocus has its origin in the Mediterranean. From Homer's time saffron was called krokos in Greek language. The poet uses saffron as a metaphor for the golden colour of dawn, but the word krokos is also used in Greece for the similarly coloured egg yolk. The word saffron derives from the Arab word Zafaran meaning yellow - it was mentioned as far back as 1500 b.c. in many classical writings as well as in the Bible.

The large-flowered crocus origins from The Alps and the Pyrenees. For garden this crocus is available in many variants. The yellow ones hold much C-vitamin, and the birds love them. They need C-vitamins after the winter. Wise little birds. Crocus react to the light, they open their heads on sunny days and remain closed on cloudy days.

saffron (wikipedia)

The first historic signs of saffron reach far, far back. Saffron based pigments have been found in prehistoric paints to illustrate beasts in 50.000 year old cave art found in today's Iraq. Saffron threads have been found interwoven into ancient Persian royal carpets, and 4.500 years ago it was known in China for medicinal use. The Phoenicians used saffron coloured sheets for weddings, and they traded saffron widely across the Mediterranean. In Kashmir was the first real saffron production. The first crocus was planted here before the birth of Christ.

(wikipedia)

The ancient Greeks and Romans also prized saffron for its use as a perfume and deodorizer. It was also used as a mascara, and saffron threads were stirred into wines, used in potpourris and offered to the deities. It was said that Cleopatra used saffron in her bath, and so did Alexander the Great, but it was for healing his wounds in war.  According to Greek mythology the handsome mortal Crocos fell in love with the beautiful nymph Smilax. But his favors were rebuffed by Smilax and he was turned into a beautiful purple crocus flower.

After the fall of Rome it seems that saffron disappeared from Europe until the 8th century when the Arabs brought it to Spain. Two centuries after their conquering Spain they planted saffron throughout Andalucia, Castile, La Mancha and Valencia. The spice was especially cultivated in Valencia and La Mancha and in the 14th century also in southern France.

The interest for saffron returned when 13th century crusaders brought saffron back from Asia to Northern Europe, where it was used as a dye and condiment. The Saffron Walden in Essex had an industry , where saffron was used in cooking and for dyeing textiles. A recipe from the 1500s has a Fish Cake, where cod is mixed with figs, raisins, cinnamon, saffron and other good stuff.

Saffron is the most precious and most expensive spice in the world - actually it was one of the world's most costy substances throughout history. It's hard work to pluck the crocus, first the flowers, then the stigmas have to be removed - and then they are dried over a charcoal fire. It takes about 80.000 stigmas (some info say 225.000) to produce one pound of dried stigmas.

Paella (wikipedia)

Saffron is very intensive and therefore used in minute amounts. In cooking it's especially known in Spanish Paella, French Bouillabaisse, Italian Risotto Milanese, English Saffron Cakes and Indian Biryani.

Spain is the premier producer of saffron today.







Danish Source: Brøndegaard-samlingen, Dansk etnobotanik, Folk og flora, Krokus: 
In Denmark was before 1800 made attempts to cultivate saffron crocus , the Danish king gave 200 rigdaler for this purpose. the saffron was also usable for dyeing silk and linen, but after hard winters and dry summers the project failed.
In medicine in DK saffron was used to treat anemia, to regulate menses and to drive out the placenta. Saffron was stated in the Pharmacopoeia in 1772.    

photo crocus and kitchen: grethe bachmann
other photos: wikipedia. 

Thyme, Timian

Thymus vulgaris

Thymus vulgaris


Thyme is a half bush with square stalks, green leaves, dark violet, white or pink flowers. The herb has a very pleasant aroma which attracts honey bees.

Thyme is today a wellknown and popular spice herb all over the worl. The plant originated in the Mediterranean  regions and is known from time immemorial. It is an evergreen herb with culinary, medicinal and ornamental uses. The most common variety is Thymus vulgaris. Thyme is of the genus thymus of the mint family lamiaceae and a relative of oregano and it is one of the oldest spice herbs. It was already mentioned by the Sumerers 5000 BC. The Greek word thymus means power. The herb grows wild in all of southern Europe and is found up to a height of 1000 meter.

