ROOTS
We know very little about the use of root vegetables in prehistoric times and the Middle Ages. Written sources are scarce when it comes to gathering knowledge about early private households in Denmark. The spread of gardening and the use of vegetables and fruit in particular lies in the dark mists of history. What we know about medieval gardening is concentrated around the monastery gardens, where foreign monks from around 1100 began to establish gardens with special medicinal plants. New studies are beginning to document that the Danes in the Middle Ages had kitchen gardens, where vegetables and berries were part of the daily diet. In summer and autumn, garden produce could be eaten fresh, and people tried to store and partly preserve the delights of the garden for winter and spring, when the diet was monotonous and often in much smaller quantities.
The use
Let's start with the earliest information, namely medical or herbal books, of which the physician Henrik Harpestreng (d. 1244) is the best known:
Beetroot
The exciting thing about beetroot is that it is said to be beneficial for coughs and stomach upsets. Several medical books recommend beetroot to help with digestive problems, for example, drinking beetroot juice with hot wine seems to be effective, or you could prepare beetroot like cabbage for a weak stomach. It is also mentioned that beetroot gives clear vision and in a slightly more cheerful perspective, the good advice is given that frostbitten hands and feet are treated with a mash of boiled beetroot!
Parsley root
Parsley root is referred to as both a culinary herb and a medicinal plant. It is mentioned that both the herb and the root are used in the kitchen and are suitable for all kinds of food. “Finely chopped or chopped herbs and roots add flavor to butter, cream, sauces, soups and are served with meat and fish.”. For medicinal use, parsley root is mentioned as very versatile, for example, the consumption of this culinary herb was said to counteract flatulence, scurvy, cleanse the liver, wounds and bladder. In several places, parsley root is mentioned as being diuretic - especially if the roots are consumed boiled or pickled. Lepers were helped by eating the plant or drinking a water decoction, just as the consumption could help the woman in labor to expel a dead fetus.
Parsnip
“the chefs in the kitchen know parsnips better than the pharmacists”, it is written in 16th century source material.
But the parsnip also had health-promoting effects, for example, it is mentioned that a wine decoction of the root mixed with honey is drunk for a sick spleen, liver and for backache. The root is boiled in milk for diarrhea. In the more “curious section” it is mentioned that too much consumption of parsnips could actually stimulate the libido: "Those who torment themselves with fasting and other such works, such as monks and nuns in monasteries, for them these roots are not at all useful or beneficial, but almost harmful"As a preventive measure, it was believed that if the root was hung around the neck, one would not be harmed by a viper.
Carrot
Source material from the 16th and 17th centuries reveals that the carrot was then considered to have healing effects specifically directed at the “lower regions” of men and women. In several places it is mentioned as beneficial for cessation of menstruation and as a remedy for impotence! “If the root is boiled in wine as a poultice, it can expel the fetus and the afterbirth” Like the parsnip, the carrot seems to “arouse the natural desires and their work”!
Root vegetables in Danish food culture
Root vegetables seem to have only really made their way into Danish food culture during the Renaissance. The development was accelerated by Christian II, who invited some of the world's best vegetable growers, namely the Dutch, to Denmark around 1520. The Dutch settled on Amager and Falster and supplied fresh vegetables and dairy products to the king's kitchen and eventually also to the city's other inhabitants, because, as they said at the time, “Amager was Copenhagen's pantry” and “The Amagers were Copenhagen's farmers”! Later, the customer base expanded to the surrounding towns, and from 16th century source material it is mentioned that carrots grown on Amager in particular were sent to Nyborg, Odense and Aarhus.
The vegetables of the Amager farmers went under the common name, “Amager clothes” or “Amager roots”, concepts that remained well into the past. A report from the mid-19th century written by Anders Uhrskov entitled "A North Zealand village life" provides the following information about this: "For the November market, Amager residents showed up in large numbers with white cabbage, celery and carrots. White cabbage was bought – and it was a standing saying: "we are going to the market and buying Amager clothes"The relationship is also mentioned in Henrik Ussing's account from Hedeboegnen, because as he writes: "Garden roots were called Amagertøj. When roots were scraped for soup, it was said, "We scrape Amagertøj for the soup.".
But the king also had another agenda, so the Dutch were to teach the Danish farmers about dairy farming and the cultivation of vegetables. In the 16th century, Holland was Europe's leading country in these two areas, and there was therefore a demand for the country's inhabitants. Thus, not only Denmark, but also Southeast England received Dutch colonies of farmers. And they learned from them. In particular, the cultivation of root vegetables (parsley roots, parsnips, beetroot and carrots), cabbage and onions was the expertise of the Amager farmers. One of the Dutch's core competencies was the use of fertilizer. They used manure from their own herds, as well as manure from Copenhagen and seaweed from the surrounding coasts. Vegetable waste was also utilized. It was mixed with the other fertilizer material. Another specialty was seed production. Each farmer had his own special seeds, which were considered valuable and exclusive. There are examples of white cabbage seeds, among others, being a popular wedding gift.
