Historic Food Exploration

[Lucinda]

This discussion thread is pinned.

Last edited Thu Feb 18, 2021, 10:28 PM - Edit history (7)

First off...alloo! Long time no see! I hope you are all happy and well.

I'm still having serious health health issues and my diet is crazy boring, so I tend to not think too much about meal planning and fun dishes, and I have been sticking with what will keep me out of the hospital, so I haven't really had much to share with you all. I've been digging back in to my genealogy research again when I feel up to it, and that has led me to a few cool things on youtube that I thought some of you might find interesting!

The first is a channel called Jas. Townsend & Son
He cooks recipes from, and talks about life during the 18th century. I've watched several and have been enjoying them a lot! The main channel is here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/jastownsendandson
And this is one of his vids on soldiers and food:

I've just started this one - Victorian Bakers which is a BBC production that brings four modern professionals together to explore baking in the Victorian era. I think there are 3 or 4 episodes and the first is here:

And this is a huge collection of historic food videos collected by Heather Randall that I'm just beginning to sort through which seems to cover a wide variety of periods in British history.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4nfEcXSm87tYY_xsu_oTGH3vaNPJiejB


Tasting History
Another addition of food throughout history videos!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsaGKqPZnGp_7N80hcHySGQ

I really rec Max videos. Very interesting recipes!


Luc


EDITING TO ADD THIS COOKBOOK AT PROJECT GUTENBERG
The Virginia Housewife by Mary Randolph - 1860
Available in several forms as well as HTML for free:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12519

And a little backstory on Mary Randolph:

http://makinghistorynow.com/2016/04/mary-randolph-and-african-culinary-connections/



The Cookbook of Unknown Ladies
Curious recipes and hidden histories from Westminster City Archives
18th-19th Century recipes in a categorized blog
https://lostcookbook.wordpress.com/category/cookbook-recipes/18th-century-recipes/

[elleng]

1. Thanks, Luc.

Thanks for thinking of us, and get well!

[Lucinda]

6. Working on it!

[MerryBlooms]

2. Nice to see you!

Thank you for the page links.

Best wishes to you.

[Lucinda]

5. And to you!

[Laurian]

3. I have really missed seeing your posts in C&B!

You were such an awesome contributor and host for this group. I was thrilled to see you posting during the primaries.

I can appreciate that health concerns have restricted your participation. Please be well and stop back often.

[Lucinda]

4. Thank you! That is very kind of you to say!

[Phentex]

7. Hi, Lucinda!

Those are very interesting. Thanks for sharing them. Good to see you here!

[Lucinda]

9. Alloo!

[kestrel91316]

8. Here's one I love:

http://outlanderkitchen.com/recipe-index/

[Lucinda]

10. How cool is that!

Thanks for the link!

[kestrel91316]

11. I'm a huge Outlander fan, both the books and the TV series.

[Lucinda]

12. I've only seen the first couple of episodes of the series

but I like it so far! Great concept.

[kestrel91316]

13. I've read all 8 books over the past 20 years. Seen both seasons.

Converted my assistant and her husband and a few clients into fans.

And elated that Seasons 3 and 4 are going to happen!

[Lucinda]

14. You are WAY ahead of me!

I need to catch up!

[Lucinda]

15. I've added a free ebook to the OP - The Virginia Housewife by Mary Randolph - 1860

[locks]

16. Great to see your posts again Lucinda.

Hope you will be enjoying good food soon.

[Lucinda]

17. Thank you!

That's very kind of you!

[hitz]

18. thanks for sharing

Thanks for sharing, it looks really interesting.

[Lucinda]

21. TY! Welcome to DU ( i'm a little late!)

[susanna]

19. I love this thread, Lucinda!

My nephew is very interested in camp life of Revolutionary War soldiers. He and I watch these videos frequently. AND we cook some of this stuff over a campfire.

