anon
New Member
Posts: 24
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Post by anon on Jan 31, 2007 19:08:57 GMT -5
Hey all, Thought I'ld include this in here, although a second posting will be included on the HAH site also. One of my loves is foodways at Colonial Williamsburg, so I've been doing some research on what was available. So far all I got is foods that were available in New England circa 1624. This is from a book "A Revolution in Eating: How the quest for food shaped America" by James E McWilliams AGain, this is America, but New England was the area that replicated English food habits the most, compared to the other areas of America, including chesapeake/Tidewater area, deep south and the Indies/Islands of Carribean. What a typical farmer would grow in his "kitchen" garden: wheat, rye oats, corn (was mostly for animals, especially in Eng and Euro). Fruit trees inc. pear, apple plum and cherry. Veggies inc. onions, leeks, beets carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, melons, asparagus, cabbages, spinach, beans, peas, artichokes, lettuce, radishes, red cabbage, turnip, purple brocoli, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, gourds, brussell sprouts, kidney beans, celery, endive, purslaine, savoy, chervil, fennel, mushrooms. Different herbs inc mint thyme, parsley, chives, garlic, sorril, savoy, liverwort, watercrese, carwell, plus others. Fruits inc grapes, raspberries, currants, strawberries, apples, blackberries, cherry plums, quince. I'll try to add to this later, but as y'all can see, most of what we have, they did too. I have a few good websites for historical recipies, some as early as mid 1600's, so maybe this can expand ramon's love of food!  |
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Post by jeantre16 on Feb 1, 2007 9:34:38 GMT -5
Thank you, Anon, for posting this! I remember doing a little research on Spanish food when the three women from Spain were introduced into my story. Ramon couldn't have visitors from his homeland without experiencing a traditional dish! On several occasions while in Colonial Williamsburg, I had the opportunity to eat in The King's Arms. The one dish that seems to stick to memory is the "relish." The fact that it was supposed to be made from leftovers (back then) made it something I would have passed on if modern food laws hadn't called for "fresh" ingredients. (Kind of like a "mystery meat!")  Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate in Virginia, has one of the best historic working gardens I've ever seen. Everything eaten had to be produced right there. Imports were costly and unreliable to obtain. On that note, the Roget farm deserves more credit than it appears to at first glance for having grown cabbages. (Has anyone ever tried to grow one? Maybe France has less burrowing pests and the right weather, but cool-weather crops aren't exactly easy to grow!) |
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anon
New Member
Posts: 24
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Post by anon on Feb 1, 2007 13:33:56 GMT -5
Try this website for a 1615 Cookery book from England. staff-www.uni-marburg.de/~gloning/1615murr.htm And this next one is from a project with U of Michigan (I think) that has other historical cookbooks and recipies Ranging from early 1700's to 1800's. Most of these might be based on American authors, but of course Americans emulated everything European from their homelands. digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_01.cfmTrue, never underestimate the difficulty of growing so called simple items like Cabbages! The science of farming is something that seems to be underated sometimes. Hopefully the websites go through, I copied and pasted from the HAH. |
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Post by vigilanti on Feb 1, 2007 16:53:23 GMT -5
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Post by vigilanti on Feb 12, 2007 13:03:56 GMT -5
Short history of the lollypop
In the middle ages in Europe, sugar was an imported luxury item thus making candy extremely expensive. As such, it was enjoyed by nobility and the very wealthy. In order to make this delicacy last longer, sugar was boiled and formed into hard blocks. Although this might be considered the advent of bulk candy, it is reported that candy treats were made complete with sticks and ornate handles.
In the 17th Century, as sugar became plentiful, it was considered a delicacy in England to enjoy boiled sugar candy treats. In order to make them easier to eat, a stick was inserted. By looking at the definition, linguists have surmised that the term "lollipop" may have been derived from street vendors in London during the age of Charles Dickens.
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Post by potc166 on Jun 20, 2007 12:58:20 GMT -5
how sanatary would their food be?
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Post by vigilanti on Jun 22, 2007 9:43:33 GMT -5
not-very, to be sure.
the main reason the french were known for there wonderful sauces was because oftentimes meat was rotten and spices masked the flavor. Also they often cooked in lead pots.
One of the reasons so many people claimed the miraculous healing effects of mineral springs (such as the town of bath in england , Plombieres-les-bains in france, and the town of Spa in belgum among many ohers) deep water bathing increases the rate at which water passes through the body flushing out impurities bacteria and releaving symptomes of lead poisoning.
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Post by potc166 on Jun 22, 2007 12:18:14 GMT -5
I knew the food wasn't healthy but I did not know about the springs..I learned something new...thanks for the information...
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Post by vigilanti on Jun 22, 2007 13:26:57 GMT -5
yeah, I love research...
any day you learn something new...is a good day
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Post by queengwen on Jun 22, 2007 15:06:20 GMT -5
Kinda makes you glad we don't live in that time period huh?
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Post by potc166 on Jun 22, 2007 16:16:33 GMT -5
it does but sometimes I want to just to be able to ride horses and soward fight...
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Post by queengwen on Jun 22, 2007 17:30:56 GMT -5
That's what the Renaissance Festivals are for!!!
I love 'fencing' every year!
I won this year!!!! *my friend fought against me*
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Post by vigilanti on Jun 22, 2007 18:37:36 GMT -5
That is why i am in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)
recreating the middle ages as they should have been...
Slip away from the mundane world...pitch a tent, don a chemese and sidless surcote, watch my pirate and musketeer friends fence, take a class in glass bead making, sit down to a delicious feast...medieval recepies made to suit modern appetitites. then as dusk falls sit around a bonfire and dance in the drum circle... what a great hobby!
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Post by potc166 on Jun 22, 2007 18:55:21 GMT -5
sounds like loads of fun
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Post by queengwen on Jun 23, 2007 5:47:57 GMT -5
I'll have to start a thread and post a link to my pics from this past Festival.
I, and two of our group were in costume.
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