is of it self a grateful Winter Sallet or being mingl'd with other Oluscula Oyl Vinegar Salt c. 'T is of quality Cold and Moist and naturally somewhat Laxative But however by the Epigrammatist stil'd Foolish and Insipid as Innocentior quam Olus for so the Learned * Plin. H. Nat. lib. xix cap. 8. Harduin reads the place 't is by Diphilus of old and others since preferr'd before Cabbage as of better Nourishment Martial not unlearn'd in the Art of Sallet commends it with Wine and Pepper He names it indeed Fabrorum prandia for its being so vulgar But eaten with Oyl and Vinegar as usually it is no despicable Sallet There is a Beet growing near the Sea which is the most delicate of all The Roots of the Red Beet pared into thin Slices and Circles are by the French and Italians contriv'd into curious Figures to adorn their Sallets 6. Blite Blitum English Mercury or as our Country House-wives call it All-good the gentle Turiones and Tops may be eaten as Sparagus or sodden in Pottage There is both a white and red much us'd in Spain and Italy but besides its humidity and detersive Nature 't is Insipid enough 7. Borrage Borrago Gaudia semper ago hot and kindly moist purifying the Blood is an exhilarating Cordial of a pleasant Flavour The tender Leaves and Flowers especially may be eaten in Composition but above all the Sprigs in Wine like those of Baum are of known Vertue to revive the Hypochondriac and chear the hard Student See Bugloss 8. Brooklime Anagallis aquatica moderately hot and moist prevalent in the Scorbute and Stone 9. Bugloss Buglossum in nature much like Borrage yet something more astringent The Flowers of both with the intire Plant greatly restorative being Conserv'd And for the rest so much commended by Averroes that for its effects cherishing the Spirits justly call'd Euphrosynum Nay some will have it the Nepenthes of Homer But indeed what we now call Bugloss was not that of the Ancients but rather Borrage for the like Virtue named Corrago Burnet See Pimpinella 10. Buds Gemmae Turiones the first Rudiments and Tops of most Sallet-Plants preferrable to all other less tender Parts such as Ashen-Keys Broom-buds hot and dry retaining the vertue of Capers esteem'd to be very opening and prevalent against the Spleen and Scurvy and being Pickl'd are sprinkl'd among the Sallets or eaten by themselves 11. Cabbage Brassica and it s several kinds Pompey's beloved Dish so highly celebrated by old * De R. R. cap. clvii Cato Pythagoras and Chrysippus the Physician as the only Panacea is not so generally magnify'd by the rest of Doctors as affording but a crass and melancholy Juice yet Loosening if but moderately boil'd if over-much Astringent according to C. Celsus and therefore seldom eaten raw excepting by the Dutch The Cymae or Sprouts rather of the Cole are very delicate so boil'd as to retain their Verdure and green Colour In raising this Plant great care is to be had of the Seed The best comes from Denmark and Russia especially the Cauly-flower anciently unknown or from Aleppo Of the French the Pancaliere a la large Costé the white large and ponderous are to be chosen and so the Cauly-flower After boiling some steep them in Milk and seethe them again in Beef-Broth Of old they added a little Nitre The Broccoli from Naples perhaps the Halmâ—rida of Pliny or Athenaeus rather Capitata marina florida our Sea-keele the ancient Crambe and growing on our Coast are very delicate as are the Savoys commended for being not so rank but agreeable to most Palates and of better Nourishment In general Cabbages are thought to allay Fumes and prevent Intoxication But some will have them noxious to the Sight others impute it to the Cauly-flower rather But whilst the Learned are not agreed about it Theophrastus affirms the contrary and Pliny commends the Juice raw with a little Honey for the moist and weeping Eye not the dry or dull But after all Cabbage 't is confess'd is greatly accus'd for lying undigested in the Stomach and provoking Eructations which makes me wonder at the Veneration we read the Ancients had for them calling them Divine and Swearing per Brassicam 'T is scarce an hundred Years since we first had Cabbages out of Holland Sir Anth. Ashley of Wiburg St. Giles in Dorsetshire being as I am told the first who planted them in England 12. Cardon See Artichaux 13. Carrots Dauci or Pastinaca Sativa temperately warm and dry Spicy the best are yellow very nourishing let them be rais'd in Ground naturally rich but not too heavy 14. Chervile Chaerophyllum Myrrhis The sweet aromatick Spanish Chervile moderately hot and dry The tender Cimae and Tops with other Herbs are never to be wanting in our Sallets as long as they may be had being exceedingly wholsome and chearing the Spirits The Roots are also boil'd and eaten Cold much commended for Aged Persons This as likewise Spinach is us'd in Tarts and serves alone for divers Sauces Vide Onions Schoenopraesson Cibbols Cives 15. Clary Horminum when tender not to be rejected and in Omlets made up with Cream fried in sweet Butter and eaten with Sugar Juice of Orange or Limon 16. Clavers Aparine the tender Winders with young Nettle-Tops are us'd in Lenten Pottages 17. Corn-sallet Valerianella loos'ning and refreshing The Tops and Leaves are a Sallet of themselves seasonably eaten with other Salleting the whole Winter long and early Spring The French call them Salad de Preter for their being generally eaten in Lent 18. Cowslips Paralysis See Flowers 19. Cresses Nasturtium Garden Cresses to be monthly sown But above all the Indian moderately hot and aromatick quicken the torpent Spirits and purge the Brain and are of singular effect against the Scorbute Both the tender Leaves Calices Cappuchin Capers and Flowers are laudably mixed with the colder Plants The Buds being Candy'd are likewise us'd in Strewings all Winter There is the Nastur Hybernicum commended also and the vulgar Water-Cress proper in the Spring all of