Great thread

[Lucinda]

20. I'd like to build one of the outdoor ovens to try the baked goods

Camp cooking sounds like a lot of fun!

[susanna]

22. A backyard bread oven is on my wish list...

John Thorne (Outlaw Cook) wrote about building one years ago, and I've been dreaming of one ever since.

[syringis]

25. hello from Belgium

In the same spirit , The BBC produced a serie called "Supersizers go" and "Supersizers eat"

It is done in a funny way but instructive. The show is hosted by Giles Coren and Sue Perkins.

They explored the british culinary habits thru the centuries and the impact on health people of the diet from several era.

[Warpy]

27. Yes, it was Sue Perkins at her best

I can't imagine eating the heavy diet during the Restoration period. I think I'd have been killed off by it pretty quickly. I'd have thrived on the extremely Spartan WWII diet, one that's not far from how I eat now.

The whole series is at YouTube and is hilarious.

[syringis]

28. yes it is

I have seen all episodes. I think there is a lot of eras which diet would have got rid of me

The WWII was an interesting diet, very healthy despite beeing very starchy. But very low fat and limited meat.

For me too, it is not very far from my habits.

[Warpy]

26. Also check out "The Good Huswifes Jewell," published in 1596

and available online. http://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/ghj1596.txt It's used extensively to produce the cuisine in "Tales from the Green Valley," one of the BBC "farm series" that is online and probably the best of the lot. The participants all agreed that what they'd feared was going to be horrible, bland cooking without spices was, in fact, delicious, the interplay of sweet, bitter, sour, and savory compensating for the lack of things like pepper.

Online friends in the UK have managed to get their hands on hard copies of this one and have had a great deal of fun trying some of the recipes.

My own favorite was one I found back in New England at a flea market, a solidly Victorian book whose name I've mercifully forgotten and which recommended all vegetables be kept at a full boil for at least an hour to make them digestible. Some of the pastry recipes, however, were stellar.

[syringis]

29. Thank you Warpy

I'm just crazy mad about cooking and baking. I like also to play with chocolate and sugar.

I will open soon a post to introduce myself to the group.

[912gdm]

30. Don't forget Mrs Crocombe!

Victorian cooking at its best!

they also did a very adorable crossover with jas. Townsend

[Wawannabe]

31. Cool!

Thank you for sharing!

[JHB]

32. A couple of additional YouTube channels:

I'm usually over in GD and only just noticed this group. Let me provide some additions:

Tasting History with Max Miller
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsaGKqPZnGp_7N80hcHySGQ

Great Depression Cooking: with Clara
https://www.youtube.com/user/DepressionCooking

Tasty (Edible History playlists)
Season 1: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8zglt-LDl-gmDHluQD-7JDB7-f27Ulpb

Season 2: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8zglt-LDl-hVqpgDNkW9iUROi-TfS7jJ

[Lucinda]

36. Great additions!!

❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️
Thank you

[magnetarowlfish]

33. historical cuisine

I am currently researching Serbian historical cuisine, they have great food, I recommend you try it.

[samnsara]

34. we are making traditional Rhode Island Johnny cakes with molasses for breakfast!

[Lucinda]

35. ❤️ ✿❧🌿❧✿ ❤️

That sounds yummy!

[samnsara]

38. ..lets see how it tastes...:)

..i had them in RI when I visited during their huge Columbus Day celebration. The East coast celebrates a lot!

[samnsara]

37. love the discription of the burnt meat thats raw inside..thats how i like mine!

..the uncooked blood in the rawish middle is the salt....

[mntleo2]

39. Love these recipes!

As an avid YT watcher of historic foods, thanks for the links you post here. At potlucks I often get people to try it when I tell them it is a historic food from whatever time and place it comes from. Also they can be quite delicious, TY again

Cat in Seattle ~ home of Ruby the evil red mega-mixer who almost murdered us ~ she did not actually murder us, but she tried to and I swear it was because she WAS evil