*waves at followers* - as well as medieval food, I also love early modern recipes, mostly 18th century from the Edinburgh cook books of Mrs MacIver and Mrs Frazer. Go give me a follow over there if you like puff pastry and fruit pyramids with an orange on top pretending to be a pineapple. 🍊🍍

Just for @stewedpearsdotcom.bsky.social a better photo of the marzipan hedgehogs. Based on a German recipe from 1460. Made with almonds, sugar and rosewater, this was luxury food, rich subtleties to amuse the guests at the Lord's table. With almond spikes and pepper eyes. (Disclaimer in comments).

Lombard Chicken, made by my fellow medieval cook Gabe. The recipe is for a whole chicken baked in pastry. Most online recreations make smaller chicken pasties using small bits of chicken. Not Gabe; never one to refuse a challenge he not only baked a whole chicken, he made three of them!

Purchases of the weekend from the medieval market. A late medieval style pipkin based on 15th century originals and a replica of a Kingston Ware face cup from 13th-14th century London. Both from Bog Born Crafts.

Traquair Medieval Fayre 2026 - it was hot, it was busy, we cooked and cooked, it all got eaten, everybody loved the food, the public were interested and asked all the good questions. What a ridiculously fun way to spend a weekend.

Cooking prep is in full swing for Traquair Medieval Fayre at Traquair House tomorrow. This is a mushroom tart from Libro di Cucina (Italian, C15th). Mushroom, cheese, egg, a few herbs and spices, looks awesome and I won't hear a word about my pastry skills, it's rustic! 🤣

Delighted to be lecturing to students at Emory University this week as part of this "Cooking with Chaucer and Shakespeare" course. news.emory.edu/stories/2026...

Sops from Libro de la Cocina, Italy C14th. Take round slices of bread and soak them in beaten egg yolks and fry them in a pan: then put them on a trencher one on top of the other; and, if you want, you can put sugar or spices on them, and serve it to your Lord with peacock or with other birds.

Pomegranate chicken, Libro de la Cocina (Italy, C14th). Fry chicken with onion, add pomegranate juice and 'unrefined starch' (I just blended in rice flour), simmer, add spices. I went with the medieval trinity of cinnamon, ginger, mace. The pomegranate juice wasn't too sweet on its own but...

Come and say hello if you're going! I'll be in the kitchen with The Company of St Margaret, as usual.

Saturday pie-smithing! Based on 'Grete Pye' from Harleian MS4016 (c.1460) but also using recipes I've been given by reenactment pals down the years. A hot water crust pastry, a filling of minced beef, chicken and boiled eggs, with currants, cinnamon, ginger, mace, pepper and a little stock. 😋

Planning on making a pie this weekend. Thought I'd get some pastry practice in first...😂

It's not exactly food, but it's food-adjacent and I was very touched to receive a copy of Daniel's book from his lovely wife yesterday (I hate the word 'widow', I can't bring myself to say it). Very interested to have a look at this. 💙

There's so much history in York, but I decided to have a medieval morning. Barley Hall, a medieval townhouse dating from 1360 and the Merchant Adventurer's Hall, a medieval guildhall dating from 1357. Top marks for both! And a small mouse hidden in plain sight in both locations too.

Ahrash (fried lamb patties) from an anonymous 13th-century Arabic collection, based on the translation by Professor Daniel Newman in 'The Exile's Cookbook'. These are so good, I need somebody to come round for dinner so I can make them again. Lamb, garlic, cumin, coriander, caraway and murri.

Panades D'aucell ("Bird Turnovers"), Sent Sovi, Catalonia, C.14th. One more from Professor Daniel Newman. Hollow out "the biggest onion you can find", layer streaky bacon inside, then add chicken with cinnamon, cloves and sugar.

Resoles (Fritters) from Sent Sovi, Catalonia, C.14. From last year's medieval Andalusian cookery week with Professor Daniel Newman. A yeasted dough mixed with egg and feta cheese, fried and covered in sugar. Imagine sugary doughnuts with the occasional salty feta cheese bite. Really fantastic!

