The Delicious Legacy

Chios, the fifth largest Greek island, is best known perhaps as one of the acclaimed birthplaces of Homer; The famous ancient poet, supposed author of Iliad and Odyssey. Whatever truth is behind this claim, we will never know. The second most important thing that is famous for, is mastiha, from the south of the island, the beautiful 'tears' which gives it's unique flavour in many recipes in the Greek cuisine and also gives us the term "masticated" in English, deriving from the ancient Greek term "to chew"; For 'Mastiha' was the world's first -natural - chewing gum, popular from antiquity till today!So, what does the raisin mastic, from a tree native to the island of Chios in North East Aegean Sea doing in a dietary manual from the Mongol Emperor all the way in what is today's modern China? How did it get there?Let's explore three often used in middle east and Greece but a bit forgotten spices here, on today's episode; especially the marvellous, magical mastiha!Music by Pavlos KapralosEnjoy!Thom & The Delicious LegacySupport the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes! https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedeliciouslegacySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello!On today's bonus episode I'm exploring somewhat little known local delicacies from the Northern corners of England. Some cheeses, and meats, and desserts that seem to deserve a lot more limelight than they currently have!For example Ribblesdale cheese, "Pressed Beef", Cumberland Rum Nikki, Taylors Original Prepared Mustard, and Swaledale Cheese!(Get the cheeses, here https://www.ribblesdalecheese.com/ and https://swaledalecheese.co.uk/ )Enjoy!Thom & The Delicious LegacySupport the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes! https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedeliciouslegacySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The ancients, -Greeks and Romans alike- where equally worried about health and food and the balance between a healthy diet and a delicious one.More than in our days, diet played a role in preventing and curing diseases, and in fact it was one of the main areas of study at medieval medical schools.Medical writers and doctors and philosophers of the ancient world, from Hippocrates, to Galen and Oreibasius to Haly Abbas in Islamic Persia al obsessed and thought about the connection of diet and healthy body.The notion of humours and the idea that disease was related to some imbalance of them was only one of many theories in antiquity, some of which completely ignored them. For Galen the definitive theory was that articulated in the Hippocratic Nature Of Man. The nature of Man was made up of blood phlegm yellow bile and black bile, and it was through these that the body felt pain and maintained health. If their balance was disturbed the body experienced disease.To find out more, listen to the episode!The music on this episode was written and performed by the incredible Pavlos Kapralos.Find out more here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzgAonk4-uVhXXjKSF-Nz1AEnjoy,Thom & The Delicious LegacySupport the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes! https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedeliciouslegacySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Part Two of our Interview!So much more to explore, with kitchen innovations, stews, pickles, and the most incredible cookbooks preserved for our eyes from Medieval Arab World.The Islamic Golden Age... What does it come to one's mind when hears the above words?Do you think of the 'Arabian Nights' ? Or as it is properly called as 'One Thousand and One Nights'? Is your imagination also filled with other Middle Eastern Folk tales of Aladdin and Ali Baba and Sinbad the Sailor? Or, maybe, the flourishing of scientific, cultural, economic activities in the near middle east and the centre of the worlds knowledge in the largest city then in the world, Baghdad? Well so you should; these are superbly important aspects of the medieval Arab world, but for me equally important was the flourishing of an extremely delicious, complex culinary tradition, a cuisine with one foot in the Arab peninsula and the other in ancient Persia! Mouth watering rich stews and elaborate banquets, feasts for kings and caliphs that lasted weeks on end... In other words, food! Food glorious food, food that we've never heard of, food and recipes that influenced the European medieval cuisine and to this day we find echoes of them in recipes across the known world,-without exaggeration- from India to South America!For this reason I have invited on today's episode Professor Daniel Newman; an academic from Durham University specialising in Arabic literature, to talk to us about the medieval Arab cuisine. He is also known for his blog "Eat like a Sultan" where he brings the medieval recipes to our modern world with some mouth watering creations, professor Newman shares with us his unique insight of a rich and wonderful world! This was such a fun interview and I thoroughly enjoyed our chat. He is such a passionate and knowledgeable man who loves sharing his wisdom with us! If I had such lecturers when I was at University doubtless my time there would have been much, much more worthwhile! Today's music Nihavend peşrev is kindly performed by Pavlos Kapralos and it's by Petros Peloponnesios a great cantor, composer