A silly mistake did I make. In one of the quotes, I said “miffing” when it should be “missing”. Of course it’s because I read those 18th century s’s as f’s. I did a whole video on that letter in old fonts, yet here we are 😂
I’m a middle school teacher. We watched (and tasted) tang pie last spring during a rocketry unit. Today I showed your video on how to make garum for an Ancient Rome unit. One of my sixth graders yelled “ The tang pie guy, I love his videos. “. I guess I’ll be making “Tasting History” a regular part of world and U.S. history and introducing it to the younger generation. Thanks for making history interesting and fun!
My English Lit professor let us choose our own topics for our finals and I did an analysis of the significance of food in Jane Austen's work. I made these for the class to eat during my presentation. Maybe it was the subtle bribery of snacks, but I got an A!
Make a party as stressful and cramped as possible? This reminds me of that scene in Glass Onion where the woman says "it's so dumb it's brilliant!" and Daniel Craig says "no! It's just dumb!". My introverted self is crying just thinking about it!😅
@Eserchie Those typically included music and alcohol/drugs at least. Up to you if that makes it better or worse, but crowding into someone's house for the sake of crowding into someone's house, with no music or entertainment, and repeating it 7 more times in a night sounds obscenely boring.
@@ChikoritaChikorita I honestly cant help but imagine that the entire reason why the concept was so popular was just because of how refined parties usually were. Like, not being the usual thing is about the only positive i can think of
@@afinnishfishnet7366 I suspect (especially given the depictions in the art shown) that it may have been an excuse to get some skin-to-skin contact in a touch-starved society.
I like the use of "ditto" by this cook. "Ditto" is an accounting word meaning "on the same day" in France but meaning "again the same quantity in English. "Idem", meaning "the same as above" or" the same item". The same quantity should be "aedem" in Latin.
When people - my family especially - sneeze, I say, "Gesundheit". When they sneeze a second, third, fourth, and more times I say "Ditto" after each subsequent sneeze. 😁
In the past, we made a batch of rout cakes for an informal tea party. Not being a fan of the floral flavors, we changed the recipe using the zest from lemons. Also, instead of raisins, we used dried cranberries that were soaked for a while in the brandy before adding to the flour mix. This version was greatly appreciated and we've made it on occasion. We have made scones with the cranberries and lemon zest before so we already knew that this flavor combination would go well in the rout cakes.
Oooh sounds like a lovely variation. Might have to try it at this weekend's rout at a friend's (a Cards Against Humanity event with afternoon tea, so not too far from one of the older routs)
In Czech we still use the word “raut” which actually comes from the English “rout” and it is a type of social meeting with buffet tables. Czechs usually use the word raut to specifically refer to the buffet tables at a wedding, ball, press conference, vernissage etc.
Ditto in Ukraine, but nowadays we use the word "raut" mostly in diplomatic etc. settings, e.g., a "raut" at the embassy. Just as a name for some very fancy cocktail party, I guess. You can often come across it in historical books, though, referring to receptions at aristocratic homes at the turn of the 20th century. Of course, no shoving and tumbling there! :)
Ngl, it does sound like it, esp the hopping from one house party to the next. It was definitely a shock for me when I went to my first frat party, and the grp I was with basically went from one fraternity to the next bc one was always starting when another died down. The only way I was able to get back to my dorm was by abandoning my grp to catch a ride with some dormmates I came across who were headed back. It was 4am by then, and I swore off ever going to another of these things.
The word rout meaning 'confused' is also the origin of the military command 'rout step march' - meaning to move in whatever manner you choose as long as you hold formation- usually used when you are walking over uneven or broken terrain and it would be unsafe/unwise to keep a formal march.
Also over some weaker bridges, as there were concerns that rhythmic marching could create a resonance with the bridge they were already straining to capacity by marching an army over it.
Interestingly, in Central Europe, parties are still called routs. When I moved to the Czech Republic from England, I was expecting some kind of wild orgy; but no, just a few friends with a few drinks :)
My all time favorite 1 star book review was on Pride and Prejudice: "Just a bunch of people going to each other's houses" -mr carlton b morgan of the United Kingdom
It's about the vibes and the shade not the plot =) I still want to punch Darcy and Elizabeth in the face tho. Oh and the father, his remarks were hilarious but still very mean to his rich ass wife! Also he sucks at managing his money.
@@MossyMozart once you dig deeper they aren’t about nothing at all. They contain a lot of critique of societal expectations at the time but Jane Austen was subtle about it so many modern readers just gloss over the bigger messages.
ngl the rout sounds like a social gathering specifically designed to make me miserable. purposefully crowded to the point of constantly elbowing people? nowhere to sit? tons of people none of whom know each other? pickpockets??? starts past 6pm? count me out
@@patricktorres4226 I just got Paramount+ through a family member so I *finally* get to watch The Lower Decks, Discovery, Picard, and Brave New Worlds. Im gonna watch them in that exact order and Im on season two of Discovery. Lower Decks was a rip roaring good time. 🐨 Ive got my criticisms of Discovery but I think its pretty true to what Trek is supposed to mean to me according to how I interpret Roddenberry's vision. Just hope it doesnt sour itself in later seasons. After that its time for the obligatory full series rewatch. I gotta ask whos your favorite captain? Heres a dead giveaway for mine. ⚾️
You saying "when in doubt, lean on the alcohol" reminded me of my favorite Robin Williams quote: "If alcohol is a crutch, then Jack Daniels is the wheelchair."
Max, I saw you comment that these are very like rock cakes. Rock cakes/rock buns were the very first thing I was taught to make in cookery class in High School in Somerset in the UK - in 1971 😂
I hadn't heard of rout cakes but my first thought was that they look like rock cakes - even the names are similar. Are they related? Is the rock cake the "grandchild" of the rout cake?
