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21:19 In your defense those still have less sweetening than their American counterparts. In our defense, what do you expect in a place where trees literally *bleed sugar*
Somehow I knew I’d see you in the comment section. I don’t want you often but when I’m in the mood for just wholesome content it’s hard to go wrong with your videos.
21:20 - McVitie's is actually an iconic British (Scottish) brand. Anytime a biscuit is called a "digestive" it usually denotes it is of British origin.
I just love McVitie's. Have them every day for breakfast either with tea and honey or flat white coffee. This week I'm having the ones with the chocolate coating, not bad at all but I mostly fancy the original ones
He is sweet, I asked my masters if I could go after him, and they threatened war on me. They're pacifists.. Heh.. - Sin bearer ( I was joking at them I only like armed targets.)
@@JoelEverettComposer He's kinda a genius teacher wise, he makes things base. I like that because base is what you can add anything you have for. That's how everyone thought in those times before genetic behavior damages by things like Chlorine.
Townsends is one of the first channels I subscribed to, so wholesome and not in a cheesy way, like that one old teacher that you actually respected back in the day.
26:40 My father told me a story about the soldiers in North Africa, who had to endure weevils in the flour, cooked in the bread, and more weevils in the bread! Complaints to their superior officers fell on deaf ears, until somebody got to talk to the C.O. of the regiment. Suddenly, the officers had to eat with the men at least once a week, after which the quality of the food improved dramatically.
This reminds me of the joke in master and commander, "if an officer is starving at sea and he sees two weevils in his only bit of bread, one is large and one is small, which does he eat." " Well the smaller one of course as we must choose the lesser of 2 weevils" 😂😂
I've been a longtime follower of Townsends. His portrayal of life in Colonial America is very accurate. He not only does cooking, he also shows other crafts of Colonial America, like building an earthen oven, making bricks, and blowing glass.
The oven and glass are some of my favorites. His sailing stuff is fun, too. and the log canoe that gets buried a bit underwater when not used was amazing -I had no idea they were still finding originals of those 100+ years old.
You should definitely check out Tasting History too. Max has some videos on dishes they would have had in ancient Rome, and I would love to see your reaction.
Townsends is so dope lol. I live about 45 min from his shop and tried going one day on a whim, but they were closed that day. Wanted some mushroom ketchup lol. Did manage to see some cool sights I haven't seen before as I never head in his direction while traveling.
@@metatronyt you better be good to him.. that man is a jewel. and i make those recipes sometimes, myself. everything's been good so far. of course, i have all the ingredients or can make them myself.
@@free_live_free-511 Have you tried to stewed crab (I believe is the name of the dish) yet? 😂 I loved their reaction to that one - would love to hear if anyone else tried to make it.
@@LadyBeyondTheWall no. i can look at that recipe and know it would be a waste of crab meat. i was not at all surprised that they did not like that one.
The wine makes perfect sense because wine is acidic, so that will help break down and soften the hardened bread. As for chocolate in all sorts of things, we have central and south Americans to thank for that, they used it in all sorts of ways because, as you said; you eat what you have available. If you want to make an amazing pot of chili, with or without beans, add a dash of plain old cocoa powder; it adds a much needed depth that you can't get from just things like chili powder.
Look it up in the search, I watched a very good video by another history channel on RUclips regarding a Roman soldiers diet. Very cool. Also went into detail on what they could get with their salary.
Roman General Belisarius own elite cavalry unit were called Bucellarii (biscuit-eaters) were named after their ration biscuit that they eat called buccellatum.
For the salt question, another great historical food channel, Max Miller’s Tasting History, has an explanation in his hardtack episode: everything on the ship is already salty. The air is salty, every surface is salty, and you are salty. You don’t want more salt. Might differ with land hardtack, rather than ships’ biscuits. But that makes sense. He didn’t reference anyone specific on that, but it makes intuitive sense.
I'm glad I'm not the only Max Miller fan here. I can't think of hardtack without thinking of him knocking two hardtack chunks together with a goofy smile on his face lol
Him clacking the hard tack still makes me laugh every time. The Gettysburg museum has a recovered hard tack on display, it still looks exactly the same.😅 I have often wondered what it tastes like.
yes bread was much more nutritionally dense in those days. there were only 2 times in british history when the people under nourished, the first was when tea replaced ale as the everyday drink of choice and the second was when millers started grinding white flour.
A roman cooking video would be awesome. You should attempt it. Even if you have issues and it doesn’t turn out well, it helps develop learning and information documenting a journey.
Dude I gotta give it to you for the strategy… politely headhunting other creators, in good fun, and making good content critiquing their content. You know their subs are history fans and they’re probably going to sub to you. Smart man, and it gives us all some more educational entertainment. I’m here for it.
@@WildWhiteNorth then just enjoy the content? Maybe these kinds of videos aren’t your favorite, you don’t have to watch them, he still does his regular stuff too.
@@TheMilkmaidFarm lol hey what’s up, sis!! Why am I not surprised you’re a Metatron fan? Hope things are going well, it’s CRAZY out there right now huh?
I absolutely LOVE learning about food made by pre-industrial societies. The ingenuity of the common man is much greater than people give it credit for, and I love seeing how they figured out these old techniques. I wouldn't just stop at a single video about rations of the Roman army throughout different periods, Metatron. I would encourage you to make a regular series where you attempt to recreate some of these old recipes yourself where applicable, from the military life, to the home life, to the differences between different strata of society. What did Gladiators eat? What would be their reward of food on a day where they won their bout, something special to celebrate their occasion, or did they get anything different at all?
