Nov. 30, 1759, Christopher
Ascough, gardener to Governor Farquier:
White Spanish Onion, English
Onion, Leek
March 26, 1767, William Wills,
Richmond; John Donley, Petersburg:
Red Onion, Portugal Onion ,White Onion,
Leek
March 10, 1768, William Wills,
Richmond; John Donley, Petersburg: White
Onion, Red Onion, London Leek
Oct. 10, 1771,Mr. Campbell's
Store, Richmond: Bland Red
Onion
Dec. 31, 1772: John Carter
Store, Williamsburg: Silver
skin Onion
Dec. 16, 1773, John Carter
Store, Williamsburg: Onion
April 6, 1775, John Carter
Store, Williamsburg: Silver
skin Onion
Sept. 9, 1775, Myles Talyor
Store, Richmond (from Italy):
Leeks
Feb. 3, 1776, Myles Talyor
Store, Richmond (from Italy): Leeks
March, 7, 1792, Minton Collins
Store, Richmond: Spanish Onion,
Dentford Onion
Oct 17, 1792, Minton Collins
Store, Richmond: Spanish White
Onion, Silver skinned Onion
Jan. 24, 1793, Minton Collins
Store, Richmond: Portugal Onion,
White silver Onion, Deptford Onion
Jan. 4, 1799, Peter Bellet
Nursery, Williamsburg: Marowfat
Onion
Feb. 15, 1770, Mann Page Order
to Norton Company: Flanders
Onion
1786, Joseph Prentis, Monthly
Kalender & Garden Book:
Onions, Garlick
1793, John Randolph, A Treatise
on Gardening: Stasburg Onion,
Red Spanish Onion, White Spanish or
Stomers Onion, Scallion or escallion,
Cives or Cepula, Welsh Onion or Ciboule,
Garlick
1793, Lady Skipwith, Prestwould:
Portugal Onion White Spanish
Onion Red Spanish Onion Seed
Jefferson's Garden Book
(first mention): Spanish Onion (1767),
Madeira Onion (1778), White Onion (1774),
Shallot (1794), Leek (1794), Chives
(1812), Garlick (1812), Scallion (1812)
The Onion is one of the most ancient and important vegetables known to
man. As a culinary plant the Onion is among the most often cited vegetables
throughout history among all nations in the eastern hemisphere. The Romans
grew them in special beds called "cepinae" and the gardeners
who cared for them were named "ceparii" (Weaver, Heirloom
Vegetable Gardening, 1997). They were found at the tables of all classes
of people and their importance in the kitchen garden is expressed by Robert
Buist in The family kitchen gardener (1861): "The Onion crop
is an interesting portion of gardening to every good housewife. She is
ever solicitous that it should be full and certain." Onions have
also been of particular importance as a staple crop for the poor. Peter
Adam Schenk records in The gardeners text-book (1857) the wisdom
of Sir John Sinclair who wrote; "It is a well known fact, that a
Highlander with a few raw onions in his pocket, and a crust of bread or
bit of cake, can work or travel to an almost incredible extent for two
or three days together."
The importance of the Allium genera has been both as culinary and as
medicinal plants. The ancient theory of health, revolving around the four
humors; hot, cold, wet and dry was particularly suited to the influence
of the hot properties of the various Alliums. The effect on health was
as often believed deleterious as it was beneficial. Gerard writes in The
Herball (1597) that the eating of onions, "causeth headaches;
hurteth the eies, and maketh a man dimsighted, dulleth the sences, engendereth
windiness and provoketh overmuch sleep." The garlic was believed
to be even more powerful in effecting health. Thomas Hill, in The Gardener's
Labyrinth (1577) observes, "Garlike putteth away inward swellings,
openeth impostumes, killeth lice and nits of the head, moveth urine, helpeth
toothach proceeding from a cold cause."
The ancient Egyptians were famous for their fondness of Onions, Leeks
and Garlic to the point of deifying them, a point of ridicule for the
early Roman writers such as Pliny and Juvenal. John Evelyn, in Acetaria
(1699) records the often-repeated legend first recorded by the Greek,
Herodotus, that ninety tons of gold were spent on Onions in building the
pyramids. While Garlic becomes a popular vegetable throughout southern
Europe, it is never fully embraced by the English, and hence, the American
colonists as a culinary vegetable. In 1821 William Cobbett writes
in The American Gardener: "Almost all nations except the English,
the Americans, and the French, make great and constant use of Galick;
and, even the French use it, frequently, to an extent that would drive
us from the table." Rocambole, a close relative of garlic, appears
to have a broader acceptance.
Chives have been, historically, a uniquely English vegetable although
they are native throughout Europe and have probably been used either from
the wild or as a garden plant for thousands of years. The shallot or eschallot
is supposedly named for its place of origin in Ascalon, Syria. There is
much confusion over the term scallion, which originally seems to refer
to the shallot and later refers to the Welsh Onion or off-sets of the
common onion.
Prior to Linnaean taxonomy the Onion family was spread over four genera.
The bulb Onion, Shallot and Welsh Onion are found in the Cepa genera.
The garlic is placed in the Allium genera, Leeks are listed as Porrum
and the Chive is classed as Schoenoprasum, its current species name.
