Health Food from the Dark Ages
Posted
Sat, 05/04/13
According to Discovery News, the oldest European medieval cookbook has been found:
The recipes, which include food and medical ointment concoctions, were written in Latin. They were compiled at Durham Cathedral's monastery in the year 1140. Essentially a health book, meals were intended to improve a person's health or to cure certain afflictions.
For preserved ginger:
It should kept in "pure water" and then "sliced lengthwise into very thin slices, and mixed thoroughly with prepared honey that has been cooked down to a sticky thickness and skimmed. It should be rubbed well in the honey with the hands, and left a whole day and night."
The Northern Echo reported:
The 12th Century recipes are mainly for sauces to accompany mutton, chicken, duck, pork and beef, and also include a chicken dish named "Hen in Winter," denoting the use of older birds over the winter months. The sauces include Mediterranean flavors, featuring ingredients such as parsley, sage, pepper, garlic and coriander. The text describes one recipe as deriving from central western France.
Students from Durham University Institute of Medieval & Early Modern Studies recreated some of the dishes for a workshop held April 25th at Blackfriars Restaurant in Newcastle. Researchers are translating the cookbook under the title "Zinziber" (Latin for ginger).
Tags: Medieval
Send
Comment >
