Edible roots have always formed a large portion of man's
food, from the most primitive times. Savages in all lands
have their digging sticks, with which they turn up such
things as experience has taught them will prove good to
eat, and the most singular thing is that instinct appears to
act with them as with the lower animals, preventing them
from taking that which is poisonous ; and where they find
poisonous roots, as in many of the lily tribe, they have
learnt to nullify the poison by roasting the root, or by
scraping it and extracting the acrid juice by pressure or
by soaking in water before cooking, as in the manioc, of
which we wrote in a former chapter. But civilised man has
not forsaken the habits of his remote ancestors, and still
delves as Adam did for the produce of the soil, although he
no longer depends upon the chance of finding a supply
when needed, but plants and waters, weeds and watches,
till he may dig the anticipated crop; and then he very
commonly buries the roots again snugly beneath the soil,
carefully covered up with straw and trenched round to keep
the treasure from that which may corrupt, in order that he
may have them sound and good during the frost and snows
of winter, when most needed for the household, and for
those domestic animals which form a large portion of his
wealth, but which in early times had mainly to shift for
themselves, and die of starvation when the grass of the
field failed them.
Next to the potato, the most important root of modern times
ROOTS 219
is undoubtedly the turnip, which in its many varieties keeps
thousands of cattle alive, and is not despised as a vegetable
on the most lordly table ; but we remember a time when it
was not considered right to feed milch cows upon turnips, lest
it should injure the flavour of the milk and butter. Yet we
find that turnips were grown abundantly by the Romans as
food for cattle, and they seem to have devoted themselves
to the cultivation of this vegetable as we do now, for Pliny
speaks of roots weighing 40 Ibs., which far exceeds our
greatest efforts. The beet, we are told, grew in the country
of the Sibines, and was sold in Rome for a sum equal to
2d. each in our money.
The Romans doubtless introduced the cultivation of the
turnip into our country, but it seems to have been neglected
for many centuries, and was probably reintroduced by the
Flemings ; it seems however to have been only used as a
vegetable, for in a book called the 'Haven of Health,'
published in 1597, we are told, 'Although many men love
to eat turnips, yet do swine abhor them.' By which we may
learn that the taste even of pigs may be educated, for at
present piggy will certainly eat his turnip with as much
relish as his master. It would, however, appear that the
turnip was not cultivated in fields until the end of the
seventeenth century.
As food for man, it seems to be more highly esteemed
in foreign countries than here. Linnaeus tells us the
Laplanders are so fond of this root that they will give
a whole cheese in exchange for a single turnip ; and
from Clarke's ' Travels in Russia ' we learn that in Russia,
turnips are used as fruit, and in the houses of the nobility a
raw turnip cut in slices is handed about on a silver salver
220 OUR VIANDS
Our viands
1893Page 109
Presented as published in 1893. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
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Edible roots have always formed a large portion of man's
food, from the most primitive times. Savages in all lands
have their digging sticks, with which they turn up such
things as experience has taught them will prove good to
eat, and the most singular thing is that instinct appears to
act with them as with the lower animals, preventing them
from taking that which is poisonous ; and where they find
poisonous roots, as in many of the lily tribe, they have
learnt to nullify the poison by roasting the root, or by
scraping it and extracting the acrid juice by pressure or
by soaking in water before cooking, as in the manioc, of
which we wrote in a former chapter. But civilised man has
not forsaken the habits of his remote ancestors, and still
delves as Adam did for the produce of the soil, although he
no longer depends upon the chance of finding a supply
when needed, but plants and waters, weeds and watches,
till he may dig the anticipated crop; and then he very
commonly buries the roots again snugly beneath the soil,
carefully covered up with straw and trenched round to keep
the treasure from that which may corrupt, in order that he
may have them sound and good during the frost and snows
of winter, when most needed for the household, and for
those domestic animals which form a large portion of his
wealth, but which in early times had mainly to shift for
themselves, and die of starvation when the grass of the
field failed them.
Next to the potato, the most important root of modern times
ROOTS 219
is undoubtedly the turnip, which in its many varieties keeps
thousands of cattle alive, and is not despised as a vegetable
on the most lordly table ; but we remember a time when it
was not considered right to feed milch cows upon turnips, lest
it should injure the flavour of the milk and butter. Yet we
find that turnips were grown abundantly by the Romans as
food for cattle, and they seem to have devoted themselves
to the cultivation of this vegetable as we do now, for Pliny
speaks of roots weighing 40 Ibs., which far exceeds our
greatest efforts. The beet, we are told, grew in the country
of the Sibines, and was sold in Rome for a sum equal to
2d. each in our money.
The Romans doubtless introduced the cultivation of the
turnip into our country, but it seems to have been neglected
for many centuries, and was probably reintroduced by the
Flemings ; it seems however to have been only used as a
vegetable, for in a book called the 'Haven of Health,'
published in 1597, we are told, 'Although many men love
to eat turnips, yet do swine abhor them.' By which we may
learn that the taste even of pigs may be educated, for at
present piggy will certainly eat his turnip with as much
relish as his master. It would, however, appear that the
turnip was not cultivated in fields until the end of the
seventeenth century.
As food for man, it seems to be more highly esteemed
in foreign countries than here. Linnaeus tells us the
Laplanders are so fond of this root that they will give
a whole cheese in exchange for a single turnip ; and
from Clarke's ' Travels in Russia ' we learn that in Russia,
turnips are used as fruit, and in the houses of the nobility a
raw turnip cut in slices is handed about on a silver salver
220 OUR VIANDS