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Overview
With people’s fascination for food increasing, there are more cooking shows and magazines than ever. Medieval banquets are sold-out events and classic recipes and ingredients are back in fashion, which is what this book sets out to explore.
Highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each era from Roman times onwards, Anna Selby recreates classic recipes from Epicurius’s stuffed dormice to recipes that readers really will want to recreate. She explores how trade and improved transportation increased foodstuffs available and reflects on how we’re returning to the old-fashioned notion of seasonal foods—just like our ancestors had to do.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781781598344 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Pen & Sword Books Limited |
| Publication date: | 04/21/2009 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 128 |
| Sales rank: | 1,019,697 |
| File size: | 6 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
The Ancient World
LET'S go right back to the beginning – in so far as we know it. The staples of the ancient Egyptian diet were bread and beer – mortuary offerings often bear the inscription 'bread, beer and all good things'. And, for the poor, there was probably not much more than that, just some vegetables and fish from the Nile, either dried, boiled, fried or roasted, or occasional game in the shape of quails, ducks and cranes. The rich, on the other hand, shunned fish and ate game in the form of various kinds of antelope and the meat from domesticated animals, such as beef, pork, goose, mutton and duck instead, though even the rich probably didn't eat them as often as we do today – they were too expensive a commodity to raise in such an arid land. The rich also drank wine besides the ubiquitous beer.
As well as having a greater choice in meat, the diet for the rich was a surprisingly varied and sophisticated one. It featured olive oil and figs and food was flavoured with herbs and spices such as cumin, coriander and cinnamon, thyme, dill and fennel. Under the warm Egyptian sun, fruit and vegetables were grown and eaten widely, especially onions, garlic and green vegetables. They were generally recognised in ancient Egypt as health giving foods (as, of course, has been established scientifically today) though through later millennia they were to be eschewed by all but the poorest. Local grapes, watermelon, figs, pomegranates and dates were eaten by rich and poor alike, while olives, peaches and cherries were imported. One of the most widely used foods was honey, and not just as a sweetener. It was highly regarded for its medicinal properties (honey being a powerful antiseptic) and beeswax was used as an essential part of the process of mummification.
Everyone, both rich and poor, ate bread every day and the ancient Egyptians produced a prodigious amount of grain along the banks of the Nile. It was the river's annual flooding that gave Egypt its fertile soil and made it one of the earliest civilisations with a highly developed form of agriculture. Besides bread, the grain harvest was used to make pastries and cakes, flavoured with honey, fruits, sesame and nuts. Flat bread was sometimes baked with eggs poured into hollows and, of course, some of the cereal went to make the barley beer. The production of the flour was, literally, a daily grind. The process meant pounding, grinding and milling, all of which were done by hand while the cook sat on the ground out of doors, where a good many unwanted ingredients inevitably found their way into the flour. Egyptian cooking took place out of doors, too, over open wood fires or in clay ovens, reducing the risk of fire. And, although the cooking methods were basic, ancient tombs show plenty of fine storage jars and bowls. Rich Egyptians ate off bronze, silver and even gold, while the poor had to make do with clay.
Corn Dollies
The corn god in ancient Egypt and Babylon was Tammuz, the son of Ishtar, mother of the universe. At the end of every harvest, special refuges for him were constructed out of the last sheaves plaited into fans or cages and these were the very first corn idols or dollies that were to proliferate throughout every wheat-growing country for millennia. In the Balkans, the fan shape of the original Egyptian dolly persisted, known as the Montenegrin Fan. In England, corn dollies were to appear in many guises. There were Shropshire Mares, Derbyshire Crowns, Kern Babbies and Ivy Girls – all daughters of their Egyptian mother, Ishtar.
Salt
In the contemporary world where too much salt is linked with a range of life-threating diseases, we tend to forget how important it really is. A lack of salt in the diet was the problem in ancient times and salt was a vital and expensive commodity.
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salte?
Gospel according to St Matthew.
An Egyptian Dish
Hummus
This is a simple dish that is still popular today throughout the Middle East. It can be used as a dip for vegetables or pitta bread or as a side dish with salads and falafels
225g / 8oz chick peas
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
5 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt Juice of 1 lemon
Soak the chick peas overnight, bring to the boil in fresh water, boil fast for 10 minutes, then simmer for a further 40 minutes.
Drain and mash (or use a food processor) with the other ingredients.
ANCIENT HOSPITALITY
Hospitality was a concept central to the Ancient World. In Biblical times, one of the best known stories from the life of Jesus tells of when he was welcomed into a house as an honoured guest, where his feet were washed and anointed with expensive oils. In Greece there was a sacred duty to take care of the stranger, who brought news of wars and marriages, festivities and disasters, in a time when other forms of communication were limited to say the least. Food, and with it feasting, was one of the principal ways in which to welcome, to form a bond and cement alliances. For all these reasons, guests were honoured: they were served first and given the choicest foods.