Townsends is fantastic! And yes, please make a video on what Roman soldiers would have eaten throughout the centuries - would be great. Provisioning a Legion would have been a logistics nightmare!
I learned about Hardtack from Max Miller of Tasting History, and he actually does recipies going back even to the era of Babylon and such. You ought to check him out, if oyu haven't already, I think you'd really like his channel too.
In Britain we still regularly dunk our biscuits, if they're plain, in cups of tea. It's an art to get it just right in duration, too long and half the biscuit falls in the tea!
Townsends originally showed up on my yt feed somewhere between bushcrafting and history. i particularly love their episode dedicated to brick making
2 месяца назад+252
Townsends isn't just about food! He builds a log cabin, talks about early American fashion and society in general. He covers many topics involving early America. 🤎 the channel.
@@cotati76 I'm so glad new people are hearing of him and his team with this video! The log cabin stuff was amazing, and them building an outdoor oven, but so is basically everything else they do. His videos can be very relaxing as well - I'll put on their cooking marathon videos just to fall asleep sometimes. :)
Glad you posted this… I have made these for my own use… and have met John at a few events, and as a reenactor I’ve purchased items from the family business… and as to your question on how they are eaten, often used to thicken soup or stew, or dipped in coffee or tea… great video…
Same, mushroom ketchup should never have fallen out of fashion. Fantastic steak sauce, now you dont have to feel like a picky toddler putting ketchup on your meat! Good way to salt your food.
Sounds weird but I give the benefit of a doubt that it is edible. Could you explain it to me how it looks/tastes like? I like ketchup and I like mushroom, I often eat mushroom with ketchup but making ketchup out of it is something that I never heard of
@@LastGoatKnight Its really nothing like tomato ketchup at all. You should watch the episode, but its closer to a thick-ish and salty mushroom broth with spices in it. Its thinner than ketchup and steak sauce and the taste is very savory rather than sweet.
No offense to you, but Townsends is the greatest channel ever made on RUclips. The wholesome, warm, knowledgeable, friendly and kind nature of the channel is amazing.
I’ve been watching Townsends for at least a year now. A super cheerful guy packaging history lessons in a way that is easier to explain to people who don’t spend their time scouring the internet for history videos like most of us here, probably.
@@reclhoss I think he may at least glance at it. I think Max does have some video on food in ancient Rome so there is possible crossover material there.
18:25 ... From what my great-grandfather told me, hardtack was ALWAYS dipped in a liquid to soften them up before eating (otherwise you broke your teeth). When the hardtack had been sitting in the barrels for months on end, they became literally as hard as a rock. Who was my great-grandfather? Half American, half Caucasian. He was a cavalry scout for the US Army in the Indian Wars of the 1880s. He lived to almost 110 years old and was very alert up until his passing due to pneumonia when I was in junior high (1981). When he was a scout for the Cavalry, he was about 8-12 years old. Since he did not have a birth certificate, we didn't know his exact age, nor did he, but based on the documents he had, he definitely was a Scout for the Cavalry as a child himself. He also fought in the Spanish-American War and WWI, but by then there were different rations issued to soldiers... not THAT different, but not just hardtack. The hardtack had to be dressed with some liquid be it water, wine, beer, soup, or whatever means to soften it you had. It was simply too hard to eat as-is.
I've been to their shop in Indiana and bought stuff. Also got a personal tour of the warehouse, a tiny store front and many layered add ons. Absolutely fetching as much is typical of the way an 18th century textiles and pottery shop would be. John was walking through and I was able to tell him thanks for all his work. Really special guy and family. The craftsmen are mostly on property but some things are outsourced from local smithies and weavers. I have a picture of myself in his host chair on set of The Nutmeg Tavern. I can't show you the picture because I know too much. He would probably have to kill me.
A legionnaire cooking video would be very cool but what would be REALLY cool (imo) is a "Day in the life" kind of episode or maybe episodes, a day in the life on campaign, a day in the life at garrison, etc. I don't know if you've the kit or the time to do something like that but I often wonder about stuff like: How did the legionnaires wake up every day? Did they have trumpeters/buglers? did they light their fires from scratch or did they have cinder pots or watch fires? Did their officers teach them a lesson/ pick on them by assigning them last-minute overnight guard duty and then berate them the next day for armor that wasn't polished? just a whole day of common things would be awesome.
Townsend is one of my favorite channels which many hours of truly wonderful knowledge and content. I'm always happy to see him get the recognition him and his channel deserves. Great stuff Metatron
The Patrick O'Brian cookbook for his Aubrey-Maturin series has like 30 recipes involving ship's biscuit as a thickener or breading for different foods.
Nutmeg on everything! Townsend reenacts mostly mid and late 18th century America. Sometimes there will be some slight callbacks to late 17th century practices, but not very much.
Mcvities are a british brand of biscuits that started in Edinburgh in the 1830s and are some of the best biscuits ever. I would love to see a video about roman rations
1:51 “doesn’t that make you hungry?” Said by no-one, ever in history, by looking at hard-tac… the most controversial thing ever said by Metatron on his channel!
