Making History Easier to Digest
Turnips were a staple food item in Europe for centuries. In ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder wrote that next to corn and beans, there was “no plant that is of more extensive use” than the turnip. During the medieval and renaissance eras they were inexpensive, easy to grow and survived the cold of winter. Root…
Today’s recipe is an interesting 19th century take on a classic: Gingerbread. Unlike most traditional gingerbread that is dense, dark, and heavy on ginger, this “New York” Gingerbread is soft and fluffy and has subtler flavors. When we think of gingerbread we tend to imagine little crunchy cookies shaped into little men for the Christmas…
One type of medieval custard tart was the Dariole, also known as Daryoles, Dariolles, Daryalys, and Diriola.
Today’s medieval recipe is from the 14th century French recipe collection known as Le Viandier de Taillevent. Ris Engoule is a simple rice dish not intended to be eaten during Lent or on a Fast day. The source manuscript was possibly written as early as 1300 but the collection is generally attributed to Guillaume Tirel…
Medieval rice porridge with dates, c. 1420.
Few foods are as stereotypically “medieval” as the pasty (PASS-tee), a small meat pie in the shape of a semi-circle. Because of their compact size, pasties were perfect meals for busy medieval urbanites and were an ideal street food for travelers. They could be eaten hot or cold and could be wrapped to-go and eaten…
I decided to take a break from the medieval cookery manuscripts and try something a little closer to home. Today’s recipe is a very simple infused pineapple drink that is perfect for the summer! This one comes from a book called Six Hundred Receipts Worth their Weight in Gold by John Marquart, published in Philadelphia in…
Cryppys, often called crisps, are another type of fried honey-flavored treat from 14th-century England.
If you thought deep-fried sweets like funnel cakes, elephant ears/beaver tails and doughnuts were modern inventions for the county fair, think again. Fried pastries have been around since ancient Egypt and China. The Romans ate something called scriblita, a fried pastry dough. Fried doughs were common throughout Asia, the Middle East and Europe in various…
There is no shortage of 15th century Italian recipes thanks to Maestro Martino de Rossi, a well known and influential “celebrity” chef who worked in some of the greatest kitchens of late Medieval/Renaissance Italy. In 1464/65 he wrote Libro de Arte Coquinaria (The Art of Cooking), which is widely considered to be the first modern…
A Dollop of History 