Medieval cooking is always a fascinating subject, and I don’t doubt that we’ve all seen the word “coffin/coffyn” applied to pastries and pies. Well yes, coffin is a coffin in the usual meaning, but it also seems a sensible enough word to use for a well-filled pie! What we call raised pies, e.g. pork pies… Continue reading You didn’t eat coffins….!
Tag: Food
Chicken pie and Richard II….
Richard II was certainly the royal connoisseur of food. His famous book of recipes (well, he didn’t actually write it!) the Forme of Cury, is constantly resorted to as a record of just how well our 14th-century ancestors were provided for when they sat down to eat. How often are we told that they… Continue reading Chicken pie and Richard II….
Richard II enjoyed ravioli….!
Well, one lives and learns. I quote from this article : “….the first written mention of ravioli was in a 14th-century Tuscan merchant’s recipe and, surprisingly, around the same time in a cookbook written by one of King Richard II’s chefs….” That one book has been enormously influential concerning our knowledge of medieval… Continue reading Richard II enjoyed ravioli….!
Medieval tarts that look just like mince pies….
“….‘Payne puff’ appears on the menu for a feast held for King Richard II and John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, by John Fordham, Bishop of Durham, at Durham House [see here] in London, on September 23rd 1387. It was served on the third course which also included pottages (an almond broth and a… Continue reading Medieval tarts that look just like mince pies….
The Hairy Bikers – Watch ‘Em by Day or Knight
One of the blessings of 24 hour live streaming or semi-blessings of paying for Amazon Prime is that American foodies can come into contact with some of Britain’s finest cooks and chefs. Whether it is Gordon Ramsey cursing out prisoners toiling in the dank kitchens of Brixton, Rick Stein pretending to enjoy the food of… Continue reading The Hairy Bikers – Watch ‘Em by Day or Knight
Yet another erroneous Tudor boast….!
Once again it seems the Tudors claim to have invented something that had been around for over a century before Old Misery Guts stole the throne. To wit, mince pies. Well, the Tudors would, wouldn’t they? They couldn’t bear ANYTHING to have been around before they were. Typically insecure rear-ends. Anyway, these kuskenoles look… Continue reading Yet another erroneous Tudor boast….!
The builders of Stonehenge liked sweet things….
I have to say this. Why are we always taken aback to discover that our ancient forebears ate more than raw mammoth steaks garnished with grass and leaves? From this article it seems they probably liked sweeter things too. Well, what a surprise! Gosh, who’d have thought it? 😲 Presumably bees hadn’t been invented.
A meat-rich diet was to carry Satan’s price-tag for monks….
I’ve written before about the food eaten by medieval monks, and have now come upon another article, this time in The Guardian. It tells of the dire consequences that followed when monks eventually had a meat-rich diet. The Guardian article was prompted by English Heritage research into “the day-to-day lives and digestive troubles of… Continue reading A meat-rich diet was to carry Satan’s price-tag for monks….
Illustrations of gathering food in Northern Italy in the 14th century….
While searching around for an illustration of an English cherry tree in blossom in the late 14th century, I happened upon this link which opens with “….Lavishly illustrated manuscripts known as the Tacuinum Sanitatis were first commissioned by northern Italian nobility during the last decades of the 14th century….” So I looked further, and… Continue reading Illustrations of gathering food in Northern Italy in the 14th century….
Please Melton, don’t invite Henry VII….
Oh dear, the whole idea was excellent until I read the dreaded name Henry VII. Will someone please advise them not to bother with that piece of Tudor crud? He’s a party-pooper and will rain on their parade for sure. Go to site this site to read about the event at Melton.
murreyandblue 