Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

LEEK

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V16, Page 370 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

LEEK , the See also:

Allium Porrum of botanists, a plant now considered as a See also:mere variety of Allium Ampeloprasum, See also:wild leek, produced by cultivation. The plant is probably of Eastern origin, since it was commonly cultivated in See also:Egypt in the See also:time of the Pharaohs, and is so to the See also:present See also:day; while as regards its first See also:appearance in See also:England both See also:Tusser and See also:Gerard—two of the earliest writers on this class of subjects, the former of whom flourished in the See also:early See also:part and the latter in the later part of the 16th See also:century—speak of it as being then commonly cultivated and used.' The See also:Romans, it would appear, made See also:great use of the leek for savouring their dishes, as seems proved by the number of recipes for its use referred to by See also:Celsius. Hence it is more than probable that it was brought to England by the Romans. See also:Italy was celebrated for leeks in the time of See also:Pliny (H.N. xix. c. 6), according to whom they were brought into great esteem through the See also:emperor See also:Nero, derisively surnamed "Porrophagus," who used to eat them for several days in every See also:month to clear his See also:voice. The leek is very generally cultivated in Great See also:Britain as an esculent, but more especially in See also:Scotland and in See also:Wales, being esteemed as an excellent and wholesome See also:vegetable, with properties very similar to those of the See also:onion, but of a milder See also:character. In See also:America it is not much cultivated except by See also:market gardeners in the neighbourhood of large cities. The whole plant, with the exception of the fibrous roots, is used in soups and stews. The sheathing stalks of the leaves See also:lap over each other, and See also:form a thickish See also:stem-like See also:base, which is blanched, and is the part chiefly preferred. These blanched stems are much employed in See also:French See also:cookery. They form an important ingredient in Scotch See also:winter broth, and particularly in the See also:national dish See also:cock-a-leekie, and are also largely used boiled, and served with toasted See also:bread and See also:white See also:sauce, as in the See also:case of See also:asparagus. Leeks are sown in the See also:spring, earlier or later according to the See also:soil and the See also:season, and are planted out for the summer, being dropped into holes made with a stout dibble and See also:left unfilled in See also:order to allow the stems space to swell.

When they are thus planted deeply the holes gradually fill up, and the base of the stem becomes blanched and prepared for use, a See also:

process aided by See also:drawing up the See also:earth See also:round about the stems as they elongate. The leek is one of the most useful vegetables the cottager can grow, as it will See also:supply him with a large amount of produce during the winter and spring. It is extremely See also:hardy, and presents no difficulty in its cultivation, the See also:chief point, as with all succulent esculents, being that it should be grown quickly upon well-enriched soil. The plant is of biennial duration, flowering the second See also:year, and perishing after perfecting its seeds. The leek is the national See also:symbol or badge of the Welsh, who See also:wear it in their hats on St See also:David's Day. The origin of this See also:custom has received various explanations, all of which are more or less speculative.

End of Article: LEEK

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
LEEDS, THOMAS OSBORNE 		[next]
LEER

Site © 2006 - Net Industries