Rock cakes were the first thing that I ever learned to bake in school too, in my case that was in the late 2000s in my primary school's tiny old kitchenette
Yes Rock cakes were taught to me when I lived in Australia and went to Domestic Science class.I still have the school cook book we were given.I now live in Canada but was born in England.
Since you enjoy reading old newspapers, years ago I was doing some genealogy research for someone. I found a story in a San Antonio newspaper, either late 1890's or early 1900's. The story featured a report on a judge's daughter's wedding. The article listed every single wedding gift and the individual(s) who gave the gift. So if you gave the judges daughter a cheap gift, everyone in San Antonio knew.
Newspapers used to repeat all that stuff for high society weddings. I've only seen the reports on royals, but they'd even include line drawings of each item (pre-photography).
These look exactly the same as some small cakes my mum used to make quite often except without the alcohol and rose water. She called them rock cakes so maybe the word has changed a little bit over time.
@@mwater_moon2865 not 100% sure, but I believe the rout cake. The oldest rock cake recipes I know of are from the mid-19th century, but I’m not sure they don’t appear earlier.
I really loved the historical elements of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" (both the tv series and the books). In the TV series, when Mr. Norrell arrives from the North to London to enter into society there's this scene of fashionable people jam packed into a houseparty elbowing each other, barely able to breathe (the bookish Mr. Norrell hates it). This episode gives me so much more historical context for that scene, and I'm really impressed by the showrunner for absolutely matching the descriptions you were reading of a rout!
I really don't blame Mr. Norrell for finding the one unoccupied corner with books. In in fact he managed better than I would have. I would have seen the front door, and driven right past.
I usually will soak currants in hot water to rehydrate them so they don’t draw the available moisture into them, thus rendering cookies or scones dryer than they need to be.
Are we having a Jane Austen inspired series? That would be so fantastic! Btw, this channel is the reason I've looked forward to Tuesdays for the last four years.
Hi as an English child growing up late 60's we were taught to cook rock cakes there was milk not alcohol or floral water and the mixture otherwise the same was slightly wetter would drop off the spoon and form little rock shaped cakes that we often added butter to eat if they were particularly dry ,thank you for bringing back happy memories xxx
My mum and Nana made these in the 90's and early 00's for me and my sister! And my kids are just old enough now for me to start making them now too - rock cakes will never die ☺️
These videos with old and mostly forgotten foods and recipes are my favorite episodes. I still enjoy the episodes that do stuff like try to guess what ancient Egyptians possibly ate etc. But I just find it much more interesting when it's actual historical foods and recipes.
These videos are always perfect for my lunch breaks in between college classes when I need I break. They carried me through my first year of college in the dining hall. Thank you so much!!
"The Biscuit" is really cute. I haven't made most of the recipes in it, but the ones I have tried are pretty nice, and I love the format, both in writing and physically - for once a "cook book" that doesn't weigh a ton and take up a whole unit of countertop space.
In New Zealand, Rout cakes which came with the British colonisers had transitioned into 'rock' cakes by early C19th. My gran made them regularly in the 1950's for the menfolk working on the farm.
Funny enough, you can see how the two definitions of "rout" are, in fact, related. A fleeing army may well be described as a tumultuous crowd. It sounds like it may once have been used as a generic term for any chaotic collection of people and grew more specific over time.
A rout sounds like absolutely my seventh level of hell -- but I love that through all the clever historical resources Max uses we get a really clear idea of what was happening. I wonder if would have been unseemly to serve rout cakes at tea -- because I very much want one with tea!
Just change them up a tich and call them scones. All good! (And yes the booze part makes it unseemly for tea, and NO cooking does NOT burn off all the alcohol, in the oven, these would have to be in there over an HOUR to drop it below 30% of what was added.)
@@mwater_moon2865 I think regency people had different views of alcohol Jane Austen liked port wine with sugar and lemon juice almost any time. And a little later Victoria drank scotch mixed with claret.
I'm so glad you mentioned rock cakes, that was exactly what came to mind the moment I saw them and you explained the recipe! I'm embarrassed to say that despite being english myself, I'd never heard of rout cakes until this video 😅 Thank you for another wonderful exploration of our culinary history!
A rout sounds a lot like an old American party in the South in the later 1800s, the Crush. This isn't to be confused with the 21st century crush party, which is where men on which sorority sisters have a crush are invited without knowing which sister invited whom.
Oh my goodness, I needed knowledge like this for something I started writing but couldn't continue because of lack of motivation but also not knowing where I'd start with research. This helps me out SO much! Thank you!!!
I described this channel to my mother as my Saturday morning cartoons. I'm always looking forward to it & all cheery smiles whilst watching. For Austen fans, the YT channel Dr Octavia Cox is incredible (doesn't post much since she switched universities, but the indepth content is sooo good). Also, if you enjoy funny modern versions, Austenland with Jane Seymour, Keri Russell, Jennifer Coolidge, & Bret Mckenzie is a must watch!
Whenever a cake or cookie recipe calls for raisins or currants, I always soak them in a cup of hot tea for a few minutes before adding them. This helps cut the dryness somewhat. You can also drink the tea when you remove the fruit.
Those routes sound like something Abe Simpson would describe: Back in my day, we amused ourselfs by holding parties, the primary entertainment at them was pushing and shoving each other.
Honestly it sounds like them being sort of dry is an intended feature. "I'm not just drinking more brandy to get drunk! I have to wash these cakes down!" Especially since these parties sound like just an excuse to go nuts drinking and carousing for the care-free upper crust. It's pub crawling, like you said, just at much fancier bars.
I just gotta say. EVERY SINGLE time I see one of your notifications I get so excited!! I just finished a college history exam, this is a great way for me to unwind and relax! I truly love your videos SO MUCH! thank you for what do 💜💜 update! got a 96% on the exam!!! 😁😁
Rock cakes in England. My mum didn't put alcohol in - that I knew of. As kids we called them cowpats. The currants were the flies The cowpats didn't last long once put in a tin and placed on a high shelf. Chairs and sitting on older brothers shoulders soon emptied the tin. 😂
Since you're doing English Cookery. May I suggest, an episode on the English breakfast plate. With the Black Sausage, eggs, baked beans, potatoes, and grilled tomatoes It has an interesting history, that you may like..🤔
Max, you are such a delight. Something wholesome and positive to watch on YT, as an alternative to my usual fare of police station interrogations of remorseless murderers.
