This is not the first instance where fruits or vegetables were named for famous men. Beets, a certain kind of them were named for Varro, writer on agriculture. Matius, according to Varro, wrote a book on waiters, cooks, cellar men and food service in general, of which there is no trace today. It was already lost during Varro's days.
[2] Cf. note 1, above. This illustrates the age-old connection of pork and apples.
IN A SAUCE PAN PUT TOGETHER OIL, BROTH, COCTURA [2] FINELY CUT LEEK HEADS AND GREEN CORIANDER, COOKED PORK SHOULDER, SMALL TID-BITS. WHILE THIS IS BEING COOKED, CRUSH PEPPER, CUMIN, CORIANDER OR [its] SEEDS, GREEN RUE, LASER ROOT, MOISTENED WITH VINEGAR, REDUCED MUST AND THE GRAVY OF THE ABOVE MORSELS; ADD VINEGAR TO TASTE: WHEN THIS [sauce] IS COOKED, HOLLOW OUT CITRON SQUASH [3] CUT IN DICE, BOIL AND PLACE THEM TOGETHER WITH THE REST IN THE DISH, SKIM, BIND [strain] THE SAUCE [pour it over the morsels] SPRINKLE WITH PEPPER AND SERVE.
[2] At this late point Apicius commences to use the term _coctura_ which does not designate any particular ingredient but rather stands for a certain process of cookery, depending upon the ingredients used in the dish. We would here interpret it as the frying of the leeks in oil, etc. In another instance _coctura_ may mean our modern _réduction_.
[3] The fruit to be used here has not been satisfactorily identified. The texts have _citrium_ and _citrum_--a sweet squash or cucumber--perhaps even a melon, but not the citron, the _mala citrea_ as read by List. This specimen is hard to identify because of the many varieties in the cucumber, squash and the citrus families. _Citrus_, as a matter of fact, is but a corruption of _cedrus_, the cedar tree.
We are not sure whether this fruit is to be stuffed with the ragout and then baked, as is often the custom to do with such shells; the texts prescribes distinctly to hollow out the fruit.
The title, implying a "sweet dish" is obviously wrong.
It may be remarked here that Apicius makes no mention of that marvelous citrus fruit, the lemon, nor of the orange, both of which are indispensable to modern cookery.
[169] MINUTAL OF FRUIT _MINUTAL EX PRÆCOQUIS_
IN A SAUCE PAN PUT OIL, BROTH AND WINE, FINELY CUT SHALLOTS, DICED COOKED PORK SHOULDER. WHEN THIS IS COOKED, CRUSH PEPPER, CUMIN, DRY MINT, DILL, MOISTEN WITH HONEY, BROTH, RAISIN WINE [and] A LITTLE VINEGAR, SOME OF THE GRAVY OF THE ABOVE MORSELS, ADD FRUITS THE SEEDS OF WHICH HAVE BEEN TAKEN OUT, LET BOIL, WHEN THOROUGHLY COOKED, SKIM, BIND, SPRINKLE WITH PEPPER AND SERVE [1].