Mola salsa
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| − | "Mola" means "mill", "millstone", and by extension, "flour". | + | "Mola" means "mill", "millstone", and by extension, "flour". "Salsa" is the matching bit of the adjective "salsus" meaning "salted". So '''mola salsa''' is "salted flour". But just as mola means flour ''by extension'', so too could we conjecture that cakes made from mola salsa would also bear the name "mola salsa". I suggest that "mola salsa" can mean "salted flour" '''and''' the cakes made from it. |
| − | + | For our honored ancestors, fully aware of the uses, there would have been no confusion. When we read of mola salsa "sprinkled" I imagine the salted grain. If it is "offered", it could be either, I suppose. I suggest that we have to look at the sources and see what light can be shed. | |
| − | + | ---- | |
| − | + | ==Making mola salsa== | |
| − | + | Salt was used for purification, and also for making '''mola salsa''', ("MOW-la SAWL-sa"- a purified cake made with a mixture of flour, water and salt.) To make Mola Salsa with salt from the [[Salinum]], mix a small portion of [[spelt]] flour (a variety of flour used in ancient Rome, available in most health-food shops) with a small amount of water until it becomes a paste. Add some salt and 'knead' it a bit with your fingers. Flatten it into small, round wafer-like cakes, the thinner the better. The cakes can be burned in the Turibulum as an offering to the Gods. | |
| − | + | ==Uses of mola salsa== | |
| − | + | Mola salsa was offered to [[Vesta]] both at home [[Lararium|lararia]] and also by the Vestal Virgins on behalf of Rome itself. | |
| − | + | ==Vide== | |
| − | + | *[[Spelt cake]] | |
| − | + | ==References== | |
Revision as of 05:19, 8 April 2006
"Mola" means "mill", "millstone", and by extension, "flour". "Salsa" is the matching bit of the adjective "salsus" meaning "salted". So mola salsa is "salted flour". But just as mola means flour by extension, so too could we conjecture that cakes made from mola salsa would also bear the name "mola salsa". I suggest that "mola salsa" can mean "salted flour" and the cakes made from it.
For our honored ancestors, fully aware of the uses, there would have been no confusion. When we read of mola salsa "sprinkled" I imagine the salted grain. If it is "offered", it could be either, I suppose. I suggest that we have to look at the sources and see what light can be shed.
Contents |
Making mola salsa
Salt was used for purification, and also for making mola salsa, ("MOW-la SAWL-sa"- a purified cake made with a mixture of flour, water and salt.) To make Mola Salsa with salt from the Salinum, mix a small portion of spelt flour (a variety of flour used in ancient Rome, available in most health-food shops) with a small amount of water until it becomes a paste. Add some salt and 'knead' it a bit with your fingers. Flatten it into small, round wafer-like cakes, the thinner the better. The cakes can be burned in the Turibulum as an offering to the Gods.
Uses of mola salsa
Mola salsa was offered to Vesta both at home lararia and also by the Vestal Virgins on behalf of Rome itself.
