Archives

Hildegard von Bingen, First Female Food Writer in the West?

September 23, 2010 by Cynthia Bertelsen

You may have come a long way, baby, but it’s taken a while. Food historians generally agree that Sabina Welserin of Augsburg, Germany wrote the first cookbook penned by a woman in the West (Europe) in 1553, Kochbuch. Anna Weckerin’s Ein Küstlich new Köchbuch von allerhand Speisen (A Delicious New Cookbook) appeared in 1598 in published form. Like the English writer Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, Ann Weckerin’s (later Keller) book went through many reprints. But it seems to […]

Categories: Cookbooks, Milk, Germany, Middle Ages • Tags: Food, Middle Ages, Hildegard von Bingen, Food in Medicine, Physica, Medieval Women, Sabina Welserin, Anna Weckerin

Medicine (and Food) in Medieval England: A Select Bibliography

September 25, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

Let food be thy medicine, and let thy medicine be food. Hippocrates Food and medicine, always intertwined in the human imagination. Because (obviously) the earliest English settlers brought their food habits and medicinal beliefs with them to what is now the United States, I relish books that provide background to the English way of viewing the world. At least the world of food and, not exactly indirectly, medicine. The following list of tomes* — by no means complete (and with […]

Categories: England, English Cooking, Europe • Tags: England, Medicine, Middle Ages

Food in Medieval England: Diet and Nutrition

September 19, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

Food in Medieval England: Diet and Nutrition (Medieval History and Archaeology), by C. M. Woolgar, Dale Serjeantson, and Tony Waldron (paperback, 2009) In the unending quest to find models for culinary historiography, here’s another fairly up-to-date addition to the growing list: This book draws on the latest research across different disciplines to present the most up-to-date picture of English diet from the early Saxon period up to c.1540. It draws on a wide range of sources, from the historical records […]

Categories: Agriculture, Archaeology, England, English Cooking, Local foods, Middle Ages • Tags: Archaeology, C. M. Woolgar, Dale Serjeantson, England, English cookery, Food History, Food in Medieval England: Diet and Nutrition, Middle Ages, Tony Waldron

Fish Stomachs?????

September 10, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

Fish Stomachs???? You might believe that fishcakes, along with fritters and croquettes, began as members of the thrifty Leftovers family. But in fact, early medieval English cooks made fishcakes from fish stomachs, which many might consider carrying thrift just a little too far. There is actually a fishcake recipe, on page 170 of Madeleine Pelner Cosman’s Fabulous Feasts: Medieval Cookery and Ceremony, which calls for 1 cup of fish stomachs. (For those of you with a weakness for all things […]

Categories: American Cooking, Asia, Asian Cooking, Cookbooks, English Cooking, Fish • Tags: England, Fabulous Feasts, Fish, Fishcakes, Madeleine Pelner Cosman, Medieval Cookery, Middle Ages

The Random Herbalist: The Church as Farmer

August 4, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

The Catholic Church influenced many things, even (especially?) agriculture, as this passage from History of the English Landed Interest: Its Customs, Laws, and Agriculture, by Russell Montague Garnier (1908) 2nd. ed, vol. 1, implies. The monastery libraries also held much treasure, opening up the monks to the wonders of old knowledge and enabling them to forgo reinventing the wheel, so to speak: The agriculture of the neighbouring Church lands would be closely watched and imitated by the lay farmers. Advice […]

Categories: Agriculture, Herbs, Middle Ages, Monasteries • Tags: Agriculture, Farming, Herbs, Middle Ages, Monasteries, Monastic Gardens, Monks

Lavander, St. Remy, France (Photo credit: Holly hayes)

At the Tables of the Monks: The Infirmary Cook

June 1, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

THE COOK FOR THE INFIRMARY (p. 204-205) [Note: The Abbey paid the infirmary cook for his services, since this person did not belong to the cloistered community.] For the infirmary, and especially for the use of those who had been subjected to the periodical blood-letting, there was a special cook skilled in the preparation of strengthening broths and soups. He was the chief or meat-cook of the establishment, and had under him two boys, one as a general helper, the […]

Categories: English Cooking, Middle Ages • Tags: Cooking, Cooks, England, Food, Middle Ages, Monasteries, Monks

At the Tables of the Monks: The Fish-Cooks

May 31, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

THE FISH-COOKS (p. 206) [Note: The Abbey paid the fish-cooks for their services, since these people did not belong to the cloistered community.] In the large monasteries, such as, for example, Edmundsbury, there were two cooks for the fish-dishes ; the first was properly called the “fish-cook,” the other was “pittance-cook.” Their appointment was made for life, and by letterspatent signed by the abbot in Chapter, with the prior and the community as witnesses. Though called the “fish-cooks” these servants […]

Categories: English Cooking, Fish • Tags: Cooks, England, Fish, Middle Ages, Monasteries, Monks

View from the Guesthouse (Photo credit: Christ Phillips)