In the colonies the Onion is recorded by all diarists and was clearly
a staple crop. The Leek seems to be found more often in the gardens of
the gentry or experimental gardeners and the Shallot, Scallion and/or
Welsh Onion has an even more limited distribution among 18th century gardeners.
Curiously, the Chive or Cive is listed only by William Byrd II in his
Natural History (c. 1730) and by Randolph in his Treatise on
Gardening (1793) among 18th century Virginian authors.
Native Americans, prior to European contact,
had very few Alliums that were used
for medicine of culinary purposes. The
nodding Onion (Allium cernuum) may have
had some use. Jacques Marquette records
that he and his men were sustained by
this plant on their journey between
Green Bay and present day Chicago in
1674. Ramps (Allium tricoccum) a leek-like
plant with a very strong flavor is still
gathered in the mountains of Virginia
and other areas of Appalachia and may
have had some native use. Hariot, in
A brief and true report of the new
found land of Virginia (1585) writes
that the natives did not use the local
Allium in North Carolina, observing:
"There are also Leekes differing
little from ours in England that grow
in many places of the countrey, of which,
when we came in places where, wee gathered
and eate many, but the naturall inhabitants
never."
III. Allium Varieties
A. Onion
The origin of the Onion (Allium cepa) has been long debated but the original
culinary bulb probably arises in central Asia or the Near East. The current
genus name, Allium comes from the Celtic "All," meaning pungent,
the species name, cepa, is from the Roman "cepae," or onion.
The common name onion seems to come from the Latin "Unio," or
one, signifying that the bulb is of one unit.
As many writers have observed over the centuries, the Egyptians had a
particular fondness for onions. They are pictured on the interior walls
of the pyramid of Unas (c. 2400 BCE), the pyramid of Pepi II (c. 2200
BCE) and King Ramses IV, who died in 1160 BCE, had onions placed in his
eye sockets. The Roman satirist Juvenal (c. 60 - c. 127 CE) wrote of the
Egyptians:
"How Egypt, mad with superstition grown
Makes gods of monsters but too well is known
'Tis mortal sin and Onion to devour
Each clove of garlic hath a sacred power"
After the Jews escaped into the wilderness with Moses around 1500 BCE
they lamented the lost luxuries of Egypt in Numbers 11:5; "We remember
the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely, the cucumbers and melons,
and leeks and the onions and the garlic." The Greeks Hippocrates
(430 BCE) and Theophrastus (322 BCE) both record several varieties of
onions. Athletes were fed onions to fortify them for Olympic games. Dioscorides
writes in the De Materia Medica (c. 64 CE; Goodyear translation,
1655); "The long onion is sharper than the round, the red more pungent
than the white." The Roman Pliny (23-79 CE) in his Natural History,
Book XIX lists many varieties of onions, most of them identified by
their place of origin rather than by recognizable varietal types. He observes
that the Cypress Onion is strong, the mildest comes from Cnidos, smallest
from Tuscany and the whitest Onions grow at Issus and Sardis. He also
writes that "those of the roundest shape are the best; also a red
onion is more pungent than a white one."
The Romans presumably bring the onion to Europe and it becomes one of
the best documented vegetables in medieval England along with beans and
cabbages. The Westminster Abby Customary (c. 1270) lists "small white
onions." The account book of Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln in Holbourne
for 1295-96 lists, for the purpose of tithing; "Of 4s. 1 ¼ d for
onions and garlick sold, the tithe being deducted." Under expenses
he lists: "17s. 0 ½ d in 1500 onions." In Chaucer's Canterbury
Tales the pilgrim Sompnour is described as: "Wel lovede he garleek,
oynouns, and ek leekes." The Master John Gardener records in A
Feat of Gardening (c.1400) that Onions should be planted around Valentines
Day as they are "Herby un-meke," or hardy plants and gives this
advice for gardeners:
"How he schall hys sedys sowe
Of every moneth he must knowe
Bothe of wortys and of leke
Ownyns and of garleke"
Some of the earliest descriptions of Onion varieties occurs in 16th century
English works. William Turner writes in A New Herball (1551): "There
are divers kinds of onions. The first kind is our common onyon…and hath
a red skin." Gerard's Herball (1597) lists several varieties
including a white onion, which is flattened in shape, the red Onion "which
differth not from the former but in sharpnesse and rednesse of the root,"
and the Spanish kind, which has a longer, more oval root. Parkinson's
description of Onions in Paradisi in Sol (1629) is much the same:
"We have divers sorts of Onions, both white and red, flat, round
and long. The red flat kinde is most usually with us the strongest of
them all." He also lists a red Onion that he obtained "from
beyond the Sea, that was as great almost as two mens fistes flat and red
quite throughout, and very pleasant both to smell unto, and to eate."
He is the first to list the Strasburgh Onion observing: "the lone
kinde wee call Strasborough Onion, whose outside onely is red, and very
sharpe and fierce." He describes White Onions, both long and flat
and Spanish Onions both long and flat, very sweete, and eaten by many
like an apple."
For the next two hundred years, Onion varieties remain virtually unchanged,
the same varieties with the same attributes are listed by all authors.
