The World That Was

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! This week, I'm going to be making some honey spiced wine that was popular in the Eastern Mediterranean. The name of this comes from Apicius, and roughly translates to "surprise" or "marvellous" spiced wine. This recipe was also recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud, which reaffirms the claims for this drink's popularity in the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant! Given the time of year I'm posting this, it would be a fitting drink to serve for any festivities you might have planned for Saturnalia! But before I begin, I just want to make it clear that this is a recipe for an alcoholic beverage, so please don't make this if you're under the legal drinking age where you are! It's 18 in Ireland, but it may be different where you are! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 100g honey 700ml wine (preferably red) 2 bay leaves 2 saffron stran...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, we'll be making another Roman recipe, from Apicius - a writer and gourmet from the 1st century AD. This recipe is very similar to modern French toast, but is really only a little plainer than modern renditions of it! The original recipe is pretty short, and not very descriptive, so I've decided to reconstruct this in a slightly different way. "Slice fine white bread, remove the crust, and break it into large pieces.  Soak these pieces in milk and beaten egg, fry in oil, and cover with honey before serving." - Apicius, 7.13.3 In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients Bread loaf (or pre-sliced bread) 3 eggs 200ml / 1 cup milk honey (to taste) olive oil (to fry) Method 1 - Bread To begin with, we need some bread. You can of course use any kind of bread. I made some Roman bread last week, so check that out if you want to know how I made the loaf I use...

 Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making some Roman bread! Bread is one of humanity's food staples - if there's a collection of humans, they'll find a way to make bread one way or another! This particular bread is actually recorded by Apicius - Marcus Gaius Apicius, a Roman writer and gourmet - who was writing in the 1st century BC. This is a simple wheat loaf, that I've decided to give a little decoration too. In any case, lets take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 1 cup wholemeal flour 1 cup plain flour 1 packet instant yeast OR 1/2 cup sourdough starter 1 tsp salt warm water (to mix) Method 1 - Prepare the Dough To begin with, pour your packet of yeast into a large bowl, and add a little water, just to rehydrate it. Romans didn't have access to dried yeast like this, but they used natural airborne yeast - like how we use it today when making sourdough! You could just as easily use a 1/2...