Ancient Egypt, Anubis attending embalming of mummy

Ancient Egyptians used thyme for embalming. The ancient Greeks used it in their baths and burnt it as incense in their temples, they believed it was a source of courage. The Greeks wore it on the breast and took a thyme bath before they went to war. Olympic masters were garlanded with thyme. The spread of thyme throughout Europe was thought to be due to the Romans, as they used it to purify their rooms and to "give an aromatic flavour to cheese and liqueurs".

Fairy, Midsummer Eve, E.R. Hughes 1908

In the European Middle Ages, the herb was placed beneath pillows to aid sleep and ward off nightmares. In the days of chivalry ladies would embroider a bee hovering over a sprig of thyme to present to their champions at the tournaments.  The association with magic and fairies was particularly noticeable during Shakespeare's time. In the Ashmolean museum in Oxford is a recipe dated 1600 that includes thyme, which will enable one to see the fairies. Medicinally thyme has been associated with the treatment of depressions. Thyme was also used as incense and placed on coffins during funerals , as it was supposed to assure passage into the next life.

 






In Denmark 
Thyme was a daily spice upon the king's dinner table in the summer 1541,  and it is mentioned in 1613 about some purchase of thyme seeds to the royal garden at Skanderborg Slot. In 1650 as a cut thyme-frame of garden beds; it had to be cut two days before New Moon. The thyme plant was known by both rich and poor in Denmark. Yearly was sowed and plant numerous plants - and people said that "it was really not necessary to tell everyone that they used thyme in the kitchen every day -  for everyone knew that it was one of the finest food herbs". 

In a market today

Gardeners from Funen sold in the 1700s seeds and plants of thyme at markets in Holstein and Jutland, and it was probably exported to Norway.  Thyme was called craddle straw like other strongly scenting herbs which could drive away bed fleas. In the Middle Ages it was often called Virgin Mary's Bedstraw  (Jomfru Maries sengehalm) like another herb, yellow bedstraw. Thyme was also called bee herb, the honey bees love thyme  In autum thyme was bound into garlands around hoops and hung to dry in the ceiling and later at the attic for use in the next winter.

At the market in Copenhagen was in 1967 sold 295.000 bundles of thyme.




Thymus vulgaris : common thyme, English thyme, summer thyme, winter thyme, French thyme or garden thyme is a commonly used culinary herb. It also has medical uses. Common thyme is a Mediterranean perennial which is best suited to well drained soils and full sun.
(There are about 100 varieties of thyme) 

Thymus serpyllum , Boeslum, Mols, photo gb

In Denmark are two species of wild growing thyme:
1) *Thymus serpyllum (DK: smalbladet timian)is low and creeping and a very branchy halfbush with red flowers in dense heads, it is common in dry sandy fields and hills, in hedges,wickets, in dunes, in heathers etc like its very alike 2) Thymus pulegioides (DK: bredbladet timian) 

 Thymus serpyllum: wild thyme, creeping thyme is an important nectar source plant for honeybees. All thyme species are nectar sources, but wild thyme covers large areas of droughty, rocky soils in southern Europe, both Greece and Malta are especially famous for wild thyme honey. The lowest growing of the widely used thyme is good for walkways  It is also an important caterpillar plant for large and common blue butterflies.

Other varieties:

Thymus pseudolanuginosus: wooly thyme is not a culinary herb, but is grown as a ground cover.

Thymus herba-barona: caraway thyme is used both as a culinary herb and a ground cover and has a very strong caraway scent due to the chemical cavone

Thymus citriodorus, wikimedia

Thymus citridiodorus  - various lemon thymes, orange thymes, lime thymes. Lemon thyme is a creeping wintergreen plant with a strong lemon taste. It has blue flowers in June- July - it is a fine and useful plant, both in the herbal garden and the rock garden. As a medicine plant it is used against whooping cough, diarrhea and stomach pain. It has wound-healing properties and is used in mouth water, in gum inflammation and as a cover on wounds and scratches. As a spice herb it is used instead of lemon balm, fx in fish dishes and salads. A little twig of lemon thyme in the tea takes a bitter taste and sweetens the tea and makes sugar unneccessary. The plant thrives well in a sunny place in the garden in sandy soil. Spring and summer the plant easily takes roots. It grows fast and it keeps green in normal winters, but much bare frost might take the green.


