A truly fascinating book. a real passion project from the author. Within, you'll find Tudor recipes carefully tested and presented in a form that we can use today. Luckily the author has omitted some ingredients we now know to be poisonous. They had a different take on what was a good diet and which ingredients were suitable for the poor - onions for example.
I particularly enjoyed reading the original recipes with in some cases some very inventive spelling. Definitely a book for your shelf to dip into frequently.

Loved this book! A must read if you are interested in either Food History, or the Tudar time period, this book is definitely a keeper!!

With fascinating facts about diets during the Tudor era and countless recipes, Brigitte Webster transports us to the Tudor era and she takes us on a culinary journey.

Some Tudor enthusiasts (myself included) often get lost learning about the fascinating people of the era that we regretfully overlook the aspects of their domestic every day lives. Webster reminds us that their everyday lives are just as important.

Most Tudor diets were based on the Four Humor Theory, and I enjoyed reading about what physicians had to say about diets and what they felt was good for a person to eat.

The book was broken up by the four seasons, and lastly a section on banquets. This was a wonderful way to break up the book. Someone could find a recipe for summer more easily that way. I also enjoyed learning facts about various foods and what they were used for in the era (1485-1603).

I was struck by how many primary sources used and also how recipes were converted from their original state to a modern recipe we could use today. My favorite parts of the book were the use of different meats throughout the period and their significance. One of my favorite Tudor artifacts is a small box for sweet meats that Elizabeth I gave to Lord Robert Dudley. I know can know even more about the sweet meats and what it meant.

I thank Pen and Sword Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book with an ARC. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about food in Tudor times or wants to try a recipe. The book was definitely a wonderful addition to Tudor topics that haven't been covered as much. 5/5 Stars.

“ Food connects everything…”
Eating with the Tudors, Brigitte Webster,viii.

There is no question that food has played an integral role in the growth and development of human culture.

Food is essential.

Food is needed for survival.

However, food can also be used not only for simply sustaining life, but also as a form of observing the seasonal changes(Webster, 1), a part of religious observation (Webster, ix) celebrating major events (Webster, 191), a form of community bonding, and also a form of social markers such as specific classes ate a certain type of bread (Webster, xi). With her book, Eating with the Tudors, Brigitte Webster has created a consolidated guide for both the general public, writers whose focus is on the age of the Tudors, and helpful scholars, and academics who have a starting point in both understanding the food and social habits for the people in this time frame, but her sources, are helpful guides in general research and leads to other sources.

The book is divided into five chapters, with the first four chapters broken into the seasons, and the ending chapter, chapter 5, providing a general look into the use of food for banquets during the Tudor Times. In addition, she not only provides recipes that would have been used during the time period but has translated the recipes to comparative modern recipes for either the general public, writer, academic, or scholar to recreate at home. Some of the cook times may have to be “guestimated” with some trial and error, but for the most part, the inclusion of the modern-day equivalent to recipes once used long ago, promises to provide breakfast or dinner “icebreakers” to the recipes' origins, and some interesting discussions over the dinner table.

From opening each chapter with a look at what people in Tudor society would have had to expect from the corresponding season in terms of access to select foods, to sharing specific religious days, where the general population was guided in what they could or couldn’t eat, Webster presents an orderly look at the role food played in the day to day life, and the calendar life for people living during the Tudor age. An interesting component as well is how Webster brings to light the social, religious, and sometimes political ramifications the access to select food had for people, and especially the choices individuals or groups had to the types of food they could or could not have on their tables.

There’s a sense of connection over time and space, seeing pancakes were a part of people’s lives like it continues to be to this day, and the use of the “Additional Information” to highlight the price of food during the time period. Suggested help to understand how the price compares to modern-day times is using an online converter such as The National Archives Currency Converter, especially since the value of money in modern times, like before, is still subjected to inflation, and other factors.

Regarding the comparison of recipes from the Tudor times and their modern-day counterparts, Webster does a succinct job, of showing how much the sharing of recipes has changed over the centuries. Instead of saying “take a peck of flower” (Webster, 185), the author's modern-day counterpart is a more precise measurement (in 21st-century terms) of 730g flour (Webster, 186). This small detail in itself is telling how the preparation of food has changed, and provides readers with a unique guide and insight into both the role and preparation of food.

The writing style for the book is concise. There is an organized method to delivering both the recipes and the supplemental information behind the food preparation to keep the reading, both informative, but also entertaining. As a result, Eating with the Tudors becomes both a form of historical reference used to understand the time period better, and for those who love to cook either as a hobby, or other, a source of inspiration from the past in discovering new ways of preparing and eating food.

