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Food and drink

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Toil and trouble: Recipes and the witches in 'Macbeth'
recipes
Shakespeare and Beyond

Toil and trouble: Recipes and the witches in 'Macbeth'

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Author
David B. Goldstein

Shakespeare’s witches, like nearly all witches of Shakespeare’s time, have their roots in the kitchen more than in the study.

Mince pies and mirth: Transcribed 17th-century recipes
Recipe for mirth from the cookbook of L. Cromwell
Shakespeare and Beyond

Mince pies and mirth: Transcribed 17th-century recipes

Posted
Author
Sarah Powell

Mince pies and a honey-spiced drink called mirth are just two of hundreds of recipes found in a 17th-century handwritten recipe book once owned by Leticia Cromwell.

A pumpkin pie recipe from 17th-century England
Pumpkin pie
Shakespeare and Beyond

A pumpkin pie recipe from 17th-century England

Posted
Author
Amanda Herbert

In this pumpkin pie recipe from the late 1600s, you peel and slice the pumpkin into thin wedges, dipping them in egg before frying them. Apples, raisins, currants, and sherry also get added to the pie.

Salmon in pastry: A Renaissance recipe from Shakespeare's Kitchen by Francine Segan
Salmon pastry
Shakespeare and Beyond

Salmon in pastry: A Renaissance recipe from Shakespeare's Kitchen by Francine Segan

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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

Salmon, oysters, asparagus, and grapes are all ingredients in this unusual pie recipe from Francine Segan’s cookbook “Shakespeare’s Kitchen.”

A recipe for 1610 rose cakes
Shakespeare and Beyond

A recipe for 1610 rose cakes

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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

Francine Segan, a food historian with a taste for the Renaissance, adapts a 1610 handwritten recipe for rose cakes from a recipe book that’s part of the Folger collection.

A Renaissance recipe for citrus tarts
Shakespeare and Beyond

A Renaissance recipe for citrus tarts

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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

Food historian Francine Segan has a taste for the Renaissance and a love of Shakespeare. Here she adapts a recipe for “Citron pye” from a 1587 cookbook. You’ll find an intense combination of vinegar and pepper in these citrus tarts.

A recipe for Twelfth Night cake
Shakespeare Twelfth Night
Shakespeare and Beyond

A recipe for Twelfth Night cake

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Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

Park’s Shakspearean Twelfth-Night Characters. Handcolored print, ca. 1830. Folger Shakespeare Library. Twelfth Night is a Christian holiday typically celebrated on January 5 or 6, concluding the 12 days of Christmas and celebrating the visit of the Magi (the three kings). Twelfth…

Renaissance cooking: Food historian Francine Segan and a recipe for 'pears' in broth (they're not really pears)
Shakespeare and Beyond

Renaissance cooking: Food historian Francine Segan and a recipe for 'pears' in broth (they're not really pears)

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Author
Esther French

Francine Segan is a food historian with a taste for the Renaissance. She’s the author of six cookbooks, including Shakespeare’s Kitchen (2003) and the Opera Lover’s Cookbook, which was nominated for a James Beard award. This year she’s been spending…

From the archive to the oven: How to make a sweet potato pudding
Shakespeare and Beyond

From the archive to the oven: How to make a sweet potato pudding

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Author
Amanda Herbert

“Let the sky rain potatoes… I will shelter me here.” Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor is referring here to a food that had but recently arrived to England, but was already on its way to popularity. A team of Folger researchers…

Recipe: How to make a sweet potato pudding
Sweet potato pudding ingredients
Shakespeare and Beyond

Recipe: How to make a sweet potato pudding

Posted
Author
Amanda Herbert

The Folger is home to the largest collection of early modern western European recipe books in the United States, and a team of Folger researchers recently uncovered a very early European potato recipe in our archives. This recipe, “to make a…

A perfect pairing: A recipe for almond jumballs and a podcast episode on "Recipes for Thought"
Wendy Wall, Recipes for Thought: Knowledge and Taste in the Early Modern Kitchen
Shakespeare and Beyond

A perfect pairing: A recipe for almond jumballs and a podcast episode on "Recipes for Thought"

Posted
Author
Shakespeare & Beyond

Early modern kitchens, food, and recipes offer an intriguing window on the world in which Shakespeare lived. Our new Shakespeare Unlimited podcast episode is a fascinating interview with Wendy Wall, who explores the role of food, kitchens, and other related subjects in…

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