The "rout" scene reminds me of a year when New Year's Eve fell on a Saturday, so four different households that all ran in the same general social circle had New Year's Eve parties. As a result, a bunch of us had car pooled and were hopping from one party to the next. It was pretty funny and actually a lot of fun, probably because we had real conversations and because we weren't quite so crowded into the places. Re: rout cakes, my cousin makes a Scottish "biscuit" that's very similar, only she cooks them on a stovetop the way one would cook an English muffin. When I see these old British recipes, the first thing that goes through my head is "What if you don't like raisins?"
Max, I LOVE when you do Jane Austen episodes!!! How about one about the food served at Regency weddings? My local Regency group (Washington Regency Society) did a meetup about such foods a couple of years ago and introduced me to wedding fruitcake, which was absolutely delicious! These are NOT like the fruitcakes that most Americans are used to (you know, the ones that we get for Christmas and then regift the next year?) and one year I made wedding fruitcakes, which I handed out at Christmas.
Reminds me on some highschool parties taking place unbeknownst to the parents, whilst they were on vacation - more than 40 years ago. Off course no rout cakes were involved here, but normally the kitchen of the house got transformed into a pizza workshop, where trusty (at least, self confident) cooks rolled out baking tray after baking tray of different pizzas. Also it was a matter of honour for the guests (invited or uninvited) to bring some drinks onto that kind of rout... oh boy!
Wonderful video Max and thank you José for the captions! Those rout cakes sound delicious. Currents used to be used all the time but now you struggle to find them. It is sad to see old favorite pastries forgotten. I am so glad you shared then with us.
@@mandarinadreux9572 we have the recipes here in Canada as well but no one makes them any more. My mother said they were very popular when she was a child but now you can't find them in the stores.
I know these cakes as Rock cakes. I am from the North of England. They are a Sunday tea staple in our house like Ginger parkin, empire biscuit, Gypsy tart and toasted tea cakes.
I would love a video on recommendations of books on food history! You do so much research for these videos you must have gathered a ton of expertise on finding good sources in the field. As always, wonderful video!
'Routs' sound like they could do with some Brandy Butter sauce to moisten them tastefully. Even a Hard Sauce would help, but I'm sure mumbling around a mouthful of desert dry crumbs was 'fashionable' back then... 😝 When I cook with dried fruit, I always re-hydrate it first. That way it stays moist and soft instead of becoming hard little nuggets...
I made these for a retreat at my church, using raisins, and they were delicious! I used two cups of flour and half that of butter, Splenda, and raisins. I used orange zest because I didn't have orange essence. I also used Tiramisu liqueur instead of brandy, and I sprinkled some cinnamon-sugar into the flour. I also used the rose water and the egg, then I baked them at 350 degrees F. for 13 minutes. They were nicely fragrant. My recipe made 20 cookies that were not dense but soft to bite into..
Honestly this sounds like the house party scene in the early 2000s! Also I'd love to see your take on the New Years' Eve Levee, speaking of old timey parties, and in particular the drink Caribou Blood.
Omg! That just reminded me of when I was a kid and my adults would drag me around to the "parade of homes" that was basically a 80s version of this at the holidays 😂
What you called like a house to house party reminds me of Spain Tapas, you go "De Tapas" and go from bar to bar, having a pint or beer, wine, cider or anything and eat a lot of tapas before going to the next bar for repeating the process.
In Finnish student circles people do a thing called "Gambina meetings". It happens in events where people are already gathered, and consists of as many people cramming into the smallest space available (a closet, under a table), share a bottle of a premade cocktail called Gambina and write a formal record of the "meeting". Similar vibe. So the urge to just get packed tightly still remains :D
Routs sound like the type of occasion that would have me crying in the bathroom racking my brain for an excuse to leave. I rather spend my nights getting lost in video games or craving baking. I should try making these rout cakes (hoping florals in western baking doesn't weird me out too much)
It's actually very traditional for classic European baking. Max is right about it; just go easy on floral water, too much of it can add unpleasant bitterness, but just a dash of it adds nice touch. I always put a teaspoon of rose water in my Christmas cakes instead of vanilla. A very delicate and subtle scent, and you don't really feel it if it's not overdone.
@@IngerConnor I live germany and the recipes my german family makes don't have florals (beside beloved elderblossom) so I am only used to rose and orange blossom in my north african families desserts but will definitely try making these some time
@@padawanofconfusion5954 I guess it must be really regional... I learned to add rose water to stollen from my grandmother who once apprenticed in a bakery in Vienna. Doughnuts with wild rose petal jam are also big in several Central European cuisines. Also came across quite a few South European recipes that use lavender as seasoning. Violets, daisies, marigold etc. are used in traditional Central and Souther European cooking, too (fell out of use in the 20th century, but now I see they are making a comeback). A lot depends on the local climate and avaiability of produce to work (and experiment) with. Elderberry is a hardy plant, and I see it used in Nordic cuisines where more delicate plants would not be available or would be too expensive to use in the kitchen. I once flipped through a medieval English cookbook (14th century, IMMS), and I was amazed at the variety of plants and flowers they used in all kinds of dishes, from appetizers to desserts. And with England being a trade and colonial superpower in the 18th and 19th century, no wonder they could and would use all kinds of international ingredients, some far more exotic than rose and orange blossom water that they had been having for centuries before! Enjoy experimenting, and hope you like those flowery notes!