the same Nature tho' of different Degrees and best for raw and cold Stomachs but nourish little 20. Cucumber Cucumis tho' very cold and moist the most approved Sallet alone or in Composition of all the Vinaigrets to sharpen the Appetite and cool the Liver * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athen. c. if rightly prepar'd that is by rectifying the vulgar Mistake of altogether extracting the Juice in which it should rather be soak'd Nor ought it to be over Oyl'd too much abating of its grateful Acidity and palling the Taste from a contrariety of Particles Let them therefore be pared and cut in thin Slices with a Clove or two of Onion to correct the Crudity macerated in the Juice often turn'd and moderately drain'd Others prepare them by shaking the Slices between two Dishes and dress them with very little Oyl well beaten and mingled with the Juice of Limon Orange or
the Composition of Mustard as are also the thin Shavings mingled with our cold Herbs And now before I have done with this Root for an excellent and universal Condiment Take Horse-Radish whilst newly drawn out of the Earth otherwise laid to steep in Water a competent time then grate it on a Grater which has no bottom that so it may pass thro' like a Mucilage into a Dish of Earthen Ware This temper'd with Vinegar in which a little Sugar has been dissolv'd you have a Sauce supplying Mustard to the Sallet and serving likewise for any Dish besides 52. Rampion Rapunculus or the Esculent Campanula The tender Roots eaten in the Spring like those of Radishes but much more Nourishing 53. Rocket Eruca Spanish hot and dry to be qualified with Lettuce Purcelain and the rest c. See Tarragon Roccombo See Onions 54. Rosemary Rosmarinus Soverainly Cephalic and for the Memory Sight and Nerves incomparable And tho' not us'd in the Leaf with our Sallet furniture yet the Flowers a little bitter are always welcome in Vinegar but above all a fresh Sprig or two in a Glass of Wine See Flowers 55. Sage Salvia hot and dry The tops of the Red well pick'd and wash'd being often defil'd with Venomous Slime and almost imperceptible Insects with the Flowers retain all the noble Properties of the other hot Plants more especially for the Heád Memory Eyes and all Paralytical Affections In short 't is a Plant endu'd with so many and wonderful Properties as that the assiduous use of it is said to render Men Immortal We cannot therefore but allow the tender Summities of the young Leaves but principally the Flowers in our cold Sallet yet so as not to domineer Salsifax Scorzonera See Vipergrass 56. Sampier Crithmum That growing on the Sea-Cliffs as about Dover c. not only Pickl'd but crude and cold when young and tender and such as we may Cultivate and have in our Kitchin-Gardens almost the Year round is in my Opinion for its Aromatic and other excellent Vertues and Effects against the Spleen Cleansing the Passages sharpning Appetite c. so far preferrable to most of our hotter Herbs and Sallet-Ingredients that I have long wonder'd it has not been long since propagated in the Potagere as it is in France from whence I have often receiv'd the Seeds which have prosper'd better and more kindly with me than what comes from our own Coasts It does not indeed Pickle so well as being of a more tender Stalk and Leaf But in all other respects for composing Sallets it has nothing like it 57. Scalions Ascalonia Cepae The French call them Appetites which it notably quickens and stirs up Corrects Crudities and promotes Concoction The Italians steep them in Water mince and eat them cold with Oyl Vinegar Salt c. 58. Scurvy-grass Cochlearia of the Garden but especially that of the Sea is sharp biting and hot of Nature like Nasturtium prevalent in the Scorbute A few of the tender Leaves may be admitted in our Composition See Nasturtium Indicum 59. Sellery Apium Italicum and of the Petroseline Family was formerly a stranger with us nor very long since in Italy is an hot and more generous sort of Macedonian Persley or Smallage The tender Leaves of the Blancht Stalk do well in our Sallet as likewise the slices of the whiten'd Stems which being crimp and short first peel'd and slit long wise are eaten with Oyl Vinegar Salt and Peper and for its high and grateful Taste is ever plac'd in the middle of the Grand Sallet at our Great Mens Tables and Praetors Feasts as the Grace of the whole Board Caution is to be given of a small red Worm often lurking in these Stalks as does the green in Fennil Shallots See Onion 60. Skirrets Sisarum hot and moist corroborating and good for the Stomach exceedingly nourishing wholsome and delicate of all the Root-kind not subject to be Windy and so valued by the Emperor Tiberius that he accepted them for Tribute This excellent Root is seldom eaten raw but being boil'd stew'd roasted under the Embers bak'd in Pies whole sliced or in pulp is very acceptable to all Palates 'T is reported they were heretofore something bitter See what Culture and Education effects 61. Sorrel Acetosa of which there are divers kinds The French Acetocella with the round Leaf growing plentifully in the North of England Roman Oxalis the broad German c. but the best is of Green-Land by nature Cold Abstersive Acid sharpning Appetite asswages Heat cools the Liver strengthens the Heart is an Antiscorbutic resisting Putrefaction and imparting so grateful a quickness to the rest as supplies the want of Orange Limon and other Omphacia and therefore never to be excluded Vide Wood-Sorrel 62. Sow-thistle Sonchus of the Intybus-kind Galen was us'd to eat it as Lettuce exceedingly welcome to the late Morocco Ambassador and his Retinue 63. Sparagus Asparagus ab Asperitate temperately hot and moist Cordial Diuretic easie of Digestion and next to Flesh nothing more nourishing as Sim. Sethius an excellent Physician holds They are sometimes but very seldom eaten raw with Oyl and Vinegar but with more delicacy the bitterness first exhausted being so speedily boil'd as not to lose the verdure and agreeable tenderness which is done by letting the Water boil before you put them in I do not esteem the Dutch great and larger sort especially rais'd by the rankness of the Beds so sweet and agreeable as those of a moderate size 64. Spinach Spinachia of old not us'd in Sallets and the oftner kept out the better I speak of the crude But being boil'd to a Pult and without other Water than its own moisture is a most excellent Condiment with Butter Vinegar or Limon for almost all sorts of boil'd Flesh and may accompany a Sick Man's Diet. 