Medieval Kitchen

Hannele Klemettilä is Adjunct Professor of Cultural History at the University of Turku and a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge. She is the author of Animals and Hunters in the Late Middle Ages (2015).

A superb new book on medieval food . . . lavishly illustrated. - Sunday TelegraphOh no! Not whole-roasted ox again! Even for the aristocracy, medieval fare must have been boring, it's been assumed. The reality was quite otherwise, Hannele Klemettilä reveals. This social history with recipes is as delicious in its details as it is mouthwatering in its presentation . . . More enterprising readers may want to take a stab at some of the 60-odd recipes in which Klemettilä serves up a splendid banquet of forgotten flavours. - The ScotsmanKlemettilä, who skates across the whole of continental Europe in The Medieval Kitchen . . . reveals the delicacy, craft and complexity that underpinned medieval food . . . the book puts us in touch with an essential element of medieval culture and shows how it shaped that world. In helping to restore its reputation [she] also helps to further repair the standing of an age whose rich sophistication is too often unfairly sneared. - TLS[Klemettilä] presents a fascinating picture of a very different mindset when it comes to food and inspired me to get a taste of those forgotten flavors . . . While my palate may not be able to take on an all-medieval diet, it was still a fun, experiential way to encounter another age. The recipes will be worth returning to occasionally, a little pinch of history to season my 21st-century table. - National Catholic ReporterThe Medieval Kitchen is an admirable effort to elucidate how and what European peoples ate during the late Middle Ages. The author's goal is to move medieval food history away from an emphasis on the elaborate feasts of the aristocracy to a discussion inclusive of the food cultures of agricultural and ruling classes . . . The volume is filled with illustrations from medieval books of hours and other manuscripts informative captions accompanying each illustration give historical context. This book is an ideal introduction to the topic for both students and adventurous cooks. Highly recommended - Choice