The word is still in use in France. When I was a student myself, I went to a couple of routs (raouts in French), which were all-school parties on the school premises. It was loud, boozy, obnoxious, with no space to sit and yes, you had to elbow your way through. Unfortunately, no rout cakes were served (the routs would have been better with cakes)
@@ThinWhiteAxe Thank you for he correction. I've also heard that Regency England is mostly whitewashed in history. Have you found any sources that can confirm this?
Thank you for this. I have often wondered about rout cakes over my years of reading Jane Austen and novels set during the Regency. Now I know and I may even bake some!
MY Mom made something very similar for Christmas. Instead of raisins or currants, she used semi sweet chocolate chips and she didn't use sweet wine or rose water, she used red wine. We called them wine cookies
I love all the quotes directly from Emma! I'm going to make these cakes and have an Austen Appreciation party sometime. Thanks for the awesome video and for bringing so much joy to this recipe, Max! 🌷🌻🌹🌸🌼🌺💛
Thank you, Max. Those routs sound like some of the parties I went to back in the late 60's & early 70's, in the Village in NYC. Too many people milling about in big apartments with small, high-ceilinged rooms, choking with cigarette and weed smoke, deafening with rock music and chatter about politics and movies. No rout cakes, though. No food either, unless it was a dollar-a-head "spaghetti bash" to raise money for the rent.
A silly mistake did I make. In one of the quotes, I said “miffing” when it should be “missing”. Of course it’s because I read those 18th century s’s as f’s. I did a whole video on that letter in old fonts, yet here we are 😂
At least you didn't miff that one!
On a serious note, love your work! Always makes my morning :)
I just thought you suddenly developed a lisp! ;)
@@LindseyLouWho 😂
Ahhh yes, the infamous s's that look life f's
@@TastingHistory I, too, get piffed off when old fonts trip me up.
I’m a middle school teacher. We watched (and tasted) tang pie last spring during a rocketry unit. Today I showed your video on how to make garum for an Ancient Rome unit. One of my sixth graders yelled “ The tang pie guy, I love his videos. “. I guess I’ll be making “Tasting History” a regular part of world and U.S. history and introducing it to the younger generation. Thanks for making history interesting and fun!
And tasty!!
Seriously, I wish he was around when I was a kid. Your students are so lucky!
the Titanic eposodes im sure the kids would love - and the WW 1&2 ones also would be very educational
If you buy "Gentleman's relish -pepper pepperium", the ingredients look very similar to Garum,so it's still on sale.
I’ve had a few teachers like you, you’re the kind we love and remember
My English Lit professor let us choose our own topics for our finals and I did an analysis of the significance of food in Jane Austen's work. I made these for the class to eat during my presentation. Maybe it was the subtle bribery of snacks, but I got an A!
sounds like a really interesting essay!
Don't sell yourself short, that "bribe" took effort! You earned that A!
Well deserved ! Congrats
Bravo! Brilliant move!
Clever idea! Free food is always a good way to get on people's good side.
Oh, man. These parties sound like my worst nightmare. I'll just make the cakes myself and be unfashionable in my own house.
I know I would skip the party to, maybe invite a few friends over for game of hearts or spades and munch on a plate each of the cakes.. LOL
Madam; how can one possibly be unfashionable in one's own house?
Ah... i think it has something. I would enjoy it.
Like he said this sounds like an awful frat party. I'm north of forty I don't have that in me anymore.
Count me in, maybe a bunch of friends, a bunch of boardgames and these cakes and other cookies.
Make a party as stressful and cramped as possible? This reminds me of that scene in Glass Onion where the woman says "it's so dumb it's brilliant!" and Daniel Craig says "no! It's just dumb!". My introverted self is crying just thinking about it!😅
I feel you
Moshpit, Rave, the idea has continued to be popular
@Eserchie Those typically included music and alcohol/drugs at least. Up to you if that makes it better or worse, but crowding into someone's house for the sake of crowding into someone's house, with no music or entertainment, and repeating it 7 more times in a night sounds obscenely boring.
@@ChikoritaChikorita I honestly cant help but imagine that the entire reason why the concept was so popular was just because of how refined parties usually were.
Like, not being the usual thing is about the only positive i can think of
@@afinnishfishnet7366 I suspect (especially given the depictions in the art shown) that it may have been an excuse to get some skin-to-skin contact in a touch-starved society.
I like the use of "ditto" by this cook. "Ditto" is an accounting word meaning "on the same day" in France but meaning "again the same quantity in English. "Idem", meaning "the same as above" or" the same item". The same quantity should be "aedem" in Latin.
Used to say ditto when i was a kid to agree my sister beat it out of me one day...
When people - my family especially - sneeze, I say, "Gesundheit". When they sneeze a second, third, fourth, and more times I say "Ditto" after each subsequent sneeze. 😁
it used to be popular slang, but then Ghost killed it. ironically.
Even in LM Alcott's "Good Wives", "ditto" is used to mean "likewise". I remember because it was my first encounter with the word.
i'm disappointed Ditto was not on the kitchen counter
In the past, we made a batch of rout cakes for an informal tea party. Not being a fan of the floral flavors, we changed the recipe using the zest from lemons. Also, instead of raisins, we used dried cranberries that were soaked for a while in the brandy before adding to the flour mix. This version was greatly appreciated and we've made it on occasion. We have made scones with the cranberries and lemon zest before so we already knew that this flavor combination would go well in the rout cakes.
Ooh, lemon sounds like a good version!
I just wanted to say, I couldn't help but read this in Max's "reading post-medieval English texts" voice. It fits so perfectly.
The cranberries sound good compared to currants.
Your rout cakes sound delicious!
Oooh sounds like a lovely variation. Might have to try it at this weekend's rout at a friend's (a Cards Against Humanity event with afternoon tea, so not too far from one of the older routs)
so, party menu in the paper. Pictures of food on social media. Have we changed?? Don't think so! LOL
Showing off is certainly nothing new.
In Czech we still use the word “raut” which actually comes from the English “rout” and it is a type of social meeting with buffet tables. Czechs usually use the word raut to specifically refer to the buffet tables at a wedding, ball, press conference, vernissage etc.
vernissage a private viewing of paintings before public exhibition.
