Pomerantzen Salat

Sour Orange Salad

This recipe provides a nice brightness of flavor to a meal. It is inspired by two recipes found in Ein New Kochbuch.

Source: Ein New Kochbuch by Marx Rumpolt, a 16th century collection of German recipes

Original Recipes:

Pomerantzen Salat/ schel vnd schneidt sie fein breit/ besträw sie mit weissem Zucker.

Nim̄ Zitron Salat/ schneidt jn breit vnd dünn/ vnd besträw jn mit weissem Zucker.

Translation: (Translated by M. Grasse)

Sour orange salad/ peel and cut them nicely thick/ sprinkle them with white sugar.

Take lemon salad/ cut it broad and thin/ and sprinkle it with white sugar.

My Interpretation:

4 medium oranges (seedless)

4 lemons

2 Tbsp. white sugar

2 cups sugar (for serving)

Cut lemons in half-length wise and core them. Take caution with the lemons in order to reserve the peels for serving. Press lemon guts to juice and reserve. Clean lemons of white and place lemon peels in lemon water (1 Tbsp. of lemon juice in 1 cup of water) to keep fresh. Peel and slice oranges. Combine remaining lemon juice and sugar with orange slices. Let marinade overnight. Place sugar for serving on platter. Fill lemon halves with orange salad and place on platter, letting the sugar stabilize the lemon half.

Notes:

    • As this recipe was first served at a feast, it was decided it would be attractive served in bowls made of the lemon peels.

    • Modern oranges are much sweeter than oranges in the 16th century, Seville oranges would be more appropriate to this recipe and would eliminate the need of the lemon juice to sour things up.

References:

Rumpolt, Marx. "Ein new Kochbuch", Transliteration by Thomas Gloning, http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/kobu.htm

Rumpolt Marx Ein New Kochbuch [Online] // Ein New Kochbuch / ed. Grasse M.. - 2002. - February 5, 2009. - http://clem.mscd.edu/~grasse/GK_Rumpolt1.htm. - This is a translation of the book first published in 1581 by Marx Rumpolt. It has nearly 1000 recipes.

"Manuscriptorium." Manuscriptorium. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.manuscriptorium.com/index.php>.The Manuscriptorium's mission is to Build a Virtual Research Environment for the Sphere of Historical Resources. A facsimile of Ein New Kochbuch is available in the Digital Library (Document # 95.107)