Tasting History with Max Miller
Published 8 Oct 2024Mock banana cream on whole grain National Loaf
City/Region: United Kingdom
Time Period: 1944British rationing lasted from 1940 all the way to 1954, and they had to completely do without foods like bananas for years. The National Loaf began to be distributed in 1941. Made of 85% wholemeal flour enriched with vitamins B and C, it was nutritious, but dense, gummy, and went stale very quickly.
My National Loaf, based on the Imperial War Museum’s version, is dense, but I like the complex flavors from the whole grains. The mock banana cream has a texture that’s really close to mashed bananas, though the taste is an interesting mixture of parsnip and banana. Not bad, but not quite banana.
Mock Banana Cream
Here is a more economical banana cream recipe. Prepare and boil 1lb. parsnips until soft. Add 2 ozs margarine, 1 level tablespoonful sugar, 2 teaspoonfuls banana flavouring and beat until creamy. This must be used quickly, but half the quantity can be made if desired.
— Daily Record, Glasgow, May 27, 1944
February 18, 2025
World War 2 rations on the British Home Front
February 15, 2025
Halifax Donair (Canada) on Sandwiches of History
Sandwiches of History
Published 27 Oct 2024Welcome back to another episode of You’re Doing it Wrong. Lol. Also known as International Sandwich Sunday. I’m joking, kinda. Today, we’re headed northeast to Halifax, Nova Scotia for the Halifax Donair. As I mention in the video, this was created by a Greek immigrant after his traditional lamb and beef gyros just weren’t selling. So it’s less cultural appropriation and more adaptation to the needs of the market. I think if you ask anyone in Halifax, they’d fully acknowledge the original inspiration for this. Also, if you’re tempted to comment on how it’s not a sandwich, just know that, while I understand where you’re coming from, I don’t keep strict purity tests in place for sandwiches as I don’t want to miss out on deliciousness because of them. Join me, won’t you?
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February 13, 2025
Homemade Valentine’s Chocolates – Hot Chocolate Stones – Chocolate Truffles
Food Wishes
Published 13 Feb 2010Use this Valentine’s Day chocolate recipe to make a special gift. Find yourself a nice decorative box to put these best Valentine’s chocolates in. It doesn’t hurt to have the word “love” on the box. The flavor profile of these chocolates is perfect: dark chocolate with just a hint of warmth.
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February 12, 2025
Did Medieval People Eat Breakfast?
Tasting History with Max Miller
Published 1 Oct 2024Toasted white bread with sweet spices, white wine, and thick homemade almond milk
City/Region: England
Time Period: c. 1450Some medieval people ate breakfast sometimes. It depended on things like your social status and job, your age, and what part of the Middle Ages it was. Bread, cheese, and ale were common breakfast items, and sops are mentioned in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. There are a lot of variations of sops, but essentially it’s toast that’s soaked in some kind of flavorful liquid like wine or ale.
This recipe for golden sops uses white bread that is soaked in white wine and topped with almond milk that has been simmered until it resembles a thin custard. I was worried that the wine would dominate the flavor, but it doesn’t. What comes through most are the warm spices and light sweetness that remind me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Delicious.
Soppes Dorre.
Take rawe Almondes, And grynde hem in A morter, And temper hem with wyn and drawe hem throgh a streynour; And lete hem boyle, And cast there-to Saffron, Sugur, and salt; And then take a paynmain, And kut him and tost him, And wte him in wyne, And ley hem in a dissh, and caste the siryppe thereon, and make a dregge of pouder ginger, sugur, Canell, Clowes, and maces, And cast thereon; And whan hit is I-Dressed, serue it forth fore a good pottage.
— Harleian MS. 4016, c. 1450
February 5, 2025
Beef Tea from a Victorian Hospital
Tasting History with Max Miller
Published 27 Sept 2024Beef tea made with beef, onions, and clove
City/Region: England
Time Period: 1851Beef tea, largely unfamiliar to us now, was all the rage in 19th century hospitals. Believed to contain all of the nutrients of solid beef (not true), it was given to convalescents of all afflictions and social statuses. You can even find it in cocktail books, though you’d be hard pressed to find a bar that serves it today.
This beef tea is surprisingly nice. It’s not really like a beef bouillon or beef stock, and is much lighter in flavor and color. There’s a hint of beef flavor, but I noticed more of a delicious savoriness and unctuousness. While I don’t think it could replace a cocktail, I could see this being lovely on a cold evening.
Soyer’s new way of making Beef Tea
Cut a pound of solid beef into very small dice, which put into a stewpan, with a small pat of butter, a clove, two butter onions, and a salt-spoonful of salt, stir the meat round over the fire for a few minutes, until it produces a thin gravy, then add a quart of water, and let it simmer at the corner of the fire for half an hour, skimming off every particle of fat, when done pass through a sieve. I have always had a great objection to passing broth through a cloth, as it frequently quite spoils its flavor.
