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. 🦔

From Rheinfränkisches Kochbuch c.1445. Mentioned in a lecture by Prof Dr Thomas Gloning, about 'surprise' dishes designed to amuse your guests. Dye egg whites different colours, stack them, cover them in batter and fry the stack. When cut open - astonishment! (There's a video on my IG or FB.) /1

Another great trip to Blackfriars in Newcastle for a lecture by Prof. Dr. Thomas Gloning on Schauessen, "show food" in medieval German texts.From partridge made of fish to a pig's head spitting flame, he looked at food made to confuse, amuse and impress your guests.

Baking bread since the 12th century. The oldest bakery in Salzburg, next to the monastery of St Peter's. Dating back to the 12th century and apparently still using the original wood-fired oven. The mill race comes down off the mountain and into the town canal.

It's the final post for National MEDIEVAL Vegetarian Week: Chickpea Broth from Cuoco Napoletano (Italian, C15th). Soak dried chickpeas. Put them in a pan with some flour, oil, salt, crushed peppercorns, ground cinnamon, and some of the water from the soaked chickpeas. /1

Toledan Mujabbana - The Exile’s Cookbook (Andalusian, C13th) Cheese buns from 13th century al-Andalus. The dough is mixed with cheese, aniseed and herbs. Circles of dough are rolled out and more cheese is piled in the centre of each one, then they are rolled up into buns and baked. /1

Aubergine - Cuoco Napoletano (Italy, C15th). This is lovely – it doesn’t look particularly appetising, but it tastes fantastic. Soft, sweet fried aubergine in a garlic-herb-vinegar fresh sauce. If you like dishes like baba ganoush, you’ll like this. Part 2 has the details... /1

Mushroom and Cheese Pasties from Le Menagier de Paris (French, c.1393). I loved these! Parboiled chopped mushrooms, grated cheese, a little oil and some powder fort - a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and plenty of black pepper.

Benes Yfryed - Forme of Cury (English, c.1390). Fried broad beans with onion, garlic and spices. Boil the beans “almost until they burst”. Drain, add minced onion and garlic and fry until cooked, then add powder douce and serve. ‘Powder douce’ is a spice mix in many medieval recipes. /1

Honeycomb Qatayif - The Exile’s Cookbook (Andalusian, C13th). Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī was a Muslim scholar born in Spain who fled to Tunis during the Christian reconquest. He wrote a cookbook, ‘Best of Delectable Food and Dishes from al-Andalus and al-Maghrib’, translated as The Exile’s Cookbook. /1

Halfway through National MEDIEVAL Vegetarian Week. 😄 Tart in Ymbre Day from Forme of Cury (England, c.1390). Ember Days are fast days in Western Christian traditions. This sounds odd - egg and onion tart with raisins, sweet spices and a bit of sugar. We ended up calling it "quiche-cake". /1

Rafioli de Herbe – Libro di Cucino (Venice). This feels quite modern, but the flavours are medieval. The pasta is made with flour, egg and sugar. The filling is fresh cheese, egg, herbs, spices. I used ricotta with parsley, sage and the crushed seeds of a cardamom pod. /1

Fish-Shaped Gourd – anonymous collection (Arabic, C13th). This is a bit of a curiosity “with which you may deceive the invalid who desires fish and the like”. So the idea is to pass the veg off as fish to a sick person. I’m not sure mine would fool anybody, but it’s interesting to cook. /1.

Funges - Forme of Cury (England, c.1390). ‘Funges’ is Middle English for ‘mushroom’. Chop mushrooms and leeks and boil in ‘good broth’. Colour with saffron and add powder fort. ‘Good broth’ is stock and it's the stock that will make this vegan or vegetarian. /1 #medievalfood #NationalVegetarianWeek

Onions in Cumin Sauce - Wel Ende Edelike Spijse (Good and Noble Food) – Dutch, 15th century. Take cumin, saffron, breadcrumbs and almond milk. Boil with the onion until the bread thickens the sauce and the onion is cooked. Add salt and let it cool sufficiently. /1 #medievalfood #vegetarianfood

