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Posted on 3:24 PM by Wanto and filed under
By Lynn Zane
This is the well-known old-fashioned marigold of cottage gardens. It is a favourite garden flower because the flowering period is spread over summer and well into autumn, as indicated by the generic name derived from the Latin `Kalendae', which in the ancient Roman calendar always marked the first day of the month.
In the Middle Ages it was used together with mint, savory, parsley, garlic, fennel and rosemary to flavour salads and the flowers were used to garnish whipped cream, salads and soups. In those days it was believed to have a stimulating and exhilarating effect, hence the English saying `borage brings courage'.
The ancient Romans prepared mustard from seeds that had first been soaked in water and then crushed and boiled. According to another recipe the seeds were ground and then blended together with honey and oil. Caper is a prickly shrub with long, trailing branches growing on rocks and walls in the warmest regions of Europe and Africa bordering the Mediterranean since time immemorial. It was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, but both Dioscoricles and Galenos warned against the effects caused by eating the buds. In this they were wrong, however, for the buds are not poisonous and nowadays are used as an excellent flavouring for foods.
The buds, produced in succession the whole summer long, are picked daily by hand and graded according to size. The spiciest, but likewise the most expensive, are the tiny, round, hard capers called `nonpareilles', the cheapest are the so-called `eapueines', also known as `capottes', which are up to six times larger. Medium-size capers are called `surfines', 'fines' or `mifines'. Capers are a common seasoning of the Mediterranean peoples and widely used by them in their cooking. They may be used to flavour salads, mayonnaise and cold sauces and served with cheeses; their pungent aroma is not destroyed by cooking.
Borage may be readily grown from seed, either in the garden or in a windowbox. Sow in spring after all danger of frost is past. Growth is rapid, its only requirement being a light soil with lime.
In the former USSR capers are prepared from the related species. C. herbacea, which grows wild chiefly in the Crimea and Transcaucasia.
In the Middle Ages it was used together with mint, savory, parsley, garlic, fennel and rosemary to flavour salads and the flowers were used to garnish whipped cream, salads and soups. In those days it was believed to have a stimulating and exhilarating effect, hence the English saying `borage brings courage'.
The ancient Romans prepared mustard from seeds that had first been soaked in water and then crushed and boiled. According to another recipe the seeds were ground and then blended together with honey and oil. Caper is a prickly shrub with long, trailing branches growing on rocks and walls in the warmest regions of Europe and Africa bordering the Mediterranean since time immemorial. It was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, but both Dioscoricles and Galenos warned against the effects caused by eating the buds. In this they were wrong, however, for the buds are not poisonous and nowadays are used as an excellent flavouring for foods.
The buds, produced in succession the whole summer long, are picked daily by hand and graded according to size. The spiciest, but likewise the most expensive, are the tiny, round, hard capers called `nonpareilles', the cheapest are the so-called `eapueines', also known as `capottes', which are up to six times larger. Medium-size capers are called `surfines', 'fines' or `mifines'. Capers are a common seasoning of the Mediterranean peoples and widely used by them in their cooking. They may be used to flavour salads, mayonnaise and cold sauces and served with cheeses; their pungent aroma is not destroyed by cooking.
Borage may be readily grown from seed, either in the garden or in a windowbox. Sow in spring after all danger of frost is past. Growth is rapid, its only requirement being a light soil with lime.
In the former USSR capers are prepared from the related species. C. herbacea, which grows wild chiefly in the Crimea and Transcaucasia.
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