On different levels, Eating with the Tudors helps maintain a healthy balance while keeping readers enthralled with the life and ways of the Tudor period, leading this to be an engaging book to give as a gift, or simply to have on hand to use, to enjoy, or to use as a starting point for research.

In addition, the book makes a great supplement to have on hand to both reads, and use while watching the Tudor Monastery Farm series in which archaeologists Peter Ginn, and Tom Pinfold, and historian Ruth Goodman recreate what farming was like during the Tudor period. There are episodes that feature Ruth cooking recipes from the Tudor period, making this book all the more valuable guide and cookbook to have on hand.

Thank you to NetGalley, in addition, to Pen & Sword for the opportunity to review the book in exchange for an honest review.

When we think about food during the Tudor dynasty, one of the first images that pop into our head is of Charles Laughton, who played King Henry VIII in “The Private Life of Henry VIII” from 1933. He is seen in a popular image online devouring a chicken at a Tudor feast. We assume that the Tudors were indulgent regarding their food, not caring about what they put in their bodies and their benefits. However, the recipes from this period, from the beginning of King Henry VII’s reign to the death of Queen Elizabeth I, tell a different story. In her debut nonfiction book, “Eating with the Tudors: Food and Recipes,” Brigitte Webster shows how the political and religious changes during the Tudor dynasty affected how those living in England ate every day.

I want to thank Pen and Sword Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this book. I am always looking for a fresh approach to studying history, especially the Tudors, so when I heard Brigitte was writing a Tudor cookbook based on her research and culinary experiments, I knew I wanted to read it.

Webster begins by taking the time to explain the finer details of Galen’s 4 Humours Theory, how the body is divided into four humours; blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. This theory was the roadmap for Tudor dieticians and physicians on what food they would recommend for people to eat to keep them healthy. They believed that certain foods would benefit different humours, and the goal was to keep the humours balanced. She explores what the Tudors thought about digestion, which dishes should be served first or last during a meal, and when the Tudors should eat during the day. We also get to see the who’s who in a Tudor market and the evolution of the Tudor cookbook from the beginning of King Henry VII’s reign to the death of Queen Elizabeth I.

After the incredibly detailed introduction, Webster divides her book into five sections: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Banqueting Food. Each section comprises recipes that would have been popular for a king and commoners alike, showing the diversity of the age. The recipes include the original recipe, the modern translation of the recipe (with measurements), and an interesting bit of information about how physicians viewed the selected dish and their nutritional value according to the Four Humours Theory.

I found this an insightful read with delicious-sounding delectables. Webster’s passion for finding and testing new recipes is prevalent on every page. It gives a deeper understanding of the Tudor world, from feasts and holidays to everyday meals. Suppose you want to try some authentic Tudor recipes or are just curious about the dietary habits of Tudor England. In that case, I highly suggest you read “Eating with the Tudors: Food and Recipes” by Brigitte Webster.

This is a really fascinating book about food, eating culture, traditions, and recipes from the Tudor times. The author starts with an impressive review of the books and documents she has researched over a period of about 10 years. What a work of love that was ! Covering the period 1485 to 1603, the book is organised by seasons, which definitely fits with the pattern of nature and weather, which was so important at the time.
Spring and lent focus on using the first plants in the year. Medicinal virtues of plants and foods were definitely an important element of Tudor eating. And of course the Easter traditions feature in the recipes. Summer highlights the enjoyment of picnics. Autumn is a busy time of food preservation and conservation to last through the winter. Before icehouses, preservation was by drying and also, in the case of meat, curing and laying in brine. Sugar was used for preserves and conserves and spices held an important place in Tudor kitchen. A Tudor household would not let food go to waste. We also read about potages, a wide range, especially consumed by the common folk, as well as beans, gourds, vaunts (stuffed sweet omelettes). Of course various recipes feature apple and pears. I love the apple moise and the bake of peares, quinces and wardens. Winter food depended very much on whether you were rich or poor. We learn about various Christmas traditions, venison, plum pudding and figgy pudding and, later, turkey. We discover recipes of turkey, duck, pigeons, quail, capon, pheasant, but also mince pies and frumenty. I loved the recipe “A tarte to provoke courage either in man or woman”, made with the sweet potatoes that had recently arrived from Panama. A whole chapter is devoted to banqueting food. Banquets were served as the last part of a meal. Designed to impress, they were usually luxurious and also a more private and intimate setting for eating and socialising. Subtleties and sweetmeats, tarts and jellies, cakes and breads, wafers, comfits and all kinds of sweet delights were served, made possible by the increased availability of sugar in the 16th century.
I did not know anything about Tudor food and this is what made me pick up this book. What a great idea that was! I have really learned a lot. Not just on the food but also the language, thanks to the original recipes that are proposed….together with their version in modern language. A really good book for those who have a combined interest in food and history. And congratulations to the author for this work of reference.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I geek out over food history. This book feels like it was written for me. Webster is an expert on the Tudor era, and breaks down her delicious subject matter by season. She discusses different native and imported foods across the period and frequently cites primary sources, many of which are gifts that were ordered or received (wow, a lot of judges were bribed with fancy foods). The larger portion of each section is devoted to recipes. What sets this book apart in an amazing way is that the original recipes are included, followed by her modern re-creation packed with advice.