Ditto in Ukraine, but nowadays we use the word "raut" mostly in diplomatic etc. settings, e.g., a "raut" at the embassy. Just as a name for some very fancy cocktail party, I guess. You can often come across it in historical books, though, referring to receptions at aristocratic homes at the turn of the 20th century. Of course, no shoving and tumbling there! :)
There are like rock cakes
So regency era high school or frat house parties were called 'routs', lol. So fun to hear some things never really change more than their names
Humans are gonna human
Ngl, it does sound like it, esp the hopping from one house party to the next. It was definitely a shock for me when I went to my first frat party, and the grp I was with basically went from one fraternity to the next bc one was always starting when another died down.
The only way I was able to get back to my dorm was by abandoning my grp to catch a ride with some dormmates I came across who were headed back. It was 4am by then, and I swore off ever going to another of these things.
“Frat house party”-perfect descriptor!
The word rout meaning 'confused' is also the origin of the military command 'rout step march' - meaning to move in whatever manner you choose as long as you hold formation- usually used when you are walking over uneven or broken terrain and it would be unsafe/unwise to keep a formal march.
Also over some weaker bridges, as there were concerns that rhythmic marching could create a resonance with the bridge they were already straining to capacity by marching an army over it.
Interestingly, in Central Europe, parties are still called routs. When I moved to the Czech Republic from England, I was expecting some kind of wild orgy; but no, just a few friends with a few drinks :)
You can be the one to organise it =)
@@per-c8229 "Be the change you want to see in the world." -Ghandi
So you were disappointed?
I'm expecting a lot of (expected) groping was going on at those routs.
My all time favorite 1 star book review was on Pride and Prejudice:
"Just a bunch of people going to each other's houses"
-mr carlton b morgan of the United Kingdom
I...I hate the fact that he's right...
Jane Austen and the original "books about nothing".......that are page-turners!
It's about the vibes and the shade not the plot =) I still want to punch Darcy and Elizabeth in the face tho. Oh and the father, his remarks were hilarious but still very mean to his rich ass wife! Also he sucks at managing his money.
I love it! It's like saying most of LOTR is people going on a long walk
@@MossyMozart once you dig deeper they aren’t about nothing at all. They contain a lot of critique of societal expectations at the time but Jane Austen was subtle about it so many modern readers just gloss over the bigger messages.
ngl the rout sounds like a social gathering specifically designed to make me miserable. purposefully crowded to the point of constantly elbowing people? nowhere to sit? tons of people none of whom know each other? pickpockets??? starts past 6pm? count me out
Amen to that.
Same here!
Ditto ditto!
I might have the vapors that night. So sorry.
I don't mind the 'starts at 6pm' part; it's the 'finishes around 11pm' part that would chill my heart!
Tasting History might be one of the few channels Ill pause my recent binge of Star Trek for!
What a good idea. Time to start a binge after this video
@@patricktorres4226 I just got Paramount+ through a family member so I *finally* get to watch The Lower Decks, Discovery, Picard, and Brave New Worlds.
Im gonna watch them in that exact order and Im on season two of Discovery. Lower Decks was a rip roaring good time. 🐨
Ive got my criticisms of Discovery but I think its pretty true to what Trek is supposed to mean to me according to how I interpret Roddenberry's vision. Just hope it doesnt sour itself in later seasons.
After that its time for the obligatory full series rewatch. I gotta ask whos your favorite captain? Heres a dead giveaway for mine. ⚾️
Qapla!
Exactly. Except I don't binge Star Trek.
@@beowulfsrevenge4369 Qapla'!
You saying "when in doubt, lean on the alcohol" reminded me of my favorite Robin Williams quote: "If alcohol is a crutch, then Jack Daniels is the wheelchair."
I LOVE when you talk about Jane Austen!!!
"Ditto."
Threeto!
Max, I saw you comment that these are very like rock cakes. Rock cakes/rock buns were the very first thing I was taught to make in cookery class in High School in Somerset in the UK - in 1971 😂
I hadn't heard of rout cakes but my first thought was that they look like rock cakes - even the names are similar. Are they related? Is the rock cake the "grandchild" of the rout cake?
And in NZ - cream sugar and butter, incorporate "dry ingredients" and currants. Earlier recipes have an egg but no other rising agent.
@@stumccabeIt's a logical progression - when the routs were forgotten, the word shifted to a familiar word to describe a fairly hard biscuit.
Rock cakes were the first thing that I ever learned to bake in school too, in my case that was in the late 2000s in my primary school's tiny old kitchenette
Yes Rock cakes were taught to me when I lived in Australia and went to Domestic Science class.I still have the school cook book we were given.I now live in Canada but was born in England.
It's a good day when Max Miller posts
So Tuesdays then
I agree with you totally.
Ditto
So like...every Tuesday?
Since you enjoy reading old newspapers, years ago I was doing some genealogy research for someone. I found a story in a San Antonio newspaper, either late 1890's or early 1900's. The story featured a report on a judge's daughter's wedding. The article listed every single wedding gift and the individual(s) who gave the gift. So if you gave the judges daughter a cheap gift, everyone in San Antonio knew.
Newspapers used to repeat all that stuff for high society weddings. I've only seen the reports on royals, but they'd even include line drawings of each item (pre-photography).
These look exactly the same as some small cakes my mum used to make quite often except without the alcohol and rose water. She called them rock cakes so maybe the word has changed a little bit over time.
They’re very similar to rock cakes!
I ate a rock cake just before watching this video! :)
My mum made rock cakes quite often when I was little... and now u feel like making some to.
@@TastingHistory which came first?
@@mwater_moon2865 not 100% sure, but I believe the rout cake. The oldest rock cake recipes I know of are from the mid-19th century, but I’m not sure they don’t appear earlier.