The catalog of William Lucas (1677) lists: "Strasburgh, Red Spanish,
White Spanish, French and English." John Evelyn's Acetaria
(1699) records: "The best are such as are brought out of Spain…choose
therefore the large, round, white, and thin skin'd." By thin skinned
he is probably referring to the silver skinned onion which becomes very
popular in the 18th century, particularly for pickling. Batty Langley
writes in New Principles of Gardening (1728) "That the kinds
of Onions worth the Gardiners's Care is the Spanish Onion, which is generally
very large, and sweet; and the Strasbourg Onion, which is more mordicant,
and keeps much longer than the former." All authors agree upon the
attribute of the Strasbourg as being a stronger onion, but a better keeper.
Richard Bradley gives an almost identical assessment in New Improvements
of planting (1731): "Two kinds worth the Gardener's Care…Spanish
Onion…which affords a large sweet-tasted Root, and Strasbourg Onion, which
is more biting, and lasts good much longer." In his Dictionarium
botanicum (1728) he adds a "Third whose Root is of a Paper white,
a clear reference to the silver skinned Onion."
By the middle of the 18th century Philip Miller records in The Gardeners
Dictionary (1754) a phenomena cited by many authors. Onions, when
saved from seed for several generations, degenerate and lose their varietal
attributes: "The best Onions for keeping are the Strasburg Kind,
which is an oval-shaped Bulb; but this seldom grows so large as the Spanish,
which is flatter: the white Sort is esteemed the sweetest; but these Varieties
are not lasting; for if you save Seeds of white Onions only, you will
have a Mixture of the red ones among them; nor will the Strasburg Onion
keep long to its Kind, but will by degrees grow flatter, as do the large
Portugal Onions, when planted in our Climate, which, in a Year or two,
will be so far degenerated as not to be known they were from that Race."
The Portugal is the largest of the Onions and is cited by almost all
authors after this time. In 1771 William Hanbury records in A Complete
body of planting and gardening that the Spanish is the most common
and is either flat or round, the Strasbough is oblong and a good keeper,
the Portugal is "very mild and sweet…Silver-skinned is seldom raised,
tho' it is very mild…Blood-red is the most beautiful…the outer coat being
of a fine deep-red; but it is a strong Onion, and inferior in flavour
to the other sorts." Abercrombie, in Every man is own gardener
(1776), gives the White Spanish and Silver-skinned Onion as synonyms.
Onions arrive in the New World with the first colonists. Alexander Whitaker
writes in Good News from Virginia (1613) of the Jamestown colonists:
"Our English seeds thrive very will here, as Pease, Onions, Turnips,
Cabbages." All 18th century Virginian diarists, who keep garden notes,
record Onions including Landon Carter, Col. Frances Taylor, Major Thomas
Jones and Richard Henry Lee. Onions also become an important agricultural
commodity for the import/export trade. The Virginia Gazette records
a number of exports of Onions from the James River:
Sept. 15, 1752: "Merry Fellows to Providence, 15 bushels of onions"
March 2, 1753: "Aboard the Providence for Jamaica, 2 Hhds onions"
We are importing Onions as well:
Nov. 24, 1752: "Susanna & Molly from Philadelphia, 2 Hhds. Onions"
Sept. 7, 1769: "Florida Packet from Bermuda, 1000 lb. of Onion"
18th century records in America list the same types of onions that are
found in English references. Randolph, in A Treatise on Gardening
(1793) recommends the Strasburg, Red and White Spanish Onions. In New
England, Amelia Simmons writes in American Cookery (1796): "The
Medeira white is best in market, esteemed softer flavored, and not so
fiery, but the high red, round hard onions are the best." Wills and
Donley advertise the Portugal Onion in 1767 and Minton Collins advertises
the Deptford Onion in 1792. This onion is named for its place of origin
in Deptford, England where the soil was particularly adapted for Onion
culture.
Onions, both here and in England are generally raised from seed, rather
than from the sets that most gardeners use today. From seed it takes two
years for the onions to fully develop and as a result, onions were relatively
expensive. (Sarudy, Gardens and gardening in the Chespeake, 1998)
Richard Parkinson, an English agriculturist who visits the Chesapeake
area in the 1790's records that the first year the Onions grew to a size,
"used in England for pickling," and the mature bulb is formed
in the second year. William Cuthbert, an English writer, records in The
farmer's and planter's encyclopedia (1855) that the practice of producing
Onion sets originates in America in the 19th century. This still requires
two seasons to form the bulb but minimizes the loss from winter damage
done to Onion seedlings in the open ground. It is possible that the practice
of producing sets is much older, though probably not commonly practiced.
Thorold Rogers diary, from the reign King Edward I (1272 - 1307) seems
to record onion sets and Lady Clare, Elizabeth de Burgh of Clare Castle,
Suffolk buys sets for both Garlic and Onions in 1336 -1337 (Harvey, Midieaval
Gardens, 1981). It is also possible that these entries refer to the
Shallot which is normally propagated from bulbs rather than seeds. There
is an interesting inventory of the seed house of Thomas Brown in England
from 1652 that records a number of onion bags: "13 half-hundred bags,
20 quarter-hundred bags and 30 small onion bags." As Brown was a
seedsman and not a grower these bags could have been used for selling
Onion sets.
