Tastes Of History
A Brief History of Food: The Mediæval Kitchen
Possibly the most significant year in English history, 1066, saw the end of Anglo-Saxon England and start of the reigns of first the...
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Tastes Of History
- Oct 1, 2022
1940s Weekend at Tanfield Railway
Tanfield Railway near Gateshead (NE16 5ET) is the world's oldest railway still in use. Originally built to transport coal from the local...
Tastes Of History
- Sep 15, 2022
A Brief History of Food: Sugar
Sugar is one of the world’s oldest documented commodities, and at one time it was so valuable that people kept it safe under lock and key...
Tastes Of History
- Aug 23, 2022
Bosworth Field: a King's Recipes
This year (2022) Tastes Of History was delighted to return to the Bosworth Medieval Festival at the brilliant Bosworth Battlefield...
Tastes Of History
- Aug 20, 2022
The Forme of Cury
The Forme of Cury (‘The Method of Cooking’ [1]) is an extensive 14th-century collection of medieval English recipes. Although the...
Tastes Of History
- Aug 15, 2022
Food History: The Inimitable Mrs Beeton
Isabella Mary Beeton (née Mayson) was born on March 14th, 1836. Better known simply as Mrs Beeton, she was an English journalist, editor...
Tastes Of History
- Jul 29, 2022
Eliza Acton: cookery writing pioneer
Eliza Acton (April 17th, 1799 - February 13th, 1859) was an English poet and food writer who produced one of Britain's first cookery...
Tastes Of History
- Jul 25, 2022
Kitchenalia: Fish Eaters
In the 1880s, while the ‘Old Money’, the aristocracy, ate their fish course using two table forks, the ‘New Money’, the nouveau riche,...
Tastes Of History
- Jul 24, 2022
A Brief History of Food: Oranges
Origins The name 'orange' derives from the Sanskrit word for 'orange tree' (नारङ्ग nāraṅga). The Sanskrit word reached European...
Tastes Of History
- Jul 2, 2022
Kitchenalia: Roman soldier's cookware
In an earlier article, we challenged the idea that Roman soldiers cooked farinata, a type of unleavened bread made from chickpea flour,...
Tastes Of History
- Apr 19, 2022
Dispelling Some Myths: Romans in the Americas
The mosaic floor pictured (right) is housed in a gallery dedicated to ancient Roman frescoes and mosaics on the second floor of the...
Tastes Of History
- Apr 19, 2022
A Brief History of Food: Pineapple
The pineapple (Latin: Ananas comosus) [1] is a tropical plant with an edible fruit indigenous to South America, where it has been...
Tastes Of History
- Apr 6, 2022
A Brief History of Food: Leeks
According to a BBC News tweet (see right), the ‘Welsh leek’ could be set for protected status [1], alongside foods including Cheddar...
Tastes Of History
- Mar 2, 2022
Dispelling Some Myths: Cooking in a Shield?
Farinata (‘made of flour’), a classic Italian street food, apparently enjoys two provenance myths according to BBC History Magazine [1]....
Tastes Of History
- Dec 31, 2021
On This Day: Catherine of Braganza and tea
December 31st, 1705: Catherine of Braganza, widow of Charles II whom she had married in 1662, died in Lisbon, Portugal. Most notably,...
Tastes Of History
- Dec 30, 2021
On This Day: Yes, we have bananas
December 30th, 1945, a cold Sunday morning, saw the cargo ship Tilapa docked in Bristol. It was carrying the first bananas to be seen in...
Tastes Of History
- Dec 27, 2021
On This Day: London's coffee houses closed
December 27th, 1675: A Royal Proclamation orders the closure of all coffee houses in London because they are seen as hotbeds of...
Tastes Of History
- Dec 17, 2021
A Brief History of Food: Coffee
Origins Exactly how and when coffee was discovered is uncertain. A legend of its stimulating effects being identified in Ethiopia is...
Tastes Of History
- Oct 26, 2021
A Brief History of Food: Sausages
The humble sausage The humble sausage is popular the world over with many nations and individual regions having their own characteristic...
Tastes Of History
- Sep 20, 2021
Cury or Curry?
During a recent cookery demonstration at Berkhamsted Castle we were chatting to some visitors about the background and history of the...
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