Kebab, Melongena, Dolma, Sherbert (1670-1679)

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Tue Feb 12 08:01:39 UTC 2002


"Kebab's your uncle!"
--Darth Vader, STAR WARS (skewered)

EARLY VOYAGES AND TRAVELS IN THE LEVANT
I.--THE DIARY OF MASTER THOMAS DALLAM,
(1599-1600)
II.--EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARIES OF DR. JOHN COVEL,
(1670-1679)
Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, by
J. Theodore Bent
Burt Franklin, Publisher
New York
(No date is given.  The original date appears to be 1893, with this reprinting, the LOC guesses, 1964--ed.)

   Here we go again!
   Type in "Covel," and you'll get 74 hits.  This short book is cited about once every three or four pages.  No way any reader could miss anything important.  No way!
   Unless, of course, the reader--for whatever reason--happens to be ignoring food words completely.
   Merriam-Webster has "kebab" for 1673.  (This book?)  OED has "kebab" for 1813.

Pg. 114:
   The Spaniard's common diet in Malaga, such as it is, is extraordinarily cheap.  We took my landlord's dinner the first day, which was a large _ensalada_ or sallet, a pottage of onyons, gourds, and herbs; a little fry'd fish, dryed and cold, with oyl; _mala infana_ (which they call here _Melongenas_), a sort of gourd, pear-fashioned, some as big as my fist (I think Gerard calls them in English _mad-apples_*), split
*Mad-apples, or Jews'-apples, are fruit of _Solanum Melangena_.
(OED has 1785 for "Melongena."  This is a revised entry, and it's 100 years off, because it's here in a book that a reader already read!--ed.)

Pg. 115:
and fil'd with a little pepper, oil, and salt, and then broil'd or stew'd; these, thus drest, they count rich food, and they slice them also into their pottage.

Pg. 120:
   ...Limes (which are a sort of _hedge_ or _crab_ Lemmons), with whose juice our Seamen make their punch.  (Limeys?--ed.)  There was also store of bread to be bought.  They make some of it of pure good wheat, most of it _millet_, some of what we call Turkish wheat (maize), much of barley flour, and _lighten_ it with leaven of salt and sower'd honey and oil, which give it a brackish taste, yet it is not unpleasant whilst it is new.

Pg. 131:
   ...went on shore in the _yale_ betimes....
(OED caught this, and it's the first citation for "yawl"--ed.)

Pg. 167:
   I have been treated there several times by his _sherbetje basha_,* who was my friend; his tent is full of fingians,** snowpit fountain water, etc., all ready coffee, etc.
*Pourer out of sherbet.
**Coffee-cups.

Pg. 174:
   Here our caterer (or purveyor) found very good fish of all sorts by reason of the sea and a lake being very nigh, but in other townes travaylers find nothing but leekes, garlick, onyons, bread, salt, pickled olives, cabbidge, cowcombers, melons, and the like, little bits of broyl'd flesse, which they call _Kibob_, but whole joynts nowhere, rice, pancakes, and severall kinds of pastery meates.

Pg. 188:
   ...is a very good fountain, and fine _Kiosk_ or summer-house by it.

Pg. 237:
   ...another square room in another corner with lattice-windows (_gelosie_), through which she and the W. mother and others of the Ladyes saw all, being unseen themselves.

Pg. 262:
   We had _Kibobs_, bits of flesh, the first roasted, the last boyled; this was ready mammockt*, and cut to our hands.  We had several sorts of _Dolmah_**, which is minc't meat stuffed into peices of gourds, or gobbeted*** in vine leaves or the like, and so boyl'd.  We had several _Cherbaws_, pootages made of rice, wheat, etc., some sweet, some savoury; we had _Pelo_, rice boyled with peices of a hen; _Rice gellyed_, a perfect _fool_ in a platter; another slip slop**** of Dates and pine kernells; at all these we ployed***** our wooden artillery of the spoon.  We had a great _baked pye_ in a platter, with puff paste above and minced beaten meat, wel season'd underneath; a puf past pudding in a platter, plain; _another_, sweeten'd with honey.  About half way of this horse feast we water'd with a hearty draught of excellent Lemmon sherbert (sic!!), which was brought in a _fingeon_******, or Polish glasse, gilt on the verge at the top.
(...)
**_Dolmades_ is a common Greek dish now.



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