More recipes from the Roman Festival at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds for you to try.

An exploration of Roman gladiator diets to tie in with the Royal Armouries Museum's Roman Festival 2025.

A guide to poisons, their history and uses in the ancient world.

The hidden history behind the meanings of food related words, terms and phrases.

What follows was inspired by the video “ Vegetables don’t exist ” on the “Words Unravelled!” YouTube channel hosted by Rob Watts from “ RobWords ” and Jess Zafarris author of the etymology books “Words from Hell” and “Once Upon a Word”. Meal Times As Tastes Of History is based in the UK our focus on food history and recipes is unashamedly British and Euro-centric. Clearly, however, cuisine and dining in the “Old World” has been heavily influenced by pretty much all areas

I wonder how many of us take the humble tin can for granted? Have you ever stopped to think of the origins of this omnipresent object as you toss another one into the recycling? As the name might imply, Tastes Of History spends a lot of time teaching history in primary schools across Great Britain. Our workshops from the Stone Age to World War 2 are also mirrored by our practical cooking demonstrations at historical events around the country. While talking with children and a

If in Split, Croatia then definitely dine at Villa Spiza. Tastes Of History ate there several times and it was fantastic.

Found on the website Twinkl, “ Ten short facts about the Romans ” was posted on December 8th, 2020 by unknown author possibly based in Ireland. Regardless, but bearing in mind that the “facts” are intended to educate children, number seven elicited a raised eyebrow. The whole text reads as follows, with our highlighted emphasis: “ 7. Rich Romans had slaves who served them some exotic foods. There was a variety of wealth in Roman times. The richest of the Romans would have sla

After several years of wishing we could be involved a chance encounter while “pirating” in Scarborough has led to Tastes Of History’s first performance at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, Yorkshire. We were delighted to offer a taste of mediæval food to spectators at the live-action International Jousting Tournament over the Easter bank holiday weekend. From Friday 29th March to Monday 1st April the museum’s impressive jousting arena resounded to the cheers of crowds an

Recently the BBC broadcast an episode of “ Rick Stein’s Food Stories ” that stated the origin of fish and chips lay with the Portuguese who first fried fish in the 15th-century. While the fried fish claim might have a historical basis, as we will see, the connection with chips is more problematic as potatoes did not appear in Britain until the late 16th-century or early 17th-century. So, was Mr Stein correct? We set out to find out and it seems that, while now a quintessentia

For some time we, at Tastes Of History , believed the hare was a native species in Britain belonging to the genus Lepus [1] . A recent post on social media, however, advocated the Brown Hare was introduced during Roman times and that the Mountain Hare was the only native subgenus. We were surprised so had to investigate further. The Brown Hare, more correctly called the European Hare ( Lepus europaeus ), is native to much of continental Europe and part of Asia, ranging from

While working in one of our favourite schools, the book “ Roman Adventure ” (pictured right ) was discovered and was instantly intriguing given that Tastes O f History was founded on a passion for Roman history. Written by Roderick Hunt and Alex Brychta, it is a slim volume aimed at developing the reading and comprehension skills of primary school children [1] . What drew our attention was the “ Caesar-like ” character on the front cover who is apparently eating a pizza s

As the New Year slowly unfolds, we look back to the festive season and the recipe for a mince pie that rather fortuitously was published in the Christmas edition of the BBC’s History Magazine. Taken from Robert May’s 1660 cookery book ‘The Accomplisht Cook’, the recipe below, adapted by Eleanor Barnett a food historian at Cardiff University, is for a traditional mince pie. By the Tudor period mince pies had become popular festive treats but, as the name suggests, the filling

We will be “ Sailing the Pirate Round ” once again and as before we will be visiting several English Heritage sites across Britain and introducing visitors to some of the food and drink popular in AD 1700 during the reign of Queen Anne and at the height of the Golden Age of Piracy. Those visitors who sample the prepared dishes nearly all agree that our lobscouse is delicious. It being a mixture of fried potatoes, fried onions, corned beef hash, smoked ham and spices – the re

The diet of a Roman soldier consisted of wheat, rations of smoked bacon or fresh meat (when available, usually pork), vegetables, legumes, cheese, vinegar, olive oil, and wine. These rations were issued several times per week so that every soldier would have carried food for around three days. The cost of the ration, around 60 Denarii per year, was deducted from each soldier’s pay. Food Just like for Roman civilians the bulk of the diet of a Roman soldier consisted of wheat t

Discovering the history behind Chicken à la Marengo, reputedly Napoleon Bonaparte's favourite dish.

The longevity of ancient Egyptian society, some 3,500 years, was largely because they had the good fortune to live in a sunny land, well-watered by the river Nile, which was just right for growing a wide variety of vegetables and cereal crops. Throughout human history, however, your wealth dictated the access to and variety of foods available. Poor Egyptians relied on a diet of bread, beans, onions and green vegetables to stave off hunger. Where do we get our evidence? Food f

Grog is a term used for a variety of alcoholic beverages. In naval parlance, the word originally referred to rum diluted with water to which, on later long sea voyages, was added lemon or lime juice. Origin During the ‘Age of Sail’, a period that lasted from the mid to late-15th to the mid-19th centuries, sailors required significant quantities of fresh water on extended voyages. As desalinating sea water was not a practical option so fresh water had to be carried aboard ship

This year sees Tastes O f History portraying reputable innkeepers “ famed ” for our “ good food at most reasonable prices ” . Of course, we can keep prices low because our chief suppliers are notably “ legitimate ” importers of “ revenue-free ” goods (don't ask any questions!). They also operate a most profitable side-line in beach clearances and marine salvage should an unfortunate vessel be wrecked [1] on England's treacherous coasts…who said we’re “ Pirates ” ? Saili

A brief history of food and their origins. This time, Peacock.