'T is Laxative and Emollient and therefore profitable for the Aged and tho' by original a Spaniard may be had at almost any Season and in all places Stone-Crop Sedum Minus See Trick-Madame 65. Succory Cichorium an Intube erratic and wild with a narrow dark Leaf different from the Sative tho' probably by culture only and for being very bitter a little edulcorated with Sugar and Vinegar is by some eaten in the Summer and more grateful to the Stomach than the Palate See Endive 66. Tansy Tanacetum hot and cleansing but in regard of its domineering relish sparingly mixt with our cold Sallet and much fitter tho' in very small quantity for the Pan being qualified with the Juices of other fresh Herbs Spinach Green Corn Violet Primrose-Leaves c. at entrance of the Spring and then fried brownish is eaten hot with the Juice of Orange and Sugar as one of the most agreeable of all the boil'd Herbaceous Dishes 67. Tarragon Draco Herba of Spanish Extraction hot and spicy The Tops and young Shoots like those of Rochet never to be secluded our Composition especially where there is much Lettuce 'T is highly cordial and
Deip. Lib. II. Cap. 26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 perhaps for that it incites Appetite and causes Hunger which is the best Sauce sweetest of all Condiments Limon or Juice of Orange one Part and therein let steep some Slices of Horse-Radish with a little Salt Some in a separate Vinegar gently bruise a Pod of Guinny-Pepper straining both the Vinegars apart to make Use of Either or One alone or of both as they best like then add as much Tewkesbury or other dry Mustard grated as will lie upon an Half-Crown Piece Beat and mingle all these very well together but pour not on the Oyl and Vinegar 'till immediately before the Sallet is ready to be eaten And then with the Yolk of two new-laid Eggs boyl'd and prepar'd as before is taught squash and bruise them all into mash with a Spoon and lastly pour it all upon the Herbs stirring and mingling them 'till they are well and throughly imbib'd not forgetting the Sprinklings of Aromaticks and such Flowers as we have already mentioned if you think fit and garnishing the Dish with the thin Slices of Horse-Radish Red Beet Berberries c. Note That the Liquids may be made more or less Acid as is most agreeable to your Taste These Rules and Prescriptions duly Observ'd you have a Sallet for a Table of Six or Eight Persons Dress'd and Accommodated secundum Artem For as the †Cratinus in Glauco Proverb has it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Non est cujusvis rectè condire AND now after all we have advanc'd in favour of the Herbaceous Diet there still emerges a third inquiry namely Whether the Use of Crude Herbs and Plants are so wholesom as is pretended What Opinion the Prince of Physicians had of them we shall see hereafter as also what the Sacred Records of elder Times seem to infer before there were any Flesh-Shambles in the World together with the Reports of such as are often conversant among many Nations and People who to this Day living on Herbs and Roots arrive to incredible Age in constant Health and Vigour Which whether attributable to the Air and Climate Custom Constitution c. should be inquir'd into especially when we compare the Antediluvians mention'd Gen. 1.29 the whole Fifth and Ninth Chapters ver 3. confining them to Fruit and wholesom Sallets I deny not that both the Air and Earth might then be less humid and clammy and consequently Plants and Herbs better fermented concocted and less Rheumatick than since and presently after to say nothing of the infinite Numbers of putrid Carcasses of Dead Animals perishing in the Flood of which I find few if any have taken notice which needs must have corrupted the Air Those who live in Marshes and Uliginous Places like the Hundreds of Essex being more obnoxious to Fevers Agues Pleurisies and generally unhealthful The Earth also then a very Bog compar'd with what it likely was before that destructive Cataclysm when Men breath'd the pure Paradisian Air sucking in a more aethereal nourishing and baulmy Pabulum so soully vitiated now thro' the Intemperance Luxury and softer Education and Effeminacy of the Ages since Custom and Constitution come next to be examin'd together with the Qualities and Vertue of the Food and I confess the two first especially that of Constitution seems to me the more likely Cause of Health and consequently of Long-life which induc'd me to consider of what Quality the usual Sallet Furniture did more eminently consist that so it might become more safely applicable to the Temper Humour and Disposition of our Bodies according to which the various Mixtures might be regulated and proportion'd There 's no doubt but those whose Constitutions are Cold and Moist are naturally affected with Things which are Hot and Dry as on the contrary Hot and Dry Complexions with such as cool and refrigerate which perhaps made the Junior Gordian and others like him prefer the frigidae Mensae as of old they call'd Sallets which according to Cornelius Celsus is the fittest Diet for Obese and Corpulent Persons as not so Nutritive and apt to Pamper And consequently that for the Cold Lean and Emaciated such Herby Ingredients should be made choice of as warm and cherish the Natural Heat depure the Blood breed a laudable Juice and revive the