Galinha Mourisca, 'Moorish Chicken' from Um Tratado Da Cozinha, a 15th-century collection associated with the Infanta Maria of Portugal. Chicken, bacon, spring onions, parsley, coriander, mint and lemon juice. Served on toasted bread with poached egg yolks and cinnamon.

Garnished Turnips. Cuoco Napoletano, Italy, C15th. Peel, boil, slice turnips. Layer with cheese and powder fort (a mix of cinnamon, ginger and plenty of black pepper). Make at least two layers, three is better. Top with cheese and bake until it’s bubbling and golden on top. Further notes:

Conynges in Grave (rabbits in gravy). Arundel 334, England, 1425. Parboil rabbits, chop into pieces, simmer in “good broth” until cooked. Make almond milk using ground almonds and beef stock, boil it in a pan and add the rabbit. Strain the broth in which the rabbit was cooked and add that too. Add..

Victoria and Albert Museum in London today. Found some Medieval treasures. The glass goblet is late C15th-early C16th Venetian. The enamelled spoons are C15th, the pewter one is C13th. The earthenware jugs are English, late C13th-early C14th. The plates are C12th Byzantine. What a fantastic museum.

Pastel de Cabrito (Kid Pie), Libre del Coch, Catalonia, C.15th. Cooked diced goat, parsley, some medieval spices and a little olive oil. The translations say “pie”, “pastry” or “empanada”. Pies might be more likely (because of the reference to the vent hole at the end), but I went for an empanada.

Thick Broth of Bread, Cheese and Eggs. Cuoco Napoletano, Italy, C.15th. Grate half a loaf of bread and boil it in stock for 15 minutes; the recipe says meat stock, I used chicken. Take off the heat to cool a little, then beat together some cheese and eggs and add to the soup along with some saffron.

Daryalys (Darioles, Daryoles, there are similar recipes in many sources). I used Arundel 334, England, 1425. The ones that look like custard tarts have cream, eggs, sugar and powder douce, a sweet spice mix; mine has ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, grains of paradise and galingal. The green ones...

In 1290, Edward I purchased 450 eggs to be coloured or decorated with gold leaf and given out to his household. I can’t find details about the dyes, so I’ve used what I know was available then. The yellow ones are saffron, the red-brown ones are onion skins and the blue ones are red cabbage.

New substack - Sack! Early modern rather than medieval but sometimes you just have to go where the research leads. Today's fun fact, Samuel Pepys mentioned drinking sack by the pint. Makes you wonder how he ever managed to write a diary...😆 medievalfoodwithjennie.substack.com/p/a-sack-ful...

It's beginning to look a lot like Easter! Planning medieval recipes when meat's back on the menu. And eggs and dairy. I bought all the cheese! 🧀

To make peascods in Lent. From 'The Good Housewife's Jewell', England, 1596. Figs, dates, raisins, mashed up with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and mace. Cover in a thin pastry, shape to look like pea pods ("peascods") and fry in oil. Mine bear no resemblance to pea pods, but what can you do. They...

My latest blog post is about the types of pepper used in medieval cookery. medievalfoodwithjennie.substack.com/p/pepper-a-s...

Salmon and leeks from 'Wel ende edelike spijse', Dutch C15th. Finely chop whites of leeks, boil in wine and water with fried onion, add salmon, saffron, salt, pepper. I wasn't sure whether to chop up the salmon or not, but decided to poach it in the cooking liquid.

Hebolace, from Forme of Cury, England c.1390. An onion and herb stew. I put in a ton of herbs - parsley, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, dill, sage, chives - to try and make it as tasty as possible. Lots of herbs is definitely the way forward, this was much tastier than expected!

Towards the end of last year, I was interviewed by Ann Marie for her "Travel and Culture" blog and talked about some of the places I've travelled to learn about food history and what I've discovered there. open.substack.com/pub/travelan...?