Randolph, in A Treatise on Gardening (1793) records in Williamsburg
that Onions of the Strasburg, Red and White Spanish kind "should
be sown in February…or beginning of March…the middle or latter end of
July your plants will be ripe…then they should be drawn up… and laid on
the ground to dry." It is very unlikely that he could have grown
mature onions from seed in this time frame so he is possibly growing Onions
from sets.
There are no 18th century onion varieties that have survived into the
21st century that I can discover. Varieties of Onions that most closely
illustrate the types known to the colonists include the White Portugal,
also called the Silverskin. The Danvers, which is a yellow onion very
much like the Spanish Onion of the 18th century. James Keeping is a copper/yellow
onion that may date to the late 18th century. It is oval in shape, strong
tasting and a very good keeper so may be used to illustrate some of the
qualities of the Strasburg Onion. Wethersfield Red is a 19th century American
Onion that seems to be very much like the 18th century red in that the
skin is red while the interior of the bulb is white and it is more pungent
than the yellow or white varieties.
B. Welsh Onion/Scallion
There is quite a bit of confusion over the term Scallion. In early literature
it seems to refer to the Shallot but by the 17th century the meaning shifts
to mean the tops of bulb onions or thinnings or offsets of bulb onions
or, perhaps, a small variety of the Welsh Onion (Allium fistulosum). Scallions
today are understood to be one of the smaller varieties of Welsh or Bunching
Onion. This confusion starts with some the earliest written records of
vegetable plants. Pliny (23-79 CE) records in the Natural History
that: "The scallion has hardly any head at all only a long neck,
and consequently it all goes to leaf, and is cut back several times, like
common leek." This could possibly be the Welsh Onion. He also writes
that this Onion is propagated from seeds rather than divisions, which
would lead one to believe that this was not a reference to a shallot which
is propagated almost exclusively from bulbs.
In medieval references and after, the Welsh Onion often goes by the name
ciboul, spelled various different ways. This also introduces confusion
in the nomenclature because ciboul and scallion are sometimes listed together
as if they were distinct plants. John de Garlandes Dictionary, written
in Paris (1220) records: "Chibols (siuolli siue cepule)" and
"Scallions (innule)." In Langland's Piers Ploughman (1393)
he records: "perselye and scalones, Chiboles and chiruylles [chevil]."
In Andrew Boorde's The breviary of healthe (1547) he advises: "they
must eat no salads, garlyke, ramsons, onions, chybolles, or scalyons."
It is likely that in these instances, scallion (in its various spellings)
refers to shallot. However, in William Turner's A New Herball (1551)
he writes: "a Scalion…differth from an onyon in that it hath a great
deal lesser head and a longer neck…they are barren in bringing forth by
the roots." In this case he seems to be referring to a Welsh Onion.
Gerard, writing in the Herball (1597), observes of scallions: "this
hath but small roots, growing many together…it seldome beares either stalke,
floure, or seed. It is used to be eaten in salads…Italians call it Cipolla,
Spanish Cebolla." His illustration of the plant looks very much like
the Welsh or bunching onion although his description of it being a poor
seed producer is curious in that the Welsh Onion is generally a reliable
seeder while the shallot seldom produces seeds. Evelyn, in Acetaria
(1699), seems to make a clear distinction between scallions and shallots
writing that the French call them [scallions] "Appetites, which it
notably quickens and stirs up." However, in Evelyn's translation
of De la Quintinie's The Complete Gardener (1693) he records that
the French refer to the "English Cives, otherwise called Appetites."
A further confusion is the use of the tops of shallots as chives or scallions.
Miller, in The Gardeners Dictionary (1754) gives a very confusing
parallel between chives and shallots which may refer to this practice:
"there is likewise so great an Affinity between the Eschalot or Sallot,
as it is commonly called, and the Cives as to render it doubtful whether
they are distinct Species." The confusion may result from the same
term being applied to several different plants. Stephen Switzer, in The
Practical Kitchen Gardener (1727) writes: "what we call chibouls,
or by some scallions," but then seems to distinguish between the
two by observing: "In Italy…they frequently make a sallet of scallions,
cives and cibouls." Phillip Miller writes in The Gardeners Dictionary
(1768): "The Scallion or Escallion, is a sort of Onion which never
forms any bulbs at the roots, and is chiefly used in the spring for green
Onions…but this sort of Onion, how much soever in use formerly, is now
so scarce as to be known to a few people, and is rarely to be met with."
He also writes that the scallion will grow in almost any soil and is,
"so hardy as to resist the severest of our winters, and being green,
and fit for use so early in the spring, renders them worthy of a place
in all good kitchen-gardens." From this description, i.e., never
forming bulbs and extremely winter hardy, it sounds very much like a Welsh
Onion but then he lists the Welsh Onion separately observing that the
leave blades disappear in winter, reappear in January and "by March
will be fit to draw for young Onions, and are, in the markets, more valued
than any other sort at that season." He also writes that "The
Ciboule, and the Scallion, I believe to be the same, although by most
Authors they are made two distinct Species; and the Welsh Onion differs
so little from them as to render it difficult to determine wherein the
Difference consists."
