Tuesday 15 December 2009

BLD No. 11



















































In Tudor times (16th century) the traditional meat was swan, goose or woodcock if they could be caught. That all changed in 1523 when turkey was first introduced and King Henry the VIII got his first taste of it.

The Tudors would also have eaten venison, peacock (which was skinned and roasted then put back inside the cured skin with the feathers on as a table decoration) and wild boar which was often the centre piece of the mean.

There is a long tradition of having a boars head for feasts, possibly originating from an Anglo-Saxon tradition of sacrificing the boar for their Yuletide celebrations. It would be carried into banqueting halls on a dish of gold or silver and was accompanied by trumpets and the songs of minstrels.

Another common Christmas dish was Souse which was pickled pigs feet and ears and then there was the Christmas Pie. The pie consisted of a pigeon inside a partridge inside a chicken inside a goose inside a turkey, which was then put in a pastry case called a coffin and served surrounded by hare and other game birds.

The Tudors enjoyed their mince pies which had far more significance than they do today. They were made with thirteen ingredients which represented Jesus and his Apostles and were mixed with mutton which represented the shepherds.

http://circlingmyhead.blogspot.com/2008/12/b-l-d-no-13.html

*artwork D by Janet Samuel

30 comments:

Stacey J. Warner said...

life use to have so much more sanctity...i miss rituals, they make everything more holy.

much love

Ces Adorio said...

I love breakfast and dinner looks delicious! This Christmas, may you will be full from a feast of love and friendship. I love you Renee. I am thinking of you this morning.

TSUP! TSUP! TSUP!

I am not going to tell you what the temperature is down here but I am wearing my army surplus khaki jacket over my black turtleneck, black pants and black shoes. The vent is directly above my right arm and it is blowing cold air. I am not complaining, I just thought I’d give you an idea of how the Gulfers live. And don’t you and Manon phoo-phoo me either. People love their air-conditioning down here.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Annie said...

For one like me who does not eat meat, this was some post :-). That Christmas pie made me kind of ill, but it is all very interesting and I thank you for sharing. Love you and wish you a happy day.
xoxo

Anonymous said...

You had me at "pickled pigs feet". My dad eats those? (And pork rinds)

Why anyone would want to eat the foot of a creature that wallows around in it's own excrement all day long is beyond me.

(It must be a southern thing)

Deborah said...

Ah, the Christmas Roasted Beast! Oh, the dearie, the dearie! SOOOOOoooo cute! I think I must crochet a wee elfin onsie for our beloved Ces! What color would you suggest? **blows merry kisses** Deb

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Thank God I didn't live in Tudor times. I adore "today's" mince pies but Tudor mince pies don't sound very appetizing. Interesting info about their symbolism though!

Arija said...

Ha, ha, ha, since when was a hare a bird???
Yes, in those days those who could afford it, mainly by levying taxes and rents, lived like kings while the poor peasants and population at large had little and by paying their farthing to the cook, could stand at the kitchen dorr for a few minutes and inhale the aroma of the roasting meats. All in all it was a cruel time.

Jenny said...

I love odd facts like this! Thank you for sharing!! Also, mom started the tykerb on Saturday and so far...NO SIDE EFFECTS!! yeah!! Not even tummy troubles!! We are very excited!!

Ruth said...

I'll stick with our canned mincemeat, which I love. So interesting. Don wants ducks next year. I could eat Christmas duck, sounds nice.

Jo Potter said...

Hi Renee,
We always have a romantic view of Christmas in the past but I don't think I would like the Christmas dinners very much... I certainly would not eat Boars head and pickled, pigs feet and ears...Yuk!
However I like the idea of music, dancing and minstrels.:)
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, with a nice dinner, with your family!:)
Lovely to visit you again.
Best wishes.
Jo.xx

Anonymous said...

Wow I didn't know all the history of this but did know about the feasts.

My dad liked any kind of weird things on an animal... yuck.

Well it's far more similar time around the dinner table and perhaps that's the only place~
oxoxoxoxxo Pattee

Dede said...

My mama eats those pickled pigs feet.She always offers and I always decline. yuck.......

