Dan Snow's History Hit A History of Christmas Food
Dec 18, 2025
Annie Gray, a food historian and author, dives into fascinating historical Christmas food traditions. She elaborates on the unique dishes enjoyed during medieval feasts, like boar's head and elaborate mincemeat pies, revealing their savory origins. The conversation explores the pagan roots of holiday practices, the evolution of turkey as a festive staple, and the communal joys of wassail. Annie also shares tips on reviving lost customs, such as Twelfth Night cake, making it a delightful journey into the culinary past of Christmas.
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Christmas Is Layered Not Invented
- Christmas rituals (fires, feasting, drinking) predate Victorian inventions and come from older pagan/winter customs.
- Annie Gray shows modern Christmas layers Victorian additions over much older midwinter feasting traditions.
Classic Christmas Foods Came From Abroad
- Many foods we now label 'traditional' Christmas (turkey, potatoes) are post-Columbian imports.
- Annie Gray notes turkey arrived in Europe in the 1500s and only became dominant much later.
The Twelve Days Were A Real Feast
- Medieval and early modern observance often included a strict Advent fast followed by twelve days of extravagant feasting.
- Annie Gray describes wealthy households feasting on porpoise, beaver's tails, puffins and returning to normal after Epiphany.