Leading Food Historian Encourages Revival of Extinct English Dishes

Eminent Food Historian Caroline Yeldham today encourages the revival of extinct English recipes using English fresh produce and calls on people to learn how to cook them. The comments come as England celebrates St. George's Day, which was declared an English feast day in the 15th Century.

Medieval cookery was the basis of modern European cuisine. However, only a dozen known original medieval recipe texts remain, of which fewer than five are in hard copy print. Only two of the UK's 193 higher education institutions offer specific courses in English Medieval history(1) and estimates suggest there are only a handful of skilled people in England who are professionally preparing English medieval food.

To reintroduce once commonplace dishes Caroline Yeldham has worked with Morrisons supermarkets to create a St. George's Day recipe booklet. Designed to celebrate medieval English cookery and English ingredients, it contains a selection of starters, main courses, sauces, sweet dishes and drinks, originally eaten by English royalty and aristocracy. The booklet is available on 23 April at checkouts throughout Morrisons stores across England, plus on the Morrisons website www.morrisons.co.uk. To offer a range of recipes which can be used throughout the year the booklet indicates when English produce is in season.

Food historian Caroline Yeldham said; "This St. George's Day I urge you to pop down to your local Morrisons, pick up a copy of our medieval cookery booklet and try some of the delicious dishes that you will find inside. You will not only be learning about the roots of modern day food, but helping to keep England's food history alive for generations to come."

"The nation spends thousands on preserving medieval artefacts and art, whilst great value is still placed on medieval literature, music and drawing. Food is a hugely important part of our culture and society and it would be wonderful if we could all play a part in ensuring that this critical part of our history survives.

Medieval cooking is unique in style and flavour and markedly different from contemporary cuisine. The genre is constituent of a wide array of subtle, complex and delicate dishes. Before the advent of refrigerators, it was heavily influenced by the 'natural' food preservation processes such as smoking, salting, brining, conserving and fermenting. Although local produce was the basis of medieval cuisine, the period also saw the importing of spices and ingredients, such as sugar, for royal and aristocratic use.

Supporting St. George's Day, Morrisons already sells hundreds of English products. It is a keen supporter of small English producers and has a large number of local and regional suppliers for its stores.

"We sell some of the best quality produce that England has to offer", said Chris Walker, Produce and Meat Director at Morrisons, "Our approach to food retailing means we buy most of our produce direct from the grower and farmer. By being so close to our agricultural suppliers, we can givec ustomers the freshest products available in any supermarket."

(edited from: BRADFORD, England, /PRNewswire/- www.earthtimes.org - 22 April 2007)