Spirits And therefore my Lord * Nat. Hist IV. Cent. VII 130. Se Arist Prob. Sect. xx Quaest 36. Why some Fruits and Plants are best raw others boil'd roasted c as becoming sweeter but the Crude more sapid and grateful Bacon shews what are best Raw what Boil'd and what Parts of Plants fittest to nourish Galen indeed seems to exclude them all unless well accompanied with their due Correctives of which we have taken care Notwithstanding yet that even the most Crude and Herby actually Cold and Weak may potentially be Hot and Strengthning as we find in the most vigorous Animals whose Food is only Grass 'T is true indeed Nature has providentially mingl'd and dress'd a Sallet for them in every Field besides what they distinguish by Smell nor question I but Man at first knew what Plants and Fruits were good before the Fall by his Natural Sagacity and not Experience which since by Art and Trial and long Observation of their Properties and Effects they hardly recover But in all Events supposing with * Card. Contradicent Med. l. iv Cant. 18. Diphilus not at all Athenaeus Cardan that Plants nourish little they hurt as little Nay Experience tells us that they not only hurt not at all but exceedingly benefit those who use them indu'd as they are with such admirable Properties as they every day discover For some Plants not only nourish laudably but induce a manifest and wholesom Change as Onions Garlick Rochet c. which are both nutritive and warm Lettuce Purselan the Intybs c. and indeed most of the Olera refresh and cool And as their respective Juices being converted into the Substances of our Bodies they become Aliment so in regard of their Change and Alteration we may allow them Medicinal especially the greater Numbers among which we all this while have skill but of very few not only in the Vegetable Kingdom but in the whole Materia Medica which may be justly call'd Infallible Specifics and upon whose Performance we may as safely depend as we may on such as familiarly we use for a Crude Herb Sallet discreetly chosen mingl'd and dress'd accordingly Not but that many of them may be improv'd and render'd better in Broths and Decoctions than in Oyl Vinegar and other Liquids and Ingredients But as this holds not in all nay perhaps in few comparatively provided as I said the Choice Mixture Constitution and Season rightly be understood we stand up in Defence and Vindication of our Sallet against all Attacks and Opposers whoever We have mentione◠Season and with the great Hippocrates pronounce them more proper for the Summer than the Winter and when
never Boil'd and so they derive the Etymology of Olus from Olla the Pot. But others deduce it from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comprehending the Vniversal Genus of the Vegetable Kingdom as from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Panis esteeming that he who had ‖ Panis erat primis virides mortalibus Herbae Quas tellus nullo sollicitante dabat Et modo carpebant vivaci cespite gramen Nunc epulae tenera fronde cacumen erant Ovid Fastor iv Bread and Herbs was sufficiently bless'd with all a frugal Man cou'd need or desire Others again will have it ab Olendo i. e. Crescendo from its continual growth and springing up So the younger Scaliger on Varro But his Father Julius extends it not so generally to all Plants as to all the Esculents according to the Text We call those Olera says * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophrast Plant. l. vii cap. 7. Theophrastus which are commonly eaten in which sense it may be taken to include both Boil'd and Raw Last of all ab Alendo as having been the Original and genuine Food of all Mankind from the †Gen. 1.29 Creation A great deal more of this Learned Stuff were to be pick'd up from the Cumini Sectores and impertinently Curious whilst as it concerns the business in hand we are by Sallet to understand a particular Composition of certain Crude and fresh Herbs such as usually are or may safely be eaten with some Acetous Juice Oyl Salt c. to give them a grateful Gust and Vehicle exclusive of the * Plutarch Sympos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 eaten without their due Correctives which the Learned †Salmas in Solin against Hieron Mercurialis Salmasius and indeed generally the ‖ Galen 2 R. Aliment cap. 1. Et Simp. Medic. Averroes lib. v. Colloc old Physicians affirm and that truly all Crude and raw 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 require to render them wholsome so as probably they were from hence as ¶ Plin. lib. xix c. 4. Pliny thinks call'd Acetaria and not as Hermolaus and some others Acceptaria ab Accipiendo nor from Accedere though so * Convictus facilis sine arte mensa Mart. Ep. 74. ready at hand and easily dress'd requiring neither Fire Cost or Attendance to boil roast and prepare them as did Flesh and other Provisions from which and other Prerogatives they were always in use c. And hence indeed the more frugal Italians and French to this Day Accept and gather Ogni Verdura any thing almost that 's Green and Tender to the very Tops of Nettles so as every Hedge affords a Sallet not unagreeable season'd with its proper Oxybaphon of Vinegar Salt Oyl c. which doubtless gives it both the Relish and Name of Salad Ensalada †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which Suidas calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Olera quae cruda sumuntur ex Aceto Harduin in loc as with us of Sallet from the Sapidity which renders not Plants and Herbs alone but Men themselves and their Conversations pleasant and agreeable But of this enough and perhaps too much least whilst I write of Salt and Sallet I appear my self Insipid I pass therefore to the Ingredients which we will call Furniture and Materials THE Materials of Sallets which together with the grosser Olera consist of Roots Stalks Leaves Buds Flowers c. Fruits belonging to another Class would require a much ampler Volume