Westminster Abbey, Ukek and York: Medieval News Roundup

From archaeological discoveries in Russia and England, to a 15th century recipe on 'Caudell of Almondys', here is some of the things we found in the news, on the blogs, and on Twitter.<br/><br/><div class="storify"><iframe src="//storify.com/medievalists/medieval-news-roundup-1/embed?header=false&border=false" width="100%" height=750 frameborder=no allowtransparency=true></iframe><script src="//storify.com/medievalists/medieval-news-roundup-1.js?header=false&border=false"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/medievalists/medieval-news-roundup-1" target="_blank">View the story "Westminster Abbey, Ukek and York: Medieval News Roundup" on Storify</a>]</noscript></div><br/><br/><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdx-xPuL74x7Pd1bHqcRHJe70aXBio5kftB4Eb9Rv_f-78tzPA55ttLnLRUOgBLAVH_kBlUJdpraD54ceCLapPn4ShxJFLQXKRhRoVW7Bw3Fd4ZGTaM-hqvEwmliWsB3fOCve-iVcY6U/s1600/westminster+abbey.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdx-xPuL74x7Pd1bHqcRHJe70aXBio5kftB4Eb9Rv_f-78tzPA55ttLnLRUOgBLAVH_kBlUJdpraD54ceCLapPn4ShxJFLQXKRhRoVW7Bw3Fd4ZGTaM-hqvEwmliWsB3fOCve-iVcY6U/s400/westminster+abbey.png" /></a>

Westminster Abbey, Ukek and York: Medieval News Roundup

From archaeological discoveries in Russia and England, to a 15th century recipe on 'Caudell of Almondys', here is some of the things...

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Tourtiere's deep roots traced to 1,600-year-old cookbook

Quebec has two basic tourtieres, and many variations for each type, gastronomy historian Jean-Pierre Lemasson told the McCord Museum conference. There is the shallow style, filled with pork and/or other meats, and a deep-dish Lac St. Jean, or Saguenay, style that contains cubes of meats with vegetables.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2XjPle9NmTZWpr_Ns7p5TmYLA_EDquRvZenTM0hFaS2dJF3tt6XGqPp9LwM_cynBk8033KeudPGpsnbCfMuAl3OFZG82baAAZkpyP0sYlBZ2427XJFqgac_LtZ35ceDUejMUkfosWxA/s1600/tourtiere-cut-e1292808300322.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2XjPle9NmTZWpr_Ns7p5TmYLA_EDquRvZenTM0hFaS2dJF3tt6XGqPp9LwM_cynBk8033KeudPGpsnbCfMuAl3OFZG82baAAZkpyP0sYlBZ2427XJFqgac_LtZ35ceDUejMUkfosWxA/s400/tourtiere-cut-e1292808300322.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /> Marcus Gavius Apicius, credited with writing the recipes in what is believed to be the first cookbook (about AD 400), gave us what might be the earliest written recipe for the deep-dish version, he said. It's a pie called La Patina that was made in a bronze pot with four layers of pastry, the top crust with a hole in the centre.<br /><br /> Medieval predecessors of the tourtiere described by Lemasson include Italy's tourte parmesane, pasticchio, timballo, and timpanno. France has a tourte parmenienne, he said, followed by the timbale and the casserole. British meat pies included the Parmesan and Battle Pye, the raised pie, and the Yorkshire Christmas pie. <br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/food-wine/From+archives+Tourtiere+deep+roots+traced+year+cookbook/5861293/story.html" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from the Montreal Gazette</a></b>

Tourtiere's deep roots traced to 1,600-year-old cookbook

Quebec has two basic tourtieres, and many variations for each type, gastronomy historian Jean-Pierre Lemasson told the McCord Museum confere...