and teacher of Byzantine and Ottoman music (born c. 1735 Tripolis– died in 1778 Constantinople) the music is influenced obviously by Persian motifs and the song is played with a santur which is a hammered dulcimer of Iranian or Mesopotamian origins. Prof Daniel Newman's blog, Eat Like A Sultan: http://eatlikeasultan.com/  Thank you and enjoy!Thom & The Delicious LegacySupport the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes! https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedeliciouslegacySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Islamic Golden Age... What does it come to one's mind when hears the above words?Do you think of the 'Arabian Nights' ? Or as it is properly called as 'One Thousand and One Nights'? Is your imagination also filled with other Middle Eastern Folk tales of Aladdin and Ali Baba and Sinbad the Sailor? Or, maybe, the flourishing of scientific, cultural, economic activities in the near middle east and the centre of the worlds knowledge in the largest city then in the world, Baghdad? Well so you should; these are superbly important aspects of the medieval Arab world, but for me equally important was the flourishing of an extremely delicious, complex culinary tradition, a cuisine with one foot in the Arab peninsula and the other in ancient Persia! Mouth watering rich stews and elaborate banquets, feasts for kings and caliphs that lasted weeks on end... In other words, food! Food glorious food, food that we've never heard of, food and recipes that influenced the European medieval cuisine and to this day we find echoes of them in recipes across the known world,-without exaggeration- from India to South America!For this reason I have invited on today's episode Professor Daniel Newman; an academic from Durham University specialising in Arabic literature, to talk to us about the medieval Arab cuisine. He is also known for his blog "Eat like a Sultan" where he brings the medieval recipes to our modern world with some mouth watering creations, professor Newman shares with us his unique insight of a rich and wonderful world! This was such a fun interview and I thoroughly enjoyed our chat. He is such a passionate and knowledgeable man who loves sharing his wisdom with us! If I had such lecturers when I was at University doubtless my time there would have been much, much more worthwhile! Today's music Nihavend peşrev is kindly performed by Pavlos Kapralos and it's by Petros Peloponnesios a great cantor, composer and teacher of Byzantine and Ottoman music (born c. 1735 Tripolis– died in 1778 Constantinople) the music is influenced obviously by Persian motifs and the song is played with a santur which is a hammered dulcimer of Iranian or Mesopotamian origins. Prof Daniel Newman's blog, Eat Like A Sultan: http://eatlikeasultan.com/  Thank you and enjoy!Thom & The Delicious Legacy Support the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes! https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedeliciouslegacySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A splendid photo from 1858, of the colossal Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens spurred me to write today's episode: A top of the ancient columns, protruding was a weird structure, almost placed on top as joke. What was it? This, it transpired, was the hut of a monk! A hermit, a stylite, an ascetic who lived his days praying on top of this magnificent ancient monument in the centre of 19th Century Athens. A history of monasticism: one that traces the history of Christian religious life through food, eating and fasting. More importantly though,finding at the end that it is about the deliberate relegation of food and eating to a purely physical need, separated from any conscious emotion of pleasure or displeasure, on the part of individuals and collectives who followed a Christian religious life in the period from the earliest days through to the late Middle Ages. All the way from the Sinai Desert and the isolation of Dead Sea caves through to the forests of Northern England.Easter is nearly here, and I thought that some Lenten recipes would be welcome if we would like to imitate the lifestyle of the first desert fathers and on this episode I have two recipes in the spirit of fasting that hope will inspire you.Enjoy!Thom & The Delicious LegacySupport the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes! https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedeliciouslegacySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we know this beautiful legendary city, as Marseilles.It's the 2nd largest city in France and the most ancient one. And her foundations were laid thanks to ancient Greeks! The mythical start of the city is told by Herodotus and Aristotle who give us some information and traces of truth through their stories about her establishment. But we will look into her ancient food traditions!Wine! Grapes! Olives and Herbs! The Greeks brought a lot with them when settled in Massalia around 600 BCE.The inland routes to reach northern Europe started here; the navigable rivers that led to the Atlantic, made the spot the city was built, ideal. The trade of tin and other goods was of outmost importance, and so was the necessity to avoid the conflicts with Carthaginians along the southern routes from Spain.But let's go to the food.Archestratus says:Use all anchovies for manure, exceptThe Attic fish; I mean that