The only other current food history book that I've seen do this is Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and Table from 1300 to 1789, but that one also translated from French to English; most of the recipes in Webster's book are in the original English (complete with creative spelling). I feel like the seasonal organization adds to Webster's work as well, as you get a greater sense of the natural flow of the year and how holidays were celebrated. A section on wassail and its evolution across time, including how a declaration of "toast" came to be involved with drinking, is especially fascinating. Following the seasonal sections is one on the Tudor concept of banquets, which were dessert-focused and came about because of the increasing availability and enjoyment of sugar.

I adored this book. I definitely would have looked to this for inspiration while working on my novel A Thousand Recipes for Revenge. I highly recommend Eating with the Tudors to my fellow food history buffs out there.

It's one of a kind of book about food during the era of the Tudors with..... receipts and illustrations!!!!! An amazingly well-researched and well-written compendium on the topic. The book is divided into four seasons with the description of food available in each of them. All the recipes are modernised and ready to recreate. My favorite recipe so far is 'Spinage (Spinach) Fritters' from 1588.
It's a rare gem among other book on the Tudors.

As someone interested in food history I found this a really interesting book. Author Brigitte Webster has not only done her research, she's cooked the recipes she shares here, making for a really interesting combination of food history and cookbook. The book is divided into seasons, a great way to remind the reader that, while today we take for granted how food will be available year-round, the Tudors had to focus on the availability of foods and prepare for poor harvests and preserving foods for winter. Webster examines different experts and what they think about various foods (interestingly not all of them agree on what is good for you or not!), explains why most often fresh fruit is considered dangerous and how to fix that, and how the expansion of England's trade routes and then colonies in the Americas changed the types of foods that became available over time. At the end of each section are recipes that would have been used during that season- first in the original and then Webster's 'modern' version for those who want to try and make the recipe more easily. Afterward there is an "additional information" section that I found interesting with extra tidbits pertaining to foods relating to that recipe- like turkey, marmalade, etc.

Webster's research is well-done and the book shows her clear fascination with the subject and her desire to pass on her knowledge to others. While occasionally repetitive, overall the book is well-written, accessible to both history lovers and those just stepping into the world of food history for the first time.
,
While I'm not really a cook and doubt I'd try the recipes, learning about the history of the foods relating to them was really interesting and kept me fascinated to the last page.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Eating with the Tudors by Brigette Webster gives a fascinating insight into Tudor society through its food.
The book is very well-researched and quotes from a wide range of sources.
The author takes us through the seasons, including saints days and festive days. She also illustrates how diet differed according to status and changed over the course of the Tudor period. This was a time when new foods were being introduced from the New World.
Of particular interest are the recipes which are given in their original form together with a modern day equivalent. The illustrations bring the recipes to life and the index of ingredients at the end of the book make it easy to locate items of interest.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Tudor history and the history of food.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penn and Sword Books for an e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

I love the Tudor period, love hearing and learning about the foods eaten in these times and just food in general
This is a book of history, recipes, stories and how the times to a point dictated the foods eaten It is filled with interesting food tidbits, managing households of the time, diaries and so much more.

It is fun to see what was eaten, how the lifestyles were so different, the significance of food in these times, the class systems and just the overall insight into food, family, households and heath. I really enjoyed it as a lover of food, cooking and recipes.