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History, Chemistry, and Cold Beer

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC95iXGLKCGo5jmhcWpTnzqrdSVb3-hIcyI2LhvYn7vmzincqV2ApF5fw2NS_mM_BgsFmUbx5EDigYbHzICLrUTGACyqQqGRdtiMpfLJOK4Y1nnCKtXLt5gChVk60FM8JegS0_DKvdIs/s1600/MisterAlcohol_Beer.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC95iXGLKCGo5jmhcWpTnzqrdSVb3-hIcyI2LhvYn7vmzincqV2ApF5fw2NS_mM_BgsFmUbx5EDigYbHzICLrUTGACyqQqGRdtiMpfLJOK4Y1nnCKtXLt5gChVk60FM8JegS0_DKvdIs/s200/MisterAlcohol_Beer.png" width="200" /></a></div>When next you reach for a cold one in the buzzing heat of a summer day, you will probably give no thought to the glorious history, complicated chemistry, and abundant myths associated with what you are drinking.<br /><br /> That's OK. Just know you are participating on one of humanities oldest and most popular activities. After water and tea, beer is the third most favored drink in the world. It is one of the first by-products of human agriculture. Beer may, in fact, be a reason for civilization.<br /><br /> The United States is a splendid place to drink beer, said British-born expert Charles Bamforth of the University of California, Davis. The market is huge and diverse, with an enormous variety of the stuff available from breweries large and small. Beer is made of fermented cereal grains. Usually, the grain is barley, but wheat beer is common, sometimes rye, rice, corn, or even sorghum.<br /><br /> The drink was discovered about 8,000 years ago, historians believe, likely the result of accidents in bakeries.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.insidescience.org/?q=content/history-chemistry-and-cold-beer/705" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from Inside Science News Service</a></b>

History, Chemistry, and Cold Beer

When next you reach for a cold one in the buzzing heat of a summer day, you will probably give no thought to the glorious history, complicat...

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New cookbook looks at old recipes — live frog pie, anyone?

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzzNzzs2n0ozXExbIMLUDfGi-aoa7jToR9c2LZM7KscnUWSVV92zPLynQgQI5l1ZaFFYrxuzZD3uI1_h7xjdT4UZRVO7is4UqFQVchSwAsLCuY_C7KckdMsNMFn5GtRNvkFGL946U1rA/s1600/the-curious-cookbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDzzNzzs2n0ozXExbIMLUDfGi-aoa7jToR9c2LZM7KscnUWSVV92zPLynQgQI5l1ZaFFYrxuzZD3uI1_h7xjdT4UZRVO7is4UqFQVchSwAsLCuY_C7KckdMsNMFn5GtRNvkFGL946U1rA/s320/the-curious-cookbook.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>Adventurous cooks might consider one of the recipes in Peter Ross's new book, but the author of the tome on unusual historical cuisine says it's probably best not to try a dish featuring animals like swans, peacocks or porpoises.<br /><br />"You could cook a meal, but it could be quite a strange meal," said Ross, the chief librarian at Guildhall Library in London and the author of <i>The Curious Cookbook</i>, which looks at a wild range of cookery from medieval times right through to the Second World War.<br /><br />"It's mostly the medieval recipes where you're going to have a problem — because they were eating things like swans, peacocks, porpoises."<br /><br />The new book also features a live frog pie that dates from the 17th century.<br /><br />Ross said the dish containing live frogs was "basically an entertainment" that was served during a high-class meal.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2012/06/12/curious-cookbook-as-it-happens.html" target="_blank">Click here to read this article and listen to an interview with the author from the CBC</a></b><br /> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=medievalistsn-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1935613529&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_top&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

New cookbook looks at old recipes — live frog pie, anyone?

Adventurous cooks might consider one of the recipes in Peter Ross's new book, but the author of the tome on unusual historical cuisine s...

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The Medieval Cookbook and The Classical Cookbook published in revised editions

The Getty Museum and British Museum have published two cookbooks for those wanting to try recipes dating back to the Middle Ages or ancient times. The Medieval Cookbook, by food hisorian Maggie Black offers collection of medieval recipes, but a social history of the time.<br /><br />This revised edition has eighty recipes, drawn from the earliest English cookbooks of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, are presented in two formats: the original Middle English version and one adapted and tested for the modern cook. The author also describes the range of available ingredients in medieval times and the meals that could be prepared from them—from simple daily snacks to celebratory feasts—as well as the preparation of the table, prescribed dining etiquette, and the various entertainments that accompanied elite banquets.<br /><br /> <b><a href="http://www.medievalists.net/2012/06/04/the-medieval-cookbook-and-the-classical-cookbook-published-in-revised-editions/" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net</a></b>

The Medieval Cookbook and The Classical Cookbook published in revised editions

The Getty Museum and British Museum have published two cookbooks for those wanting to try recipes dating back to the Middle Ages or ancient ...