Pancakes In Lent, from 'Wel ende edelike spijse', Dutch C15th. It's a fish-with-fruit recipe that uses pike, but I used cod. Add saffron, figs, flour tempered with wine, then fry in oil. Sweet, fruity, winey, fishy. Mr Medieval Food said,"I don't hate them, but I'm confused by them". 😆

Looking forward to the Leeds Historical Food Symposium. Alessandra and Sheila spoke alongside me at last year's Symposium and they're wonderful, so I'm looking forward to their talks. It'll be great to meet up with some food historian pals and the rest of the talks look pretty awesome. Can't wait!

Taillis to be Served in Lent, Le Menagier de Paris, France c.1393. Chop grapes, apples, mix with almond milk, sugar, saffron and "bread cut in small cubes". Simmer until it's thick enough to slice. I had to wrestle it off Mr Medieval Food to have another taste, he liked it so much. Definite winner.

Lossenges Fried In Lent, 'A Noble Boke of Cookry', England c.1468. I thought this would be a very austere dish, but the sugar makes it a nice snack. Flour, water, sugar, saffron, a pinch of salt, make dough, roll it thin, cut into lozenges, fry in oil. Lovely sweet treat!

Found a recipe that said to decorate a dish with gilded or coloured almonds. And I just took delivery of some sandalwood, which was used as a food colouring in medieval cookery. So I had a bit of a Saturday afternoon experiment. This is almonds coloured with saffron (yellow) and sandalwood (red).

Frumenty with Porpoise [but it's not porpoise, it's tuna], 'A Noble Boke of Cookry', England, c.1468. Bulgur wheat cooked in almond milk with saffron, served with sliced tuna. This was lovely - a bit plain compared to the many other medieval recipes that are full of spices, but very pleasant.

Mr Medieval Food on today's Lenten recipe: "I don't hate them. But I'm confused by them". Keep following throughout Lent to see what he was talking about...🤣

How do we know what we know about what people ate in the past? medievalfoodwithjennie.substack.com/p/the-import...

Apple sauce in Lent, from 'Wel ende edelike spijse', Dutch C15th. Brace yourselves, this is apple with cod liver. The tinned cod livers were already cooked, so I cooked the apples and puréed them together with saffron and almond milk. "Powder fort" sprinkled over the top, which is...

Sicilian Semolina Dish from Cuoco Napoletano, Italy, C.15th. Normally, you would cook this dish in a meat stock and serve it with cheese and spices. During Lent, you make it with almond milk, sugar and rosewater. And it's amazing - sweet semolina porridge flavoured with rosewater. What a treat!

Did medieval people really think beavers were fish? Was it just a ruse so they could eat meat at Lent? medievalfoodwithjennie.substack.com/p/did-mediev...

Rissoles for Lent, Le Menagier de Paris, French, c.1393. Chestnuts, cod, sea bass, figs and dates with some Powder Fort - a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and black pepper. The fish was cooked first, then everything was chopped up small, formed into rissoles and fried in oil. I went...

Medieval bread recipes are scarce. Extant recipe collections are from high-status households and bread isn't generally included. It would have been assumed that people knew how to bake their own bread or, if you could afford it, bakers would bake it for you. Some people have created...

Really not sure about the combination of apple and cod liver! Follow my medieval Lenten recipe posts to see how it turns out...😱

Apple Fritters For Lent, Libro di Cucina, Italian, C14th. Peel and slice apples "in the way of the host", dip in a batter made from flour and saffron, fry in oil (lard and butter aren't allowed in Lent), then serve with sugar. These are lovely and a nice way to ease into our Lenten food adventure.

Lent is the 40 days before Easter, a period of fasting and abstinence in the Medieval Christian calendar. Medieval Lenten recipes exist - some are specific Lenten recipes, but some 'normal' recipes have an extra line outlining how to amend it if you want to make it suitable for Lent. Generally...

Pancake day, medieval style. From Liber de Coquina, c.1300. The yellow ones are crispellas, with saffron. The pink ones are fristellis, with "flowers, of which kind you wish". The recipe says to colour and add seasonings "as you please". I used...