Scappi’s Kitchens and Kitchen Equipment
Bartolomeo Scappi’s Opera contains the most gorgeous and informative illustrations of the princely or popely kitchen of the first half of the sixteenth century. Take a look at them here.
And although most of the other illustrations posted on BibliOdessey have nothing to do with kitchens, they are just a joy to scroll through, perfect for a Friday afternoon.
And Terence Scully’s translation of the Opera is on my must-buy list for my next visit to the States.
And one last thought. Just one entry below Scully’s translation on the Amazon search page, you have the opportunity to “Decorate with history or give a tasteful gift” by buying a modern framed reproduction of one of these prints for a cool $257.
You should definately get a copy as it contains a lot of interesting recipes (including guinea pig), including a bunch of ensaimada type recipes called “tortiglione”. In modern Venice the local name for a strudel is “Tortion”, both words are related to the idea of twisting or turning. I’m pretty sure that these recipes will turn out to be quite widespread. Unfortunately I can’t access the historical Spanish and Portuguese cooking texts at the University of Barcellona anymore, as these would be the places to look next.
If you look carefully in the kitchen equipement (7th figure down, two pots one with perforations in the bottom) you can see a couscous steamer. Scappi gives a recipe for couscous which is near identical to the modern Sicilian technique. The actualy couscous steamer he illustrates is near identical to a mid-13th Andalusian century example that is preserved at the city of Murcia historical museum.
I ment to add that the ensaimada like recipe and the couscous recipe are a good example of how some food items that are now thought of as purely regional and having a specific point of origin, often are derived from a much more cosmopolitan original.
Cool. Thanks for sharing Rachel.
Eureka! You’ve found it. I have the book in Italian, unfortunately the publisher chose some pseudo-antico looking type set which is the most grueling thing to read. A translation would be most welcome….and BibliOdyssey is fantastic, thank you for for the enlightenment.