At the Tables of the Monks: The Guest-Hall Cook

May 30, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

THE GUEST-HALL COOK (p. 206) [Note: The Abbey paid the gust-hall cook for his services, since this person did not belong to the cloistered community.] The cook to attend to the needs of visitors was appointed by the cellarer, and had under him a boy to help in any way he might direct. His office was frequently for life, and certainly, once appointed, he could be removed only with difficulty. He had to get everything ready for the entertainment of […]

Categories: English Cooking • Tags: Cooking, Cooks, Middle Ages, Monasteries, Monks

At the Tables of the Monks: The Caterer (or Buyer)

May 28, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

THE CATERER, OR BUYER, FOR THE COMMUNITY (p. 202-203) [Note the Abbey paid the caterer for his services, since this person did not belong to the cloistered community.] The caterer, says one Custumal, “ought to be a broadminded and strong-minded man : one who acts with decision, and is wise, just and upright in things belonging to his office ; one who is prudent, knowing, discreet and careful when purchasing meat and fish in the market or from the salesman.” […]

Categories: English Cooking • Tags: Cooks, England, Middle Ages, Monasteries, Monks

At the Tables of the Monks: The Kitchener

May 27, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

THE KITCHENER (p. 80-81) The office of kitchener was one of great responsibility. He was appointed in Chapter by the abbot with the advice of the prior, and he should be one who was agreeable to the community. According to the Custumal of one great English abbey, the kitchener was to be almost a paragon of virtue. He ought to be “a truly religious man, just, upright, gentle, patient, and trustworthy. He should be ready to accept suggestions, humble in […]

Categories: English Cooking • Tags: Cooks, Kitchener, Middle Ages, Monasteries, Monks

At the Tables of the Monks: The Refectorian

May 26, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

THE REFECTORIAN (p. 76-77) The refectorian had charge of the refectory, or as it is sometimes called, the frater, and had to see that all things were in order for the meals of the brethren. He should be “strong in bodily health,” says one Custumal, “unbending in his determination to have order and method, a true religious, respected by all, determined to prevent anything tending to disorder, and loving all brethren without favour.” If duties of this office required it, […]

Categories: English Cooking, Middle Ages • Tags: Cooks, Middle Ages, Monasteries, Monks, Refectory

Monastery Kitchens

May 23, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

Abbatia quae vocitatur Bellus Locus Monasteries in the Middle Ages tended to follow similar layouts. Beaulieu Abbey, a Cistercian abbey in Hampshire, England, now in ruins, once supported a large number of people. It started out with 120 cows and 20 bulls, all very conducive to cheese-making. Beaulieu Abbey’s floor plan shows a tiny kitchen some distance away from the “frater” or dining area (go HERE to see a large picture):

Categories: Archaeology, English Cooking, Middle Ages • Tags: Beaulieu Abbey, Cooking, Kitchens, Middle Ages, Monasteries, Monks

At the Tables of the Monks: In the Beginning (Part II)

May 19, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

You’d never know a hermit started it all. St. Benedict of Norcia (ca. 480-547 A.D.), called the Father of Western Monasticism and the Patron of Europe, never intended to form a religious order. He just wanted to get away from it all, “all” in this case being Rome, where his noble Umbrian family sent him for literary studies, and what he perceived to be the decadence of his upper-class noble friends and their families. So, like many young people, Benedict […]

Categories: Italian Cooking, Italy, Middle Ages • Tags: Ancient Roman Cuisine, Apicius, Medieval Monasteries, Menus, Middle Ages, Monte Cassino, Rule of St. Benedict, St. Benedict

Dame Alice de Bryene’s Household Book: Easter 1413

April 8, 2009 by Cynthia Bertelsen

One of the most spectacular “finds” related to English medieval history, The Household Book of Dame Alice de Bryene (1931 edition) provides a detailed glimpse into the daily life of an English gentry household over the period 1412 – 1413, down to the exact food purchases and the price paid. It tells of widowed Dame Alice de Bryene during one of her seventy-five years. That year Easter fell on April 23, a late date, and Dame Alice served the following […]

Categories: Chicken, Easter, English Cooking, Middle Ages, Recipes • Tags: Chicken, Cooking, Curye on Inglish, Dame Alice de Bryene, Easter, Food, Forme of Cury, Middle Ages

Spice Display (Used by permission of Tinou Bao.)

Spice of History, or the Long Winding Road and Some Spice Blends for Today

August 14, 2008 by Cynthia Bertelsen

“Variety’s the spice of life, That gives it all its flavor.” ~~William Cowper, English Poet~~ Picture narrow passages, in some exotic locale, thronged with humanity peering at bulging baskets of spices and herbs, heavily laden donkeys swaying along behind them. You’re breathing the smoke-filled air, the smell of the smoke competing with the odor of freshly baked bread and strong brewed coffee. Throw in a little diesel fuel odor, too. But most of all, it’s the whiff of the spices […]

Categories: Bibliographies, Recipes • Tags: Age of Exploration, Food, Middle Ages, Recipes, Spices

Gherkins & Tomatoes

Meditations and Photographs about Food, Cooking, and Life