Thank you NetGalley and Pen & Sword for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Not only is Eating with the Tudors by Brigette Webster bursting with authentic Tudor meals but also origins and history behind ingredients, how they were prepared and their importance in various classes of society. The author says she recreated every single one in the book, sometimes making necessary changes if an ingredient is not available or the directions impractical. She must have had tremendous fun researching and making these recipes! I love anything Tudor-esque and happily absorbed the information she obtained by scouring cookery and recipe books, household accounts, wills, diaries, travel accounts and letters (she graciously shared some of the said photos plus included a photo for each completed recipe). The recipes are organized by season.

I like that the author describes the role of food in society and its religious importance such as feast days and celebrations. Learning more about the four humors and assigning them to each food and personal requirement is fascinating. Much of my prior knowledge about the topic was related to medicine. In the Tudor era English cooks started to look to other countries such as Italy and France. Herbs and sugar became du jour. Meals were spaced out to allow best digestion. The order of dishes in a meal became standardized and taverns became important. Tudor manuscripts without food stains are revealing. Artists used food satirically to highlight politics. But there is much more!

Try Pax Cakes (Peace Biscuits), Fried Fish and Gentyll Manly Cokere (I adore the ideal cheese description!) Amongst others, I am itching to make Greene Sauce, Uinegar of Roses and Conserue of Roses (my wheelhouse!), Stew A Capon in Lemmons, Yong Peason or Beans, Drie Marmelet of Peches (though it takes ages to ripen), All Maner of Fruit Tarte and more boyled sallets. I have about twenty recipes flagged to make.

If you enjoy trying new-to-you recipes and food ideas, this book is for you. Families would enjoy gathering ingredients such as wildflowers (get out in nature!) and figuring out the original recipes, sometimes humorous, always interesting. I envision themed Tudor meals and school projects, too. And don't worry...the modern "translated" versions are always included. But as the author recommends, use intuition and make substitutions according to your taste.

My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this marvellous book.

This book is exactly what I have been wanting for years. I've always wanted to know more about Tudor life and the food they ate and this book describes it all so perfectly. I've highlighted several recipes I have to try!

I received an ARC of “Eating with the Tudors: An Illustrated History of the Food with Recipes” from NetGalley and Pen & Sword Books in exchange for an honest review.

Brigitte Webster did the general public a great service by writing this book. Arranged in 5 chapters, with the first 4 focusing on seasons (spring, summer, fall, and winter), and the last chapter dedicated solely to banqueting food. The author also included sources, endnotes, and an index.

The author is extremely knowledgeable about the Tudor period, and particularly about the food grown, imported, and consumed. I really appreciate that Webster focused not only on the cuisine eaten by the upper classes and royalty, but commoner fare as well. The author did an impressive job revealing that the Tudors were fanatically health conscious. With all of the diseases that the people of that era were subjected to, they had good reason to be. Webster showed how this concern drastically affected what, and how, the people in this era ate, focusing their efforts on the balancing of the 4 humours: blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.

Although I adore history, what really attracted me to this book was author’s inclusion of modern-style Tudor recipes. Not only did the author actually recreate these recipes, but she ate them (along with her family). I like how the author lets readers know which older cookbooks have been digitized and placed online so that readers have the opportunity to access those books themselves.

I really appreciate how Webster included black and white photographs of each of the dishes so that I could get a sense of what they looked like. And I really liked how the author used traditional Tudor plates and utensils in the photos. This was pure brilliance on the author’s part. I realize that for many publishers, the inclusion of photographs in a book costs money, but allowing readers to visually experience the dishes is priceless. I particularly loved seeing images from the author’s personal collection, especially her collection of Elizabethan trenchers, which is something that I had never seen before.

I did notice, however, a few issues with some recipes. For example, with the “To Make Iombles A Hundred” recipe (pp. 197-199), the author didn’t give readers an exact baking temperature. Instead, she only instructed readers to, “…bake them at a fairly low temperature… (p. 199). Does “low temperature” mean 200 degrees Fahrenheit, or 250 degrees? This kind of vagueness could potentially cause a lot of problems in a home kitchen. I would encourage the author to revisit her recipes and to make them more precise for modern-day cooks.

In many ways, this book reminds me of Clarissa Dickson Wright’s fabulous book, “A History of English Food,” where Dickson Wright briefly covered English cooking through multiple centuries. However, by focusing primarily on the Tudor’s, Webster really helped me to understand the Tudor era in an entirely different light. What I thought was interesting was that the author didn’t include a discussion of Taunton Deane kale and other cut-and-come-again crops. And although the author does discuss garlic, she doesn’t really talk about its British nativity. According to Dickson Wright, it was native to England and named by the Anglo-Saxon’s (gar leek or spear leek).