Omelette - Libro de Arte Coquinaria (Book on the Art of Cookery) – Italian, c.1465. Green eggs, no ham. A simple omelette with grated cheese. But then the line, “If you want to make it green, you will add the juice of herbs”. #medievalfood #vegetarianfood #nationalvegetarianweek

Pickled Cabbage - Ein Kochbuch aus dem Archiv des Deutschen Ordens (German, 15th century). Boil white cabbage heads, mix two parts mustard to one part honey, add some wine and caraway seeds, then put the cooked cabbage into that and serve it cold. /1 #medievalfood #nationalvegetarianweek

For National MEDIEVAL Vegetarian Week, I'm going to post a series of recipes showing the variety of vegetarian food found in medieval sources. First, Wastels Yfarced from Forme of Cury (England, c.1390). These are stuffed bread rolls. /1 #medievalfood ##nationalvegetarianweek

Starts tomorrow! Follow the page for a week of posts highlighting some of the vegetarian recipes found in medieval sources.

"Sops" is an odd word, but it's just a dish of bread or toast soaked in liquid, usually broth or wine. Sops in sorrell and gooseberry is used as a sauce for chicken. In other recipes, you pile the chicken on top of the bread and pour over the stock. 1/2

New business cards make me happy 😍

Tasty vegetarian food isn't always the first thing people think about when they think about medieval cookery. Join me from Oct 1st for a week of (hopefully tasty) medieval vegetarian recipes for National Vegetarian Week 2025.

Serve it Forth food history festival, Course no1: with @neilbuttery.bsky.social youtube.com/shorts/d3NwM... #foodhistory #festival #serveitforth #eventbrite #ticketsavailable

Apple and cheese pie from Das Kochbuch der Sabina Welserin, German, 1553. Not quite sweet, not quite savoury.

Lamb tagine, chicken tharida, honeyed cheese curds with figs. From the 13th-century collection by Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī 'The Exile's Cookbook', translated and interpreted by Daniel Newman (medieval_arab_cooking). Made this for my parents tonight. Never seen 3 people demolish a lamb tagine so fast. 🤣

Two years ago, I got to look at one of the nine surviving manuscripts of the Forme of Cury, the earliest known English-language recipe book, c.1390. Photos show recipes and a list of foods in a feast prepared for Richard II. This copy is in Durham University library. It's digitised online too.

Last day of Andalusian cookery. Panades d'Aucell, stuffed onion from Sent Sovi, egg straws with custard filling, egg ribbons with cinnamon sugar, both from Um Tratado Da Cozinha. And a captivating talk about the archaeology and architecture of Blackfriars by Dr Andrew Ferrara of Durham University.

Panades d'Aucell from Sent Sovi. Hollow out an onion, line with pancetta, stuff with chicken seasoned with salt, pepper, cinnamon and a little bit of clove. Wrap and bake - the original recipe uses burlap, we used tinfoil. This is lovely - soft, sweet onion with a chicken and bacon filling. 🥓

Back in the medieval Arabic kitchen. Jewish Hen, Moorish Chicken., Resoles (cheese fritters) and Ordiat, a barley cream. Working with Professor Daniel Newman @medieval_arab_cooking has been amazing. What a privilege! One more day to go, but I'm already sad about leaving.

No cookery today, but a trip to Ad Gefrin Anglo-Saxon museum in Northumbria, which also had a whisky distillery. What's not to like about any of that.

Day two of Arabic cooking with Daniel Newman. Ahrash - Andalusian spiced lamb burgers with Sinab, a mustard, almond and honey sauce. Honeyed cheese curds served with figs. Pan-fried rabbit in a vinegar, walnut and garlic sauce. Muruziyya - a veal and prune tagine. Loved everything. 😍🔥

This year's Eat Medieval summer school has Daniel Newman (@medieval_arab_cooking)sharing his medieval Arabic cookery knowledge and I'm in food heaven. Cinnamon and black pepper is my new favourite flavour combination. I'll post details of the food in the comments. More tomorrow 😁

Passing on skills to the next generation or exploiting free child labour? I couldn't possibly comment...