The World That Was

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be taking a look at a medieval Byzantine honey cake - which itself is based on an earlier Greek iron-age cake, amphiphon. This is going to be a light, fluffy cake with a rich, honey flavour! 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 you see, consider supporting me over on Patreon! Ingredients 1 cup flour 3/4 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup walnuts salt orange rind 1 - Cream the Sugar and Butter To begin with, toss about 3/4 of a cup of room-temperature butter into a mixing bowl. Into this, place about 3/4 of a cup of sugar. Mix everything together using a wooden spoon, smearing the butter into the sugar along the side of the bowl. Do this until it takes on a rich, creamy texture. At this stage, beat three eggs into the mixture, taking care to mix them all thoroughly before progressing! 2 - Add Dry Ingredients Next, toss in about a cup's worth of ...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! As the autumn comes to a close, and the cold of winter sets in, I figured it'd be a great time to make a simple savoury treat from medieval Georgian cuisine - stuffed apples! Though savoury stuffed apples are commonly found in the Caucasus region, this isn't exclusive to Georgia! Armenia, and parts of north-western Iran, western Turkey, and Azerbaijan also have regional variants of this dish! 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, consider supporting me on Patreon! Ingredients (for 4 servings) 4 large tart cooking apples honey ground cinnamon ground nutmeg water 1 cup rice butter Method 1 - Prepare Apples To begin with, we need to prepare our apples. Do this by slicing the top off of about 4 large apples, before carving out the middle - leave about a finger's width of a wall. Drizzle some honey in here, and sprinkle a little ground cinnamon ins...

 Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be taking a look at medieval Ottoman cuisine - specifically the food seen in ottoman courts! The recipe in question is cılbır, or poached eggs with herbal yoghurt. This is a simple yet tasty recipe that is still eaten today in Turkey! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Consider checking out my Patreon if you like these recipes! Ingredients (for 3 portions) 3 eggs 150g greek yoghurt freshly chopped parsley (or dill, or cilantro) 2 cloves garlic ground coriander Method 1 - Make the Yoghurt To begin with, we need to make a simple yoghurt for the eggs to sit on. Start this by finely chopping some fresh parsley - dill or cilantro would have also been used! Toss this into your yoghurt, along with a clove or two of crushed garlic. Mix all of this together, until it's very well combined. Leave it to sit aside while you poach your eggs. 2 - Poach the eggs Place a p...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! Today, I'll be making a medieval drink from 13th century Egypt - and is still drunk today! A simple, refreshing drink called subiyah/ It was originally made to drink during Ramadan - a holy month of fasting in the Islamic calendar - but this is able to be enjoyed around the year! It's simple to make, and has a very nice crispness to it! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video above! Ingredients 3-4 slices of sourdough bread (crusts removed) 3-4 cups water 1 tsp cardamom pods fresh mint fresh parsley Method 1 - Soak and Strain Bread To begin with, de-crust three slices of sourdough bread and tear the bread into small chunks, before placing them in a bowl. The original recipe requires "bread" and gives no elaboration - so I went for sourdough because it has a more distinct taste than a regular slice of white bread. In any case, pour in three cups of water into your bowl to ...

Hello and Welcome to The World That Was! This week, I'll be taking a look at a Byzantine baked cheesecake - that's quick, simple, and very tasty! It seems to be based on an earlier Greek recipe for a baked cheesecake, but was adapted to suit the tastes of Medieval Byzantine elite cuisine! In any case, let's now take a look at The World That Was! Follow along with my YouTube video, above! Ingredients 500g ricotta cheese (or myzithra, anthotyro cheese) 150g honey 3 eggs flour cinnamon butter (to grease baking tin) Method 1 - Whisk Ingredients To begin with, we need to place our cheese in a bowl. I used ricotta here, because it has a good texture and is widely available, but other soft Greek cheeses would work well - such as myzithra or anthotyro. Into this, pour 150g of honey, and whisk it well. Crack an egg one at a time into the bowl, whisking it until it's well combined before adding two more. Chicken eggs would have been used in this period, along with wildfowl and pi...