 |
 |
Dear Andreas,
I forwarded your question to my colleague Jan Moens. You can read his answer below.
Kind regards,
Jan
Jan Bastiaens | Erfgoedonderzoeker Onderzoek en Bescherming
T +32 2 553 18 32 | F +32 2 553 16 55
Onroerend Erfgoed | Koning Albert II-laan 19 bus 5 | 1210 Brussel
Dear Mr. Klumpp,
I received your question about carrots from my colleague Jan Bastiaens.
A few years ago there was a publication about carrots by the ‘Academie voor streekgebonden gastronomie’ in Belgium (http://www.asg.be/home).
Maybe this can help you.
"Van grauwe pastinaak tot rode peen " (studienummer 2001-4)
Dit is nr.3 van de groentereeks door Herman Vandommele.
De auteur vertelt het verhaal van de taaie oerwortel die door selectie en veredeling zal uitgroeien tot een basisvoedsel. Naast de geschiedenis worden ook de teelt, productie en industrialisatie behandeld. Enkele recepten vervolledigen het geheel.
with kind regards,
Jan
Van: The archaeobotany mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Namens Andreas Klumpp
Verzonden: woensdag 19 februari 2014 7:37
Aan: [log in to unmask]
Onderwerp: Red Carrots
Dear list members,
During my PhD research on medieval food recipes and cooking I came about the vague description of a red variety of carrot. The source (Le Mesnagier de Paris) is french, very late 14th century, and the author mentions that in Paris there are sold red carrots by the bunch, each bunch containing at least one white root. As I am not a botanist, I have several questions:
1. Could the white carrot per bunch be a sign, that the "breed" was not stable yet and relatively new?
2. When do red carrots first appear and what other colours are mentioned before 1600?
3. Where could the origin of this kind be?
4. Do you know any modern varieties that are close to the description? Would it be viable to use one of those in the collection of the IPK Gatersleben for my cooking experiments?
5. Where can I get more information on the evolution of cultivated carrots?
Also the same source holds a description of a kind of spinach that has long and broad leafs formed like those of oaks. Is there any variety still available that fits the description? The author himself writes, that spinach is a new product "recently" introduced into France from Spain.
Thanks for your help,
with kind regards,
Andreas Klumpp