The name of the genus of fish thymallus, first given to the grayling (T. thymallus described in the 1758 edition of systema naturae by Swedish zoologist Carl Linneaeus) originates from the faint smell of the herb thyme, which emanates from the flesh.


Garden

Herb garden, Boller slot, photo: gb

Garden thyme (Thymus vulgaris)  is a relatively  hardy plant which can withstand to be trodden on. It is very suited to be plant among the tiles and stones, where it will spread as a thick and scenting carpet. The creeping growth of thyme makes it a fine ground covering plant in many sunny beds of the garden, where it can prevent outdrying of the soil and keep down the weeds. It is also good in the rock garden.

Thyme seeds keep their viability for about 3 years. Thyme can grow in the same place in the garden for about 3-4 years, it can be cut down in spring to prevent the plant from getting lanky and wooden-like, old plants can be divided and plant again. Thyme can also sow itself  and these small plants can be plant out in the garden.

Thyme is suitable for planting in pots and bowls at the terasse, and since it is very drought tolerant it can be plant on the sunny places in the garden slopes. In England it is a popular thing to plant several varieties of thyme together in a lawn. It will quickly become an entwined carpet with flowers, scent and attraction to the bees.

To harvest in high season July-August: cut the stalks off and bundle them, put in small brown paperbags after drying, keep in bags until use in kitchen, crumble the bouquets over a sieve which gives a fine and smooth spice  - and it is easier to remove the little branches.

All thymes can easily be propagated with herbaceous cuttings,  many varieties of thyme tend to get a course growth if they are not cut back in spring. It is best to plant thyme in a sunny place, but else the plant is not asking much as for the soil. If a garden has some big areas it is popular to arrange thyme lawns with stepping stones, which is commonly seen in the English country garden. Every four years it is best to replace the plant, take cuttings from the second year on for this purpose.

The young thyme plants are the most vigorous, it is good to renew the plant each second year. Thyme likes a sunny place and its aromatic substances gets heavyer in the sunshine. If the garden-soil is heavy, mix it with sand or grovel, winter-cover is also a good idea, hard winters can eliminate the thyme in the garden. In dry periods thyme must be watered in spite of its hardiness.

Thyme was cultivated in the gardens of Thorshavn, the Faroes in 1780. 



Food

Thyme is sold both fresh and dried. While summer-seasonal, fresh greenhouse thyme is often available year round. The fresh form is more flavourful, but also less convenient; storage life is rarely more than a week. Although the fresh form only lasts a week or two under refrigeration, it can last many months if carefully frozen The plant can take deep freezes and are found growing wild on mountain highlands along the Italian Riviera, it is found from sea level up to 800 m.


Thyme retain its flavour on drying better than many other herbs.It is a common component of the bouquet garni and of herbes de Provence. The lovely aroma of thyme makes is very useful in the kitchen. The fresh leaves as a spice in meat, fish, poultry and in soups. Thyme gives a welltasting tea and is a good pickle spice fx for pickled beetroots, onions or in common pickles.The thyme flowers can be used as a decoration or mixed in a salad dressing, they have a sweet taste and are pretty as a decoration in every kind of dessert.

An old dish from  the Danish island Funen is called "sve". It is thyme and onion in sheep-blood, cooked  with oats to a thick porridge  

Thyme was added to sausage, cabbage and all slaughtering food  When the pig intestines were cleansed they lay until next use in water with a big bundle of thyme which removed eventual bad smell. 

Wild thyme is not worth using as a spice herb, but it was used as a spice in sausages and cabbage if people had no garden thyme. It was said that if a pig eat much thyme it would get a taste like wild boar.