I really loved the historical elements of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" (both the tv series and the books). In the TV series, when Mr. Norrell arrives from the North to London to enter into society there's this scene of fashionable people jam packed into a houseparty elbowing each other, barely able to breathe (the bookish Mr. Norrell hates it). This episode gives me so much more historical context for that scene, and I'm really impressed by the showrunner for absolutely matching the descriptions you were reading of a rout!
That's exactly the scene that came to mind for me too! Love that series!
I really don't blame Mr. Norrell for finding the one unoccupied corner with books. In in fact he managed better than I would have. I would have seen the front door, and driven right past.
I usually will soak currants in hot water to rehydrate them so they don’t draw the available moisture into them, thus rendering cookies or scones dryer than they need to be.
Soaking them I brandy would be nice.
That's a great tip, thank you!!
Are we having a Jane Austen inspired series? That would be so fantastic!
Btw, this channel is the reason I've looked forward to Tuesdays for the last four years.
You can use the leftover rose/orange water in your steam iron to make your clothes smell good.
Oooooh this may be how I can use that bottle of orange blosson essence that I never use cuz I find it too overpowering in food
Careful, especially if not softened water if you have hard water from glaciers. Those chemicals will make scale buildup far worse.
@@brokenglassshimmerlikestar3407use a spray bottle to spray on cloths before ironing, but dilute it well.
@tpl608 just what I was going to suggest. Spray it as a fine mist, but don't put it in the iron.
@@Xiroi87 yup. Never in the iron.
Hi as an English child growing up late 60's we were taught to cook rock cakes there was milk not alcohol or floral water and the mixture otherwise the same was slightly wetter would drop off the spoon and form little rock shaped cakes that we often added butter to eat if they were particularly dry ,thank you for bringing back happy memories xxx
I remember these and I thought that
My mum and Nana made these in the 90's and early 00's for me and my sister! And my kids are just old enough now for me to start making them now too - rock cakes will never die ☺️
My nana who was a Yorkshire woman used to make rock cakes for us, I make them myself on occasion when I need an easy comfort food 🥰
My mom made them with bisquick and called them drop biscuits, but they're definitely the same thing
These videos with old and mostly forgotten foods and recipes are my favorite episodes. I still enjoy the episodes that do stuff like try to guess what ancient Egyptians possibly ate etc. But I just find it much more interesting when it's actual historical foods and recipes.
"...of course the entertainment principally consists in pushing and crowding." Sounds like an unusually calm and well heeled mosh pit.
I half expected the "clack clack" of hard tack when you mentioned how dry some of the recipes were.
At this point, we are conditioned like Pavlov's dog to expect the "clack clack" of hard tack every episode, irregardless of the recipe fearured.
These videos are always perfect for my lunch breaks in between college classes when I need I break. They carried me through my first year of college in the dining hall. Thank you so much!!
"The Biscuit" is really cute. I haven't made most of the recipes in it, but the ones I have tried are pretty nice, and I love the format, both in writing and physically - for once a "cook book" that doesn't weigh a ton and take up a whole unit of countertop space.
In New Zealand, Rout cakes which came with the British colonisers had transitioned into 'rock' cakes by early C19th. My gran made them regularly in the 1950's for the menfolk working on the farm.
The Regency upper class was an introvert's nightmare. No wonder Mr. Darcy was such a grump.
Funny enough, you can see how the two definitions of "rout" are, in fact, related. A fleeing army may well be described as a tumultuous crowd. It sounds like it may once have been used as a generic term for any chaotic collection of people and grew more specific over time.
I wish you’d do a short video on how you do your research for them (and where you get your ideas)
We still have these in the UK, they're called, "Rock Scones" by my Scottish family.
A rout sounds like absolutely my seventh level of hell -- but I love that through all the clever historical resources Max uses we get a really clear idea of what was happening. I wonder if would have been unseemly to serve rout cakes at tea -- because I very much want one with tea!
Same
To all of this
It seems to me something ladies would eat with tea.
Just change them up a tich and call them scones. All good! (And yes the booze part makes it unseemly for tea, and NO cooking does NOT burn off all the alcohol, in the oven, these would have to be in there over an HOUR to drop it below 30% of what was added.)
@@mwater_moon2865 I think regency people had different views of alcohol Jane Austen liked port wine with sugar and lemon juice almost any time. And a little later Victoria drank scotch mixed with claret.
as an australian, this video was posted at 1 am for me.... definitely says something about my sleep schedule, considering im watching this at 1:22....
Right there with you. In Saipan.
I live in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and it’s 11am here. Almost lunchtime.
I hope you don't have to get up early for work. I hope you sleep well after this.
1.50am here in France.... Yep. Good night 🌃
I'm also Australian, but I had to wait until 2pm
I'm so glad you mentioned rock cakes, that was exactly what came to mind the moment I saw them and you explained the recipe! I'm embarrassed to say that despite being english myself, I'd never heard of rout cakes until this video 😅 Thank you for another wonderful exploration of our culinary history!
A rout sounds a lot like an old American party in the South in the later 1800s, the Crush. This isn't to be confused with the 21st century crush party, which is where men on which sorority sisters have a crush are invited without knowing which sister invited whom.
Oh my goodness, I needed knowledge like this for something I started writing but couldn't continue because of lack of motivation but also not knowing where I'd start with research. This helps me out SO much! Thank you!!!
Wow, that Guild Hall menu by itself would keep your channel busy for a long, long time.
WHOA imagine throwing a party of any size and having the menu printed in full in the paper of record -- so much pressure!
... for the staff. lol
Max you give me something to look forward to every tuesday.
Sounds like a perfect thing to dunk in your tea. If they are a little dry then they should hold up for a good dunking.
6:50 It’s him! The guy from that meme
The WTF am I reading guy!
I described this channel to my mother as my Saturday morning cartoons. I'm always looking forward to it & all cheery smiles whilst watching.