Holding back a small piece of dough to start the next bread dough batch - or to add back to one's sourdough starter - is a known practice. Adding back to sourdough starter is recommended as a way to gradually improve and deepen the flavor of all loaves.
Yes, please make the video on Roman rations. It would be great if you could make it broader and inlcude also Greek, Egiptian etc. It is more difficult to find stuff on these. BTW Do you know the " Tasting History channel"
Townsends is so great. He is the type of person that has what I call shut-up-and-listen-energy. Meaning when this guy starts talking you just know that the benefit of just listening to him far outweighs anything you yourself could contribute to the conversation. :3 Edit: I just realized how this sounded, and feel I need to stress that this is NOT meant as a jab at Metatron for pausing to bring up the Roman Empire. XD
I'd love to know what a Roman soldier would eat in those eras but I'm also curious what a soldier might've ate during the Kingdom period before Rome had a very oraganized military.
In that period, Romans didn't move very far away from their city with their armies. There was no need for biscuits that are eatable for 10 years. Veji was only 20 km away from Rome.
My thought too. Traditionally formed as a wheel with a hole in the middle to store on a rod, hanging from the ceiling in a dry place. And the northern variant "ljusugnsbröd" hard thin bread. Sometimes eaten as "blöta", soaked in warm broth.
16:55 during the American Civil War, hardtack was given many nicknames. Molar breakers, sheet iron, and tooth dullers were some of the names soldiers gave the bread. They would often put the hardtack in their coffee to soften it up. There's an argument to be made hardtack was the major reason why coffee became wildly popular in the United States. It made coffee an extremely vital component in both armies.
GET REK'D TOWNSEND! 😂 Nah he and his crew are so wholesome! Some kind of collab would be a dream! 🙏 ...All we need at the end is for Steve1989 to take the Roman-recipe hardtack Townsend's prepared and for him to say _"Nice!"_ before dishing it out onto period appropriate mess kit.
Townsends 18th century cooking was the first channel I ever subscribed to because they had the highest production value of any RUclips channel 10 years ago.
From what I know about Ships Biscuits is that they were basically always softened somehow before being eaten. It was seen as very stupid to try to eat them before softening them. They would use it as a base for a porridge. Remember Dental health wasn't very good during this time period so older people in particular would often be missing teeth. (I also believe this is why old recipes tries to cook food to be extremely soft, more so than we would now)
I broke a molar on ships bread , they don’t soak up moisture real well but broke up in a soup or coffee. Chocolate back then was ground cacao beans in hot water and could be sweetened but often drank bitter
@@kuchen1312There's an old Townsend video, I believe it's called "the worst recipe we've ever done" and it is one of the only recipes John ever did that he said was gross.
I would say "hot chocolate" during the time period Townends is referring to is likely not today's hot cocoa type concoction. It may be more the chocolate version of black coffee, with minimal, if any, sugar and no milk.
Make sure to have some naval grog to go with for the full experience. 1 part rum, 4 parts water, some sugar and lime to taste. Pretty sure it goes very well with some hard tack.
14:46 when someone makes something by hand, it just increases the value for me, Like I want to eat that more! there's just something special about someone hand making your food and putting alot of effort in it for you !
Hardtack doesn't get moldy or spoil; however, it is very vulnerable to infestations of worms and weevils. So sometimes you get a bit of a protein boost. Hardtack was prepared in as many ways as you can imagine - added to soup or stew, softened in their real or chicory coffee or tea, you name it. I don't think many would have eaten these "out of the barrel" or else they wouldn't have teeth for very long.
Whacking the biscuit with the mallet made me think of the Discworld's dwarf bread, which is so hard that the dwarves use it for making things such as furniture and weapons.
8:15 a dedicated video about what Roman soldiers ate? I’m so down for that 😁 and if you would cook one of these meals… I know that’s maybe asked too much, but it would be nice 😅
@@phantomkate6 salt pork was packed in salt and any brine collecting in the salt, as slurry, was the wrong environment for mould and such. Some meats were salted and hung up in the open air to be air dried. In those conditions the salted meat is no good for bugs or mould and the meat in the open air, not packed in boxed limiting airflow, slowly dried and seasons as beneficial microbes, which can live with the conditions of the dry salted meat, kind of break down and predigest the meat for us while making the meat more inhospitable for microbes dangerous for human consumption. The chemistry, and packing for storage and transportation, of the bread just doesn't work the same way. The bread would be salty or mouldy mush, depending on how much salt is used, as the salt in the biscuit, in the boxes, are exposed to constant humidity but no air flow and the same beneficial microbes that live on salted meat won't live on salty bread. At least that seems to be how it works. Like when I cook rice, if I don't salt it in the pot it will dry out but be edible the next day. If I do salt it in the pot water collects at the bottom, it gets mushy, and is sour before evening.
This video was an absolute treat! I really enjoy both Townsend and you so this made my day! I'd love to see another of your reactions with him or of Tasting History with Max Miller!
I believe Townsend works/operates a living history museum. It is a museum where the employees dress, act, and work as if they are in the time period. This is how he gained so much practical historical knowledge.
Its part of the Conner Prairie museum in Fishers Indiana just North of Indianapolis. The settlement is called Prarietown and the time period highlighted is 1836.
