Unexpected flavors, at least to modern tastes, seemed to be a hallmark of old English cooking. Miller advises, “a drop of red food coloring can be used instead.” Originally, though, it was more of a sticky, strongly-flavored candy made with sugar and honey and several spices than a cookie. Chaucer mentions it in “The Canterbury Tales,” and the first Queen Elizabeth gave it as gifts. One story traces it to a 10th-century Armenian monk, Gregory of Nicopolis. Gingerbread, for example, goes back to at least 14th-century England. Yet they still have the ability to surprise. So the next time you’re enjoying a Spanish empanada or a Somalian sambusa, thank the traveling merchant who first brought along some pastries to share.įor many readers, other, newer dishes will be more familiar. Take the samosa - or, if you like, sambusah, sambusa, or samasa.

But while specific foods may have been born in particular regions, trade and conquest soon spread them to other cultures. Miller’s search for ancient edibles takes him around the globe, to the historical empires of Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. “He convinced Drusus (Julius Caesar) the son of Emperor Tiberius, to shun cabbage sprouts and cabbage tops, as they were fit only for the common folks, and instead urged his guests toward flamingo tongue, or pork liver from a pig fed on the finest dried figs and made to get drunk on honeyed wine on its way to slaughter.”Įasily influenced foodies followed his instructions, but there may be more pleasure in the old snob’s simpler recipes - like mussels steamed with leeks, two kinds of wine, herbs, and cumin (and that inescapable fish sauce). “When it came to dictating what was and was not acceptable to eat for the upper classes, Apicurus’ word was practically law,” Miller writes.

Tasting history recipes