Welcome to 'The British Food History Podcast': British food in all its (sometimes gory) glory with Dr. Neil Buttery. He'll be looking in depth at all aspects of...
From the Vaults: Recreating 16th Century Beer with Susan Flavin & Marc Meltonville
I'm on a break so to fill the gap here are some of my favourite episodes from the podcast's vaults.Today Neil talks to Susan Flavin and Marc Meltonville about recreating as close as possible beer from the accounts of Dublin Castle right at the end of the 16th century. This investigation is part of a much larger project called Food Cult, which is, according to their website “a five-year project funded by the European Research Council. This project brings together history, archaeology, science and information technology to explore the diet and foodways of diverse communities in early modern Ireland. It will serve as a model for future comparative and interdisciplinary work in the field of historical food studies.”In today’s episode we talk about the Food Cult project, the aims of the beer project, misconceptions about beer and beer drinking in the past, when beer becomes porridge, how to source 16th century ingredients and – of course – what the beer tasted like!Follow Susan Flavin on Twitter @flavin_susanFollow Marc on Instagram @marcmeltonvilleMarc Meltonville’s website: www.meltonville.uk/The FOOD CULT website: https://foodcult.eu/ Their journal article: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/historical-journal/article/understanding-early-modern-beer-an-interdisciplinary-casestudy/76C118F73B8D35FED9E5B69CB3E966FBThere are 4 Easter eggs associated with this episode, to access them start a monthly £3 subscription.Subscribers get access to all of the Easter eggs, premium blog content and Neil’s monthly newsletter. Visit https://britishfoodhistory.com/support-the-blog-podcast/ for more details. On that page, you could also donate a one-off ‘virtual coffee’ or ‘virtual pint’. All money received goes into making more content. Other bits:Neil’s new blog post ‘Forgotten Foods #10: Porpoise’: http://britishfoodhistory.com/2023/06/25/forgotten-foods-10-porpoise/Neil’s blogs:‘BritishFood: a History’ http://britishfoodhistory.com ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’ http://neilcooksgrigson.com
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From the Vaults: Fanny Cradock with Kevin Geddes
I'm on a break so to fill the gap here are some of my favourite episodes from the podcast's vaults.Neil has a most enlightening chat with Kevin Geddes about the fabulous television cook Fanny Cradock (1909-1994). Fanny has a reputation for being difficult to work with, cruel and monstrous, and that she was a fake. In this chat Kevin upturns SOME of those preconceptions. We talk about her way into radio and television, her manner and presenting style, the fantastic Christmas special, as well as her decline and fall from television cookery. Much of her life is fabricated and it is difficult to see where the real Fanny stops, and the celebrity Fanny begins.Subscribers: don’t forget to check out the Easter Egg tab on the website to listen to the many extras from this episode: http://britishfoodhistory.com/easter-eggs/Kevin’s book Keep Calm and Fanny On! The Many Careers of Fanny Cradock is published by Fantom https://www.fantompublishing.co.uk/product/kevin-geddes-fanny-cradock/It’s All in the Booklet: Festive Fun with Fanny Cradock is also published by Fantom https://www.fantompublishing.co.uk/product/kevin-geddes-its-all-in-the-booklet-festive-fun-with-fanny-cradock/Follow Kevin on Twitter and Insta @keepcalmandfannyon
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From the Vaults: Hogmanay & Hamely Kitchen with Paula McIntyre
I'm on a break so to fill the gap here are some of my favourite episodes from the podcast's vaults.Today Neil talks with Paula McIntyre about Hogmanay and her BBC TV show, the excellent Hamely Kitchen. Paula is an Ulster-Scots chef who lives on the north coast of Northern Ireland and she specialises in combining those two cuisines, reviving traditional recipes and shouting about good producers. Paula has a Hamely Kitchen Hogmanay special out on 30th December, 7.30pm on BBC1 Northern Ireland. Paula and Neil talked about Hogmanay traditions, like first footings and gifting shortbread, cockie-leekie soup, clootie dumplings and boiled/steamed puddings in general, TV show Two Fat Ladies and dulse – and much more.Hamely Kitchen’s BBC webpage: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000zmyh Find Paula on social media: Twitter @paula_mcintyre; Instagram @paulacooksThings mentioned in today’s episode:Kilchoman distillery: https://www.kilchomandistillery.com/ Ursa Minor bakery: https://www.ursaminorbakehouse.com/ Abernethy Butter: https://abernethybutter.com/ Two Fat Ladies BBC TV programme on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu9yUU0fTAk Neil’s blog post on the classic Scottish Hogmanay treat the black bun: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2022/12/27/black-bun-scotch-bun-part-1-history/
