Maeve L’Estrange is a culinary archaeologist, studying for a PhD in experimental archaeology in UCD. Since no medieval Irish recipes survive, she tries to piece together what may have been eaten by ex
Custard tarts, or darioles as they were known, were just some of the foodstuffs on offer in 12th-century Irish marketplaces, such as the famous Donnybrook Fair.
Because the Templars were fighters, their dietary rules differed from those of their other monastic counterparts. Here’s one recipe they may have eaten.
It is not known what food was consumed at the wedding feast of Strongbow and Aoife, but some archaeological evidence suggests pigs may have been on the menu.
This month’s recipe could be compared to modern-day beef olives, thin pieces of braised stuffed beef – in medieval times these were known as beef birds.
In medieval times, Dublin religious houses and hospitals controlled the rights to fishing on the River Liffey. Fish at the time were sometimes baked into small savoury pastries such as these.
Ideas around how food made you feel influenced which ingredients were chosen for medieval recipes. Pick the wrong combo and you might end up inclined to sadness, or bad-tempered.
The hospitality you were offered in medieval Ireland was based on your rank. Some might have been lucky enough to get something akin to this dish, writes a culinary archaeologist.
In medieval Ireland, a daily portion of three bits of bread soaked in five spoonfuls of spiced wine was thought to warm the stomachs and clear the heads of old men.
In medieval Ireland, Anglo-Normans hunted fallow deer in parks, while Gaelic Irish elites preferred big, wild red deer. This recipe from a culinary archaeologist would have worked for either.
