How fruits spread along the Silk Road in the Middle Ages
New research reveals that many of the most familiar fruits in our kitchens today were cultivated in Central Asia over a millennium ago
How to make an omelet, medieval-style
A 14th-century recipe for making an omelet.
Hveiti ok Hunang: Viking Age Icelandic Mead?
This paper will try and draw out the picture of mead in Viking Age Iceland, a picture worth elaborating on due to the importance of Icelandic sources of information for an even larger culture.
What We Knew About Medieval Persian Cuisine
We know some things about Sassanian cuisine in directly or by inference. For instance they Persians have taken up on idea of sugar, which had been obtained from sugar cane sap in India and developed a theory about the kind of a super refined white sugar coat. And that they had taken the first steps down the road to the despair for our dentists by exploring syrup.
Nomads were setting food trends along the Silk Roads
‘Nomadic groups likely had access to a wider variety of foods. Through their mobility, they promoted far-reaching networks along the Silk Road, and therefore had great potential to influence trends and cultural changes’
Exploring the world of colourful medieval cuisine
Colour often has a great influence on how we perceive the food we eat. It can make food appear more appetising, or even warn that something is wrong. This was just as true for diners in the Middle Ages as it is for modern consumers.
Sephardic Food and Identity in Medieval Spain
This talk explores what foods were recommended by Sephardic authors as part of a healthy and spiritually rewarding lifestyle, as well as how Sephardic cuisine had a prominent place in the literary and cultural imagination of medieval Christian Spaniards.
The Miracle of the Unspilled Beer
Was not spilling beer important enough to be considered a miracle? For one seventh-century writer it was!
“God Sends Meate but the Devill Sends Cookes”: Cooks Working in French and English Great Households, c.1350-c.1650
This dissertation analyzes newly uncovered archival data and printed primary-source material related to French and English cooks employed in great households between 1350 and 1650.
The Medieval Vegetarian
The idea that it was wrong to meat in the Middle Ages was certainly not widely held. Most people would consume meat from cattle, sheep and other animals without any vexation. However, one well-known 11th century poet was not only a vegetarian, but also a practicing vegan.
Medieval European Medicine and Asian Spices
This article aimed to explain the reasons why Asian spices including pepper, ginger, and cinnamon were considered as special and valuable drugs with curative powers in the Medieval Europe.
Beekeeping from Antiquity Through the Middle Ages
Beekeeping from Antiquity Through the Middle Ages By Gene Kritsky Annual Review of Entomology, 2017. 62:249–64 Humans and honey bees have a long history…
Nutrition and the Early-Medieval Diet
The food supply of the temperate lands of early-medieval western Europe, and the ways in which its peoples dealt with the central problem of feeding themselves, has been subjected to a variety of interpretations in recent years.
Medieval Manuscripts: Bread in the 15th-century
The manuscript ‘Tacuinum Sanitatis’ shows modern readers how medieval bakers prepared bread.
What to eat in (and at) Medieval Times
If the Renfair people can get this right, how does the Medieval Times menu perform?
The Delectable War between Mutton and the Refreshments of the Market-Place: Rereading the Curious Tale of the Mamluk Era
At some point in XV century, Ahmad Ibn Yahya Ibn Hasan al-Haggar composed a curious narrative titled ‘Kitab al-harb alma suq bayna lahm ad-da’n wa-hawadir as-suq’ (‘The Delectable War between Mutton and the Refreshments of the Market-Place’).
The Twelve Types of Drunkenness
Oswald von Wolkenstein gives us twelve examples of what happens to drunk people.
Medical and Dietetic References in Medieval German Cookbooks
Medical and Dietetic References in Medieval German Cookbooks By Marialuisa Caparrini I castelli di Yale online, Vol.5:1 (2017) Abstract: This article aims at…
The Medieval Magazine (Volume 3, No. 14) : Historic Selfies!
In this issue: Historic selfies with the medieval kings of France, and in Renaissance coins, the Anglo-Saxon fenlands, and how DNA research on chickens is linked to medieval diet and fasting traditions. We visit Anne Boleyn’s childhood home and look at the Holy Spirit in female form.
Brewing Viking beer — with stones
There’s nothing archaeologists like better than piles of centuries-old rubbish. Ancient bones and stones from trash heaps can tell complex stories. And in central Norway, at least, the story seems to be that Vikings and their descendants brewed beer by tossing hot rocks into wooden kettles
The Medieval Magazine (Volume 3, Issue 8) : Mother’s Day Issue
In our latest issue: Celebrating Mother’s Day. Mothers Who Weren’t: Wet Nurses in the Late Medieval Mediterranean
Motherly advice from the ninth century, Sex in the Roman Empire: In Bed with the Romans! Feast, Famine, and Food in Medieval Russia, Books: A trip through Welsh past in Mysterious Wales and much, much more!
Fish on Friday III: From Fish Weir to Table
It’s no mystery that medieval people ate fish. The fish industry was a vital element of the medieval European economy, and fueled lots of movement around the continent. However how did they get onto the trestle tables and trenchers?
Fish on Friday II: Monastic Meals
In the Middle Ages, fasting and Lenten traditions were highly evident in the monastic houses. The different Rules and Orders (take your pick…
Fish on Friday I: Economic Blessing or Dietary Sacrifice?
A lack of red meat on the medieval table meant the diners were having a humble meal, and fish was a convenient substitute protein.