The Delicious Legacy

I'm very excited to share this episode with you! Also this hot, hot weather makes one thirsty! There's only one thing that can sort our thirst: Beer! Beer indeed is the answer. A pint of cold, clear, crispy happiness. An almost universal pasttime, African, Asian, European and South American civilisations all had a version of this delightful alcoholic beverage, to enjoy with friends, and famil...

What is Silphium and why was it so valuable for ancient Greeks and Romans alike? In today's episode I am exploring the long history of the mysterious plant Silphium, how is it connected with the prosperous ancient Greek colony of Cyrene, in modern day Libya, and I try to answer the question if indeed went extinct! Join me for another archaeogastronomical adventure into the deep Meditarannean past;...

Chios, the fifth largest Greek island, is best known perhaps as one of the acclaimed birthplaces of Homer; The famous ancient poet, supposed author of Iliad and Odyssey. Whatever truth is behind this claim, we will never know. The second most important thing that is famous for, is mastiha, from the south of the island, the beautiful 'tears' which gives it's unique flavour in many recipes in the Gr...

Hello! On today's bonus episode I'm exploring somewhat little known local delicacies from the Northern corners of England. Some cheeses, and meats, and desserts that seem to deserve a lot more limelight than they currently have! For example Ribblesdale cheese, "Pressed Beef", Cumberland Rum Nikki, Taylors Original Prepared Mustard, and Swaledale Cheese! (Get the cheeses, here https://www.ribblesda...

The ancients, -Greeks and Romans alike- where equally worried about health and food and the balance between a healthy diet and a delicious one. More than in our days, diet played a role in preventing and curing diseases, and in fact it was one of the main areas of study at medieval medical schools. Medical writers and doctors and philosophers of the ancient world, from Hippocrates, to Galen a...

Welcome to Part Two of our Interview! So much more to explore, with kitchen innovations, stews, pickles, and the most incredible cookbooks preserved for our eyes from Medieval Arab World. The Islamic Golden Age...   What does it come to one's mind when hears the above words? Do you think of the ' Arabian Nights' ? Or as it is properly called as 'One Thousand and One Nights'?   Is your im...

The Islamic Golden Age...   What does it come to one's mind when hears the above words? Do you think of the ' Arabian Nights' ? Or as it is properly called as 'One Thousand and One Nights'?   Is your imagination also filled with other Middle Eastern Folk tales of Aladdin and Ali Baba and Sinbad the Sailor?   Or, maybe, the flourishing of scientific, cultural, economic activities in...

A splendid photo from 1858, of the colossal Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens spurred me to write today's episode: A top of the ancient columns, protruding was a weird structure, almost placed on top as joke. What was it? This, it transpired, was the hut of a monk! A hermit, a stylite, an ascetic who lived his days praying on top of this magnificent ancient monument in the centre of 19th Century A...

Today, we know this beautiful legendary city, as Marseilles. It's the 2nd largest city in France and the most ancient one. And her foundations were laid thanks to ancient Greeks!   The mythical start of the city is told by Herodotus and Aristotle who give us some information and traces of truth through their stories about her establishment. But we will look into her ancient food tra...

Hello! New episode is out! Here, Ned and I, met in Borough Market in London Bridge -the biggest and perhaps oldest continuous market here in London- the "Mecca" of the freshest food produce! So we came here to discuss his latest book "A Cheesemongers Compendium of British and Irish Cheeses" and of course to question like modern philosophers what it means to be a cheesemonger? (it turns out there a...

Just before the Christmas break, I had the chance to interview -via the magic of the internet- Pen Vogler: author of "Dinner with Mr Darcy" and "Dinner with Dickens" who also had curated the exhibition "Food Glorious Food" at the Charles Dickens Museum. She edited Penguin's Great Food series, writes and reviews on food history for the press and has recreated recipes from the past for BBC Televisio...

Welcome to Part 2 of the Universal History of Pickles! Humanity have been fermenting for so long, so many thousands of years! These microorganisms that help us ferment, might be considered domesticated just like our cats and dogs! Or, they domesticated us, in order for them to thrive? Hmmmm....always worth wondering! Lactobacillales are present on the skins and leaves of just about any vegetable o...

Helloooooo! Part 1 of the History of Pickles across the globe is out! Quite excited about it! We will go to the ancient lands of Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome, and through them to Persia, the Arab world, Spain and Latin America! I think a history of civilization is a history of pickles, and fermentation! Without fermentation we wouldn't have beer, wine, cheese, miso, kimchi. sauerkraut and pickled...

