MALUM, fruit, an apple, but quinces, pomegranates, peaches, oranges,
lemons, and other fruits were likewise designated by this name. ℞
18, 20. See also CITRUM
It is remarkable that Apicius does not specifically speak of lemons
and oranges, fruits that must have grown in Italy at his time, that
are so indispensable to modern cookery
MALUM PUNICUM, ℞ 20, 21; ---- CYDONIUM, ℞ 21; ---- GRANATUM,
℞ 20; ---- MEDICUM, ℞ 24; ---- ROSEUM, ℞ 178, 171. This name,
which according to Schuch simply stands for a rose-colored apple,
has led to the belief that the ancients made pies, etc., of roses.
Today a certain red-colored apple is known as "Roman Beauty." We
concur in Schuch's opinion, remembering, however, that the fruit of
the rose tree, namely the hip, dog-briar, or eglantine, is made into
dainty confections on the Continent today. It is therefore quite
possible that MALUM ROSEUM stands for the fruit of the rose
MANDUCO, to chew, to munch, to enjoy food by munching; a glutton
MAPPA, table napkin (Fr. nappe). M. is a Punic word, according to
Quintil. 1, 5, 57
Each banquet guest brought with him from his own home such a napkin
or cloth which he used during the banquet to wipe his mouth and
hands. The ancients, evidently, were conscious of the danger of
infection through the common use of napkins and table ware.
Sometimes they used their napkins to wrap up part of the meal and to
give it to their slaves to carry home in. Horace, Martial, Petronius
attest to this fact. The banquet guests also employed their own
slaves to wait on them at their Host's party. This custom and the
individual napkin habit have survived until after the French
revolution. Grimod de la Reynière, in his Almanach des Gourmands,
Paris, 1803, seq., describes how guests furnished their own napkins
and servants for their own use at parties to which they were invited
This rather sensible custom relieved the host of much responsibility
and greatly assisted him in defraying the expenses of the dinner. On
the other hand it reveals the restrictions placed upon any host by
the general shortage of table ware, table linen, laundering
facilities in the days prior to the mechanical age
Marcellus, a Roman physician, ℞ 29
Marinade, pickle; a composition of spices, vegetables, herbs, and
liquids, such as vinegar, wine, to preserve meats for several days
and to impart to it a special flavor, ℞ 11, 236, 244, 394; cf.
EMBAMMA
MARJORANA, marjoram
Marmites, illustrated, pp. 264, 284, 312, 342
MARRUBIUM, the plant horehound
Martial, writer, p. 10, ℞ 307, 461 (on bulbs)
Martino, Maestro, p. 3, cf. Vehling: Martino and Platina, Exponents
of Renaissance Cookery, Hotel Bulletin and The Nation's Chefs,
Chicago, October, 1932, and Platina, Maestro nell'arte culinaria
Un'interessante studio di Joseph D. Vehling, Cremona, 1935
Mason, Mrs., a writer, ℞ 126
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