Other Use
Thyme keeps colour and scent very well after drying and is good in a scent potpourri and to bring taste in a snaps







Folk Medicine/Medicine

Old pharmacy, Viborg Museum, photo gb

Thyme was used as a mild antiseptic herb for both outer and inner use, it was a good tea against insomnia, especially very hot and mixed with honey. Thyme was used in cough mixtures and in medicine for the digestive system , an oil from thyme was used to treat shingles.Thyme was also used against female diseases and  in chastity rituals.  Thyme was mixed into the bed straw against fever and dwindling sot  A decoction was used against whooping cough, croup and bronchitis. An oil essence and extraction of thyme was sold at the pharmacy as a cough medicine 

Thyme cooked together with other spice herbs and used as a cover on knots or bumps and bruises.  Thyme in very hot tea upon a sore tooth.  Oil from garden thyme added to mouth water against toothache. The Pharmacopoeia sold Thymus serpyllum and Thymus vulgaris in 1772.   At the Faroes the tea was used as a stomach strengthener and at Greenland the tea was drunk to heal manic insanity.

A tea of equal parts of thyme, peppermint, bay leaf  and camomile was used against fatigue.
medicine


The volative oil thymol, which gives the strong scent is very antibacterial and was in the past used to desinfect hospital tools.  In folk medicine it was used against menses-pain, diarrhea, coughs and

Old pharmacy jar, Viborg museum, photo gb

headache. It is still recommended up till present as a tea for a soar throat and hangovers. Thymol is extracted in the medicinal industry, it is used in mouth water, tooth paste and as a means against tooth ache, and as an ingredience in some desinfectants. The oil is a part of a medicine against whooping cough.









The old Physicians' Medicine:

old medicine bottes, Viborg museum, photo gb

Henrik Harpestræng ab 1300: thyme crushed with vinegar and rose oil in a balm against headache, a decoction was a part of food, so people did not get hurt by worms and other poisonous animals while they were sleeping in the field. Thyme was used as a cover on bites and poisonous stings. Poisonous animals flee from the smoke of burning thyme. 

Christiern Pedersen 1533
Thyme was part of a gout patch, and as a wine decoction against nausea,  the juice of thyme upon

haemorrhoids, crushed thyme mixed with salt was put upon fistulas and cancer. 

Henrik Smid 1546 
A decoction with thyme casts out slime of the kidneys and blatter and stops intestinal twisting,
he also uses thyme as an antidote in bites of posisonous animals. They  were driven away by the smoke from thyme  Thyme was a multi-medicine and used in all kinds of diseases. Mentioning a few: Thyme heals bowles which are sore after blood sot = dysentery; it strengthens the brain to smell to the plant, it can be put upon the head against dissiness, garden thyme cooked in wine is good for shortness of breath , drives out worms, poison, dead embryo etc. 

Simon Paulli 1648
Oil of thyme against head and kidney pain, clusters of garden thyme put in beer as a means for melancholia, wild thyme has empowering and expectorant properties. as a part of a balm it was in the 1700s used as a cover for headache and dissiness. Used in a tea against colic  A decoction to children with intestinal worms 

Farmhands chamber, Hjerl Open Air Museum, photo gb

Superstition; and against vermits
An advice to the farmer: Pluck thyme silently and put it under the first sheaf of straw, this will keep away the rats.
The bedstraw which was delivered to Christian 4. was mixed with thyme as a protection aginast bed fleas. or else it was said that wild thyme only drove away women's fleas and not men's fleas. 
Chicken with fleas or other vermins were smoked with thyme and hops. 
Against flea beetles put out thyme mixed with wormwood and garlic.

Replacement of tea, hops and tobacco.

Shag tobacco, wikipedia

Children in the country were sent out with a basket to pluck wild thyme, which was dried and gave a tea substitute in winter (1880) The tea was added sugar and cinnamon  An old saying was "this tea you must have when the windows are white" = when it is hard frost. Wild thyme tea was in the 1800s recommended as a substitute for hops Also in Greenland was wild thyme used as a tea 
InWWII thyme was dried into shag tobacco, and already in 1780-1800 they used the thyme as tobacco and to chew. 







