Foods in Eclogue 2

Althaea Officinalis, or Marsh Mallow

Hibiscum, (Althaea Officinalis, genus Malvaceae), which Corydon imagines Alexis using to drive his flock at line 30, is the marsh mallow, whence we derive our marshmallow. The Romans ate it as a cooked vegetable dish-- here is a recipe for mallow salad from Morocco, probably very similar to what the Romans would have eaten.  The Marsh Mallow has strong medicinal properties. The sap of the plant was used as an emollient to heal sore throats and ulcers.  Mallow extract is still used today as a flavoring for halvah; the French used it to make a sweet meringue called pate de guimauve, the ancestor of our marshmallows (which no longer contain any marsh mallow).  Cana mala are probably quinces, (Cydonia mala) which have downier skins than apples do. Quinces are hard and unpleasant to eat raw, but they are delicious cooked, and the Romans used them in many recipes.  If you stumble on a quince at Wegmans, try quinces with honey and wine.

Quinces, fruit and foliage

Golden (Mirabelle) Plums

What Corydon means by cerea pruna is unclear.  He could be referring to the waxy texture of the skin of the plum ("mature plum fruit may have a dusty-white coating that glaucous appearance. This is an epicuticular wax coating and is known as "wax bloom"-- thank you, Wikipedia!) or to the color. If the former, the plums Corydon intends to pick would be standard purple Italian domestic plum.  If he is referring to the color, it would be a yellow plum, because beeswax, the wax the Romans knew, is dark yellow in color.

Prunus domestica

 Corydon also promises to collect chestnuts, castaneae.  Chestnuts were a basic staple of the Roman diet.  According to La Cucina Italia,
"Over 2000 years ago villages in the Apennine woodlands, which stretch the entire length of Italy’s peninsula along the east coast and were once thick with chestnut trees, survived long winters on the trees’ bounty. The fallen nuts were picked from the forest floor and dried in two-story stone drying shacks, the remains of which can still be found throughout the region. The nut also played a role in the Roman Empire: On their lengthy campaigns, Roman legions planted chestnut trees to help provide food for their vast armies. Polenta was made with chestnut meal until corn arrived in the 16th century. And castagnaccio, a flatbread of chestnut flour baked on an oiled stone, was a common staple. The gluten-free flour was used to bake heavy, dense loaves of bread, and was prized for its resistance to spoilage. If the chestnut was a staple during hard times, at least it was nutritious—the starchy nut is high in carbohydrates and has nearly as much vitamin C as a lemon."

Chestnut Harvest

castanea sativa

Over 2000 years ago villages in the Apennine woodlands, which stretch the entire length of Italy’s peninsula along the east coast and were once thick with chestnut trees, survived long winters on the trees’ bounty. The fallen nuts were picked from the forest floor and dried in two-story stone drying shacks, the remains of which can still be found throughout the region. The nut also played a role in the Roman Empire: On their lengthy campaigns, Roman legions planted chestnut trees to help provide food for their vast armies. Polenta was made with chestnut meal until corn arrived in the 16th century. And castagnaccio, a flatbread of chestnut flour baked on an oiled stone, was a common staple. The gluten-free flour was used to bake heavy, dense loaves of bread, and was prized for its resistance to spoilage. If the chestnut was a staple during hard times, at least it was nutritious—the starchy nut is high in carbohydrates and has nearly as much vitamin C as a lemon. - See more at: http://lacucinaitalianamagazine.com/ingredients/chestnuts#sthash.q9YtdRBf.dpuf

Over 2000 years ago villages in the Apennine woodlands, which stretch the entire length of Italy’s peninsula along the east coast and were once thick with chestnut trees, survived long winters on the trees’ bounty. The fallen nuts were picked from the forest floor and dried in two-story stone drying shacks, the remains of which can still be found throughout the region. The nut also played a role in the Roman Empire: On their lengthy campaigns, Roman legions planted chestnut trees to help provide food for their vast armies. Polenta was made with chestnut meal until corn arrived in the 16th century. And castagnaccio, a flatbread of chestnut flour baked on an oiled stone, was a common staple. The gluten-free flour was used to bake heavy, dense loaves of bread, and was prized for its resistance to spoilage. If the chestnut was a staple during hard times, at least it was nutritious—the starchy nut is high in carbohydrates and has nearly as much vitamin C as a lemon.
- See more at: http://lacucinaitalianamagazine.com/ingredients/chestnuts#sthash.q9YtdRBf.dpuf