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What's the closest thing to a medieval dining experience in London?

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikx6scsl-JJaBRP74GH5TZlswWq4R5G5AgRRpH2_gq4CbEDCtQWbalpJam7VcpB2ZkXA6K0cOj_b6ClI5Iw-7w5cV9UFlwRQqKLv5Dif60pC7OftDoF96tAvSq9yBf7wYXWTVqFLqTQNM/s1600/The_Medieval_Banquet_London.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikx6scsl-JJaBRP74GH5TZlswWq4R5G5AgRRpH2_gq4CbEDCtQWbalpJam7VcpB2ZkXA6K0cOj_b6ClI5Iw-7w5cV9UFlwRQqKLv5Dif60pC7OftDoF96tAvSq9yBf7wYXWTVqFLqTQNM/s1600/The_Medieval_Banquet_London.jpg" /></a></div>Short of inventing a time machine or getting a surprise invite to one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s dinner parties, the chances of sniffing out a medieval feast in the capital will lead you to one place and one place only – St Katherine’s Dock (E1W 1BP).<br /><br />This is the home of Medieval Banquet London. Think brave knights, troubadours, minstrels with lutes and jugglers (all played by professional actors), turning your meal into a medieval extravaganza. Enjoy music from 800-year-old manuscripts, hire medieval costumes and bang your fists on the table to demand more food from your serving wench.<br /><b><br /></b><br /><b><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/in-the-know/london-dining/9190920/medieval-banquet-london.html" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from the Daily Telegraph</a></b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><b><a href="http://www.medievalbanquet.com/index.html" target="_blank">Click here to visit the Medieval Banquet London website</a></b>

What's the closest thing to a medieval dining experience in London?

Short of inventing a time machine or getting a surprise invite to one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s dinner parties, the chances of sniffi...

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Lust, Lies And Empire: The Fishy Tale Behind Eating Fish On Friday

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fnoViTYFOhdz-_vvIYeX4b-oaSOt8YgkMrleKTbD_XNJmqpaNcjMTN1CnYT_ADVMRLHx4_gI3zlmyDXm7gF3M4T_KE9SEQ4en9PLGcqh6XsXU4__JHBROg2GrgUcYrnudukJRYN3bFY/s1600/0465022847.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fnoViTYFOhdz-_vvIYeX4b-oaSOt8YgkMrleKTbD_XNJmqpaNcjMTN1CnYT_ADVMRLHx4_gI3zlmyDXm7gF3M4T_KE9SEQ4en9PLGcqh6XsXU4__JHBROg2GrgUcYrnudukJRYN3bFY/s1600/0465022847.jpeg" /></a></div>It sounds like the plot of a Dan Brown thriller: A powerful medieval pope makes a secret pact to prop up the fishing industry that ultimately alters global economics. The result: Millions of Catholics around the world end up eating fish on Fridays as part of a religious observance.<br /><br />This "realpolitik" explanation of why Catholics eat fish on Friday has circulated for so long, many people grew up believing it as fact. Some, myself included, even learned it in Catholic school. It's a humdinger of a tale — the kind conspiracy theorists can really sink their teeth into. But is it true?<br /><br />"Many people have searched the Vatican archives on this, but they have found nothing," says Brian Fagan, a professor emeritus of archaeology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, whose book, <i>Fish On Friday</i>, explores the impact of this practice on Western culture.<br /><br />The real story behind fish on Fridays turns out to be much better.<br /><b><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_541785847"><br /></a></b><br /><b><a href="http://www.wbur.org/npr/150061991/lust-lies-and-empire-the-fishy-tale-behind-eating-fish-on-friday" target="_blank">Click here to read this article from NPR</a></b><br /><br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=medievalistsn-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000MR8TH2&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_top&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Lust, Lies And Empire: The Fishy Tale Behind Eating Fish On Friday

It sounds like the plot of a Dan Brown thriller: A powerful medieval pope makes a secret pact to prop up the fishing industry that ultimatel...

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