Livestock 

Hjerl Hede Open Air Museum, photo gb

Thyme was a part of a cover upon the abscesses of the horse. Wine with crushed thyme was rubbed upon the tongue of a cow against heart- inflammation. Tea of thyme was used to bathe the cattle against the food and mouth disease. 














photo: market, Thymus serpyllum, pharmacy, Viborg Museum, Hjerl Hede Open Air Museum: grethe bachmann
other photos: wikipedia
Sketches: grethe bachmann  

Source:
Krydderurter i haven , Anemette Olesen, Politiken, 1996/1998. 
Danske klosterurter, Anemette Olesen Aschehoug 2001.
Brøndegaard, Folk og Flora, bd. 4, Thymus vulgaris.
Krydderurtehaven paa knatten , Annemarta Borgen,
A Garden Herbal Anthony Gardiner
Ceres Esplan Helbredende urter 1981, Hernovs forlag, oversat af Hans Henrik Sørensen og Michael Beck fra Vitskøl Kloster. Original titel: "Herbal teas, tisanes and loitions."

Burgundy Snail / Vinbjergsnegl - Escargot

Burgundy snail by castle ruin Fussingø, photo gb.

Helix pomatia

The Burgundy snail or the Roman snail is an edible snailn  -  named  Escargot in the cuisine. It is a speciea of large edible air-breathing snails,  a terrestrisl pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Helicidae. It is the largest shell-snail in Europe. As adult it has a height of ab. 4,5 cm and a broadth of 4 cm. It is considered a fine delicacy, especially in southern Europe.

Denmark
As for its spread in Denmark it was important that it was edible. In the Middle Ages snails were not considered to be meat and therefore allowed as a meal during Lent. Both klosters and manors farmed these big snails. Today the snails are often seen around old manors and klosters  - and by the kloster ruins. 

by old  church dike, Skarresø, photo gb

The Burgundy snail / Vinbjergsneglen is protected in Denmark.to the extent that commercial gathering of the snail is not allowed. It is allowed to gather the snail for private use, but it is encouraged to spread this gathering in order to avoid excessive interference in the various  habitats

The snail achieves the age of 6-8 years in the wild, but it s not unusual to see older specimens.

The Burgundy snail/Vinbjergsnegl and the common Garden snail come out in big numbers after heavy rain in spring. The mating takes place in May or June. The snail is hermaphrodite. After the mating the snail buries itself into the ground and lays about 60 eggs.

The natural habitat in Denmark is upon large and smaller hills and in open thickets, but seldom in people's gardens. The snail's food is mostly decomposing plants and dead animals. Since there are foxes and badgers in the habitats they are considered natural enemies of the snail, 

In the middle of November the snail closes its house with a sealing of chalk in order to hibernate.

in Bjerre forest, near Boller castle , photo gb

Europe
It is called by the French name Escargot when used in cooking. Although this species is highly prized as a food it is difficult to cultivate and rarely farmed commercially.

The shell is creamy white to light brownish, often with indistinct brown colour bands. The shell has five to six whorls. The aperture is large.The apertural margin is white and slightly reflected in adult snails. The umbilicus is narrow and partly covered by the reflected columellar margin.



In southeastern Europe, H. pomatia lives in forests and open habitats, gardens, vineyards, especially along rivers, confined to calcareous substrate. In central Europe, it occurs in open forests and shrubland on calcareous substrate^] It prefers high humidity and lower temperatures, and needs loose soil for burrowing to hibernate and lay its eggs. It lives up to 2100 m above sea level in the Alps, but usually below 2000 m. In the south of England, it is restricted to undisturbed grassy or bushy wastelands, usually not in gardens; it has a low reproduction rate and low powers of dispersal.
Average distance of migration reaches 3.5–6.0 m.^]

Lolland, near Aalholm castle. photo gb.

Protection
Great Britain: In the west and south of England in southern areas on chalk soils. Its common name in the UK is "Roman snail" because it was introduced to the island by the Romans during the roman period (AD 43–410). In England only (not the rest of the UK), the Roman snail is a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 making it illegal to kill, injure, collect or sell these snails


In central and southern parts of Sweden, Norway and Finland, isolated and relatively small populations occur. It is not native to these countries, but is likely to have been imported by monks from Southern Europe during medieval times.


