Herbs In The Kitchen

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Gervaise Markham's Preserved Salad

Preserved Salad photo courtesy of and copyright of Paul Larkins of Country Kitchen magazine

By Linda Harrold

At the beginning of 2008, as a result of a debate that sprung up on the Herb Society Forum (scroll down to Linda's first post about Country Kitchen), Linda began to write for Country Kitchen magazine. Her articles have covered medicinal herbs and herb picnics, plus other herbal culinary themes, the recipe below and photo above are from one of those articles, photo is copyright of Paul Larkins of Country Kitchen and used with his kind permission.

Linda writes - A recipe from 1648, written by Gervaise Markham most famed for his book The English Huswife, is a little confusing when you first read it, as it gives amongst the list of ingredients, violets, cowslips, roses and marigolds. As most gardeners will appreciate, you are unlikely to get all of these flowering at the same time.

However, he goes on to explain how to preserve these flowers so that they can be used all together.

Pick these flowers on a dry day and wash them and remove all the white parts from the petals, otherwise they will taste bitter. Take a small dish and sprinkle a little sugar on the bottom and then put in a layer of petals, cover with another layer of sugar then another layer of petals. Carry on until the flowers are used up and then fill to the brim with distilled vinegar. Cover with a tight lid and keep in a cool place. Use as necessary. Keep different flowers in individual pots. Use as required. As they will be part of a salad, there is no need to wash them first. Using distilled (white) vinegar should ensure they keep their colour.

Markham suggests the flowers should be strewn on a bed of the following salad ingredients.

Springlings of (young) of wholesome herbs such as red sage, mint, lettice and spinach. To be served with oyl, vinegar and sugar.

Digestion begins with our eyes. When we see appetising food, our brain starts to produce saliva, which contains an enzyme called ptyalin, which in turn will work on the food as we start to chew and therefore ensures good digestion. I can`t think of anything more pretty and appetising than this lovely flowery salad – can you?

Linda Harrold DBTh. MURHP is a member of The Herb Society Council and a practicising herbalist in the Dorset area. She has written for several publications including Country Kitchen and the journal of the Unified Register of Herbal Practitioners. Linda also puts on historical herb demonstrations at the Priest House Museum in Wimborne, Dorset and runs Tudor herb workshops at the same location.

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