— The Modern Housewife or, Ménagère by Alexis Soyer, 1851
January 28, 2025
Dining at the Wild Parties of Regency England
Tasting History with Max Miller
Published 24 Sep 2024Drop biscuit-style cakes with dried currants
City/Region: London, England
Time Period: 1806In the 18th and 19th centuries, members of the aristocracy threw wild parties called routs. These parties, which sound akin to a modern frat party, eventually devolved to rooms stuffed with way too many people, so that attendance consisted of jostling from room to room before leaving. If you were lucky, you could grab a rout cake to help sustain you while you party hopped.
These cakes are dense and dry, but not unpleasantly so. While they are delicious, because of the dryness I recommend enjoying them with a cup of coffee, tea, or party beverage of your choice. They’re just sweet enough, and the flavors of the brandy and the flower waters shine through.
Rout Drop Cakes
Mix two pounds of flour, one ditto butter, one ditto sugar, one ditto currants, clean and dry; then wet into a stiff paste, with two eggs, a large spoon of orange-flower water, ditto rose-water, ditto sweet wine, ditto brandy, drop on a tin-plate floured; a very short time bakes them.
— A New System of Domestic Cookery by A Lady (Maria Rundell), 1806.
January 21, 2025
January 14, 2025
Baking the Original Brownie – The History of Brownies
Tasting History with Max Miller
Published 3 Sept 2024Fudgy brownies with walnuts
City/Region: Chicago, Illinois
Time Period: 1904I love a gooey, chocolatey brownie, so I opted not to make the first recipe for something called brownies from 1896, because it had no chocolate and instead used molasses. Certainly not the brownies of my heart.
There are a couple of origin stories about brownies, but the one for Bangor brownies goes that a housewife forgot to put baking powder into her chocolate cake. While I question the validity of this story, we do see a lot of recipes for Bangor brownies during the early 20th century that closely resemble brownies today.
While these may not rival my favorite modern ones, they’re very good. They come out fudgy and dense without being heavy and have a surprising amount of chocolate flavor for the amount of chocolate in the recipe. No matter their origin, brownies haven’t changed all that much in the last 120 years.
Bangor Brownies
Cream one-half cup of butter, one cup sugar. Add two squares (one-quarter cake) Baker’s chocolate, melted, two eggs. One half-cup pastry flour and one-half cup chopped walnuts. Spread on baking tins and bake fifteen minutes in a moderate oven.— Service Club Cook Book, 1904
January 8, 2025
How To Make 17th Century Clotted Cream – A History
Tasting History with Max Miller
Published 27 Aug 2024Clotted cream served with scones and jam
City/Region: England | Scotland
Time Period: 1670 | 1755Clotted cream is one of the most delicious and simple foods I’ve ever had. It’s made with only one ingredient, but has a richness and nuttiness that is divine. It’s one of those foods that is difficult to track down the origins of, but one story includes the ancient Phoenicians, and another a fairy princess and prince. Both are equally likely to be true.
For best results, look for cream that isn’t ultra-pasteurized. Labels will say “pasteurized” or “low temp pasteurized”. This recipe doesn’t have a lot of active time, but the cream does need to cook for 12 hours, so I recommend starting first thing in the morning. It’s worth it.
To make clouted Cream
Take Milk that was milked in the morning, and scald it at noon; it must have a reasonable fire under it, but not too rash, and when it is scalding hot, that you see little Pimples begin to rise, take away the greatest part of the Fire, then let it stand and harden a little while, then take it off, and let it stand until the next day, covered, then take it off with a Skimmer.
— The Queen-Like Closet, or Rich Cabinet by Hannah Wolley, 1670Clouted Cream
… If you please beat Part of it with a little Rose-water, and a Lair of unbeaten Clouts, with Sugar between …
— A New and Easy Method of Cookery by Elizabeth Cleland, 1755
January 3, 2025
5 Ways to Pesto Eggs – You Suck at Cooking (episode 174)
You Suck At Cooking
Published 10 Sept 2024Pesto. Fried eggs. Eggs coquette. Breakfast pasta. A little something for everyone to hate.
Book: http://yousuckatcooking.com or wherever you get books
Recipe
Combine eggs and pesto
January 1, 2025
3,500 Years of Hangover Cures – Kishkiyya from Baghdad
Tasting History with Max Miller
Published 31 Dec 2024A slightly sour lamb stew with herbs, chickpeas, and fat, eaten as a hangover cure in 10th century Baghdad
City/Region: Baghdad
Time Period: 10th CenturyWhere there are hangovers, there are hangover cures. Throughout history they’ve varied from having a good wash, drinking lemonade while drinking alcohol, and the dubious prairie oyster. This stew is kind of like 10th century Baghdad’s version of my favorite hangover food: a greasy burger and fries.
Fatty lamb is stewed with kishka (a dried yogurt-like dairy product), verjuice, chickpeas, herbs, and greens, along with some olive oil just to make sure there’s enough grease involved. It doesn’t look all that pretty, but it tastes good. It’s complex and layered, with each flavor following the last, and the variety of textures is wonderful.