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A Tudor Christmas with Brigitte Webster
Merry Christmas everyone! Welcome to the 2024 British Food History Podcast Christmas special. Today I am talking with Tudor Food historian Brigitte Webster about what Christmasses were like in Tudor times – just what were the Tudors eating and drinking at this time of year?We talked about harrowing Advent and its stockfish, food as gifts, the boar’s head, venison, frumenty and the similarities and differences between Christmasses then and now – amongst many other things.If you can, support the podcast and blogs by becoming a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.Brigitte’s book Eating with the Tudors is available from all good book shops.Brigitte’s websiteYou can find Brigitte on social media: Twitter @tudorfoodrecipe; Instagram/Threads tudor_experience; Bluesky @tudorfoodrecipe.bsky.socialThings mentioned in today’s episodeThe work of Andrew BoordeDon’t forget to check out the website on Christmas Day for my Irish coffee recipeListen to the Delicious Legacy Christmas special hereBlog posts pertinent to today’s episodeMy recipe for roast venisonMy recipe for medieval frumenty (subscribers only)Previous podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episodeLent Episode 2: The History of LentTudor Cooking and Cuisine with Brigitte WebsterChristmas Feasting with Annie GrayChristmas Special 2023: Mince PiesNeil’s blogs:‘British Food: a History’ ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’ Neil’s books:Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential HousekeeperA Dark History of Sugar Knead to Know: a History of Baking
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The Philosophy of Puddings with Neil Buttery, Peter Gilchrist & Lindsay Middleton
The tables are turned today for I am being interviewed by Lindsay Middleton and Peter Gilchrist of The Scottish Food History Podcast about my book The Philosophy of Puddings, published by the British Library.We talk about the origins of puddings, the emergence of the pudding cloth and the pudding mould, blancmange, the work of Catherine Brown and the Be-Ro book, amongst many other thingsIf you can, support the podcast and blogs by becoming a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.The Philosophy of Puddings is out now and available from all good book shops.The Scottish Food History Podcast is available on all podcast appsPeter’s website Tenement KitchenPeter can be found Instagram @tenementkitchenLindsay can be found on Instagram @lindsaymiddleton_ ; Twitter @lindsmiddleton ; Bluesky @drlindsaymiddleton.bsky.social Things mentioned in today’s episodeNigella Lawson’s gift book recommendationsCatherine Brown’s websiteThe Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened by Kenelm DigbyThe Compleat Housewife by Eliza Smith The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah GlasseBlog posts pertinent to today’s episodeThe Be-Ro BookBlancmangeSpotted DickNeil’s basilica mould can be seen on this post for subscribersWhat is a pudding?How to make a steamed sponge puddingPrevious podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episodeInvalid Cookery with Lindsay MiddletonTinned Food with Lindsay MiddletonThe Philosophy of Curry with Sejal SukhadwalaThe Philosophy of Chocolate with Sam BiltonNeil’s blogs:
Welcome to 'The British Food History Podcast': British food in all its (sometimes gory) glory with Dr. Neil Buttery. He'll be looking in depth at all aspects of food with interviews with special guests, recipes, re-enactments, foraging, trying his hand at traditional techniques, and tracking down forgotten recipes and hyper-regional specialities. He'll also be trying to answer the big question: What makes British food, so...British?
South Africa