The History Book Club discussion

Art, Culture, and Cuisine: Ancient and Medieval Gastronomy

by Phyllis Pray Bober (no photo)

Synopsis:

In Art, Culture, and Cuisine, Phyllis Pray Bober examines cooking through an assortment of recipes as well as the dual lens of archaeology and art history. Believing that the unity of a culture extends across all forms of expression, Bober seeks to understand the minds and hearts of those who practiced cookery or consumed it as reflected in the visual art of the time.

Bober draws on archaeology and art history to examine prehistoric eating customs in ancient Turkey; traditions of the great civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome; and rituals of the Middle Ages. Both elegant and entertaining, Art, Culture, and Cuisine reveals cuisine and dining's place at the heart of cultural, religious, and social activities that have shaped Western sensibilities.

"Using gastronomy as its focus, lacy language as its style, and illustrations to enchant, Art, Culture, and Cuisine researches exactly those subjects from the time of the 'first hominids' to the 15th century. . . . The writing is extremely witty, and the dinner menus with recipes are esoteric, delightful, and mostly doable."—Library Journal

"An ambitious attempt to find culinary echoes of visual and sociological movements throughout history. In sturdy, robust prose . . . the author marches us through every major civilization from prehistory through the late Gothic."—New York Times Book Review

Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

by Richard W. Unger (no photo)

Synopsis:

The beer of today brewed from malted grain and hops, manufactured by large and often multinational corporations, frequently associated with young adults, sports, and drunkenness is largely the result of scientific and industrial developments of the nineteenth century. Modern beer, however, has little in common with the drink that carried that name through the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Looking at a time when beer was often a nutritional necessity, was sometimes used as medicine, could be flavored with everything from the bark of fir trees to thyme and fresh eggs, and was consumed by men, women, and children alike, "Beer in the Middle Ages" and the Renaissance presents an extraordinarily detailed history of the business, art, and governance of brewing.

During the medieval and early modern periods beer was as much a daily necessity as a source of inebriation and amusement. It was the beverage of choice of urban populations that lacked access to secure sources of potable water; a commodity of economic as well as social importance; a safe drink for daily consumption that was less expensive than wine; and a major source of tax revenue for the state. In "Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance," Richard W. Unger has written an encompassing study of beer as both a product and an economic force in Europe.

Drawing from archives in the Low Countries and England to assemble an impressively complete history, Unger describes the transformation of the industry from small-scale production that was a basic part of housewifery to a highly regulated commercial enterprise dominated by the wealthy and overseen by government authorities. Looking at the intersecting technological, economic, cultural, and political changes that influenced the transformation of brewing over centuries, he traces how improvements in technology and in the distribution of information combined to standardize quality, showing how the process of urbanization created the concentrated markets essential for commercial production.

Weaving together the stories of prosperous businessmen, skilled brewmasters, and small producers, this impressively researched overview of the social and cultural practices that surrounded the beer industry is rich in implication for the history of the period as a whole."

Revolution and consumption in late medieval England

by Michael Hicks (no photo)

Synopsis:

The essays in this volume focus on the sources and resources of political power, on consumption (royal and lay, conspicuous and everyday) on political revolution and on economic regulation in the later middle ages. Topics range from the diet of the nobility in the fifteenth century to the knightly household of Richard II and the peace commissions, while particular case studies, of Middlesex, Cambridge, Durham Cathedral and Winchester, shed new light on regional economies through an examination of the patterns of consumption, retailing, and marketing.Professor MICHAEL HICKS teaches at King Alfred's College at Winchester.Contributors: CHRISTOPHER WOOLGAR, ALASTAIR DUNN, SHELAGH MITCHELL, ALISON GUNDY, T.B. PUGH, JESSICA FREEMAN, JOHN HARE, JOHN LEE, MIRANDA THRELFALL-HOLMES, WINIFRED HARWOOD, PETER FLEMING.

A little late for this year but maybe in 2017 for Halloween and All Saints Day:

Trick-or-treating as we know it actually had its beginning hundreds of years ago in Medieval England and Ireland. People would make small, round soul cakes for All Saints Day. Children would go door to door as they do now, but instead of collecting piles of candy and “trick-or-treating,” they would sing songs and say prayers for the dead and would receive a soul cake for their efforts. For each cake eaten, a soul would be freed from Purgatory. This tradition continued even into the last century in some areas.

Traditional Soul Cake Recipe
Recipe adapted from: recipewise
Makes about 24 large, 3 1/2-inch ‘cakes’

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups (340 grams) all-purpose flour, sifted
3/4 cup (170 grams) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (170 grams) butter
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp of apple cider vinegar
raisins (optional)

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bow. Work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the egg and white wine vinegar Thoroughly mix all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl sifted flour, spices, and sugar. Rub in the diced butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add in the beaten egg and vinegar and mix with a wooden spoon until it comes together into a ball. The dough will be firm. Use your hands to press the dough together into a ball, if necessary. Cover the bowl and chill for 20 minutes.

3. Lightly flour a clean, flat surface and roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into large rounds using a cookie cutter. Use the end of a wooden spoon to press a cross shape into the cakes. Place the cakes onto the baking sheets and press raisins into the top of the cakes, if desired. Gather the scraps together and roll again until all the dough has been cut into cakes.

Bake, one sheet at a time, for 12-15 minutes, or until the cake tops are lightly golden. Can be eaten warm or at room temperature.

Store in an airtight container for about a week.

Thank you, Michele, for the recipe. It sounds delicious.

Fast and Feast: Food in Medieval Society

by Bridget Ann Henisch (no photo)

Synopsis:

'A fascinating narrative of food and life five centuries ago... this book is highly recommended to dietitians, nutritionists, lovers of food history, and students of medieval life and literature.'-Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Medieval Life and Times - Medieval Food

http://www.medieval-life-and-times.in...

Source: Medieval Life and Times

Medieval Life and Death Festival: Chris Woolgar on food in the Middle Ages

Medieval food is a window onto medieval lives: we see the passions of the elite, the sharp, acidic sauces and spiced foods which dominated Western cuisine by 1100 AD, while the peasantry had overwhelmingly a cereal diet – although they were ambitious for the food of their betters, especially after the Black Death. What people ate, and when, however, were shaped by religion and questions of morality.

Chris Woolgar is Professor of History and Archival Studies at the University of Southampton.

Link: https://youtu.be/Rp1t8Uvgj2s

Source: BBC

What Did Medieval Peasants Eat?

Tasting History with Max Miller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKa5G...