Germany – Listed as a specially protected species in Annex 1 of the Bundesartenschutzverordnung.

Czech Republic - least concern species (LC) its conservation status in 2004-2006 is favourable in the report for the European Commission in accordance with the Habitats Directive.



Conservation
This species is listed in IUCN Red List, and in European Red List of Non-marine Molluscs as Least Concern. Helix pomatia is threatened by continuous habitat destructions and drainage, usually less threatened by commercial collections. Many unsuccessful attempts have been made to establish the species in various parts of England, Scotland and Ireland; it only survived in natural habitats in southern England, and is threatened by intensive farming and habitat destruction. It is of lower concern in Switzerland and Austria, but many regions restrict commercial collecting

Escargot, photo wikipedia.

Escargot  is a dish of cooked land snails, usually served as an appetizer in Spain and in France.  The word escargot is also sometimes applied to the living snails of those species which are commonly eaten in this way. Not all species of land snail are edible, and many are too small to make it worthwhile to prepare and cook them. Even among the edible species, the palatability of the flesh varies from species to species. In France, the species Helix pomatia is most often eaten.

Heliciculture  snail shells have been found in archeological excavations, indicating snails have been eaten since prehistoric times. A number of archaeological sites around the Mediterranean  have been excavated yielding physical evidence of culinary use of several species of snails used as escargot. The Romans, in particular, are known to have considered escargot an elite food, as noted in the writings of  Pliny. ^]

Like most molluscs, escargot is high in protein and low in fat content (if cooked without butter). Escargot is estimated to contain 15% protein, 2.4% fat and about 80% water.

Source. Danish and English wikipedia, Naturstyeelsen, Danmark om Vinbjergsneglen.

Medieval Easter Dinner at the Bishop's House

The Middle Ages.

The medieval bishops were powerful men. They had a place in the Danish king's council and acted more like princes and statesmen than church leaders.  A bishop's residence was often a castle - a typical bishop-residence was Spøttrup castle in North Jutland which today is a medieval museum. It is one of very few medieval castles left in Denmark. Spøttrup was one of the most modern fortifications in Denmark during the 1500s with high embankments with palisades and double moats - a powerful fortification and a magnifcient residence for a bishop.

The bishop celebrated Easter dinner in the great hall together with his highly trusted employees and possible guests. The other staff had dinner in the associated rooms. On a daily basis all dishes were served at the bishop's high table only, while the staff in the other rooms had fewer dishes - but at a great feast like Easter each dish was served to everyone in the house. Easter was the greatest church feast of the year, and the account from the bishop's house reveals a little about the cuisine at that time. The commodities and the choice of menu was an expression of a wide and advanced range. The dinner had 10 dishes, and the ceremony took several hours.


The bishop sat in his high seat with his fine bishop's cap on his head and his majestic bishop-rod in his hand. He might wear a purple velvet cape, bordered with ermine, and all his guests and all his staff were dressed in their finest clothes. The table was covered in fine tablecloths in several layers. The utensils were mostly ceramics or wood and possibly pewter. In an inventory list from the bishop's household are mentioned 15 drinking horns, carved in animal horn, and 6 candelabres, a part of the table decoration.The Swedish historian Olaus Magnus (1490-1557) recounts that the Scandinavians rarely used glassware, since they had a habit of crushing the glass after drinking, and glass was extremely costy. The utensils were knives and spoons and the fingers - the fork was not yet known.

The Easter Dinner was initiated by the chancellor who said the grace, and the chaplain later read from the holy scripture. During dinner was entertainment with musicians with pipes and drums and a performance by the jester. The basic idea in these feasts was that the music and other cultural events accompanied a high gastronomic cuisine. The symbol of the Easter meal played a decisive role. The first dish was roast lamb or mutton with bread, the second was wine soup, possibly with saffron, and later boiled eggs. The festival bread, called vegge, was possibly also coloured yellow with saffron. Saffron was the most expensive spice together with pepper and reserved for the upper class. All dishes were accompanied by wine. Royal accounts shows that spices from the Middle East and India like saffron, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, nutmeg and cumin were bought in large amounts. It was probably only the upper class, who could afford these exotic spices on a daily basis, while the less fortunate as much as possible imitated the delicate food at festivals and celebrations.