In a final bit of confusion he identifies the "true scallion" as a shallot.
It may be that there were several varieties of Allium fistulosum available
to the 18th century gardener. In Asia the Welsh or Bunching Onion is devided
between two groups, the taai ts' ung, which is the larger form and the
koo ts' ung which is the smaller. It is possible that the smaller form,
from which we get our green onions or Scallions today was present in Europe
at this time and was referred to as the scallion or ciboul, to differentiate
it from the larger Welsh Onion. It is clear that some attempt at selecting
desirable strains of the Welsh Onion or Ciboul was being made at a very
early date. John Evelyn, in his translation of De la Quintinie's The
Complete Gardener (1693) writes that the "Cibouls or Chibouls…produce
but a small Root, and several Stems, or upright Shoots, and those which
produce most of them, are most esteemed, which are the sort of which we
should be most careful to preserve Seed."
Scallion is also used as a term for off-sets obtained from the bulb
onion. This is likely what Leonard Meager is referring to in The English
Gardener (1683) where he recognizes a plant, probably the Welsh Onion,
and then goes on to say where scallions "ordinarily" come from: "Scallions
are said to be a different thing from Onions, somewhat resembling Shelot
or Sives, but ordinarily amongst most Gardiners, small or spired; Onions
being set in the Winter, or remaining all the year in the ground, and
drawn in the Spring for use, are called Scallions." What he is referring
to is the practice of leaving fully formed onion bulbs in the ground and
collecting sprouts from these bulbs in the spring. Batty Langley, in New
Principles of Gardening (1728), uses the term scallion strictly in
this sense: "Scalions or Off-sets of Onions, produced in the Spring,
when the Onions are going to Seed, supply their Place till succeeded by
a fresh Crop." These are often obtained from onions that sprout in
storage according to Abercrombie in Every man his own gardener
(1776): "The dry onions which begin to shoot in the house may be
planted…and will serve to pull up for scallions." He also observes
in Universal Gardener (1797) that scallions obtained from bulb
onions are superior to those obtained from the Welsh Onion which: "merits
culture only to draw as young green onions…but on account of its strong
temperament of taste, is greatly inferior to those of the Common Onion."
In this country, the Welsh Onion is listed by Randolph, A Treatise
on Gardening (1793), McMahon, American Gardener's Calendar
(1806) and perhaps by Jefferson who lists the scallion as a distinct plant
from the onion and shallot in 1813. However, it probably had a very small
presence among experimental gardeners and scallions here, as in England,
were likely obtained from bulb onions. A New System of Husbandry
(1785) written by Varlo in Philadelphia, lists in his instructions for
January: "Onions, for escallions and seed." By 1865, when Fearing
Burr publishes Field and Garden Vegetables of America he observes:
"The Welsh Onions are of little value, except in cold latitudes;
and are rarely found in the vegetable gardens of this country."
The Welsh Onion is known only in cultivation and seems to originate
in Central China. It gets its name not from the country but from a similar
German word meaning foreign which was given it by a Swiss Botanist who
sent this onion to England in 1562 (Weaver, Heirloom Vegetable Gardening,
1997).
C. Shallot
The shallot (Allium cepa, var. aggregatum) is also listed in older works
as Allium ascalonium after the town of Ascalon, Syria where it is said
to originate. Theophrastus (372 - 288 BCE) describes the "Askolonion
krommoon" which may or may not be a reference to the shallot. Pliny
(23 - 79 CE) describes "the Ascalon onion, named for a town in Judaea"
in the Natural History, Book XIX but this seems to be in reference
to a different Allium, because it is propagated from seed rather than
divisions. The first clear reference seems to come in the Capitulare
de Villis prepared for Charlemagne around 800 CE in which "ascolincas"
are listed with chives, onions, leeks and garlic. It is possible that
the shallot was first brought to England by Crusaders returning from the
middle east but if it was it apparently disappears and then is reintroduced
to England in the 16th century. A 19th century edition of Hortus Kewensis
gives the introduction date as 1548.
William Turner describes a member of the Onion family in A New Herball
(1551) that he calls the holleke which may be a shallot. "The
onions that we call hollekes…that if one be set alone, that there well
be a great sort within a short space grow of that same root…and if ye
take one of the cluster off, where as there are a dozen together, and
set it in harvest in the ground alone, that one shall bring you out a
dozen…wherefore seeing this herb lasteth in the ground all winter it were
better to call it winter onyon than holleke." He also observes that
this is the onion that Theophrastus calls "Cepa fissiles (which hath
their name that one is cloven from another)." Cepa is the Latin term
for onion rather than the Greek that Theophrastus would have written in
so this translation is not definitive.
The Scallion describe by Thomas Hill in The Gardeners Labyrinth (1577)
is almost certainly a shallot. Hill writes: "The Scalions better
prosper and come up, being set then sown…the owner may bestow the Scalions
in well dressed beds, from the beginning of November, until the end of
February." As shallots are much more reliable from sets than they
are from seed, it is probable that Hill's Scalion is what we would call
a shallot.