On the other hand, this bond could be abused, too. Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, was obliged to host her numerous unprepossessing suitors for the many years of her husband's absence while they eroded her herds and cellars. The ultimate crime in ancient Greece was the murder of a guest – hence the power of the epic story of the returning Agamemnon. Home from the Trojan War, he is murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus (who also happened to be Agamemnon's own cousin) at the banquet they hold in his honour. And, while Greeks were generally rather more well-behaved than this at the table, they could, like Hooray Henry, indulge in food fights. There was one game in particular that involved the swinging of a wine cup with the aim that its contents ended up on a bronze dish. No doubt they frequently missed.
The Symposium
Although the ancient Greeks usually sat to eat as we do, at formal all-male dinners they tended to lie down on couches and this is how we mostly picture them. At these dinners, rather than having a communal table, everyone had a small individual table of his own. The tables would appear with the food already on them, and serve as a plate, too. They could be wiped down and more food could be placed on them, or new tables would bring in new courses. It is thought that the Greeks adopted the idea of lying on couches during meals after having observed Assyrians and Phoenicians in this pose.
The couch itself was regarded as a symbol of prestige and so it was only the upper classes and, of them, only men who were permitted to use it. Women were never allowed to join them on the couches – unless they were the prostitutes or dancing girls brought in as part of the entertainment. Any other women who on rare occasions might attend would be seated – regarded as a far inferior position to lying on the couch. The dining couch could be quite a distance from the ground and require a footstool to mount it. The diner then had to lie on his left elbow and eat using his right hand. At the end of dinner, guests would wipe their hands on bread and throw it to the dogs, along with any leftovers or bones. This practice would continue well into the Middle Ages.
One school of thought believes that the same system was current in biblical times. The Last Supper would have taken place reclining on couches and not in the manner everyone knows from Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting. The apostle John is seen in da Vinci's picture leaning rather awkwardly on Christ's shoulder, but in the original Greek he is described as 'leaning back on his master's chest', as he would have done during a reclining conversation.
Later, came the drinking part of the evening and this was quite separate from the dinner. To mark the turning point, after the dishes were cleared, the guests would perfume themselves and light incense in the room, thereby changing the ambience. The paraphernalia of drinking replaced that of eating. There were ladles, pitchers, cups, a great bowl (known as a krater) for mixing water and wine and even pitchers of snow to cool the wine. A libation, or offering to the gods (often to Dionysus, god of wine), of the first of the wine was made before the drinking began among the men. The wine was never drunk 'neat' but diluted so that there was slightly more water than wine in the cup, enabling the enlightened conversation of the symposium to take place. And such talks! They were to become the basis of the Symposiums of Plato and Plutarch. The wine fuelled the flow of conversation and, incidentally, drinking your wine without water was almost a definition of barbarism, believed to lead in all probability to madness and death.
The Mediterranean triad
For the first part of their history, at least, the Greeks were modest in their appetite for food, regarding Epicureanism as something that undermined the strength of nations – as witnessed by Alexander the Great when he conquered the immensely powerful but morally decadent Persian Empire, grown corpulent on sweetmeats. The life of the animal given up so that people could eat was regarded with respect. Every time an animal was slaughtered, particular parts of it – the bones and the fat – would be set aside as an offering to the gods, while the meat was reserved for human consumption. Over time, though, the Greeks became less devout and food and religion went their separate ways. The pleasures of the table became an end in themselves and wealthy men would employ their own accomplished cooks and leave the preparation of it to them. Nevertheless, for the most part, the Greeks preferred simple food and, when not at grand dinners, they had a diet that was based on what became known as the 'Mediterranean triad': wheat, olive oil and wine. They had three meals a day more or less at the same times as we do. Bread, usually flat bread, was the staple and was often flavoured with cheese or honey. It could be made of wheat or barley and was dipped in wine or olive oil for breakfast.
Pumpkin Pie
Although it sounds like the ultimate American dessert, pumpkin pie was popular among the ancient Greeks, orange pumpkins being common in Thrace (an ancient country lying west of the Black Sea and north of the Aegean). The same dish could be made with courgettes – both are savoury rather than sweet.
Serves 6
1 large pumpkin or 6 courgettes
4 tbsp olive oil
4 eggs divided into white and yolks
4 tbsp plain flour
300g / 10½ oz feta cheese Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Grate the pumpkin, sprinkle with salt and leave for 2 – 3 hours. Sauté the pumpkin in the oil. Cool and add the egg yolks and flour. Stir in the cheese and seasoning. Pour into a large (25cm / 10in) greased and floured baking pan. Bake at 200°C / 400°F / gas mark 6 for 30 minutes.
