Photo courtesy of MattBites.com.
Fish sauce has long been a staple of Southeast Asian cooking. Made from fermented fish with sea salt, it has a strong, distinct flavor that enhances all the delicious flavors in Asian cuisine. Easily recognizable as a truly Eastern condiment, it’s fascinating to learn it has ancient roots in Western Europe as well, specifically in ancient Rome. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Bon Appetit Wednesday, Culinary, Culture
Tagged ancient history, ancient recipe, Ancient Rome, AntiquityNOW, Bon Appetit Wednesday, colatura, East Asia, fish sauce, garum
The Star Wars series has defined generations of space enthusiasts and launched fantasy franchises that try to compete, but never beat, the original. Not to be outdone, AntiquityNOW has a new take on this iconic brand thanks to Jason Allen, PhD., who is Coordinator of Social Science at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College. Last year Allen created a well-received lesson plan in honor of International Star Wars Day on May 4 that featured both Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings movies. This year Allen will be working with AntiquityNOW on another curriculum that mines the ancient motifs in these series to illustrate how science fiction can reflect life truths, whatever the life form. Continue reading
*Don’t miss our 2013 recipe book filled with delicious food from main courses to drinks and desserts.
Mario Batali, Martha Stewart, Rachael Ray, Julia Child…giants in culinary arts known for their expertise, personal franchises and larger than life personalities. But they aren’t the only chefs known for their style.
How about those Babylonian epicures whose haute cuisine recipes date to c. 1750 BCE during the reign of Hammurabi?[1]
Ever see the culinary page-turner Hedypatheia (Pleasant Living or Life of Luxury), written around 350 BCE by Archestratus, a Sicilian Greek? [2] Continue reading
Image courtesy of Joel Luks.
Did you know that tamales are not simply a delicious Mexican creation, but actually an ancient food staple? Created by the Aztecs using maize, their most important food, tamales were often filled with beans that were second only to maize in dietary importance. Other popular fillings included chilies, amaranth seeds, maize flowers, honey, beeswax, turkey, eggs and cherries.[1] Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Bon Appetit Wednesday, Culinary, Culture
Tagged ancient food, ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Aztecs, black beans, Bon Appetit Wednesday, epazote, maize, Mexican food, tamales
Happy New Year! For a fortuitous upcoming 365 days, we’ve compiled a dinner spread that bodes well for 2014. Here’s a quick description of some holiday foods—with ancient ingredients—that are considered to bring good fortune: Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Bon Appetit Wednesday, Culinary, Culture, Holidays, Public Life
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Bon Appetit Wednesday, culinary, lucky food, New Year
For many families, the Christmas feast is not complete without the Christmas ham. Did you know that the traditional Christmas ham was not originally associated with Christmas at all, but like so many other holiday traditions, grew out of ancient pagan practices? Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Bon Appetit Wednesday, Culinary, Culture, Holidays, Public Life
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, boar, Freyr, Norse mythology, yule log, Yuletide
Image courtesy of deltamike on Flickr.
Caroling has been a popular pastime to celebrate Christmas for hundreds of years. Indeed, chanting and song have been a part of rituals and celebrations from some of the earliest of societies. Whether found in the first hollowed bone flute and percussive tree stump or the widely stylized play lists of today, music has been embedded in human culture. And as contemporary studies show, our responses to music are not just attuned to auditory preferences and social context. Music is really a “brain thing.” Continue reading
Still wondering what to get for that person who has everything? Look no further than The Bazaar. We have gifts for the foodie in your life, gifts for the history lover and even gifts featuring beautiful original designs by our Artist-in-Residence Dan Fenelon. Read more about Dan’s designs in “AntiquityNOW Launches The Bazaar With Original Dinnerware Designs” and learn more about our foodie products in “Ancient Foodie Tee, Tote and Apron Now Featured in The Bazaar.” Click HERE to visit our online Zazzle store and order your gifts today!
Image courtesy of Reese Lloyd on Flickr.
Eggnog is a holiday beverage with a history and a taste that can’t be beat. To really appreciate the roots of eggnog, we have to go back 7,500 years. That was a period critical to the human species—or at least to those of us who indulge in dairy. It was sometime during that period that humans in the region between the central Balkans and central Europe developed “lactase persistence.” Professor Mark Thomas of University College London (UCL) Genetics, Evolution and Environment says in a 2009 study, “Most adults worldwide do not produce the enzyme lactase and so are unable to digest the milk sugar lactose. However, most Europeans continue to produce lactase throughout their life, a characteristic known as lactase persistence. In Europe, a single genetic change (13,910*T) is strongly associated with lactase persistence and appears to have given people with it a big survival advantage.” Continue reading
Below are two cookie recipes: one in honor of St. Nick and the other Santa Claus. For those of you who have a healthy dose of curiosity as well as a sweet tooth, let’s explore how these two holiday figures came to be.
St. Nicholas was a bishop in southwestern Turkey in the 4th century. Born to a wealthy family, he gave much of his money away in support of the poor. As the bishop of Myra, he had a number of miracles attributed to him and was eventually declared a saint. His feast day was celebrated on December 6th. During St. Nicholas’ lifetime, Pope Julius I decided that Jesus should be given a day that could be celebrated in honor of his birth. Because the winter solstice was already being celebrated, the birthday for Jesus was designated to coincide, which eventually proved successful in “Christianizing” the previously pagan holiday. Over time St. Nicholas’ day and Jesus’ birthday became associated, and the Christmas tradition began. Because St. Nicholas was beneficent in his offerings to the poor, stuffed stockings and gifts became synonymous with this day. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Bon Appetit Wednesday, Celebrities, Culinary, Culture, Holidays, Public Life, Religion
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Christmas, Dutch, holidays, Jesus, Saint Nicholas, Sancte Claus, Santa Claus, Sinter Klaus
AntiquityNOW 