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Parchment -- Animal or Vegetable?
I don't know about you, but when I think of the word 'parchment' I think of fine, high quality paper on which you write with a quill pen and coal black ink from an inkwell.
The Declaration of Independence was written on parchment. From government archives we read:
"On July 9 the action of Congress was officially approved by the New York Convention. All 13 colonies had now signified their approval. On July 19, therefore, Congress was able to order that the Declaration be "fairly engrossed on parchment, with the title and stile [sic] of 'The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America,' and that the same, when engrossed, be signed by every member of Congress."
Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were also written on parchment (others on papyrus). In fact parchment was a substitute for papyrus -- from which derives our word 'paper' -- when it was in short supply! And the Sefer Torah, the traditional Hebrew bible, was parchment. All have lasted a LONG time
But when you look up 'parchment' in the dictionary, lo and behold it is the skin of an animal stretched and scraped smooth!
But along comes Xerox and says, "We can't print on animal skins! It would burn up in the machine! So we will use regular old paper, albeit good quality paper -- so good in fact that it can be compared to parchment but be made of vegetable matter! It shall be done!"
Yeah, that's a bunch of cockleburs. However, a vegetable parchment did gradually take over from animal skin parchments. It is called parchment paper. The coarse varieties are high in anti-stick qualities and are used in baking and cooking.
Technically, the word parchment should not be applied to any paper product, but so it goes. Southworth sells a 500 sheet box of paper, described thusly: Fine Parchment Paper with the "look & feel of Old-World parchment. Great for certificates, letterheads, calligraphy & more. Acid-free. Performs smoothly, without jams in laser & inkjet printers & copiers." Costs a mere $42.35 plus shipping and handling.
While this is further evidence of the morphing of the English language, it is also a humane way to let animals keep the shirts on their backs!
The Declaration of Independence was written on parchment. From government archives we read:
"On July 9 the action of Congress was officially approved by the New York Convention. All 13 colonies had now signified their approval. On July 19, therefore, Congress was able to order that the Declaration be "fairly engrossed on parchment, with the title and stile [sic] of 'The unanimous declaration of the thirteen United States of America,' and that the same, when engrossed, be signed by every member of Congress."
Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were also written on parchment (others on papyrus). In fact parchment was a substitute for papyrus -- from which derives our word 'paper' -- when it was in short supply! And the Sefer Torah, the traditional Hebrew bible, was parchment. All have lasted a LONG time
But when you look up 'parchment' in the dictionary, lo and behold it is the skin of an animal stretched and scraped smooth!
But along comes Xerox and says, "We can't print on animal skins! It would burn up in the machine! So we will use regular old paper, albeit good quality paper -- so good in fact that it can be compared to parchment but be made of vegetable matter! It shall be done!"
Yeah, that's a bunch of cockleburs. However, a vegetable parchment did gradually take over from animal skin parchments. It is called parchment paper. The coarse varieties are high in anti-stick qualities and are used in baking and cooking.
Technically, the word parchment should not be applied to any paper product, but so it goes. Southworth sells a 500 sheet box of paper, described thusly: Fine Parchment Paper with the "look & feel of Old-World parchment. Great for certificates, letterheads, calligraphy & more. Acid-free. Performs smoothly, without jams in laser & inkjet printers & copiers." Costs a mere $42.35 plus shipping and handling.
While this is further evidence of the morphing of the English language, it is also a humane way to let animals keep the shirts on their backs!
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2. Smoothie recipes
How? It's easy!
Privacy policy:
Your email address is safe;
we NEVER share our list.