Gerard's fourth kind of onion described in the Herball (1597)
is also likely a shallot. "There is also another small kinde of Onion,
called by Lobe, Ascalonitis Antiquorum, or Scallions; this hath but small
roots, growing many together…It seldom beares either stalke, floure, or
seed." The shallot is seemingly of limited distribution in England
until late in the 17th century. Worlidge does not list shallots in the
1675 edition of the Systema agriculturae but by the time his Systema
horti-culturae is published in 1683 he writes: "eschalots art
now from France become an English condiment." In the same year, 1683,
Leonard Meager records in The English Gardener: "Shelot is
set in a manner as Sives or Garlick… and is said not to offend by the
smell." Many authors cite this attribute of imparting an onion flavor
to the dish without the strong smell of onion after this time.
It is also about this time that the change in terminology from scallion
to shallot occurs. Bradley writes in Dictionarium botanicum (1728):
"called…by some Scalions, but more commonly Eschalots, or according
to some shalots." Not everyone agrees with the name change, as late
as 1822 Henry Phillips writes in History of cultivated vegetables
that the shallot is "more properly named, Scalion, from Ascalon."
By the early 18th century the shallot becomes a common component of the
kitchen garden in England. Batty Langley records in New Principles
of Gardening (1728): "Eschalots, or Shallots, being of the same
Family with the Garlicks…are of great use in Sauces, and therefore a Kitchen
Garden ought not to be without them. A Border of four Feet wide, and about
thirty five or forty Feet long is sufficient for a very large Family."
It is not certain when the shallot comes to North America. Here, as
in England, Shallots often goes by the name of Scallion and is probably
what Martha Logan refers to in Directions for managing a kitchen garden
(1756) as scallions. Randolph, in A Treatise on Gardening (1793),
describes: "Cepa ascalonica, from ascalon, a city in India, or the
scallion or escallion." Jefferson records planting shalots in 1794
and Robert Squibb gives instructions for planting shalots in the Carolinas
in The Gardener's Calendar (1787). The shallot is never as important
a crop as the common onion. As late as 1861, when Robert Buist publishes
The Family Kitchen Gardener in New York, he observes: "Though
it has been two hundred years in cultivation, very little of the article
is used in this country, unless by the French."
The oldest American variety is an un-named white skinned shallot listed
as the heirloom shallot or small white shallot (Weaver, Heirloom Vegetable
Gardener, 1997).
D. Leek
The garden Leek (Allium ampeloprasum, var. porrum) is a cultivated form
of the wild European Leek, A. ampeloprasum, which is found throughout
Europe and Asia. There is evidence that the Egyptians were using the Leek
as early as 3200 BCE and Pliny (23 - 79 CE) records in the Natural
History, Book XIX that the best Leeks come from Egypt. Pliny also
records the often repeated story of the emperor Nero's use of the Leek
for the sake of his voice: "It may also be suitable to mention the
leek in this family of plants, especially as importance has recently been
given to the chive by the emperor Nero, who on certain fixed days of every
month always ate chives preserved in oil, and nothing else, not even bread,
for the sake of is voice." The Leek is known to the Greeks as well
and is recorded in the De Materia Medica written by Dioscorides
sometime around 64 CE. The earliest Leeks were much like the wild form;
remains of Leeks found in Egyptian tombs from 1550 - 1320 BCE had long,
slender leaves. The broad leaf form, characteristic of Leeks today was
know in Rome by c. 500 CE (Weaver, Heirloom Vegetable Gardening,
1997).
The medieval Anglo Saxon kitchen garden was called the "Leek-garden"
and the gardener the "Leek-ward." The Anglo Saxon word for Leek
was "Por leac" while the name for onion was "Yul leac."
To this day many English towns derive their name from the Leek including,
Leckhampstead, Latton and Leighton Buzzard (Webber, Market Gardening,
1972). The gardener to King Edward I was charged in 1290 to "find
worts from Michaelmas to Lent and Leeks throughout Lent." Young boys
were hired to plant Leeks at Westminster Abby in 1321.
The Leeks most famous association in the British Isle, however, is with
the Welsh who, on the direction of St. David, wore Leeks to distinguish
their troops in a victorious battle over the Anglo Saxons in the sixth
century. Peter Adam Schenck records in The gardeners text-book
(1851) the tradition on St. David's Day when "Welshmen are accustomed
to sport Leeks in their hats upon this fesitival, the first of March."
Evelyn also attributes fertility properties to the Leek in Acetaria
(1699): "The Welsh, who eat them much, are observ'd to be very fruitful
and of Vertue Prolifick; since Latona, the Mother of Apollo long'd after
them."
Thomas Hill writes in The Gardener's Labyrinth (1577) "The
Leek for that it is a root of the Garden to be eaten and used in the Pot,"
observing that the unset Leek is grown for its tops. Parkinson records
in Paradisi in sol (1629) "sundry sorts of Leekes, both great
and small…The unset Leeke hath longer and slenderer roots than the other."
Hill, Parkinson and Gerard (Herball, 1597) all typify Leeks as
set and unset, meaning the former is transplanted while the latter is
not and all agree that the difference between the two seem to be primarily
cultural. Gerard writes: "both these grow from the same seed, and
they differ only in culture." The unset Leek is used for its foliage,
or chives. As late as 1727, Switzer, in Practical Kitchen Gardiner,
identifies a variety of Leek as transplanted Leek.