Similar to “Lembas Bread” that the hobbits make and eat for long journeys..probably it was inspired by Ships Bread ? Supposedly the Elves invented lembas bread but the hobbits adopted it.
I can definitely see the inspiration. Tolkien would’ve eaten hardtack in his time in the trenches of WWI. A travel ration made of bread. But when reading about lembas in the books I could never compare them to hardtack, they are described as delicious very filling cakes. I get it though
@@Elite94 Because they are Elves, their version of hardtack is gonna be fantastically delicious for a field ration. Realistically it's not a good idea to subsist on dessert cakes for long journeys, since the sugar isn't good fuel for the body in a survival situation. And the softness of being able to eat what is basically cake implies moisture to maintain the crumb, which also can't be feasible for long journeys, not to mention that trying to pack soft cakes/breads is gonna be annoying when they get crushed by other rations. That is why hardtack has to be the way it is/was in history.
@@darrinrebagliati5365 I dont remember the hobbits hating it at all. I do remember smeagol hating it. Although it seemed as if the "filling" attributes had not the same effect on the hobbits, but they found them quite delicious otherwise
@@TrueMentorGuidingMoonlight yeah i went back and looked at the passages on lembas and they are actually described like this "The Fellowship of the Ring Chap. 8- Farewell to Lórien In the morning, as they were beginning to pack their slender goods, Elves hat could speak their tongue came to them and brought them many gifts of food and clothing for the journey. The food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the colour of cream. Gimli took up one of the cakes and looked at it with a doubtful eye. 'Cram,' he said under his breath, as he broke off a crisp corner and nibbled at it. His expression quickly changed, and he ate all the rest of the cake with relish. 'No more, no more!' cried the Elves laughing. 'You have eaten enough already for a long day's march.' 'I thought it was only a kind of cram, such as the Dalemen made for journeys into the wild,' said the Dwarf. 'So it is,' they answered, 'But we call it lembas or way bread, and it is more strengthening than any food made by Men, and it is more pleasant than cram, by all accounts.' 'Indeed it is' said Gimli. 'Why, it is better than the honey-cakes of the Beornings, and that is great praise, for the Beornings are the best bakers that I know of; but they are none too willing to deal out their cakes to travellers in these days. You are kindly hosts!' 'All the same, we bid you spare the food,' they said. Eat a little at a time, and only at need. For these things are given to serve you when all else fails. The cakes will keep sweet for many many days, if they are unbroken and left in their leaf wrappings, as we have brought them. One will keep a traveller on his feet for a day of long labour, even if it be one of the tall Men of Minas Tirith.'" So yeah, very thin and crisp "cakes" it would seem
Tasting History with Max Miller - who also makes a number of recipes from Roman times - covers ship's biscuits/hard tack in one of his videos and he also covers what they were eaten with/how they were eaten And I'd love a video on Roman food through the ages, the channel mentioned above has done quite a few including one on Roman military food in Britannia but there can never be too many tutorials on Roman foods.
Imagine if these peoole of the past could see us being so interested in dry biscuit which to them was something you ate out of necessity. Like a Roman being fascinated by gas station ham slices instead of fancy pasta or sushi.
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How early am I?
i´m only for a dedicated video, if you make some of the food and eat it (in legionary clothes ;D )
21:19 In your defense those still have less sweetening than their American counterparts.
In our defense, what do you expect in a place where trees literally *bleed sugar*
millstones
This may be a dumb question but why did ships never fish or maybe take a cast net to fish when they got low on food.
Those Romans always seem to get there first.... Thank you for your kind words, I am glad you enjoyed the video!
Bump for Metatron to see!
Happy to see you featured here. I have loved your channel for a very long time. :)
I wonder how many things the romans did first, got forgotten and rediscovered later
The legend has spoken! Collab when?
Somehow I knew I’d see you in the comment section.
I don’t want you often but when I’m in the mood for just wholesome content it’s hard to go wrong with your videos.
100% waiting on the collab with both Tasting History and Townsend
It's happening right here in the comments section+
Max Miller makes funny face when he first bites into his weird shit
Townsends for the win!
The hardtack man himself!
Tasting History here within 30 minutes, respect for that lol
I hope that The Metatron watches your hardtack video, Max!
Nutmeg .. we need more nutmeg, STAT!!! 😁
I definitely thought of you when I saw this. I felt like something was missing not seeing your tapping the hardtack together meme.
Glad to see the Townsends getting some love! Not only have I been watching their videos for years, but I've purchased some of their quality products.
RUclipsr breaks biscuit
Metatron: “nice”
Historian breaks pasta
Metatron: “You’ve chosen death”
Approved!
Death by waving hands and expressions of disbelief 😄😄
Harsh, but fair.
LOL
Worse, Metatron makes a timballo 😂
21:20 - McVitie's is actually an iconic British (Scottish) brand. Anytime a biscuit is called a "digestive" it usually denotes it is of British origin.
I just love McVitie's. Have them every day for breakfast either with tea and honey or flat white coffee. This week I'm having the ones with the chocolate coating, not bad at all but I mostly fancy the original ones
Townsends is the definition of 'unproblematic'. it is one of the most wholesome channels on RUclips.
And yet, has still had problems with RUclips policies and algorithms.
He is sweet, I asked my masters if I could go after him, and they threatened war on me. They're pacifists.. Heh.. - Sin bearer ( I was joking at them I only like armed targets.)
