The World That Was

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Io Saturnalia! The Roman celebration of the end of the year, Saturnalia, is next week! So celebrate another end of another year, I'm making a simple baked treat to serve for any saturnalia celebrations you have planned - a quick and easy Dulcia Piperata (as recorded by Apicius) In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Check out my Patreon for more! Ingredients 1 cup / 150g flour 2 eggs 1/2 tsp ground rosemary 75 g chopped almonds 2tsp ground pepper 100 ml sweet white wine (or grape juice) 2 tbsp honey Milk 75g Chopped hazelnuts Method: 1 - Mix Dry Ingredients Toss about a cup of flour in a bowl. Add in some rosemary, a couple teaspoons of ground pepper, and about 75g of chopped almonds to the bowl. Mix everything together, just so it's all evenly mixed. Rosemary is a commonly-found herb in the Mediterranean, and found it's way into Roman cooking in a variety of dishes! I...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be taking a look at some pre-Roman cider, from Gaul! As most of our records come from Roman sources, we don't get much insight beyond "The Gauls are so different to us Romans, they don't even drink wine! They just drink fermented grains and fruits like barbarians" And while these are, inherently, totally biased records, they provide a decent look at what they drank! Since we know that apples were cultivated in this region, and has a history of cider production, we can assume that Gauls created archaic forms of cider - which I'll now attempt to do now! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! If you like what I make, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Ingredients Enough apples for 2-3L apple juice honey (to taste) dried yeast Special Utensils Glass Demijohn/Terracotta pot Siphon DISCLAIMER Before I begin, I have to reinforce that this is a...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making a quick side-dish from Rome, as recorded by Apicius! He has a few ways of preparing mushrooms, but this is one of the more flavourful methods he shows us! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients 500g mushrooms (I used chestnut mushrooms) 2 tbsp red wine vinegar (or malt vinegar) 1 tbsp salt 1 tbsp pepper fresh coriander or parsley Method 1 - Chop the Mushrooms This is a rather simple recipe, but to begin with, we need to prepare our mushrooms. I used chestnut mushrooms, sliced into thin segments, but button or Portobello mushrooms may also be similar to what was available in antiquity, along with edible morels. If you have smaller mushrooms, you can skip slicing these, and proceed with cooking them as is! 2 - Sautee Mushrooms Into a hot pot, pour a generous amount of olive oil - enough to coat the base. On top of this, toss your mushrooms. Spri...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be taking a look at a Roman recipe, recorded by Apicius, which was likely eaten at contemporary roadside eateries in the Roman Empire - the simple isicia omentata - or what is basically a Roman burger patty! The end result is like a spiced and fragrant meatloaf! In any case, lets now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! If you like my recipes, consider checking out my Patreon! Ingredients (for 5-6 burgers) 500g minced meat (beef, pork, lamb would be most fitting here) 100g breadcrumbs 2 cups wine (white or rose would work best) 100g pine nuts 50g black pepper Method 1 - Soak the Breadcrumbs To begin with, we need to soak 100g of breadcrumbs in a cup or two of wine. This is to add some moisture to the finished isicia, and to help pad out the meat. In antiquity, stale bread would have been used here, as it was a simple way to make the most out of every loaf of bread. If your breadcrumbs look ...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making a simple cherry pudding recorded in the 14th century AD - from the region of the Holy Roman Empire! Cherries were (and still are) a very popular fruit to eat, given the extensive range at which they can be grown. The original recipe is recorded in The Forme of Cury - a 14th century English manuscript - but the origin of this recipe likely comes from a central European source, given the variety of recipes recorded here. In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above. Consider supporting me on Patreon if you like my recipes! Ingredients 500g fresh ripe red cherries 200ml red wine 100g white sugar 1 tbsp unsalted butter 100g soft white breadcrumbs salt Edible flowers (e.g. clover, lavender, etc) Method 1 - Prepare the Cherries To begin with, we need to wash, de-stem, and stone the cherries. Do this by cutting into them carefully with a knife, before using your thumb ...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making a sweet dessert recorded by Apicius - the simple pear patina, which is kind of like a baked sponge in terms of texture. The original recipe requires some ingredients that are difficult to get a hold of today, so I've substituted some close modern approximations - which work just as well! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients 5 pears white wine (to cook the pears) 2 tbsp honey pepper cumin 1/2 cup sweet wine 4 eggs 1 tbsp olive oil Method 1 - Poach pears To begin with, we need to prepare our pears. Do this by pouring most of a bottle of wine into a pot large enough to accommodate your pears. You can also use water, if you're not keen on using alcohol! Place this over a high heat, and bring it to a simmer. When it's simmering steadily, carefully place your pears into the liquid, before pouring a couple tablespoons of honey over this...

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, I'll be showing you how to brew like a Bronze-Age Sumerian! By following the Hymn to Ninkasi (the ancient Sumerian god of beer and brewing), we'll be able to follow in their footsteps. Needless to say, this recipe is for an alcoholic beverage, so I hope that only people who are legally allowed to drink would actually try this! Sumerian Beer is very different to modern beer. It has the same taste as modern beer, but more smoky, has no carbonation, and expires very quickly! The recipe takes about a week to do, but has a lot of downtime - often you'd spend less than ten minutes a day on it. In any case, lets take a look at The World That Was. Ingredients: 2.5-3L water 120g / 1.5 cups barley flour 60g / 0.5 cups wheat berries (or dried wheat, if that is all you can get) 1 cup dates, chopped Special Kitchenware: a large pot or demijohn Method: Day 1: Soak the Wheat - Put your wheat berries into a bowl of water overnight, or up to 1...