One of the earliest and most detailed accounts of the craft of the Comfitmaker (or Sugar Confectioner) in English, is called,‘The arte of comfetmaking, teaching how to cover all kinds of seeds, fruits or spices with sugar’, it was written by Sir Hugh Plat, in his Tudor work, ‘Delights for Ladies’, and first published in [...]
Bread has been the cause of war, rebellion, revolution and persecution. It has been a political and religious issue, keenly understood by Kings, Emperor’s, Popes, Churches and governments. Bread has been the cause of more famine and feast than any other food staple in history. For thousands of years laws have been made and tightly [...]
The precise origin of preserved fruit using sugar and boiling remains a matter of historical debate, it is known that jams probably began centuries ago in the Middle Eastern countries, where cane sugar grew naturally, (originating centuries before from North India). It is believed that returning medieval Crusaders first introduced jam making processes to Britain, [...]
Medieval Pastry is perhaps the most misunderstood kitchen and food staple of this period. Should Medieval pastry be eaten? How should it be cooked? What is an authentic pastry recipe? All good questions, but with the almost total absence of fully explained pastry recipes from medieval sources it makes it difficult to resolve these questions [...]
There are no British ‘cook books’ earlier than the fourteenth century, making what most historians claim is an erroneous name for the period, ‘The Dark-Ages’, actually quite true for a food historian. It does not mean to say that there are no records, just that the extant sources, archaeological evidence and anthropological records have to [...]
These are the most useful words to know in describing Medieval foods, recipes and banquet protocol. IMPORTANT NOTE: It will be added to each week and expanded: A Abouwyn: on top Addes, adze: an axe with a right-angle blade and a hammer-head on the other side, used by Cooper’s in making the barrels holding the [...]
Medieval and Tudor milling and boulting methods were never wholly successful in removing all of the bran from the grain, even the best flour produced in this period was an ‘off-white’ flour, rather than the pure white flour produced today by industrial roller milling. The best ‘extraction’ rates that could be achieved was around 80%. [...]
The name Jam Roly Poly for this pudding was only used since the latter half of the twentieth century, before then many earlier cooks-books, borrowing the recipe from Mrs. Beeton, followed her style, and also called it Roly Poly Jam Pudding. Although the steamed/boiled version (see link) of Jam Roly Poly is more authentic, and [...]
This Chocolate Brownie recipe, like our Hot Chocolate Puddings recipe, is the real thing; they are definitely not your average Chocolate Brownie. If you ever felt you and your friends or family really deserved a treat or reward, or it is a very special occasion, then this is what you should make. Buy bars of [...]
From at least Medieval times salt was mixed with saltpetre, and other ingredients such as sugar, honey, pepper or juniper berries, to carry out the processes of preserving pork. Dry Cured Hams are the hind leg of a pig that have been salted, then air-dried to ‘cure’. This is done using a curing compound, (consisting [...]
When you hear that jam can be made in 20 minutes, any jam, in twenty-minutes, you might well be skeptical … by saying it even I feel like a snake-oil salesman trying to convince you that rubbing on this lotion will miraculously make you live longer. But its true, any fruit, any jam, in 20 [...]
Sticky Toffee Pudding is a great tasting recipe, and certainly a modern British ‘classic’, (alongside Jam Roly-Poly and Spotted Dick puddings) capturing for many the childhood memories of growing up in the 20th Century. Some say Sticky Toffee Pudding was developed in the Lake District in the 1960′s while others claim it is from an [...]
Scones are a great treat at tea time, (once served at 4 pm sharp) and quintessentially British. While the English have taken credit for their popularity, this is a dish which all regions of Britain enjoy, and have a history with. The simple scone is thought to have originated from Scottish Quick Breads, (baked on [...]
These Victorian, regional Cherry Turnovers are a speciality of Buckinghamshire in southern England, where wonderful, local Cherries are grown in many private and commercial cherry orchards. They have a light pastry top and bottom, and ripe, tangy-juicy cherries in the center. Cherries have a very short growing season if you are after picking your own; [...]
Blackberry Jam is a real treat on toast in the mornings. It has a unique, and easily recognisable flavour amongst jams, with its sweet-sharp dance on the tongue and deep berry taste. To help the jam set, (adding in extra pectin) the recipe uses one brambley apple and a small amount of fresh apple juice [...]