For Austen fans, the YT channel Dr Octavia Cox is incredible (doesn't post much since she switched universities, but the indepth content is sooo good). Also, if you enjoy funny modern versions, Austenland with Jane Seymour, Keri Russell, Jennifer Coolidge, & Bret Mckenzie is a must watch!
Whenever a cake or cookie recipe calls for raisins or currants, I always soak them in a cup of hot tea for a few minutes before adding them. This helps cut the dryness somewhat. You can also drink the tea when you remove the fruit.
Those routes sound like something Abe Simpson would describe: Back in my day, we amused ourselfs by holding parties, the primary entertainment at them was pushing and shoving each other.
Ahhhh YESSSS my Tuesday ritual, grab lunch at my lunch break, sit down and watch Tasting History while eating.
Honestly it sounds like them being sort of dry is an intended feature. "I'm not just drinking more brandy to get drunk! I have to wash these cakes down!" Especially since these parties sound like just an excuse to go nuts drinking and carousing for the care-free upper crust. It's pub crawling, like you said, just at much fancier bars.
It also sounds like the rooms got pretty hot and humid, and you wouldn't want cakes that sat around getting soggy on the plate.
@@ttintagel No deodorant or antiperspirant either.
One of the few channels where an upload gets a watch, immediately, because it's GOING to be good. Thanks Max!
I just gotta say. EVERY SINGLE time I see one of your notifications I get so excited!! I just finished a college history exam, this is a great way for me to unwind and relax! I truly love your videos SO MUCH! thank you for what do 💜💜
update! got a 96% on the exam!!! 😁😁
9:39 I wonder if that’s where the term ‘fashionably late’ came from.
I was thinking the same
1951, I was born at 4:15 PM. My dad always said I was born fashionably late for tea.
Rock cakes in England.
My mum didn't put alcohol in - that I knew of.
As kids we called them cowpats.
The currants were the flies
The cowpats didn't last long once put in a tin and placed on a high shelf.
Chairs and sitting on older brothers shoulders soon emptied the tin. 😂
The modern equivalent is the British Rock Cake or Bun. I make these all the time.
This (a rout) reminds me of the party in the Sense and Sensibility movie (with Emma Thompson) where it’s so crowded and Marianne faints.
Missing the Ditto plushie instead of the flabébé ;)
Was gonna comment the same
Since you're doing English Cookery.
May I suggest,
an episode on the English breakfast plate.
With the Black Sausage, eggs, baked beans, potatoes, and grilled tomatoes
It has an interesting history, that you may like..🤔
Max, you are such a delight. Something wholesome and positive to watch on YT, as an alternative to my usual fare of police station interrogations of remorseless murderers.
The "rout" scene reminds me of a year when New Year's Eve fell on a Saturday, so four different households that all ran in the same general social circle had New Year's Eve parties. As a result, a bunch of us had car pooled and were hopping from one party to the next. It was pretty funny and actually a lot of fun, probably because we had real conversations and because we weren't quite so crowded into the places.
Re: rout cakes, my cousin makes a Scottish "biscuit" that's very similar, only she cooks them on a stovetop the way one would cook an English muffin. When I see these old British recipes, the first thing that goes through my head is "What if you don't like raisins?"
Max, I LOVE when you do Jane Austen episodes!!! How about one about the food served at Regency weddings? My local Regency group (Washington Regency Society) did a meetup about such foods a couple of years ago and introduced me to wedding fruitcake, which was absolutely delicious! These are NOT like the fruitcakes that most Americans are used to (you know, the ones that we get for Christmas and then regift the next year?) and one year I made wedding fruitcakes, which I handed out at Christmas.
Reminds me on some highschool parties taking place unbeknownst to the parents, whilst they were on vacation - more than 40 years ago. Off course no rout cakes were involved here, but normally the kitchen of the house got transformed into a pizza workshop, where trusty (at least, self confident) cooks rolled out baking tray after baking tray of different pizzas. Also it was a matter of honour for the guests (invited or uninvited) to bring some drinks onto that kind of rout... oh boy!
Wonderful video Max and thank you José for the captions!
Those rout cakes sound delicious. Currents used to be used all the time but now you struggle to find them. It is sad to see old favorite pastries forgotten. I am so glad you shared then with us.
Ah it depends where you are. In Germany we still have loads of recipes with currants
@@mandarinadreux9572 we have the recipes here in Canada as well but no one makes them any more. My mother said they were very popular when she was a child but now you can't find them in the stores.
I know these cakes as Rock cakes. I am from the North of England. They are a Sunday tea staple in our house like Ginger parkin, empire biscuit, Gypsy tart and toasted tea cakes.
“Lean on the alcohol”, you say? That’s always been my motto. Well done. 😉
I always do, Max. I always do.
I usually lean BECAUSE OF the alcohol!
But the more alcohol in the cake, the less left to drink.
I would love a video on recommendations of books on food history! You do so much research for these videos you must have gathered a ton of expertise on finding good sources in the field.
As always, wonderful video!
Missed opportunity to have a Ditto plushie in the background...
😂😂
But aside from being a Pokémon, what is a ditto? Is it a unit of measurement, or is she saying “the same quantity as the other thing”?
@@TeaReesa26 So, when I heard it first, I thought it meant a unit of measurement, but I suppose it just means "like quantity."
I was just about to say this.
@@indyfan9845 I think it means 'same amount' in context but IDK.
Who IS this week's Pokemon?
We make a very similar biscuit and call them 'Welsh cakes'. They're a personal favorite!
Oh boy! What an era! Looks like a yummy treat!
Honestly, I'm amazed the pokemon plush in the back wasn't a ditto this time.
Truly language has changed over the years.
The Biscuit book looks like something I'd enjoy - thanks!
Love those old-fashioned blue and white plate designs
My Great Aunt, who was from Wales, made these for my sister's wedding. She called them Raisin Fingers. They were good!!