We give his shop nonsense for some of the items and prices, but he and his family are awesome. I've spoken to them a few times.
I really appreciate his content and authenticity.
@@JoelEverettComposer He's kinda a genius teacher wise, he makes things base. I like that because base is what you can add anything you have for. That's how everyone thought in those times before genetic behavior damages by things like Chlorine.
Townsends is one of the first channels I subscribed to, so wholesome and not in a cheesy way, like that one old teacher that you actually respected back in the day.
Fun fact - John’s father started the Townsends company and supplied the film Last of the Mohicans with historical gear!
Oh that’s amazing! That is my favorite movie and I think my favorite book as well! I say maybe because honestly… I have a LOT of favorite books… 😂
That's awesome!
26:40 My father told me a story about the soldiers in North Africa, who had to endure weevils in the flour, cooked in the bread, and more weevils in the bread! Complaints to their superior officers fell on deaf ears, until somebody got to talk to the C.O. of the regiment. Suddenly, the officers had to eat with the men at least once a week, after which the quality of the food improved dramatically.
This reminds me of the joke in master and commander, "if an officer is starving at sea and he sees two weevils in his only bit of bread, one is large and one is small, which does he eat." " Well the smaller one of course as we must choose the lesser of 2 weevils" 😂😂
the weevils often became the protein and flavor to the hard tack
I've been a longtime follower of Townsends. His portrayal of life in Colonial America is very accurate. He not only does cooking, he also shows other crafts of Colonial America, like building an earthen oven, making bricks, and blowing glass.
His channel is so wholesome and loving. No politics or other divisive stuff, just what life was like back then. Such a great dude with a huge heart.
I catch a few videos a year he good
The oven and glass are some of my favorites. His sailing stuff is fun, too. and the log canoe that gets buried a bit underwater when not used was amazing -I had no idea they were still finding originals of those 100+ years old.
I loved it when they made a dugout canoe.
And an entire log cabin
You should definitely check out Tasting History too. Max has some videos on dishes they would have had in ancient Rome, and I would love to see your reaction.
With garum!
if you think about it, hardtack is really just bread jerky
It's like dehydrated milk, but bread.
almost like a bread raisin or braisin
A dough mummy
Wheat Concrete
Dehydrated water.
Townsends is so dope lol. I live about 45 min from his shop and tried going one day on a whim, but they were closed that day. Wanted some mushroom ketchup lol.
Did manage to see some cool sights I haven't seen before as I never head in his direction while traveling.
Townsends!! I freaking love it when my favorite youtubers interact!
He is awesome. I watch him while I have my lunch sometimes.
@@metatronytit’s always about the food isn’t it? 😘
@@metatronyt you better be good to him.. that man is a jewel.
and i make those recipes sometimes, myself. everything's been good so far. of course, i have all the ingredients or can make them myself.
@@free_live_free-511 Have you tried to stewed crab (I believe is the name of the dish) yet? 😂 I loved their reaction to that one - would love to hear if anyone else tried to make it.
@@LadyBeyondTheWall no. i can look at that recipe and know it would be a waste of crab meat. i was not at all surprised that they did not like that one.
The wine makes perfect sense because wine is acidic, so that will help break down and soften the hardened bread.
As for chocolate in all sorts of things, we have central and south Americans to thank for that, they used it in all sorts of ways because, as you said; you eat what you have available.
If you want to make an amazing pot of chili, with or without beans, add a dash of plain old cocoa powder; it adds a much needed depth that you can't get from just things like chili powder.
Dude…. ABSOLUTELY make a dedicated video about a Roman soldiers diet, that would be so fascinating.
Look it up in the search, I watched a very good video by another history channel on RUclips regarding a Roman soldiers diet. Very cool. Also went into detail on what they could get with their salary.
A colab with Max Miller (Tasting History) would be spectacular!!
Yes please make a dedicated video about Legion rations thru the ages!
and he needs to make the hardtack to eat during the video
@americaneclectic YES! A Metatron/Tasting History collaboration would be awesome!
Do it! 8:36
Exactly
Definitely. I would love to this too
Roman General Belisarius own elite cavalry unit were called Bucellarii (biscuit-eaters) were named after their ration biscuit that they eat called buccellatum.
Belisarius was an incredible general
For the salt question, another great historical food channel, Max Miller’s Tasting History, has an explanation in his hardtack episode: everything on the ship is already salty. The air is salty, every surface is salty, and you are salty. You don’t want more salt. Might differ with land hardtack, rather than ships’ biscuits. But that makes sense. He didn’t reference anyone specific on that, but it makes intuitive sense.
I'm glad I'm not the only Max Miller fan here. I can't think of hardtack without thinking of him knocking two hardtack chunks together with a goofy smile on his face lol
That makes a ton of sense and something I don't know if I would have ever thought of.
*clack*clack*
Max Miller is great too but Townsends just hits that spot from my favorite period of history.
Him clacking the hard tack still makes me laugh every time.
The Gettysburg museum has a recovered hard tack on display, it still looks exactly the same.😅 I have often wondered what it tastes like.
I am so glad you featured this channel. I have been a subscriber since they hand around 500,000. I am so happy to see their growth!
You've got 3 days, Metatron!
3.....days!
2 and a half...
