Grain and legumes Peas and beans, which made up a very large part of the diet of the Mediæval poor, were still treated as a staple food,...

Over the centuries a seaman's diet, whether they were part of the crews of Sir Francis Drake or Admiral Horatio Nelson, hardly changed....

In the first year of the 20th century Queen Victoria’s 64 year reign came to an end with her death on January 22nd, 1901. She was...

The Sun never sets When Victoria succeeded to the throne in 1837, Britain was already a global maritime trading power. From the late...

Possibly the most significant year in English history, 1066, saw the end of Anglo-Saxon England and start of the reigns of first the...

Tanfield Railway near Gateshead (NE16 5ET) is the world's oldest railway still in use. Originally built to transport coal from the local...

Sugar is one of the world’s oldest documented commodities, and at one time it was so valuable that people kept it safe under lock and key...

This year (2022) Tastes Of History was delighted to return to the Bosworth Medieval Festival at the brilliant Bosworth Battlefield...

The Forme of Cury (‘The Method of Cooking’ [1]) is an extensive 14th-century collection of medieval English recipes. Although the...

Isabella Mary Beeton (née Mayson) was born on March 14th, 1836. Better known simply as Mrs Beeton, she was an English journalist, editor...

Eliza Acton (April 17th, 1799 - February 13th, 1859) was an English poet and food writer who produced one of Britain's first cookery...

In the 1880s, while the ‘Old Money’, the aristocracy, ate their fish course using two table forks, the ‘New Money’, the nouveau riche,...

Origins The name 'orange' derives from the Sanskrit word for 'orange tree' (नारङ्ग nāraṅga). The Sanskrit word reached European...

In an earlier article, we challenged the idea that Roman soldiers cooked farinata, a type of unleavened bread made from chickpea flour,...

The mosaic floor pictured ( right ) is housed in a gallery dedicated to ancient Roman frescoes and mosaics on the second floor of the...

The pineapple (Latin: Ananas comosus) [1] is a tropical plant with an edible fruit indigenous to South America, where it has been...

According to a BBC News tweet (see right), the ‘Welsh leek’ could be set for protected status [1], alongside foods including Cheddar...

Farinata (‘made of flour’), a classic Italian street food, apparently enjoys two provenance myths according to BBC History Magazine [1]...

December 31st, 1705: Catherine of Braganza, widow of Charles II whom she had married in 1662, died in Lisbon, Portugal. Most notably,...

December 30th, 1945, a cold Sunday morning, saw the cargo ship Tilapa docked in Bristol. It was carrying the first bananas to be seen in...