This was very interesting but had weird formatting on my kindle. I think it wild benefit from more pictures to make people want to try the recipes themselves.

What a fascinating book! I love how the recipes have been modernised to try at home and some sounds really tasty! Really clever idea and would make a wonderful gift!

Eating with the Tudors is a wonderfully researched book! The background on Medieval and Tudor eating habits was really interesting and never felt bland like a textbook. I always love seeing the middle English spellings and appreciated the notes on etymology. The recipes themselves are easy to follow and the Additional Information sections are amazing for trivia nerds like me! This is just as much a history book as it is a cookbook, and amazingly done.

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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Eating with the Tudors is an extensive collection of authentic Tudor recipes that tell the story of a dramatically changing world in sixteenth-century England. This book highlights how religion, reformation and politics influenced what was served on Tudor’s dining table from the very beginning of Henry VII’s reign to the final days of Elizabeth I’s rule.

Discover interesting little food snippets from Tudor society, carefully researched from household account books, manuscripts, letters, wills, diaries and varied works by Tudor physicians, herbalists and chronologists. Find out about the Tudors’ obsession with food and uncover which key ingredients were the most popular choice. Rediscover old Tudor favourites that once again are being celebrated in trendy restaurants and learn about the new, exotic food that excited and those foods that failed to meet Elizabethan expectations.

Eating with the Tudors explains the whole concept of what a healthy balanced meal meant to the people of Tudor England and the significance and symbology of certain food and its availability throughout the year. Gain an insight into the world of Tudor food, its role to establish class, belonging and status and be tempted to re-create some iconic Tudor flavours and experience for yourself the many varied and delicious seasonal tastes that Tudor dishes have to offer. Spice up your culinary habits and step back in time to recreate a true Tudor feast by impressing your guests the Tudor way or prepare a New Year’s culinary gift fit for a Tudor monarch.

I always remember TUDOR BAKING WEEK on the GBBO and how baffled some of the bakers were: I cannot imagine how they would have survived with a full meal. (Oh, let’s add spices to cover the fact that the meat may have been a little rancid…there are theories that that is how Salisbury Steak got its start!)

Tudor food ran the gamut from gilded peacocks down to a basic meat pie in a thick crust – cheese was an excellent way to use dairy and not worry about it spoiling and bread was the focus of many meals in poorer households. And in the wealthy households, there was enough staff to prepare the banquets with insane amounts of and varieties of foods, wine and short ale. (You never want to drink water in Tudor times…beer was safer!)

History lessons aside, it was interesting to read how Tudor foods are becoming popular again in trendy, pricey restaurants and how you can make these foods at home. Would I make many of them? Probably not, but I loved the book for the history and the possibility that someone else might make these foods …they would be a great accompaniment to any of the Philippa Gregory books if they are the focus of a book club.
#shortbutsweetreviews