😅
But yes, I as well would like to I see this dedicated video
*Clack clack* "This hard tack." Tasting History with Max Miller has been summoned!
Usually opinions are subjective, but liking Townsends is an objectively correct opinion
yes bread was much more nutritionally dense in those days. there were only 2 times in british history when the people under nourished, the first was when tea replaced ale as the everyday drink of choice and the second was when millers started grinding white flour.
I really am interested in Roman Soldier's diet.
Garlic
Tasting history with max Miller his stuff is too good
I like to see a day in the life, not only during a campaign (I.E wartime) but also a day in the life of just marching
Same!
Agreed! Fascinating piece of history.
A roman cooking video would be awesome. You should attempt it. Even if you have issues and it doesn’t turn out well, it helps develop learning and information documenting a journey.
We, the people, want a dedicated video about what a roman soldier would eat throughout the centuries! Thank you kindly
Would love if Metatron goes on a camping trip with those foods and try to prepare them outdoors historically.
I concur!
Townsends is a great channel, and one of the few really wholesome ones on the platform. Also, hell yes for the "what did Roman Legions eat" video.
Dude I gotta give it to you for the strategy… politely headhunting other creators, in good fun, and making good content critiquing their content. You know their subs are history fans and they’re probably going to sub to you. Smart man, and it gives us all some more educational entertainment. I’m here for it.
Lol, hey friend.
But what if one (like me) is already subscribed to all these other channels and to Metatron?
@@WildWhiteNorth- Yep
@@WildWhiteNorth then just enjoy the content? Maybe these kinds of videos aren’t your favorite, you don’t have to watch them, he still does his regular stuff too.
@@TheMilkmaidFarm lol hey what’s up, sis!! Why am I not surprised you’re a Metatron fan? Hope things are going well, it’s CRAZY out there right now huh?
This video and his Pemmican episode are my favourites. Those are two recipes that should be a staple for every one to know.
Love Townsends SO much. One of the best, most relaxing, and informative channels on RUclips
I absolutely LOVE learning about food made by pre-industrial societies. The ingenuity of the common man is much greater than people give it credit for, and I love seeing how they figured out these old techniques. I wouldn't just stop at a single video about rations of the Roman army throughout different periods, Metatron. I would encourage you to make a regular series where you attempt to recreate some of these old recipes yourself where applicable, from the military life, to the home life, to the differences between different strata of society.
What did Gladiators eat? What would be their reward of food on a day where they won their bout, something special to celebrate their occasion, or did they get anything different at all?
Max Miller's has some episodes on this topic.
Townsends is fantastic! And yes, please make a video on what Roman soldiers would have eaten throughout the centuries - would be great. Provisioning a Legion would have been a logistics nightmare!
Max Miller of Tasting history did something like that. And so did Dan Snow from History Hit
I absolutely love this! Two RUclipsrs i really enjoy watching covering one another. It's like having a cross-over episode of your favorite tv shows.
I learned about Hardtack from Max Miller of Tasting History, and he actually does recipies going back even to the era of Babylon and such. You ought to check him out, if oyu haven't already, I think you'd really like his channel too.
Making things by hand has begun to appeal to me more and more in my older age. Very wholesome. Very satisfying.
16:56 I’ve read that in American Civil War, the hard tack was often dunked in coffee.
You had to. Otherwise it would break a tooth. Hard tack was usually put into soups or stews to stretch them out when things got rough.
They'd also fry it with the fat from salt pork, peppers and water to make a knock off chili type stew
@@nicholashodges201 to make a knock off chili type stew sounds like rap lyrics
make a knock off chili type raise my trigger finger
In Britain we still regularly dunk our biscuits, if they're plain, in cups of tea. It's an art to get it just right in duration, too long and half the biscuit falls in the tea!
Townsends originally showed up on my yt feed somewhere between bushcrafting and history. i particularly love their episode dedicated to brick making
Townsends isn't just about food! He builds a log cabin, talks about early American fashion and society in general. He covers many topics involving early America. 🤎 the channel.
He rucked it for like a month one time to show how much it sucked to be a settler
@@soulknife20I wonder how much weight he lost lol
I’m going to check out his stuff. Thanks for posting that!! I hope you’re having a fantastic day today!!!
@@cotati76 I'm so glad new people are hearing of him and his team with this video! The log cabin stuff was amazing, and them building an outdoor oven, but so is basically everything else they do. His videos can be very relaxing as well - I'll put on their cooking marathon videos just to fall asleep sometimes. :)
His survivalist focused episodes are my favorite. I mean I guess they technically all are but you get what I mean.
Looking forwards to "Metatron in the Kitchen"
With Marco Pierre White...
With Marco Pierre White!
Glad you posted this… I have made these for my own use… and have met John at a few events, and as a reenactor I’ve purchased items from the family business… and as to your question on how they are eaten, often used to thicken soup or stew, or dipped in coffee or tea… great video…
I love Townsends too. I still make mushroom ketchup fairly often.
He has such a calm demeanor.
Same, mushroom ketchup should never have fallen out of fashion. Fantastic steak sauce, now you dont have to feel like a picky toddler putting ketchup on your meat! Good way to salt your food.