The return of the meat was important in the Easter meal after 40 days' Lent, which had been dominated by bread, cabbage and salt fish. Most meat was salted, and it was a rare thing to have the popular fresh meat like beef, lamb or pork. Venison was a very desirable delicacy, which mostly was reserved at the princes' table. A substantial part of the menu was the beverage: mead, wine and beer.

Mead, wine, beer and herbal water are mentioned as medicine in the medical books. Honey was also considered a medicine; it had to be cleansed carefully before using it in the cuisine and in the preparation of various drinks. Mead was one of the earliest known drinks;  it was produced with water, honey and herbs like sweet gale or hops and with beer yeast. It was a common thing to put a linen bag into the mead barrel. A recipe from an old medical book reports contents like: pepper, ginger, cardamom, clove and cinnamon. This brought a better taste and durability to the mead. Wine was imported and a very rare drink in Denmark. Sweet wine was preferred, maybe sweetened with honey and spices. There is a myth about the Middle Ages: that everyone was drinking beer all the time. This might not be wrong, but the beer was very thin and with a low alcohol percentage; the quality of drinking water was bad, especially in the towns - this might be an explanation why beer was preferred. The water was boiled during the brewing process, and although people did not know about bacterias, they might have noticed that beer caused fewer health problems than tap water.
 
Magnificent display-dishes were carried past the bishop and his guests between each serving. Large decorated centerpieces with a peacock or other animals were crowning the dish. They were not meant to be eaten, but they were shown together with decorated patés, where the lid described the content, and the whole scenery was a festive sight to the dinner party. During and after meals servants appeared with jugs and dishes with fragrant water, mostly rose-water, and with towels, for the dinner guests to wash and dry their hands. A comprehensive serving staff was present at big parties like the Easter festival. They were young men of nobility - as a part of their education they had to serve the Easter dinner to the gentry in the most distinguished way.

A cupbearer, the Kredens, had to cut the meat and the bread - and furthermore taste the food and drink before it was served to the party. At that time people were not afraid of salmonella and other food poisoning, like we are today - they were simply afraid of being poisoned by their enemies. If things went quite wrong they used an antidote called theriaca. It was an Arabic invention from the late 1100s. The content of this medicine was: *slangerod, (snake root), gentian, laurel , the best and noblest myrrh and honey. The original Arabian theriaca contained snake, which in the new recipes was replaced by a crushed powder from the root of the strong and poisonous root of the snake root- herb. It was a common advice to use the powder of this root against snake bites and as an emetic.

* Danish name : Slangerod , Latin:  Aristolochia clematitis ; English name: European Birthwort. 

A  reconstruction of an Easter Dinner anno 1520:
spit-roasted leg of lamb
wine soup
cooked beef
poached eggs
roast game tenderloin
boiled pike
venison paté
roast pigeons
fresh cheese
fig dessert.

Wine Soup in a translated version from a  medieval recipe :
4 egg yolks
50 gram sugar,
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg,
saffron,
6 dl white wine,
1 cinnamon stick,
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger.


1. Whip egg yolk with sugar and nutmeg, crush saffron in a mortar and dissolve it in a little wine.
2. Mix wine, saffron, cinnamon and ginger in a pot. Boil the mix in moderate heat. Just before it boils remove from heat. Remove the cinnamon stick.
3. Whip a little wine mix slowly into the egg mass. The egg mix back into the pot while stirring. Heat the wine soup slowly while stirring, until it is smooth and hot, min. 75 degree Celsius. Serve the hot soup - accompanied by butter-toasted wheat bread.

GB

Source: Bente Leed, Danskernes mad i middelalderen, Forlaget åløkke a/s, 1999

photo Spøttrup: grethe bachmann
images: bishop chess piece in ivory 1200s; medieval castle kitchen; Bayeux tapestry;  
Feast-Canterbury Tales; Theriaca pharmacies jar.