Saturday 20 April 2013

Newly-Discovered 12th Century Recipes To Be Recreated At Durham University

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Newly-discovered food recipes from a 12th century Durham Priory manuscript have been found to predate the earliest known ones by 150 years. The recipes are to be recreated at a Durham University event later in the month.

The Latin manuscript mainly consists of recipes for medical ointments and cures and was compiled and written at Durham Cathedral's priory around 1140. The work was recently re-examined and found to contain the food recipes, which experts believe are amongst the oldest in the western medieval culinary tradition, preceding the previously known examples from circa 1290.

(thanks Miss Rare)

2 comment(s):

Dave said...



In fact there are several other recipes surviving in other sources from the later 12th century, notably in De nominibus utensilium by Alexander Neckham and in Giraldus Cambrensis regarding food served at Canterbury cathedral priory in 1179.

Neckham describes roast pork served with salt and garlic sauce, capons served with pepper and chicken in a sauce of garlic, vinegar or cumin; fish served with "green savoury" made with sage, parsley, dittany, thyme, costmary, garlic, pepper and salt.

Clearly the idea that the recent find predates " the previously earliest known Medieval recipes by about 150 years" is stretching the truth more than just a little.

Gerard said...

Thanks for sharing, Dave.