than would suit our Kalendar to which this pretends to be an Appendix only should we extend the following Catalogue further than to a brief enumeration only of such Herbaceous Plants Oluscula and smaller Esculents as are chiefly us'd in Cold Sallets of whose Culture we have treated there and as we gather them from the Mother and Genial Bed with a touch only of their Qualities for Reasons hereafter given 1. Alexanders Hipposelinum S. Smyrnium vulgare much of the nature of Persly is moderately hot and of a cleansing Faculty Deobstructing nourishing and comforting the Stomach The gentle fresh Sprouts Buds and Tops are to be chosen and the Stalks eaten in the Spring and when Blanch'd in Winter likewise with Oyl Peper Salt c. by themselves or in Composition They make also an excellent Vernal Pottage 2. Artichaux Cinara Carduus Sativus hot and dry The Heads being slit in quarters first eaten raw with Oyl a little Vinegar Salt and Pepper gratefully recommend a Glass of Wine Dr. Muffet says at the end of Meals They are likewise whilst tender and small fried in fresh Butter crisp with Persley But then become a most delicate and excellent Restorative when full grown they are boil'd the common way The Bottoms are also bak'd in Pies with Marrow Dates and other rich Ingredients In Italy they sometimes broil them and as the Scaly Leaves open baste them with fresh and sweet Oyl but with Care extraordinary for if a drop fall upon the Coals all is marr'd that hazard escap'd they eat them with the Juice of Orange and Sugar The Stalk is Blanch'd in Autumn and the Pith eaten raw or boil'd The way of preserving them fresh all Winter is by separating the Bottoms from the Leaves and after Parboiling allowing to every Bottom a small earthen glaz'd Pot burying it all over in fresh melted Butter as they do Wild-Fowl c. Or if more than one in a larger Pot in the same Bed and Covering Layer upon Layer They are also preserv'd by stringing them on Pack-thread a clean Paper being put between every Bottom to hinder them from touching one another and so hung up in a dry place They are likewise Pickl'd 'T is not very long since this noble Thistle came first into Italy Improv'd to this Magnitude by Culture and so rare in England that they were commonly sold for Crowns a piece But what Carthage yearly spent in them as Pliny computes the Sum amounted to Sestertia Sena Millia 30000 l. Sterling Note That the Spanish Cardon a wild and smaller Artichoak with sharp-pointed Leaves and lesser Head the Stalks being Blanch'd and tender are serv'd-up a la Poiverade that is with Oyl Pepper c. as the French term is 3. Basil Ocimum as Baulm imparts a grateful Flavour if not too strong somewhat offensive to the Eyes and therefore the tender Tops to be very sparingly us'd in our Sallet 4. Baulm Melissa Baum hot and dry Cordial and exhilarating sovereign for the Brain strengthning the Memory and powerfully chasing away Melancholy The tender Leaves are us'd in Composition with other Herbs and the Sprigs fresh gather'd put into Wine or other Drinks during the heat of Summer give it a marvellous quickness This noble Plant yields an incomparable Wine made as is that of Cowslip-Flowers 5. Be et Beta of which there is both Red Black and White The Costa or Rib of the White Beet by the French call'd the Chard being boil'd melts and eats like Marrow And the Roots especially of the Red cut into thin slices boil'd when cold
Vinegar Salt and Pepper Some again and indeed the most approv'd eat them as soon as they are cut retaining their Liquor which being exhausted by the former Method have nothing remaining in them to help the Concoction Of old they * Cucumis elixus delicatior innocentior Athenaeus boil'd the Cucumber and paring off the Rind eat them with Oyl Vinegar and Honey Sugar not being so well known Lastly the Pulp in Broth is greatly refreshing and may be mingl'd in most Sallets without the least damage contrary to the common Opinion it not being long since Cucumber however dress'd was thought fit to be thrown away being accounted little better than Poyson Tavernier tells us that in the Levant if a Child cry for something to Eat they give it a raw Cucumber instead of Bread The young ones may be boil'd in White-Wine The smaller sort known by the name of Gerckems muriated with the Seeds of Dill and the Mango Pickle are for the Winter 21. Daisy Buphthalmum Ox-Eye or Bellis-major The young Roots are frequently eaten by the Spaniards and Italians all the Spring till June 22. Dandelion Dens Leonis Condrilla Macerated in several Waters to extract the bitterness tho' somewhat opening is very wholsome and little inferior to Succory Endive c. The French Country-People eat the Roots and 't was with this homely Sallet the Good-Wife Hecate entertain'd Theseus See Sowthistle 23. Dock Oxylapathum or sharp-pointed Dock Emollient and tho' otherwise not for our Sallet the Roots brewed in Ale or Beer are excellent for the Scorbute Earth-Nuts Bulbo-Castanum found in divers places of Surry near Kingston and other parts the Rind par'd off are eaten crude by Rustics with a little Pepper but are best boil'd like other Roots or in Pottage rather and are sweet and nourishing 24. Elder Sambucus The Flowers infus'd in Vinegar grateful both to the Stomach and Taste attenuate thick and viscid Humours and tho' the Leaves are somewhat rank of Smell and so not commendable in Sallet they are otherwise as indeed is the intire Shrub of the most sovereign Vertue and the spring Buds and tender Leaves excellently wholsome in Pottage at that Season of the Year See Flowers 25. Endive Endivium Intubum Sativum the largest whitest and tenderest Leaves best boil'd and less crude It is naturally Cold profitable for hot Stomachs Incisive and opening Obstructions of the Liver The curled is more delicate being eaten alone or in Composition with the usual Intinctus It is also excellent being boil'd the middle part of the Blanch'd-Stalk separated