All 18th century English authors list the Leek and generally cite its
use in soups and pottages. Batty Langley records in New Principles
of Gardening (1728) that Leeks are: "chiefly eaten in Spring
Pottage. The Quantity is generally at Pleasure…may be made in less or
greater Quantities as desired." In the middle of the 18th century
distinct varieties begin to emerge. Philip Miller lists, in The Gardeners
Dictionary (1754) two types of Leek, the Common Leek and the "Broad-leav'd
Leek, commonly call'd the London Leek." He also observes: "The
two Sorts here mentin'd are by many Persons affirm'd to be the same, both
of them rising from the same Seed: but this is what the Gardeners near
London will not believe; for they never sow Seeds of the latter, if they
can procure those of the first Sort, there being a great Difference in
the Size of the Head, or Principal Part of the Leek." By 1771 when
the Rev. Hanbury's A Complete body of planting and gardening is
published he records that there are two or three sorts of Leeks and observes
that the best is the London Leek.
After this time the broad leaved varieties of Leek seem to take precedence.
The flag type leek, developed late in the 18th or early in the 19th century,
is the type grown today. The primary difference between
the two is in the arrangement of leaves around the stem. Robert Buist
describes the two types of Leek in The Family Kitchen Gardener
(1861) as the London Leek, with leaves spaced evenly around the stem and
the Scotch or Flag Leek as: "the leaves being on two sides of the
plant only, flag like. They are both equally good."
In this country Leeks are listed second only to the bulb onion. McMahon, in American
Gardener's Calendar (1806) lists the common, narrow-leaved and broad-leaved
Leek. Most references to the Leek in 18th century Virginian documents
do not give varietal types. Varieties of Leek available today are almost
exclusively of the flag type. One of the oldest flag Leeks is the Musselburgh.
The Dutch first settled Musselburgh, Scotland in the 14th century. Tradition
has it that the Musselburgh Leek was developed there from stock acquired
from France or Holland and used to develop the Musselburgh Flag, probably
late in the 18th century, and variants of this variety eventually gave
rise to the London Flag (Weaver, Heirloom Vegetable Gardening,
1997).
E. Chives
The Chive (Allium schoenoprasum) is wide spread throughout Europe and
Asia and was probably brought in to cultivation from the wild in many
places over the centuries. There is no clear reference to the Chive by
Greek or Roman writers although Palladius, who writes a book on Husbandry
in 350 CE may have a reference to Chives (Harvey, Midieval Gardens,
1981). Chives are listed in the Capitulare de Villis, prepared
for Charlemagne in 800 CE and are also noted in Germany by Abbess Hildegard
of Bingen (1098 - 1179). In England the Friar Henry Daniel writes in De
re Herbaria (1375): "Herb common among us. It groweth not but
set. It keepeth himself in ground over winter…in his top but one flower,
red purple, shape most like the top of Sowkle [clover] save more fair,
and no seed but dwineth away. We call it Chives."
While almost all authors after this time list the Chive,or Cive, very
little is said of it, perhaps because there is very little to say. It
is a perennial plant that requires little, if any care, so cultural instructions
are not as necessary for the Chive as they are for other vegetables. Batty
Langley, in New Principles of Gardening (1728) records: "Their
taste is between an Onion and a Leek, and are by many called the Leek-rush.
That a Border about three Feet and half in breadth (which will receive
seven Rows) and twenty five or thirty Feet in length, is fully sufficient
to serve a very large Family." Chives are clearly a popular vegetable
with the English. Bradley writes in the Dictionarium botanicum
(1731): "Chives should always be found in the Kitchen Garden."
Hanbury observes in A Complete body of planting and gardening
(1771): "Chives are preferred by some to any of these sorts…They
are very common, afford and excellent potherb for the housewife, and are
in great esteem in spring-sallads." Stephen Switzer, in Practical
Kitchen Gardiner (1727) records another favorite attribute of the
Chive that is valued to this very day; its simple beauty: "Cives,
one of the prettiest little kind of onion or permanent garlick, or rattle-leek,
that our gardens are furnished with."
Other than Randolph's reference to "Cives" in A Treatise
on Gardening (1793) and William Byrd II reference to Chives in the
Natural History (c. 1730), the Chive is not listed by any other
18th century Virginia author. They are listed in Gardiner and Hepburn's
The American Gardener (1804), McMahon's American Gardener's
Calendar (1806) and by Jefferson in 1812. The lack of reference to
the chive does not necessarily mean that it was not found in pre-revolutionary
Williamsburg. It would probably not be found offered for sale by stores
because it is propagated by division rather than seed so does not lend
itself to storage for sale.
