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...

Hennys in Gauncelye - Chicken in a creamy garlic sauce - Harleian MS.279, c.1430. Roast chicken with a sauce made from milk and garlic, thickened with egg yolks and coloured with saffron.

One of my favourite medieval food facts!

Stuffed apples from 'Wel ende edelike spijse', Dutch, C15th. Slice off the top of an apple and hollow it out. Stuff with cooked pork mince mixed with chopped hardboiled eggs, black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Fix the top back on and fry. /1

Me looking every inch the slightly crumpled medieval cook talking to the elegant and regal lady of the castle about food. 😆 youtu.be/H0W08msONsA?...

I'm giving an online lecture to a college class next week and I'm putting together a Powerpoint showing some of the medieval dishes I've made and it's giving me totally happy feels. 🥰

A game pie, Sabina Welserin (German, c.1553). "Do not make a formed pastry..instead make a broad flat cake..and fold it over as for a doughnut and make a pretty wreath". Venison, pheasant, duck, partridge, with bacon lardons to add a bit of fat. She says it's better cold so I've kept some for later.

Have you listened to the first of my podcast specials about Burns Night? This episode looks into the history of haggis & the first Burns Nights with the fantastic @medievalfoodjennie.bsky.social The BritishFood History Podcast is available on all podcast apps: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/h...

It's here! I'm on the British Food History Podcast talking to @neilbuttery.bsky.social about the history of haggis and Burns Night! Listen at this link, or wherever you get your podcasts. britishfoodhistory.com

Just me talking about Burns Night on the British Food History Podcast! Interesting fact - the first ever Burns Supper was organised by an ancestor of mine. You'll have to listen to find out more!

When Christmas gives you book vouchers. Can't wait to get stuck into these!

This isn't medieval but on Jan 21st, Britain's foremost food historian Ivan Day is giving a free online talk about ice cream making in the 18th century. He's ridiculously interesting and this will be very good.

Turns out the way I make porridge is (almost) a medieval recipe! This is Grewel of Almaundes from Forme of Cury, England, c.1390. Grind blanched almonds with oatmeal, boil in water with saffron and salt. I used pinhead oatmeal (also called steel cut oats) because that's what I use for my porridge.

Quince tart, from Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin, Germany, c. 1553. Cook the quinces, add sugar, cinnamon and "strong wine". Really lovely, no further notes, except that my pastry would look a lot neater if it had chilled for a bit longer before baking. Hey ho.

Happy Holidays - whatever you celebrate and however you celebrate it, I wish you all the best. Here's to more medieval food adventures in 2026.

Medieval Style Mince Pies. Not from an original source, so "medieval style", but they're the best mince pies, especially if you don't really like mince pies because they're too sweet. I'll post the ingredients in the comments.

Black Friday shopping medieval food style! Lovely new kitchen knives from Tod's Workshop. 💕

Spanish Pastries, from Das Kochbuch der Sabina Welserin (German, c. 1553). Roll out shortcrust pastry into a thin rectangle, sprinkle with ground almonds, sugar and butter, roll it into a sausage and cut it into pieces, then bake until golden.

Pety Pernauntes and Pety Pernollys from MS Harleian 279, 1430. Both have egg yolks, currants, ginger and sugar, but one mixes all the ingredients together to make a custard-like filling, while the other says to keep the egg yolks whole and cover them with the other ingredients. Both are good.

Another one from Prof Dr Thomas Glonings's recent lecture on medieval surprise or show foods. From Maister Hannsen des von Wirtenberg Koch, 1460. A white hedgehog made of almonds. I think a plate of small marzipan hedgehogs would look great on the lords' table at a show next summer. 🦔