(((HUGS)))

Bella Sinclair said...

OOOooooooohhhh, I LOVE learning facts like these. Never knew souse was an actual culinary term! Really, stuffing a roasted peacock back into it's own skin? Ew. And I thought the TurDucken was a modern day invention. HA!

How are you, dearest? How is Jacquie? By the way, Nona opened her email from Santa last night. She is a believer once again.

xoxo

kj said...

Yuk to eating those feathered animals. Not me as a Tudor, not me as a kj. Dinner however is a different matter. I'll be at the table promptly for that chocolate cake but do I have to share? Tell me no this one time. Tell me I can lick te bowl. Tell me there are no calories. Tell me.....

Xoxo overhead
kj

Snowbrush said...

God, but am I ever glad that someone invented tofu!

secret agent woman said...

I'm glad traditions can change, because there wasn't much on that list I'd want to have to eat. But I do like holiday ritual.

Baino said...

Very interesting but I suspect only enjoyed at court whilst the peasants were revolting! I learn something every day. Boy they must have been constipated and had high cholesterol Give me a bowl of fresh prawns and a Caesar salad anyday!

Anonymous said...

I never knew that! Mince pies had so much meaning to them.
Hope your feeling a lot better Renee! We need to strong, pure selfish reasons on our behalf,lol!
Have a great Christmas!

Hugz!

Julie

Angie Muresan said...

I love traditions and rituals. My dad, brothers and husband make venison sausage every winter which we have with garlic mashed potatoes and homemade bread on Christmas Eve. On Christmas day we always have goose for lunch.
Renee, can you please send me your mailing address? You'll find my email address under the about me section on my blog.
Tons of hugs and love to you!

Bogey said...

Quite an interesting and highly calorific menu. Not to mention the cholesterol. I'm quite positive, during said times, that all was looked on with great anticipation and more than willing appetites. I could imagine the kitchen of the day bustling with activity and a variety aroma's wafting throughout the castle walls. I'm sure the menus of the peasants was somewhat simpler but still quite a treat. I love the historical aspect of this post Renee. It kind of reminds me of an old cooking show called The Two Fat Ladies. First, we'll start with 10 pounds of butter.....

Sarah said...

Interesting about the mince pies-I never knew that! I shall try to remember as I scoff. xx

Sarah Sullivan said...

Were do you find this delicious information Renee?? Wonderful every word!! The pictures are wonderful too hon!!
Hope you are having a good week! We played out in the snow today..pics of the kiddos tomorrow!
Love you, Sarah

Rikkij said...

Renee- should swan and souse be served together. Isn't it enough that the swan gave it's life? Fun info. Love ya, Sweetie ~rick

Elizabeth said...

I really like all these Christmas tidbits. Then again, anything about food just warms my heart.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful mix of images - as usual!!!

I hope your Christmas will be relaxed and beautiful!

Tomorrow, before I travel to India, I will start up a contest on my blog, welcome my dear friend!

Peace and Love

Agneta from Sweden.... of course o;)

studio lolo said...

I'd be thin as a rail in those days because I wouldn't be able to eat ANY of that!!

Hmmm, bring those days back ;P

You really are a wealth of information!

I love the L and D pics and the ones from last year. The 3 little kids in the woods is my favorite.

xoxo

Meghann said...

Okay, I hate to say it, but I laughed when you told me the significance of the 13 ingredients and the mutton in the mince pies...am I the only one who finds it weird they were eating representations of Jesus, his apostles and their shepherds? Maybe that is why the Tudors reigns died out, LOL.

Woman in a Window said...

I'll eat any old thing at all, as long as it's dead!
xo
erin

Sue said...

Fascinating! I'm a history junkie and while I was familiar with several of these dishes, several others totally blew me away........
yummy? um, I think not!

thanks so much for sharing this info Renee!

Gberger said...

I love how you share these things with us - things which should be taught in school - the history of the traditions. Especially since they don't want to mix church and state, it would be lovely if we could understand what we are doing and why, in historical terms. Thank you for enriching this time of year for us. XO