Ajiaco or Agico (1762)

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    A description of the Spanish islands and settlements on the coast of the
West Indies, comp. from authentic memoirs, rev. by gentlemen who have resided
many years in the Spanish settlements; and illustrated with thirty-two maps
and plans, chiefly from original drawings taken from the Spaniards in the last
war, and engraved by Thomas Jefferys ...
Imprint London, T. Jefferys, 1762.
(CATNYP record from NYPL.  I read the 1970 AMS EDITION reprint at NYU, from
the "edition of 1792, London."  I'm sure it's the same as 1762 because Thomas
Jefferys died in 1771.  The copyright page probably erred with 1792 rather than
1762.  The copied title page shows 1762--ed.)

   "Ajiaco" is still not in OED or Merriam-Webster?
   See the ADS-L archives.  I discussed "ajiaco" around when I visited Cuba
(Christmas 2001-New Year's 2002).
   Amazon.com is amazing.  "Ajiaco" is not only in about 50 books, but it's
on FOUR MENUS.  Amazon now has menus!
   OED has never cited from this book in about 250 years?


Pg. 16:  The manzanilla is remarkable for its poisonous fruit; the antidote
is common oil: the wood is variegated like marble.
(OED has various spellings of "manchineel" from 1625--ed.)

Pg. 16:  The palm trees are of four species: the first produce cocos or coco
nuts; the second dates; the third, called _palma real_, a very disagreeable
fruit, less than the date; and the fourth, called _corozo_, a fruit larger than
the date, of exquisite taste, and greatly used in making cooling and wholsome
draughts.
(OED has "1760-1772 tr." for "corozo"--ed.)

Pg. 16:  The bejuco with, or vine here bears a fruit called habilla, or bean,
very bitter, but one of the most effectual antidotes against the bited of
vipers and serpents;...
(OED has 1848 for "bejuco"--ed.)

Pg. 17:  Barley, wheat, and other esculent grains of _europe_, are little
known; maize and rice, of which they make their bolla, or bread, abound even to
excess.  The best sort of bolla is kneaded with milk.  Among the negroes the
cassava bread is most common; it is made of the roots of yuca, yams, and
moniatos, the upper skin of which they strip off, and grate the inside into water.
There is great plenty of camotes, in taste like _Malaga_ potatoes, used both as
pickles, and roots with meat.

Pg. 17:  The cacao trees, from which chocolate is made, excel here, and the
chocolate is more esteemed than that of other countries; especially the
chocolate of the _Magdalena_, which is highly valued, and by way of distinction, in
preference to that of the _Caracas_, is sold by millares.

Pg. 18:  The fruits peculiar to the country, are the pine-apple, which from
its beauty, smell, and taste is stiled by way of preference, the queen of
fruits; the papapays, guanabanas, guayabas, sapotes, mameis, plantanes, cocos,
which is a species of the palm-tree, and many others.

Pg. 18:  Among the nobility and better sort their most luxurious dish is the
agico; which consists of pork fried, birds of several kinds, plantanes, maize
paste, and seasonings made of pimento or agi.

Pg. 58:  The _Vainilla_ is a little cod full of small black seeds; it is four
or five inches long, bigger than the stem of a tobacco leaf, but when dried,
much resembling it; so that our privateers at first often threw them away,
when they took any, wondering why the _Spaniards_ should lay up tobacco-items.

Pg. 62:  in the neighbourhood of _Vera Cruz_, there grows the nopal, a
species of the _Tuna_, or prickly pear, but without thorns, on which the _Cochineal_
is found. (...) These pastles are then placed upon the plants of the nopal,
or prickly _Indian_ fig (which they take care to cultivate well for this
purpose) and in two, three or four days these animals bring forth a great many young
ones; soon after which the dams die.
(OED has 1730, then 1783 for "nopal"--ed.)

Pg. 63:  This they do much in the same manner as before, only now they take
off the plant a great many young ones, with their dams, which makes this sort
of cochineal to be called _Granilla_, from the quantity of small ones found
therein.
(OED has 1812 for "granilla"--ed.)

Pg. 63:  As to the manner of killing the cochineal, this is commonly done two
ways; either in hot water, or in tamascales, which are little ovens made for
that purpose; though they are sometimes killed by roasting them upon comales,
which are flat stoves with fire under them, made use of by the _Indian_ women
to bake their maize bread.
("Tamascales" and "comales" are not in OED?--ed.)