Sunday 16 July 2017



It was a damp day for Kew yesterday but although I only live 10 minutes away, I've never managed to visit while they're cooking in the royal kitchens. I browsed through this book - new to me - by a 1780s tavern cook - filed away a few ideas that I really must try - and watched as two chatty cooks prepared a royal supper tray of chicken curry, meatballs, 'Turkish' lamb, asparagus made to resemble green beans, ale-barm bread and homemade cheese, syllabub and raspberry cream. I'm definitely going to make that cream cheese though I'm not too confident about making a yeast starter by leaving a bowl to stand under an apple tree. If only I had an apple tree, I'd give it a try.

4 comments:

  1. Ooh, doesn't it all sound delicious! I've seen Ruth Goodman place a bowl outside in the garden to collect spores, or whatever, to get a starter going. I'm imagining all sorts of mammals and insects stopping by for a lick....perhaps it's no wonder people rarely reached the stage of elderly. We do live in a germaphobe world now though, don't we.

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  2. That was my thought, Darlene - squirrels/bird poo/cats, you wouldn't really fancy it by the time it came out of the oven!

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  3. I did that natural yeast collection method once. Never again. It was grey and smelly and most unappetising.
    I was at Kew on the 17th. We must stop not meeting like this.

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  4. Thanks for the warning, Lucille. Fancy just missing you, I was there on 15th. Think it was actually my first visit this year.

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