Wash 3 ratls meat and put it in a pot. Add ½ ratl chopped onion, ¼ ratl fresh herbs, a handful of chickpeas, 1 piece galangal, and ¼ ratl olive oil. Pour water to submerge the ingredients in the pot. Let the pot cook until meat is almost done. Add any of the seasonal green vegetables and a little chard. When everything in the pot is cooked, add 3 pieces of sour kishk, and ½ ratl kishk of Albu-Sahar, Mawsili, or Bahaki. Pound them into fine powder and dissolve them in 1 ratl (2 cups) ma’hisrim (juice of unripe sour grapes).
When kishk is done, add 2 dirhams (6 grams) cumin and an equal amount of cassia. Add a handful of finely chopped onion. Do not stir the pot. When the onion cooks and falls apart, add to the pot 2 danaqs (1 gram) cloves and a similar amount of spikenard.
Stop fueling the fire, let the pot simmer and rest on the remaining heat then take it down, God willing.
— Kitāb al-Tabīkh by ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq, 10th Century, translation from Annals of the Caliph’s Kitchen by Nawal Nasrallah
December 30, 2024
What was a Viking Funeral really like?
Tasting History with Max Miller
Published 20 Aug 2024Multigrain flatbread strung on a metal ring in the style of findings at Viking funeral sites
City/Region: Various Viking Sites
Time Period: 9th-11th CenturiesWhile there is evidence of bread being laid beside the dead during Viking funerals, we have no written recipe. Analysis of the ingredients of fragments from various Viking funeral sites shows that there was no one way of making funeral bread, so you can either follow my recipe or make up your own using a combination of barley, oat, wheat, rye, peas, flaxseeds, water, milk, butter, whey, and blood. Any version is just as likely as being accurate as another.
In my version, the mix of rye, whole wheat, and oat flour bring more complexity and depth to an otherwise very pita-like flatbread. You could cook the bread longer to get a drier, more cracker-like bread, and I think that they would be great with butter (a period-accurate accompaniment).
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December 24, 2024
Victorian Mincemeat With Actual Meat
Tasting History with Max Miller
Published 14 Dec 2021Mincemeat pies from back when there was still meat in the filling
City/Region: England
Time Period: 1845CORRECTION: I said/wrote “1 heaping cup of sugar” but it should be a heaping 1/2 cup. Though more sugar won’t be a bad thing.
Medieval mincemeat pies were about 90% meat and only about 10% fruit. These original mincemeat pies were a way to preserve meat for the winter, but as time went on, the amount of meat went down and the amount of fruit went up until we get a full-fledged dessert with no meat like you usually find today.
This Victorian recipe strikes a nice balance by having some meat, but certainly not the 90% of ye olden days. These pies are so much better than the ones you get at the store. The spices are warm and remind me of Christmas and the lemon brightens it up. Everything is soft, but the pieces stay individual, not all one gloopy mass. At the very end, you get a bit of meatiness, but it’s still sweet and very much a dessert.
Mincemeat
(Author’s Receipt)
To one pound of an unsalted ox-tongue, or inside of roasted sirloin, … add two pounds of fine stoned raisins, two of beef kidney-suet, two pounds and a half of currants, … two of good apples, two and a half of fine Lisbon sugar, from half to a whole pound of candied peel, … the grated rinds of two large lemons, and two more boiled quite tender, and chopped up entirely, with the exception of the pips, two small nutmegs, half an ounce of salt, a large teaspoonful of pounded mace, rather more of ginger in powder, half a pint of brandy, and as much good sherry or Madeira. Mince these ingredients separately, and mix the others all well before the brandy and the wine are added …— Modern Cookery for Private Families by Eliza Acton, 1845
December 23, 2024
How to Make Christmas Pudding – The Victorian Way
English Heritage
Published 23 Nov 2018
Order your copy of Mrs Crocombe’s cookery book here: http://bit.ly/2RPyrvQ
Join Mrs Crocombe as she makes a traditional plum pudding at Audley End House. This recipe comes from Modern Cookery by Eliza Acton, who is understood to have been the first person to call it “Christmas Pudding”.
Plan a visit to Mrs Crocombe’s kitchen: http://bit.ly/2BtBzoO
Discover the history of Christmas pudding: http://bit.ly/2Bu2WyS
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December 22, 2024
Chocolate Bark – Holiday Gift Idea – Food Wishes
Food Wishes
Published 15 Dec 2017Learn how to make Chocolate Bark! This easy recipe is perfect for enjoying yourself, or to use as an edible holiday gift. Visit https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2017/… for the ingredients, more information, and many, many more video recipes. I hope you enjoy this Chocolate Bark recipe!
In addition to sharing an easy, and beautiful edible holiday gift idea, I wanted to make this chocolate bark so I could test a simplified technique for tempering chocolate without a thermometer. It sounded too good to be true, but worked fairly well, which is the problem. Is fairly good, okay?
Properly tempered chocolate will snap when broken, and retain that gorgeous glossy sheen. Poorly tempered chocolate is sort of dull grey, and the texture is soft, and waxy. This was somewhere in the middle.
Using this method, you will get close to properly tempered chocolate, and you might get lucky, and actually end up with perfectly tempered chocolate, but in hindsight, since using a thermometer isn’t really hard, and the extra steps required not that strenuous, I’ll probably just do it the right way next time.