Daily Medieval

Besides sweet concoctions like dragges , medieval cooks prepared things like mincemeat  and apple pie . Some cook books survive from early o...

When Margery Kempe (c.1373 - c.1438) dictated the story of her mystic experiences , she had no idea that someone would append a recipe to t...

This will make more sense if you read Part 1 . Shams has brought his daughter, Sit, and her son, 'Ajib, to Damascus on their quest to fi...

We cannot underestimate the ubiquity of grain in the medieval diet. This was, of course, not a medieval discovery: different grains had been...

Let's start with garbage. My hometown of Rochester, NY, lays claim to the invention of the " garbage plate ." I will leave it ...

Vegetables were widely grown and consumed in the Middle Ages. Archaeological evidence suggests that meat was not usually part of the daily ...

By "vegetables" we are going to include any plant matter grown for food and not just flavoring (such as herbs and spices), because...

Modern stereotypes about medieval feasts suggest images of boars with apples in their mouths and giant turkey legs. Without adequate preserv...

With the holiday season upon us, folk are preparing to consume mincemeat pies at the conclusion of their meal. Growing up, I was told it ...

You've seen them. Lots of times. Three circles interlinked. You find them in jewelry, and in the label of Ballantine beer . They may ...

I have mentioned The Forme of Cury  [Forms of Cooking] a few times before. It's the cookbook that gathers the best recipes from the c...

Bread has all the characteristics of a staple food: the plant is easy to grow, the product is relatively easy and cheap to produce, and it ...

In The Forme of Cury  cookbook from Richard II's court, there is a recipe for "Rapes in Potage," "rapes" meaning tu...

"A Grete Pye" should look like this  [ source ] What will you do with all that turkey on Friday? Why not a "Great Pie...

The European Middle Ages did not like bland food, and used spices extensively—often in combinations we would find odd or downright unappeal...

17th century knife and fork There is a point in the movie Becket (taken from the play of the same name by Jean Anouilh) that introdu...

...is a big topic these days. Today, in fact, Scotland is voting whether to stay in the United Kingdom or strike out on its own. If it did,...

In the Book of Proverbs, we find "Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him; he r...

Baking, pulled from a neat food history site for kids The Earl of Bradford once produced a cookbook . That makes it sound more historica...

Today is an important day in Sweden : Anna's Day, celebrating all people named Anna. It is also the traditional day to start preparati...