eats firm and the ampler Leaves by many perferr'd before Lettuce See Succory Eschalot See Onions 26. Fennel Foeniculum The sweetest of Bolognia Aromatick hot and dry expels Wind sharpens the Sight and recreates the Brain especially the tender Vmbella and Seed-Pods The Stalks are to be peel'd when young and then dress'd like Sellery The tender Tufts and Leaves emerging being minc'd are eaten alone with Vinegar or Oyl and Pepper and to correct the colder Materials enter properly into Composition The Italians eat the blanch'd Stalk which they call Cartucci all Winter long There is a very small Green-Worm which sometimes lodges in the Stemm of this Plant which is to be taken out as the Red one in that of Sellery 27. Flowers Flores chiefly of the Aromatick Esculents and Plants are preferrable as generally endow'd with the Vertues of their Simples in a more intense degree and may therefore be eaten alone in their proper Vehicles or Composition with other Salleting sprinkl'd among them But give a more palatable Relish being Infus'd in Vinegar Especially those of the Clove-Gillyflower Elder Orange Cowslip Rosemary Arch-Angel Sage Nasturtium Indicum c. Some of them are Pickl'd and divers of them make also very pleasant and wholsome Theas as do likewise the Wild Time Bugloss Mint c. 28. Garlick Allium dry towards Excess and tho' both by Spaniards and Italians and the more Southern People familiarly eaten with almost every thing and esteem'd of such singular Vertue to help Concoction and thought a Charm against all Infection and Poyson by which it has obtain'd the Name of the Country-man's Theriacle we yet think it more proper for our Northern Rustics especially living in Vliginous and moist places or such as use the Sea Whilst we absolutely forbid it entrance into our Salleting by reason of its intolerable Rankness and which made it so detested of old that the eating of it was as we read part of the Punishment for such as had committed the horrid'st Crimes To be sure 't is not for Ladies Palats nor those who court them farther than to permit a light touch on the Dish with a Clove thereof much better supply'd by the gentler Roccombo Note That in Spain they sometimes eat it boil'd which taming its fierceness turns it into Nourishment or rather Medicine Ginny-Pepper Capsicum See Pepper 29. Goats-beard Trago-pogon The Root is excellent even in Sallet and very Nutritive exceeding profitable for the Breast and may be stew'd and dress'd as Scorzonera 30. Hops Lupulus Hot and moist rather Medicinal than fit for Sallet the Buds and young Tendrels excepted which may be eaten raw but more conveniently being boil'd and cold like Asparagus They are Diuretic depurate the Blood and open Obstructions 31. Hyssop Hyssopus Thymus Capitatus Creticus Majoran Mary-gold c. as all hot spicy Aromatics commonly growing in Kitchin-Gardens are of Faculty to Comfort and strengthen prevalent against Melancholy and Phlegm Plants like these going under the Names of Pot-Herbs are much more proper for Broths and Decoctions than the tender Sallet Yet the Tops and Flowers reduc'd to Powder are by some reserv'd for Strewings upon the colder Ingredients communicating no ungrateful Fragrancy 32. Jack-by-the-Hedge Alliaria or Sauce-alone has many Medicinal Properties and is eaten as other Sallets especially by Country People growing wild under their Banks and Hedges 33. Leeks and Cibbols Porrum hot and of Vertue Prolifick since Latona the Mother of Apollo long'd after them The Welch who eat them much are observ'd to be very fruitful They are also friendly to the Lungs and Stomach being sod in Milk a few therefore of the slender and green Summities a little shred do not amiss in Composition See Onion 34. Lettuce Lactuca Tho' by Metaphor call'd * Eubulus Mortuorum Cibi to say nothing of †In Lactuca occultatum à Venere Adonin cecinit Cailimachus quod Allegoricè interpretatus Athenaeus illuc referendum putat quod in Venerem hebetiores fiant Lactucis vescentes assidué Adonis and his sad Mistriss by reason of its Soporiferous quality ever was and still continues the principal Foundation of the universal Tribe of Sallets which is to Cool and Refresh besides its other Properties And therefore in such high esteem with the Ancients that divers of the Valerian Family dignify'd and enobled their Name with that of Lactucinii It is indeed of Nature more cold and moist than any of the rest
at least in this Climate if being fresh and skilfully chosen they are accommodated with the nicest Care and Circumspection generally reported to have something malignant and noxious in them Nor without cause from the many sad Examples frequent Mischiefs and funest Accidents they have produc'd not only to particular Persons but whole Families Exalted indeed they were to the second Course of the Caesarian Tables with the noble Title 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Dainty fit for the Gods alone to whom they sent the Emperor * Sueton. in Claudi Claudius as they have many since to the other World But he that reads how Seneca ∴ Sen. Ep. lxiii deplores his lost Friend that brave Commander Annaeus Serenus and several other gallant Persons with him who all of them perish'd at the same Repast would be apt to ask with the †Plin. N. H. l. xxli c. 2â— Naturalist speaking of this suspicious Dainty Quae voluptas tanta ancipitis cibi and who indeed would hazard it So true is that of the Poet He that eats Mushroms many times Nil amplius edit eats no more perhaps all his Life after What other deterring Epithets are given for our Caution 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 heavy and choaking Athenaeus reporting of the Poet Euripides's finding a Woman and her three Children strangl'd by eating of them one would think sufficient warning Among these comes in the Fungus Reticularis to be found about London as at Fulham and other places whilst at no small charge we send for them into France as we also