Sounds weird but I give the benefit of a doubt that it is edible. Could you explain it to me how it looks/tastes like? I like ketchup and I like mushroom, I often eat mushroom with ketchup but making ketchup out of it is something that I never heard of
@@LastGoatKnight look up the episode
@@LastGoatKnight Its really nothing like tomato ketchup at all. You should watch the episode, but its closer to a thick-ish and salty mushroom broth with spices in it. Its thinner than ketchup and steak sauce and the taste is very savory rather than sweet.
No offense to you, but Townsends is the greatest channel ever made on RUclips. The wholesome, warm, knowledgeable, friendly and kind nature of the channel is amazing.
I’ve been watching Townsends for at least a year now. A super cheerful guy packaging history lessons in a way that is easier to explain to people who don’t spend their time scouring the internet for history videos like most of us here, probably.
It's such a wholesome channel, nothing but good vibes and history.
There is just something so wholesome about Townsends' videos. The passion really shines through.
I love Townsend, didn't expect this crossover to appear today
think he will take a look at Max Miller?
@@reclhoss I think he may at least glance at it. I think Max does have some video on food in ancient Rome so there is possible crossover material there.
18:25 ... From what my great-grandfather told me, hardtack was ALWAYS dipped in a liquid to soften them up before eating (otherwise you broke your teeth). When the hardtack had been sitting in the barrels for months on end, they became literally as hard as a rock.
Who was my great-grandfather? Half American, half Caucasian. He was a cavalry scout for the US Army in the Indian Wars of the 1880s. He lived to almost 110 years old and was very alert up until his passing due to pneumonia when I was in junior high (1981). When he was a scout for the Cavalry, he was about 8-12 years old. Since he did not have a birth certificate, we didn't know his exact age, nor did he, but based on the documents he had, he definitely was a Scout for the Cavalry as a child himself.
He also fought in the Spanish-American War and WWI, but by then there were different rations issued to soldiers... not THAT different, but not just hardtack.
The hardtack had to be dressed with some liquid be it water, wine, beer, soup, or whatever means to soften it you had. It was simply too hard to eat as-is.
I've been to their shop in Indiana and bought stuff. Also got a personal tour of the warehouse, a tiny store front and many layered add ons. Absolutely fetching as much is typical of the way an 18th century textiles and pottery shop would be. John was walking through and I was able to tell him thanks for all his work. Really special guy and family. The craftsmen are mostly on property but some things are outsourced from local smithies and weavers. I have a picture of myself in his host chair on set of The Nutmeg Tavern. I can't show you the picture because I know too much. He would probably have to kill me.
A legionnaire cooking video would be very cool but what would be REALLY cool (imo) is a "Day in the life" kind of episode or maybe episodes, a day in the life on campaign, a day in the life at garrison, etc. I don't know if you've the kit or the time to do something like that but I often wonder about stuff like: How did the legionnaires wake up every day? Did they have trumpeters/buglers? did they light their fires from scratch or did they have cinder pots or watch fires? Did their officers teach them a lesson/ pick on them by assigning them last-minute overnight guard duty and then berate them the next day for armor that wasn't polished? just a whole day of common things would be awesome.
Metatron, just know that when you ask us if we want to see a dedicated video the answer is always YES PLEASE!!!!!
Ship biscuits were made industrially here in Norway up to about 20 years ago. Elderly seamen would dunk them in their coffee or tea.
This is where American Coffee Soup comes from
My grandfather fought in the Italian army during World War II. He told me about his rations which included bread hard as a rock.
Townsend is one of my favorite channels which many hours of truly wonderful knowledge and content. I'm always happy to see him get the recognition him and his channel deserves. Great stuff Metatron
Mr. Townsend 😀
And one shout out to Max Miller of "Tasting history" is now due ;-)
Klack, klack 😉
I was going to bring up Max. I know that he's done some ancient episodes that metatron might like
@@lisapop5219 Yeah I feel like he'd especially like the Garum episode
i really was waiting for it. But sadly no klack klack :(
@@micahbonewell5994 😉
@@swollenaor 😉, klack, klack will come
The Patrick O'Brian cookbook for his Aubrey-Maturin series has like 30 recipes involving ship's biscuit as a thickener or breading for different foods.
WHERE'S MY ROMAN FOOD VIDEO, METATRON? HUH? WHERE IS IT?!
Over at Tasting History
Metatron Garum video when?
Where's the roman soldier diet video lebowski?
They peed on my lorenta segmentata.
Two of my favorite channels, together. Awesome.
8:25 "Roman rations through the ages" sounds like a good video idea.
15:25 Yes, it does speak to me.
Yes! Please make a video about what kind of food roman soldiers ate
See Tasting History channel for videos of roman soldier's diet and also Roman citizen's diet all with recipes to try for yourself.
@@Ian_Carolan Sounds cool, i´ll check it out
Nutmeg on everything!
Townsend reenacts mostly mid and late 18th century America. Sometimes there will be some slight callbacks to late 17th century practices, but not very much.
Mcvities are a british brand of biscuits that started in Edinburgh in the 1830s and are some of the best biscuits ever. I would love to see a video about roman rations
1:51 “doesn’t that make you hungry?” Said by no-one, ever in history, by looking at hard-tac… the most controversial thing ever said by Metatron on his channel!
Hahaha. For real. My grandmother always had some "for emergencies", and it ALWAYS had bugs in it. Nast.
Was gonna say.
Metatron has never tried eating a hardtack in his life because if he did, he would never say that.