Of all of the chapters, I particularly enjoyed Chapter 4 when the author discussed the social Implications of gift giving and the reciprocity that followed (or not). I particularly like how the author explained the difference between Pippins (an apple tree grown from a seed) and Apples (grafted trees). Just this year, I grew 4 Pippins (2 from Granny Smith and 2 from Honey Crisp), so I got really excited when I discovered that Webster had included a Tudor recipe for Pippin Pie (pp. 128-129). After my trees have fruited (hopefully within the next few years) I will definitely be making this recipe.

Throughout the text, Webster included the actual prices that Tudor people paid for food products. However, it would have been helpful if the author had included current prices so that readers can understand just how expensive many of those products, including spices, were. The UK National Archives has an online inflation calculator for the years 1270-2017. I realize that including modern price equivalents throughout the book would have been tiresome reading, but if the author had included an appendix with this information, along with some examples of Tudor-modern prices, it would have been helpful.

The author included endnotes, but she really needed more notes. I realize that this is a general public book, but if any information comes from another source, an author needs to include the note to that source. The “Sources” section that the author included is really just a bibliography. Webster placed the bibliography before the endnotes section, but it really should have appeared **after** the endnotes.

Overall, this was a really well written and enjoyable book and one that I believe many people will appreciate. However, if the author were to revisit the recipes that she’s already included and edit them for cooking clarity and preciseness, I think that it would help a lot of her readers who (hopefully!) will be recreating these classic dishes in their own homes.

This is an absolutely fascinating look at Tudor eating habits. The book has some amazing (if a little challenging) original recipes. The original recipes are then rewritten for modern usage (although still not trying some of them !). The list of ingredients is especially interesting and there were a few ingredients I had not expected. Easy to read for the layman.

Love this cookbook! Such a great idea. There is so much background information, it is a joy to read. I love how this book has the original recipes and then a modernized version right underneath. I cannot wait to try some of these recipes!

This is such a fun, clever idea. The author gives us a social history lesson as well as a recipe book, in which she offers modern interpretations of historic recipes. The detail is perfect - just the right balance of information on the times and context before getting into the actual recipes. I am not sure I will be trying to recreate many of these dishes, but I loved learning about them.

The cliché of Tudor food – and the image most people think of – is the grossly unhealthy Henry VIII clutching a roast chicken leg in one meaty fist, guzzling down a goblet of wine, and then calling for more food and drink. This leaves people with the impression all people of the Tudor era had similar unhealthy approaches to food.

Not so! Webster’s delightful book, part history text, part cookbook, takes us through the year and the era, showing just how concerned (most) Tudors were with following a balanced diet – as they defined “balanced”.

The book is divided into 4 sections – spring, summer, autumn and winter, discussing food of each season and then showcasing recipes, both in the original text and with modern adaptations, of what would have been common Tudor dishes for that time of year.

Webster does an excellent job describing how people categorized food using the then-popular theory of the four humors and worked hard to make sure foods were consumed in the “right” order to ensure the best digestion, as well as making sure meals were properly balanced to make sure no one’s humors became unbalanced.

People were trying very hard to be healthy by what was back then considered cutting edge nutritional science, and, as Webster does here, Tudor food should be examined in that light.

Pros:
• The history lessons throughout the book were interesting and provided context to the seasons and recipes.

• Each recipe includes an original Tudor era transcribed recipe along with a modernized version.

• Every recipe includes a picture!

• Most of the ingredients are ones already found in a typical kitchen or easily found at your run of the mill big box grocery store.

• A few recipes require foraged herbs and flowers. The ingredients are not rare. If you’re a casual gardener are likely growing them in your backyard.

Cons:
When I purchase cookbooks half of my decision lies within the aesthetics of the book - images, page layout, ease of reading, etc.
Although this book receives bonus points for including an image with every recipe (something many cookbooks fail to do) the images are far from salivating. They are also very small. Full page photos or at the very least half page images work best with cookbooks. And remove the unnecessary margins, lines, and borders around the pictures.
The font and layout of each recipe is basic - it looked more like a school project than a professionally published cookbook.
This cookbook has a lot of potential! But it needs better design. As is, I could only see this being sold as a basic printer copy in a museum gift shop. Give this book a professional layout and photographs it could be sold anywhere.

A collection of various recipes sourced from the Tudor era along with information about cooking and food of that era. was neat to be able to see the recipe in its original form side by side with a modern adaptation. Overall a fun pick for Tudor buffs, but not really necessary for more general collections.