do for Trufles Pâ—g-nuts and other subterraneous Tubera which in Italy they fry in Oyl and eat with Pepper They are commonly discovered by a Nasute Swine purposely brought up being of a Chess-nut Colour and heady Smell and not seldom found in England particularly in a Park of my Lord Cotton's at Rushton or Rusbery in Northampton-shire and doubtless in other †Transact Philos Num. 202. places too were they sought after How these rank and provocative Excrescences are to be ‖ Apitius lib. vii cap. 13. treated of themselves insipid enough and only famous for their kindly taking any Pickle or Conditure that they may do the less Mischief we might here set down But since there be so many ways of Dressing them that I can incourage none to use them for Reasons given besides that they do not at all concern our safer and innocent Sallet Furniture I forbear it and referr those who long after this beloved Ragout and other Voluptuaria Venena as Seneca calls them to what our Learned Dr. Lyster * Philos Transact Num. 89. Journey to Paris says of the many Venomous Insects harbouring and corrupting in a new found-out Species of Mushroms had lately in deliciis Those in the mean time which are esteemed best and less pernicious of which see the Appendix are such as rise in rich airy and dry †Pratensibus optima fungis Natura est aliis male creditur Hor. Sat. l. 7. Sat. 4. Pasture-Grounds growing on the Staff or Pedicule of about an Inch thick and high moderately Swelling Target-like round and firm being underneath of a pale saffronish hue curiously radiated in parallel Lines and Edges which becoming either Yellow Orange or Black are to be rejected But besides what the Harvest-Months produce they are likewise rais'd * Bacon Nat. Hist 12. Cent. vii 547 548 c. Artificially as at Naples in their Wine-Cellars upon an heap of rank Earth heaped upon a certain supposed Stone but in truth as the curious and noble * Gassend Vita Peirs l. iv Raderus Mart. l. Epig. xlvi In ponticum says within four Days Peiresky tells us he found to be nothing but an heap of old Fungus's reduc'd and compacted to a stony hardness upon which they lay Earth and sprinkle it with warm Water in which Mushroms have been steeped And in France by making an hot Bed of Asses-Dung and when the heat is in Temper watering it as above well impregnated with the Parings and Offals of refuse Fungus's and such a Bed will last two or three Years and sometimes our common Melon-Beds afford them besides other Experiments 40. Mustard Sinapi exceeding hot and mordicant not only in the Seed but Leaf also especially in Seedling young Plants like those of Radishes newly peeping out of the Bed is of incomparable effect to quicken and revive the Spirits strengthening the Memory expelling heaviness preventing the Vertiginous Palsie and is a laudable Cephalick Besides it is an approv'd Antiscorbutick aids Concoction cuts and dissipates Phlegmatick Humours In short 't is the most noble Embamma and so necessary an Ingredient to all cold and raw Salleting that it is very rarely if at all to be left out In Italy in making Mustard they mingle Limon and Orange-Peel with the Seeds How the best is made see hereafter Nasturtium Indicum See Cresses 41. Nettles Vrtica Hot dry Diuretic Solvent purifies the Blood The Buds and very tender Cimae a little bruised are by some eaten raw by others boil'd especially in Spring-Pottage with other Herbs 42. Onion Cepa Porrum the best are such as are brought us out of Spain whence they of St. Omers had them and some that have weigh'd eight Pounds Choose therefore the large round white and thin Skin'd Being eaten crude and alone with Oyl Vinegar and Pepper we own them in Sallet not so hot as Garlick nor at all so rank Boil'd they give a kindly relish raise Appetite corroborate the Stomach cut Phlegm and profit the Asthmatical But eaten in excess are said to offend the Head and Eyes unless Edulcorated with a gentle maceration In the mean time as to their being noxious to the Sight is imputable only to the Vapour rising from the raw Onion when peeled which some commend for its purging and quickning that Sense How they are us'd in Pottage boil'd in Milk stew'd c. concerns the Kitchin In our cold Sallet we supply them with the Porrum Sectile Tops of Leeks and Eschalots Ascalonia of gust more exalted yet not to the degree of Garlick Or by what of later use is much preferr'd with a Clove or two of Raccombo of a yet milder and delicate nature which by rubbing the Dish only imparts its Vertue agreeably enough In Italy they frequently make a Sallet of Scalions Cives and Chibbols only season'd with Oyl and Pepper and an honest laborious Country-man with good Bread Salt and a little Parsley will make a contented Meal with a roasted Onion How this noble Bulb was deified in * O Sanctas gentes quibus haec nascuntur in hortis Numina Juv. Sat. 15. Egypt we are told and that whilst they were building the Pyramids there was spent in this Root †Herodotus Ninety Tun of Gold among the Workmen So lushious and tempting it seems they were that as whole Nations have subsisted on them alone so the Israelites were ready to return to Slavery and