useful seedWhich the Ionians do call the foam;And take it fresh; just caught within the bays,The sacred bays of beautiful Phalerum.Good is it too, when by the sea-girt isleOf Rhodes you eat it, if it's not imported.And if you wish to taste it in perfection,Boil nettles with it—nettles whose green leavesOn both sides crown the stem; put these in the dishAround the fish, then fry them in one pan,And mix in fragrant herbs well steep'd in oil.How is the traditional Provençal dish "sartanado" connected with the above passage from Archestratus?What is "myttotos"? What has in common with rouille? What does a recipe found in a papyri, has to do with the famous French bouillabaisse?Which oysters the poet Ausonious things are the best?These, and a lot more are answered in the episode today! Join me and enjoy the foods of Massalia!The Delicious LegacySupport the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes! https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedeliciouslegacySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello!New episode is out!Here, Ned and I, met in Borough Market in London Bridge -the biggest and perhaps oldest continuous market here in London- the "Mecca" of the freshest food produce! So we came here to discuss his latest book "A Cheesemongers Compendium of British and Irish Cheeses" and of course to question like modern philosophers what it means to be a cheesemonger? (it turns out there a lot of recovering philosophers in the cheesemongers profession!) What is terroir and how this manifests in the differences in cheese? And of course I ask more information about the tastiest British Cheeses and more broadly about the place of them in the modern world. (and table!)Do you want to know which cheese tastes of roasted peanuts? And has floral notes? Or what about banana scented cheese, the old artificial kinda of banana, and estuary! Surprising huh? You don't expect that huh? Well, have a listen and all will be revealed!Extra content for backers only (if you subscribe on Patreon you have access to it) Ned gives us his perfect cheese and beer pairings! Because cheese and beer goes really well together, and perhaps so, even better than most wines! Enjoy!Support the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes! https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedeliciouslegacySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just before the Christmas break, I had the chance to interview -via the magic of the internet- Pen Vogler: author of "Dinner with Mr Darcy" and "Dinner with Dickens" who also had curated the exhibition "Food Glorious Food" at the Charles Dickens Museum. She edited Penguin's Great Food series, writes and reviews on food history for the press and has recreated recipes from the past for BBC Television.On this episode though, we actually chat about her latest book "Scoff" which is a history of food and class in UK through the ages. Her title, Scoff, plays on two meanings, the first being to chow down and fill your boots with whatever good things come your way, while the second means to mock or negate another person’s way of life – their taste, in other words!So together we trawl through history and find out why breakfast is crucial mean, what is an important and healthy breakfast, and of course what does it say about your status and your standing in society; what is the most breakfasty breakfast food you should eat?Of course we explore some recipes, and some delicious ideas for breakfast or brunch (ever so fancy and trendy!) and get deeper into fads and fashionable things, how they change though history and what is -or not- nutritious for you. Needless to say we both hate, and scoff in the notion of cereals for breakfast! Yet we must endure their presence; they are so ubiquitous everywhere we turn! Oh the irony!Happy listening!The Delicious LegacyMusic by Pavlos Kapralos. Find out more here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzgAonk4-uVhXXjKSF-Nz1AThanks to Maltby and Greek for sponsoring this episode! Check how you can get your 15% discount!Support the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes! https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedeliciouslegacySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Part 2 of the Universal History of Pickles!Humanity have been fermenting for so long, so many thousands of years! These microorganisms that help us ferment, might be considered domesticated just like our cats and dogs! Or, they domesticated us, in order for them to thrive? Hmmmm....always worth wondering! Lactobacillales are present on the skins and leaves of just about any vegetable or fruit you would ever want to ferment! Coincidence? who knows...! There's definitely an element of co-dependence between us and them for sure!This time we will see a medieval chutney from Richard the II's cookbook "Forme of Cury", evidence of the first "modern" mention of brined cheese aka feta from Crete, the emergence of Dutch pickled herrings and how it conquered Europe, a brief history of saurekraut, Indian pickles, why balsamic vinegar is such a special vinegar, and of course the holy triptych of soya beans- soy sauce- miso!Enjoy!Support the podcast on Ko-Fi and Patreon for ad-free episodes! https://ko-fi.com/thedeliciouslegacypodcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedeliciouslegacySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.