salmagundi

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Salmagundi (sometimes abbreviated as salmi ^[1]) is a salad dish originating in the early 17th century England comprising cooked meats, seafood, vegetables, fruit, leaves, nuts and flowers and dressed with oil, vinegar and spices. There is some debate over the meaning and origin of the word.^[2] The French word "salmagondis" means a hodepodge or mix of widely disparate things.

In English culture the term does not refer to a single recipe, but describes the grand presentation of a large plated salad comprising many different and disparate ingredients. These can be arranged in layers or geometrical designs on a plate or mixed together. The ingredients are then drizzled with a dressing. The dish aims to produce wide range of flavours and colours and textures on a single plate. Often recipes allow the cook to add various ingredient which may be available at hand producing many variations of the dish. Flowers from Broom and sweet violet were often used.

In Jamaica, Solomon gundy refers more specifically to a dish made of salt herring and spices.^[3]

Typical early 17th century recipes

• "Cut cold roast chicken or other meats into slices. Mix with minced tarragon and an onion. Mix all together with capers, olives, samphire, broombuds, mushrooms, oysters, lemon, orange, raisins, almonds, blue figs, Virginia potatoes, peas and red and white currants. Garnish with sliced oranges and lemons. Cover with oil and vinegar, beaten together." (from The Good Huswives Treasure, Robert May, 1588-1660)

• "A mixture of minced veal, chicken or turkey, anchovies or pickled herring, and onions, all chopped together and served with lemon juice and oil."

Salmagundi is also purportedly a meal served on pirate ships. It is a stew of anything the cook had on hand, usually consisting of chopped meat, anchovies, eggs, and onions, often arranged in rows on lettuce and served with vinegar and oil, and spiced with anything available. The following is taken from a reprint of "Mrs. Hill's New Cook Book", originally published in 1867 and republished by Applewood Books of Bedford, Massachusetts.

"Boil two calf's feet; take the feet out when done; reduce the broth to a quart. The feet may be fried and used, first removing the bones. Let the broth become cold in an earthen vessel; scrape off all the grease; wipe the top of the jelly with a coarse towel; put the cake of jelly into a kettle lined with tin or porcelain; season it with two lemons cut up (removing the seed), fine blades of mace, a stick of cinnamon, pepper (white pepper is best), and salt to taste. Beat to a froth the whites of six eggs; stir these to the jelly just as it melts; it must then be left to clarify and not stirred again. When it simmers long enough to look clear at the sides, strain it through a flannel bag before the fire; do not squeeze the bag. Suspend it by running a stick through a loop made by tying the bag; rest each end of the stick upon a chair, and throw a table-cloth over all to keep out the dust. If the jelly does not run through clear the first time, pour it through the jelly-bag again. Set this aside. Prepare the meat and seasoning for the pie. Put into a stew-pan slices of pickled pork, using a piece of pork four inches square; if it is very salt[y] lay it an hour in tepid water. Cut up two young, tender chickens--a terrapin, if it is convenient--two or three young squirrels, half a dozen birds or squabs. Stew them gently, cutting up and adding a few sprigs of parsley. Roll into half a pound of butter two tablespoonfuls of flour; add this to the stew until the meat is nearly done. Line a fire-proof dish, or two fire-proof dishes (this quantity of stew will fill two common-sized or quart dishes;) with good pastry; mix the different kinds of meats; put in Irish potato dumplings; season to taste; pour in the gravy and bake. When done, remove the upper crust when the pie is cold and pack in the jelly, heaping the jelly in the middle. Return the crust and serve cold or hot. The jelly will prevent them become too dry. They are good Christmas pies and will keep several days. Very little gravy should be used, and that rich. Should there be too much, leave the stew-pan open until reduced sufficiently. This kind of pie keeps well if made in deep plates, and by some is preferred to those baked in deep moulds."

Etymology

The word salmagundi is derived from the French word salmigondis which means disparate assembly of things, ideas or people, forming an incoherent whole. Salmagundi is used figuratively in modern English to mean a mixture or assortment of things.

The name was later corrupted to Solomon Gundy in the eighteenth century. It seems likely that the name is connected with the children’s rhyme, Solomon Grundy. Solomon Gundy retains its food connotation today as the name given to a spicy Caribbean paste made of mashed, pickled herrings, peppers and onions.

Also "Salmagundi" is a name for the popular morning drink mixture, apple juice mixed with champagne.^{[citation needed]}

"Salmagundi" is also the name of a hats and accessories boutique located at 765 Centre St. in Boston, MA. Website: http://www.salmagundiboston.com/

Washington Irving satire

Salmagundi is also the title of an 1807 satirical work by Washington Irving along with his brother William Irving and James Kirke Paulding, with the title being derived from the dish. The work is nowadays remembered especially for first popularizing the sobriquet Gotham for New York City^[4] and for lending its name to the Salmagundi Club.

The 2009 documentary short Salmagundi uses the salad as a motif for the racial history of the United States.^[5]

References

1. ^ Leite's Culinaria
2. ^ CRAIG CLAIBORNE The 'Salmagundi' Debate Continues; A Cold Salad Another Source January 16, 1978 New York Times
3. ^ The food of Jamaica: authentic recipes from the jewel of the Caribbean. John DeMers, Eduardo Fuss. Tuttle Publishing, 1998. ISBN 9625934014, 9789625934013 Pg 123
4. ^ Edwin Burrows and Mike Wallace. (1999) Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford. p. 416.
5. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1479799/

Source

• Richard Mabey, "Food for Free - A guide to the edible wild plants of Britain". 1972.