amass'd a quantity of it and kept it in the Treasury till Julius Caesar rob'd it and took this away as a thing of mighty value In a word it was of that Account that as a sacred Plant those of the Cyrenaic Africa honour'd the very Figure of it by stamping it on the Reverse of their †Spanheim De usu Praest Numis◠Dissert 4to It was sometimes also the Reverse of Jupiter Hammon Coin and when they would commend a thing for its worth to the Skies 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 grew into a Proverb Battus having been the Founder of the City Cyrene near which it only grew 'T is indeed contested among the Learned Botanosophists whether this Plant was not the same with Laserpitium and the Laser it yields the odoriferous †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristoph in Pluto Act. iv Sc. 3. Benzoin But doubtless had we the true and genuine Silphium for it appears to have been often sophisticated and a spurious sort brought into Italy it would soon recover its pristine Reputation and that it was not celebrated so for nothing extraordinary since besides its Medicinal Vertue it was a wonderful Corroborater of the Stomach a Restorer of lost Appetite and Masculine Vigour c. and that they made use of it almost in every thing they eat But should we now really tell the World that this precious Juice is by many thought to be no other than the †Of which some would have it a courser sort inamoeni odoris as the same Comedian names it in his Equites p. 239. and 240. Edit Basil See likewise this discuss'd together with its Properties m st copiously in Jo. Budaeus a Stapul Comment in Theophrast lib. vi cap. 1. and Bauhin Hist Plant. lib. xxvii cap. 53. Foetid Assa our nicer Sallet-Eaters who yet bestow as odious an Epithet on the vulgar Garlick would cry out upon it as intolerable and perhaps hardly believe it But as Aristophanes has brought it in and sufficiently describ'd it so the Scholiast upon the place puts it out of Controversy And that they made use both of the Leaves Stalk and Extract especially as we now do Garlick and other Hautgouts as nauseous altogether In the mean time Garcius Bontius and others assure us that the Indians at this day universally sauce their Viands with it and the Bramin's who eat no Flesh at all in rich their Sallets by constantly rubbing the Dishes with it Nor are some of our own skilful Cooks Ignorant how to condite and use it with the Applause of those who ignorant of the Secret have admir'd the richness of the Gust it has imparted when it has been substituted instead of all our Cipollati and other seasonings of that Nature And thus have we done with the various Species of all such Esculents as may properly enter the Composition of our Acetaria and cold Sallet And if I have briefly touch'd upon their Natures Degrees and primary Qualities which Intend or Remit as to the Scale of Heat Cold Driness Moisture c. which is to be understood according to the different Texture of their component Particles it has not been without what I thought necessary for the Instruction of the Gatherer and Sallet-Dresser how he ought to choose sort and mingle his Materials and Ingredients together What Care and Circumspection should attend the choice and collection of Sallet Herbs has been partly shew'd I can therefore by no means approve of that extravagant Fancy of some who tell us that a Fool is as fit to be the Gatherer of a Sallet as a Wiser Man Because say they one can hardly choose amiss provided the Plants be green young and tender where-ever they meet with them But sad experience shews how many fatal Mistakes have been committed by those who took the deadly Cicutae Hemlocks Aconits c. for Garden Persley and Parsneps the Myrrhis Sylvestris or Cow-Weed for Choerophilum Chervil Thapsia for Fennel the wild Chondrilla for Succory Dogs-Mercury instead of Spinach Papaver Corniculatum Luteum and horn'd Poppy for Eringo Oenanthe aquatica for the Palustral Apium and a world more whose dire effects have been many times sudden Death and the cause of Mortal Accidents to those who have eaten of them unwittingly But supposing some of those wild and unknown Plants should not prove so deleterious and * Vide Cardanum de usu Cibi unwholsome yet may others of them annoy the Head Brain and Genus Nervosum weaken the Eyes offend the Stomach affect the Liver torment the Bowels and discover their malignity in dangerous and dreadful Symptoms And therefore such Plants as are rather Medicinal than Nourishing and Refreshing are studiously to be rejected So highly necessary it is that what we sometimes find in old Books concerning Edules of other Countries and Climates frequently call'd by the Names of such as are wholsome in ours and among us mislead not the unskilful Gatherer to prevent which we read of divers Popes and Emperors that had sometimes Learned Physicians for their Master-Cooks I cannot therefore but exceedingly approve of that charitable Advice of Mr. Ray * Vol. xx Transact Num. 238. who thinks it the Interest of Mankind that all Persons should be caution'd of advent'ring upon unknown Herbs and Plants to their Prejudice Of such I say with our excellent * Cowley 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hesiod Poet a little chang'd Happy from such conceal'd if still do lie Of Roots and Herbs the unwholsome Luxury The Illustrious and Learned Columna has by observing what †Concerning this of Insects See Mr. Ray's Hist Plant. li. 1. cap. 24. Insects did usually feed on make Conjectures of the Nature of the Plants But I should not so readily adventure upon it on that account as to its wholsomness For tho' indeed one may safely eat of a Peach or Abricot after a Snail has been Taster I question whether it might be so of all other Fruits and Herbs attack'd by other Insects Nor would one conclude the Hyoscyamus harmless because the Cimex feeds upon it as the Learned Dr. Lyster has discover'd Notice should therefore be taken what Eggs of Insects are found adhering to the Leaves of Sallet-Herbs and frequently cleave so firmly to them as not easily to be wash'd off and so not being taken notice of passing for accidental and harmless Spots only may yet produce very ill effects Grillus who according to the Doctrine of Transmigration as Plutarch tells us had in his turn been a Beast discourses how much better he fed and liv'd than when he was turn'd to Man again as knowing then what Plants were best and most proper for him Whilst Men Sarcophagists Flesh-Eaters in all this time were yet to seek And 't is indeed very evident that Cattel and other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and herbaceous Animals which feed on Plants are directed by their Smell and accordingly make election of their