“Oven ready” Latin
While the verbs in
the Apicius cookbook address you directly telling you what you do and will
do, the first principal part of any Latin verb already gives you the 1st
person singular present tense i.e. you already have a list of verbs to describe
your own food preparation. The notes focus on the verbs although some other
words are discussed that are uncommon and / or have not been discussed in
earlier posts.
Apicius: Book 7;
VII
[1] Ventrem
porcīnum bene exināniēs, acētō et sale, posteā aquā lavās, │[1]
You will thoroughly clean out the pork belly, with vinegar and
salt, then you wash it with water
exināniō, -īre
[4]: clean out
lavō, -āre [1]:
wash
acētum, -ī [2/n]:
vinegar
sāl, -is [3 m/m]:
salt
porcīnus, -a, -um:
of a pig; porcīna, -ae [1/f]: pork meat
[2] et sīc hanc impēnsam
implēs: pulpam porcīnam tūnsam trītam, ita ut ¦ enervāta ¦ commisceās
cerebella ¦ tria et ōva crūda, │ [2] and you will fill it with the
following stuffing: pork meat pounded (in a mortar) and ground
/ minced, in such a way that you mix in ¦ three brains with the
nerves removed ¦ and raw eggs,
commisceō, -ēre
[2]: mix together; commiscē mulsum! (Plautus) │ Mix the
honeyed wine!
impleō, -ēre [2]:
fill
terō, -ere, trīvī,
trītus [3]: rub; crush; (here) grind
tundō, -ere, tutudī, tūnsus [3]: beat; pound; pulp (e.g. using a
mortar)
pulpa, -ae [1/f]:
soft flesh (of an animal)
pulpam porcīnam
(1) tūnsam (2) trītam
impēnsa, -ae [1/f]
2 distinct meanings: [i] expense, cost, outlay; [ii] (here) stuffing, prepared
mixture (used to fill meats, pastries, etc.)
[3] cui nucleōs īnfundis
et piper integrum mittis et hōc iūre temperās │ [3] into which
you mix (small) nuts, put / add whole peppercorns, and season
it with this sauce.
īnfundō, -ere [3]:
pour into; mix
nucleus, -ī [2/m]:
small nut
piper, -is [3/m]:
pepper corn
compare: piper integrum
│ whole peppercorn; piper trītum │ crushed peppercorn
temperō, -āre [1]:
(here) season; ‘add … to taste’
[4] Terēs
piper, ligusticum, silphium, anesum, gingiber, rūtae modicum, liquāmen
optimum et oleī modicum. │ [4] You will crush pepper, lovage,
silphium, anise, ginger, a little rue, the best fish sauce and a little (olive)
oil.
oleī
[genitive] modicum: partitive genitive i.e. literally: a small amount of
oil; rūtae modicum: a small amount of / a little rue
anesum, -ī, or anīsum,
-ī [2/n]: anise, a spice with a liquorice scent
ligusticum, -ī
[2/n]: lovage, a type of herb with a smell and flavour similar to celery
rūta, -ae [1/f]:
rue, a bitter herb
zingiber, -is
[3/m], or zingiberi [n / indeclinable]: ginger; Apicius refers to it as gingiber
The recipe was not
for those on a budget. Now thought to be exinct, silphium, -ī [2/n] < Greek:
σίλφιον [sílphion] was a plant-based spice or medicinal herb highly prized in
the ancient Mediterranean world. It was used as a medicine, perfume and
aphrodisiac, and also in cooking, especially in the Apicius recipes. Primarily
from Cyrene (in modern Libya), it was so valuable that it appeared on their
coins. Also: lāserpīcium (lāsarpīcium), -ī [2/n], the resin obtained from the
plant.
https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/history-and-humanities/history/silphium-first-birth-control/
[5] Replēs
aquāliculum sīc ut laxāmentum habeat, nē dissiliat in coctūrā. │ [5] You
fill the stomach (with it) in such a way that it has some slack (i.e.
not too much) so that it does not burst during cooking.
dissiliō, -īre
[4]: burst apart
repleō, -ēre [2]:
fill up again
aquāliculus, -ī [2/m]
(here) stomach
coctūra, -ae
[1/f]: cooking; roasting; heating
[6] Surculās
ambās et in ollam bullientem summittis. Levās et pungis
acū, nē crepet. │ [6] You sew up both (ends) and lower it
into a boiling pot. You lift it and prick it with a needle, so
that it doesn’t burst.
bulliō, -īre [4]:
bubble; boil > ōlla bulliēns: a boiling pot; a pot of boiling water
crepō, -āre [1]:
break; (here) burst
pungō, -ere [3]:
prick; burst; puncture
surculō, -āre [1]:
bind together (with twigs)
summittō, -ere
[3]: lower
acus, -ūs [4/f]: needle; pin
[7] Cum ad
dīmidiās coctum fuerit, levās et ad fūmum suspendis ut
colōrētur. │ [7] When it has been half cooked / done, you take it / lift
it out and hang it in the smoke so that it may take on colour.
suspendō, -ere
[3]: hang
[8] Et dēnuō eum perēlixābis, ut coquī possit. │ [8]
And you will boil it thoroughly again, so that it can be cooked.
It is used with many adjectives and verbs, but, with this
verb ēlixō, -āre [1]: boil, appears only to be attested in
Apicius, although the meaning is clear: perēlixō i.e. boil thoroughly
/ all the way through
adpōnō (appōnō), -ere [3]: place near; set (e.g. on a
table); (here): serve up
merus, -a, -um: pure; undiluted; merum, -ī [2/n]: pure wine
adpōnō (appōnō), -ere [3]: place near; set (e.g. on a
table); (here): serve up
merus, -a, -um: pure; undiluted; merum, -ī [2/n]: pure wine
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