Other mainstays included vegetables, such as cabbage, onion and beans, often turned into soup, and also salads, such as rocket, lettuce, cucumbers and cress. Fruits – figs, oranges, quinces and pomegranates – formed the main dessert, served with nuts. The Greeks also regularly used lentils and beans, eggs, honey and cheese in cooking, and their flavourings included dill, mint, pepper, oregano, saffron and thyme.
The wealthier you were, the more meat you were likely to eat. It came from goats, pigs, poultry and sheep, but so valuable were farmed animals generally that when one was slaughtered, every last bit of it was used. If you lived close to the sea (a fifth of Greece comprises islands) you would eat more fish and shellfish. Local specialities varied, too. The Mycenaeans liked beef and kid, while Spartans ate mostly pork and a black gruel for which they were famed. In addition, there were numerous special diets for everyone from vegetarians to training athletes.
Greek Mullet
Mullet is a favourite Mediterranean fish. Here it is simply stuffed with herbs and grilled. Serves 6
6 small red mullets
3 tbsp olive oil
2 handfuls of herbs such as thyme, mint and dill Salt and freshly milled pepper
Have the fish cleaned by the fishmonger. Mix the oil, herbs and seasoning and use to stuff the fish, smearing any leftover mixture over the top of the fish. Grill for 5 minutes on each side.
Tributes to Aphrodite
The Greeks were firm believers in the powers of aphrodisiacs (the name is taken from the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite). Favourite foods for increased sexual prowess and stamina included artichokes and bean soup – a pretty lethal combination. Perhaps the most renowned aphrodisiacs, however, were edible bulbs, notably the muscari comosum, the grape hyacinth, which would be boiled, then marinated in vinegar and finally served drizzled with olive oil.
CHAPTER 2The Romans
NERO was famous not only for his musicianship at inappropriate moments, he held banquets renowned for their lavishness, too. The food would be exotic and extravagant and his guests were treated to the most theatrical of experiences. Beneath the domed ceiling of his banqueting hall, which reflected the heavens with the stars and planets moving as they would in the sky, they were showered during their feasting with flowers and sprinkled with perfumed oils.
This was just one rather extreme end of the Roman economic spectrum, however, and at a time when the imperial family's excesses were at their height. Other periods and other classes lived very differently. The poor ate frugally, their diet consisting mostly of bread, and pea or bean broth, olive oil and a little fish. If they were peasants wealthy enough to own chickens or a cow, they might have milk, cheese or eggs. All classes, though, relied above all on grains — principally barley, wheat and millet — as their staple food. Much of the grain came from Egypt, often described as the 'bread basket' of the Roman Empire and it was used in a wide variety of ways. It could be ground into flour for the round, flat, unleavened bread that was common at the time and can still be seen in Greece, Turkey and the Middle East today. Among the poor, the grain could also be made into a gruel, called puls. Sweet cakes and pastries, flavoured with honey, were popular, too.
The moderately rich enjoyed a varied diet with plenty of fruit, such as figs and grapes; vegetables, including leeks, asparagus, onion, garlic, radishes, courgettes and marrows, cabbage and lettuce; fish and shellfish; and the most expensive ingredient, meat, most commonly lamb or goat. Olives were ubiquitous and olive oil was used in many dishes. Cheese — fresh, smoked, local or imported — and eggs were both popular. Honey was the only widely available sweetener and used in all kinds of cooked dishes, in cakes and simply as a delicious sop for bread. As a result, bee-keeping was an important Roman industry.
Wherever they went, the Romans built roads, cities and baths and took their foods and preferred tastes with them. They brought wine, herbs and spices to all corners of the empire and introduced many new foods. Though often assumed to be a native, it was the Romans, for instance, who introduced the apple to Britain. The crab apple was native to these islands, but having a sour taste it was not to be compared with the fruit produced in the Roman orchards.
The daily routine of the Romans was similar to the one we have today, though many centuries passed in between their society and ours when mealtimes were quite different. Break fast, or ientaculum, was similar to that of the ancient Greeks with some bread dipped in watered-down wine and perhaps some honey, olives or dates. Lunch, or prandium, was a light meal again based around bread, with any of the breakfast dishes, together with some cheese and fruit. The main meal was dinner, or cena, and this took place in the late afternoon or evening. For the poor it was usually more bread, vegetables and olive oil; but for the rich, even when they were not entertaining or holding a banquet, it would consist of three courses and plenty of wine.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Food Through the Ages"
by .
Copyright © 2008 Anna Selby.
Excerpted by permission of Pen and Sword Books Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Title Page,
Copyright Page,
Introduction,
Chapter 1 - The Ancient World,
Chapter 2 - The Romans,
Chapter 3 - The Middle Ages,
Chapter 4 - The Sixteenth Century,
Chapter 5 - The Seventeenth Century,
Chapter 6 - The Eighteenth Century,
Chapter 7 - The Nineteenth Century,
Chapter 8 - The Twentieth Century,
Glossary,
Acknowledgements,
Permissions,
Bibliography,
Index,