Fancy adding some traditional Tudor and Elizabethan foods and drink to your own Christmas traditions? Here are some recipes to help you:-
- Collar of Brawn – This pork loin dish, also known as “To Sowse a Pigge”, dates back to Medieval times and was served on Twelfth Night.
- Goose in Sawse Madame – A traditional Medieval recipe for roast, stuffed goose.
- Venison Y Bake – A Medieval venison pie.
- Elizabethan Mince Pie – This mince pie recipe has evolved from the traditional Medieval mince pie but has more fruit in it than mean. In the 21st century, British mince pies do not contain meat but do have suet in them. Delia Smith has a great recipe for mincemeat –click here – or there is a vegetarian mincemeat recipe at Cook it Simply. Then you just need some shortcrust pastry.
- Elizabethan Wassail – Wassail is the traditional Medieval drink for toasting people’s health and this modern version of an Elizabethan wassail uses ale and apples.
- Hypocras – Another popular Christmas drink which has developed into our modern mulled wine.
- Elizabethan sweetmeats – Marchpane, gingerbread and leach of almonds.
Here in Southern Spain at Christmas we have turron (a type of nougat), mantecada sweets and marzipan and suckling pig or lobster is eaten on Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) and in my homeland, England, we enjoy roast turkey with all the trimmings, Christmas pudding, mince pies, mulled wine, Yule chocolate logs and various sweets and chocolate what do you have in your country at this time of year? Please do tell me in the comments section below.