F. Garlic/Rocambole
Garlic (Allium sativum) and the closely related Rocambole (Allium sativum,
var. ophioscorodon) have both been grown for thousands of years and probably
arose from the wild Allium longicuspis of Central Asia. The common name,
Garlic, comes from the Anglo Saxon "Garleac," Gar, meaning spear
or lance, and leac, the name for Leek. Garlic was prized by the Egyptians
and evidence for Garlic from Egyptian tombs date to 3200 BCE. Pliny (23
- 79 CE) lists several varieties of garlic as well as medicinal uses for
the plant in the Natural History Book XIX : "Garlic is believed
to be serviceable for making a number of medicaments, especially those
used in the country…the difference between the various kinds consists
in the time they take to ripen - the early kind ripens in 60 days - and
also in their size. Ulpicum also comes in this class, the plant called
by the Greeks Cyprian garlic, or by others antiscorodon; if holds a high
rank among the dishes of the country people, particularly in Africa, and
it is larger than garlic." Pliny's Ulpicum is almost certainly Rocambole
or what is often referred to as Spanish Garlic and its reputation as a
milder flavored garlic is repeated by all authors after this time. It
is also interesting that Pliny refers to its use specifically by country
people, meaning the poorer families. It is generally shunned by the upper classes of both the Roman and Greek.
The Greeks held it in particular distaste and an often-repeated legend
records that the Greeks would feed it to criminals to purge them of their
crimes.
Garlic, like Onion and Leek, is found in many medieval references
as well as the literary works of Chaucer, Tusser and Shakespeare. The
English, like the Greeks and Romans generally find the garlic too rank
for the English palette although it may have been more in favor prior
to 17th century. Turner records in A New Herball (1551): "Garlyke
is not only good meat but also good medicine." Thomas Hill, in The
Gardener's Labyrinth (1577) observes: "The Garlike much desired."
He also recommends the universal breath cleanser when he writes: "the
ranke savor of Garlike may be extinguished, with the onely eating of green
Parsley-blades." By the end of the century when Gerard writes his
Herball (1597) he records that: "It yeeldeth to the body no
nourishment at all, it engendreth naughty and sharpe bloud" and treats
it only as a medicinal plant. He also gives the common name of "pooremans
Treacle," in regard to its medicinal virtues. Nicholas Culpeper also
uses this term in The English Physician (1652): "This was
anciently accounted the Poorman's Treacle, it being a remedy for all diseases
and hurts." There are as many, or more references to garlic in English
herbals than there are in English gardening works.
By the end of the 17th century garlic seems to have almost completely
fallen out of favor as an English culinary plant. Evelyn writes in Acetaria
(1699): "tho' both by Spaniards and Italians, and the more Southern
People, familiarly eaten, with almost everything…we absolutely forbid
it entrance into our Salleting, by reason of it intolerable Rankness…to
be sure, 'tis 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." Rocambole is held in much higher
esteem than Garlic. Stephen Switzer writes in Practical Kitchen Gardiner
(1727): "A finer plant the garden does not produce, for all uses
where eschallots or garlick are used." The following year, 1728,
Batty Langley records in New Principles of Gardening: "Rocambole,
by some called Spanish Garlic, is a very useful Vegetable, and is much
esteemed for its high Relish in Sauces." Curiously, just three years
after this Bradley records in the Dictionarium botanicum (1731):
"The Rocambole, for its high Relish in Sauces, has been greatly esteem'd
formerly, but now-a-days is hardly to be met with."
There are no references to Garlic by the early writers in Virginia but
it is possible that it was included among the generic "herbs" listed by
many authors. It was certainly grown in 18th century Virginia. Jefferson
records planting it on several occasions, the first being in 1774 and
Joseph Prentis records planting Garlick in March of 1784 in his Garden
Book. As a culinary plant, however, it was generally shunned here,
as it was in England. Amelia Simmons writes in American Cookery
(1796), "Garlick, tho' used by the French, are better adapted to
the uses of medicine than cookery." This would have been true in
Williamsburg as well.
In the December 7, 1769 supplement edition of the Virginia Gazette
there is an article titled: "A celebrated CURE for the bite of a
MAD DOG" that includes 2 oz. of Garlic along with several other ingredients.
In the January 28, 1773 Virginia Gazette another medicinal use
for Garlic is recorded: "A remedy for corns on the feet. ROAST a
clove of garlic on a live coal, or in hot ashes; apply it to the corn,
and fasten it on with a piece of cloth, the moment of going to bed."
After three of four nights it will "leave the part as clean and smooth
as if it had never been attacked with any disorder." An entry in
the Virginia Gazette from July 25, 1766 may indicate that Garlic
was used as a culinary dish to a limited extent: "Just imported to
be sold at Norfolk - pickled garlic." It is equally likely that the
Garlic was simply preserved in vinegar and meant for medicinal purposes.
While there are probably no surviving varieties of Garlic or Rocambole
that date to the 18th century the bulbs known today are not dramatically
different from those known in the 18th century. Batty Langley, in New
Principles of Gardening (1728) describes the Garlic bulb as: "a
very white colour towards the Bottom…and of a very light purple towards
the top." In Virginia, William Byrd II, in his Natural History
(c. 1730) records both red and white Garlic. Although Rocambole is not
listed, as such, by Virginian authors it is possible that it was here
but listed simply as Garlic. Of the varieties of Rocambole, the German
or Carpathian are very old varieties and would best represent the 18th
century plant (Weaver, correspondence, 2004).