'Routs' sound like they could do with some Brandy Butter sauce to moisten them tastefully. Even a Hard Sauce would help, but I'm sure mumbling around a mouthful of desert dry crumbs was 'fashionable' back then... 😝 When I cook with dried fruit, I always re-hydrate it first. That way it stays moist and soft instead of becoming hard little nuggets...
It sounds like some kind of performance art with the attendees being their own entertainment.
I love drop cakes, my nan used to make these often on Sundays for me
That's not "miffing," it's "missing." They call the letter a "long s."
Omg I can’t believe I did that! Especially since I did a whole video on exactly that 😂
I made these for a retreat at my church, using raisins, and they were delicious! I used two cups of flour and half that of butter, Splenda, and raisins. I used orange zest because I didn't have orange essence. I also used Tiramisu liqueur instead of brandy, and I sprinkled some cinnamon-sugar into the flour. I also used the rose water and the egg, then I baked them at 350 degrees F. for 13 minutes. They were nicely fragrant. My recipe made 20 cookies that were not dense but soft to bite into..
Max does the best commercials
@@stargazer5073 he does! I watch all of them every time 🙂❤️ I really want to try the coffee
Honestly this sounds like the house party scene in the early 2000s! Also I'd love to see your take on the New Years' Eve Levee, speaking of old timey parties, and in particular the drink Caribou Blood.
Are we just not going to mention how wild some of these illustrations are???
Georgian political/social satire. They didn’t pull their punches.
@@PhilMasters Oh, they definitely showed up in Punch.
These rout parties sound more like a house showing without expectation of sales.
Omg! That just reminded me of when I was a kid and my adults would drag me around to the "parade of homes" that was basically a 80s version of this at the holidays 😂
What you called like a house to house party reminds me of Spain Tapas, you go "De Tapas" and go from bar to bar, having a pint or beer, wine, cider or anything and eat a lot of tapas before going to the next bar for repeating the process.
Considering alcohol doesn't "bake off" at such a short time, you might also get a little buzzed after 24 of them 😅
Ow you captured me attention with Jane Austin. If a rout cake has enough brandy it must be acceptable.
I'm gonna pretend that Floette in the background is actually a transformed Ditto - just because it would fit so well with the recipe.
In Finnish student circles people do a thing called "Gambina meetings". It happens in events where people are already gathered, and consists of as many people cramming into the smallest space available (a closet, under a table), share a bottle of a premade cocktail called Gambina and write a formal record of the "meeting". Similar vibe. So the urge to just get packed tightly still remains :D
Routs sound like the type of occasion that would have me crying in the bathroom racking my brain for an excuse to leave. I rather spend my nights getting lost in video games or craving baking. I should try making these rout cakes (hoping florals in western baking doesn't weird me out too much)
It's actually very traditional for classic European baking. Max is right about it; just go easy on floral water, too much of it can add unpleasant bitterness, but just a dash of it adds nice touch. I always put a teaspoon of rose water in my Christmas cakes instead of vanilla. A very delicate and subtle scent, and you don't really feel it if it's not overdone.
@@IngerConnor I live germany and the recipes my german family makes don't have florals (beside beloved elderblossom) so I am only used to rose and orange blossom in my north african families desserts but will definitely try making these some time
@@padawanofconfusion5954 I guess it must be really regional... I learned to add rose water to stollen from my grandmother who once apprenticed in a bakery in Vienna. Doughnuts with wild rose petal jam are also big in several Central European cuisines. Also came across quite a few South European recipes that use lavender as seasoning. Violets, daisies, marigold etc. are used in traditional Central and Souther European cooking, too (fell out of use in the 20th century, but now I see they are making a comeback). A lot depends on the local climate and avaiability of produce to work (and experiment) with. Elderberry is a hardy plant, and I see it used in Nordic cuisines where more delicate plants would not be available or would be too expensive to use in the kitchen. I once flipped through a medieval English cookbook (14th century, IMMS), and I was amazed at the variety of plants and flowers they used in all kinds of dishes, from appetizers to desserts. And with England being a trade and colonial superpower in the 18th and 19th century, no wonder they could and would use all kinds of international ingredients, some far more exotic than rose and orange blossom water that they had been having for centuries before! Enjoy experimenting, and hope you like those flowery notes!
The word is still in use in France. When I was a student myself, I went to a couple of routs (raouts in French), which were all-school parties on the school premises. It was loud, boozy, obnoxious, with no space to sit and yes, you had to elbow your way through. Unfortunately, no rout cakes were served (the routs would have been better with cakes)
So basically, a rout is a rave. Those Victorians knew how to throw down.
Regency England was pre-Victorian. In many ways the strict morality of the Victorians was sort of a reaction to their predecessor's wildness.
@@ThinWhiteAxe Thank you for he correction.
I've also heard that Regency England is mostly whitewashed in history. Have you found any sources that can confirm this?
Thank you for this. I have often wondered about rout cakes over my years of reading Jane Austen and novels set during the Regency. Now I know and I may even bake some!
Oh this already sounds delicious! I'm watching and I already know I HAVE to make it one day.
My English mother taught me about rout cakes. Now I get to make them.
Thanks, Max.
This is exactly what I needed today. Thank you Max!
8:57 Ok so basically it’s a rave with card games
MY Mom made something very similar for Christmas. Instead of raisins or currants, she used semi sweet chocolate chips and she didn't use sweet wine or rose water, she used red wine. We called them wine cookies
I love all the quotes directly from Emma! I'm going to make these cakes and have an Austen Appreciation party sometime. Thanks for the awesome video and for bringing so much joy to this recipe, Max! 🌷🌻🌹🌸🌼🌺💛
Thank you, Max. Those routs sound like some of the parties I went to back in the late 60's & early 70's, in the Village in NYC. Too many people milling about in big apartments with small, high-ceilinged rooms, choking with cigarette and weed smoke, deafening with rock music and chatter about politics and movies. No rout cakes, though. No food either, unless it was a dollar-a-head "spaghetti bash" to raise money for the rent.