Join myself and Dr Janega, a medieval expert, in a discussion about the most important things! Beer and Cheese! And women! All while we eat cheese and drink beer, on a Sunday afternoon! What can possible go wrong? Cheese! Beer! Women! It seems women did everything didn't they? Why did medieval women worked so hard? So why did we forgot their contribution? Well, find out here! Other subjects discus...

Today's episode is taking a little bit of turn; I always wanted to know more about the Cornwall Project and Cull Yaw mutton, a meat not so popular in UK but there's a man that is fighting to change this: Matt Chatfield. We talk about traditional farming, timeless ancient techniques, Silvopasture and how this will help humankind for the future too. Our online interview was very challenging as Matt...

"If you deconstruct Greece, you will in the end see an olive tree, a grape vine and a boat remain. That is with as much you reconstruct her." -Odyseas Elytis Greece's Nobel Prize winning poet. Olive Oil tasting: Since extra virgin olive oil is simply pressed fruit juice without additives, the factors influencing its quality and taste include the varieties of olives used, the terroir and the countl...

"In that acropolis is a shrine of Erechtheus, called the “Earthborn,” and in the shrine are an olive tree and a pool of salt water. The story among the Athenians is that they were set there by Poseidon and Athena as tokens when they contended for the land. It happened that the olive tree was burnt by the barbarians with the rest of the sacred precinct, but on the day after its burning, when the At...

Welcome to Season Two of The Delicious Legacy Podcast! Garos, Garum, Fish Sauce. All interconnected, similar, possible same, but in a essence a single idea, a concept that has connected the far corners of the Mediterranean and of course today the massive sub-continent of South East Asia! The first episode of the new season is all a little bonus taster of what is going to follow in the next weeks.....

I've been eternally fascinated with ancient medicine and all the different remedies and potions that medicinal writes were advising to cure all sorts of maladies! But one "cure" -literally- salted, cured, ham and bacon it was really above all others! Tarikhos -aka salted meat- and any other pork cut was considered light and and nutritious meat. I wanted to find out how it was used and why! The the...

In a seemingly abandoned desert spot, near a small and insignificant Egyptian village, for a period of one thousand years, a city flourished; an important Hellenistic-Egyptian city, perhaps the 3rd largest in Egypt at the turn of the world from the Greek to Roman influence. This city, was called Oxyrhynchus: which translates as the city of the sharp-nosed fish . This, is where our adventure today...

Did you know that you could use cinnamon buds as spice in food? Well I didn't either before my interview with Dr Christopher Monk! Is Forme of Cury the oldest complete collection of recipes from England? This book was originally commissioned by Richard II and compiled by his master cooks, with the assent of his physicians and philosophers at court, and it was designed to have 194 recipes...

The pudding is a dish very difficult to be described, because of the several sorts there are of it: flour, milk, eggs, butter, sugar, suet, marrow, raising, etc are the most common ingredients...They make them fifty several ways: BLESSED BE HE THAT INVENTED PUDDING for it is a manna that hits the palates of all sorts of people... Ah what an excellent thing is an English pudding!' - Henry Misson "M...

A fascinating chat with archaeologist, culinary historian and historical cookbook author Ursula Janssen! An all around brilliant talented human being then, that her passion is history and transmitting this through her ancient cooking! Garum made of Barley. From middle east. In the Arab times. Food of of Mesopotamia and Biblical Times. The Arabic influence in European medieval cuisine. And much mor...

Burmese food writer turned activist MiMi Aye has been raising awareness about the crisis in Myanmar since the coup in February. MiMi’s award-winning book ‘MANDALAY: Recipes & Tales from a Burmese Kitchen’ is loved by Nigella Lawson and was chosen by The Observer, The FT, and The Mail on Sunday as one of their Best Books of 2019. MiMi also co-hosts the food and culture podcast The MSG Pod and i...

Kokoretsi! The first love that lasts forever. It's delicious, its bloody and it requires patience and knowledge. Real heroes don't wear capes. They make kokoretsi. Thank you father! Kokoretsi is a traditional Easter delicacy, that Greeks usually make and eat on Easter Sunday, together with the other traditional dish: Spit roast lamb over charcoal fire! So how is it made? What's the tradition behin...