Here’s a recipe that will whisk you away to Old World Italy. Its star ingredient is an underappreciated spirit that is making a comeback in modern society, grappa. The recipe, Roast Chicken with Grappa, is warm, rich and full of Italian goodness, but first we need to learn a bit about the grappa that makes it unique. Continue reading
Category Archives: Culinary
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Roast Chicken With Ancient Grappa
Posted in Bon Appetit Wednesday, Culinary, Culture
Tagged ancient food, ancient recipes, ancient spirits, AntiquityNOW, Bon Appetit Wednesday, grappa, pomace
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Ancient Ricotta and a Simply Delicious Tart
Ricotta. Image credit: Fugzu on Flickr
Did you know that soft, delicious ricotta cheese isn’t really a cheese at all? It’s actually a by-product of cheese-making. We’ve assembled some facts about the history of this extremely versatile “cheese,” along with a simple recipe for a ricotta tart that combined with any seasonal fruit makes for a treat of sweet perfection.
So, ricotta isn’t a cheese. It’s actually a creamy curd that has been cooked twice. The excess whey leftover when making cheese is skimmed off and then recooked, at which point the albumin in the whey solidifies and becomes the ricotta cheese we know and love. Of course, something this delicious has many potential origins, but it almost certainly evolved, as so many ancient foods did, out of necessity. It came from “peasant thrift, dairy farmyard recycling and domestic frugality.”[1] There are a few things we know for certain about ricotta’s past. Continue reading
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Native American Wojapi
Wojapi is a traditional Native American dish that has been enjoyed for centuries. We give you fair warning that once you’ve had your first taste of wojapi, you won’t be able to put down the spoon.
Wojapi has been made by Native American tribes for centuries, with each generation passing the recipe down through the family. It is created with a combination of wild berries that can be found growing on the Great Plains, corn flour and honey. One of the favored berries for the recipe is the chokecherry. Used extensively by the North American Native tribes, the chokeberries were ground up, including the stones, and used in soups, stews, pemmican and even with salmon or salmon eggs.[1] (Speaking of pemmican, check out our blog post and recipe for this ancient dried meat jerky.) The bark and even the roots of the chokecherry trees were used in medicines to treat a host of illnesses.[2] Continue reading
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Lemon Buttermilk Pie with Ancient Saffron
Saffron. Exotic, expensive, ancient. Have you ever considered the origin of this delightfully complex spice with its rich color and flavor? Today we’re bringing you a spectacular springtime recipe for Lemon Buttermilk Pie with Saffron, along with a brief history of the brilliant golden spice it features.
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Bon Appetit Wednesday! Ancient Celtic Woodruff Spiced Wine
May Day was last Friday, but it’s not too late to celebrate the fresh and breezy month of May and the ushering in of a warm and beautiful spring! The Celts loved the change in seasons and they celebrated with the Beltane festival. There was plenty of food and drink, of course. But like other ancient cultures, the seasonal festival reflected the Celts’ deep spiritual intertwining with the natural world around them. Continue reading
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Mung Bean Quinoa Soup
The mung bean. The name doesn’t inspire thoughts of deliciousness, the tongue doesn’t begin to water with anticipation of scrumptiousness, but maybe it should. Perhaps the rest of the world needs to get on board with a fact that India and China have known for centuries: Mung beans are fabulous. Today we’re bringing you a recipe for Mung Bean and Quinoa Soup (learn about the ancient grain quinoa in our post here). It is packed with healthy goodness and is a perfect comfort food. Continue reading
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Xtabentún: Earth Day and the Spirit of the Ancient Mayas
Today is Earth Day. For the Maya, living harmoniously with nature and being good stewards of the land rendered every day a celebration of the Earth and its bounty. So let’s get in the spirit of our modern Earth Day with a Maya concoction sure to please.
It’s such a lovely time of year for a dinner party, but how do you set your gathering apart? How do you make your fiesta better than the rest? Serve an ancient cocktail with a haunting and seductive history. We are coming to your rescue with a recipe for Jaltun Ha, a refreshing sweet and sour cocktail using the ancient Mexican spirit called xtabentún. But before you begin preparations for the dinner party of the season, you’ll want to make sure you can dazzle your guests with the ancient history behind their drink. Continue reading
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Dulcia Domestica, Ancient Date Candies
We’ve talked about the date before. It was such an important food in ancient times, it’s hard not to be impressed by its ubiquity and its longevity. In fact, the history of the date was featured in one of our most popular posts, Ancient Mesopotamian Palace Cakes from Ur! Today we thought we’d revisit the date with another fabulous, sticky sweet indulgence, the Roman treat called Dulcia Domestica. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Bon Appetit Wednesday, Culinary, Culture
Bon Appetit Wednesday! Cherry Clafoutis for Cherry Blossom Season!
It’s the season for one of nature’s most beautiful blooms, the cherry blossom. In Washington D.C. from March 20th-April 12th, the National Cherry Blossom Festival is in full swing, and in Japan in March and April, festivals take place throughout the country. So this week we’ve decided to feature a delicious recipe for Cherry Clafoutis along with the cherry’s long and juicy history. Here are some of the highlights: Continue reading
Get Ready for Easter with AntiquityNOW
Whether you’re celebrating a religious holiday or vying to win the egg hunt, it’s important to know where our holidays come from and how ancient are the roots that bind us all together. Below you’ll find our previous posts about the history of Easter, its origins and its traditions.
Also, we’ve included two delicious recipes for Passover, which begins tomorrow and ends next Saturday, April 11th.
And, for a bit of fun, check out this beautiful slideshow of Easter eggs around the world, courtesy of the The Huffington Post.
Have a wonderful weekend!
History of Easter
- Cracking the History of Easter Eggs
- Easter, Resurrection and Chocolate Bunnies: Social Marketing Through the Ages
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