When TownSends shows it, I could see bugs being put into it when it's being made and still think "damn that looks tasty"
A hand turned grain mill is a quern. A mortar is a bowl shaped vessel usually used to grind smaller quantities of herbs and spices.
Townsend is such a good channel. Super wholesome content, with rich early America culinary context.
Holding back a small piece of dough to start the next bread dough batch - or to add back to one's sourdough starter - is a known practice. Adding back to sourdough starter is recommended as a way to gradually improve and deepen the flavor of all loaves.
Yes, please make the video on Roman rations. It would be great if you could make it broader and inlcude also Greek, Egiptian etc. It is more difficult to find stuff on these. BTW Do you know the " Tasting History channel"
Townsends is so great. He is the type of person that has what I call shut-up-and-listen-energy. Meaning when this guy starts talking you just know that the benefit of just listening to him far outweighs anything you yourself could contribute to the conversation. :3
Edit: I just realized how this sounded, and feel I need to stress that this is NOT meant as a jab at Metatron for pausing to bring up the Roman Empire. XD
I'd love to know what a Roman soldier would eat in those eras but I'm also curious what a soldier might've ate during the Kingdom period before Rome had a very oraganized military.
In that period, Romans didn't move very far away from their city with their armies. There was no need for biscuits that are eatable for 10 years. Veji was only 20 km away from Rome.
Townsends is great. Love to watch the dude talking about food while I'm having my lunch break at work.
"You can't just eat them, you'll break your teeth!"
Hello from Sweden! Let me introduce you to a common breakfast item: Knäckebröd!
My thought too. Traditionally formed as a wheel with a hole in the middle to store on a rod, hanging from the ceiling in a dry place. And the northern variant "ljusugnsbröd" hard thin bread. Sometimes eaten as "blöta", soaked in warm broth.
16:55 during the American Civil War, hardtack was given many nicknames. Molar breakers, sheet iron, and tooth dullers were some of the names soldiers gave the bread. They would often put the hardtack in their coffee to soften it up. There's an argument to be made hardtack was the major reason why coffee became wildly popular in the United States. It made coffee an extremely vital component in both armies.
GET REK'D TOWNSEND!
😂 Nah he and his crew are so wholesome! Some kind of collab would be a dream! 🙏
...All we need at the end is for Steve1989 to take the Roman-recipe hardtack Townsend's prepared and for him to say _"Nice!"_ before dishing it out onto period appropriate mess kit.
Townsends 18th century cooking was the first channel I ever subscribed to because they had the highest production value of any RUclips channel 10 years ago.
From what I know about Ships Biscuits is that they were basically always softened somehow before being eaten. It was seen as very stupid to try to eat them before softening them.
They would use it as a base for a porridge.
Remember Dental health wasn't very good during this time period so older people in particular would often be missing teeth. (I also believe this is why old recipes tries to cook food to be extremely soft, more so than we would now)
Might also have been required softening in order to eat them because scurvy caused the teeth to loosen in their mouth.
I broke a molar on ships bread , they don’t soak up moisture real well but broke up in a soup or coffee.
Chocolate back then was ground cacao beans in hot water and could be sweetened but often drank bitter
Romans figuring out the existence of bacteria, tiny insects, amebas, etc is absolutely wild. Please make a dedicated video on how they learned that.
BUT, did the Romans made a crab stew that would make Townsends vomit?! haha
Pwease elaborate 🥹
@@kuchen1312There's an old Townsend video, I believe it's called "the worst recipe we've ever done" and it is one of the only recipes John ever did that he said was gross.
@hawkticus_history_corner much obliged
I love the Townsends channel. Good react content Metatron. Your pace lately has been insane.
I would say "hot chocolate" during the time period Townends is referring to is likely not today's hot cocoa type concoction. It may be more the chocolate version of black coffee, with minimal, if any, sugar and no milk.
Liquid hot chocolate is older then you think
Between Townsend and Outdoor Boys it reminds you the innocence and pleasantness of RUclips videos😅😂
Also having grown up in the LDS church around the pioneer-like cultrue this lifestlye has always fascinated me
Townsend is 18th century colonial america related Channel. And one of my favorites.
I need to bake some Hardtack/Ships biscuits soon.
I actually have and have them stored for future events. Never know!
Hardtack? *Clack*clack*
Make sure to have some naval grog to go with for the full experience. 1 part rum, 4 parts water, some sugar and lime to taste. Pretty sure it goes very well with some hard tack.
14:46 when someone makes something by hand, it just increases the value for me, Like I want to eat that more!
there's just something special about someone hand making your food and putting alot of effort in it for you !
Hardtack doesn't get moldy or spoil; however, it is very vulnerable to infestations of worms and weevils. So sometimes you get a bit of a protein boost. Hardtack was prepared in as many ways as you can imagine - added to soup or stew, softened in their real or chicory coffee or tea, you name it. I don't think many would have eaten these "out of the barrel" or else they wouldn't have teeth for very long.
Whacking the biscuit with the mallet made me think of the Discworld's dwarf bread, which is so hard that the dwarves use it for making things such as furniture and weapons.
I look forward to seeing your dedicated video in 3 days!
8:15 a dedicated video about what Roman soldiers ate? I’m so down for that 😁 and if you would cook one of these meals… I know that’s maybe asked too much, but it would be nice 😅
Townsend is into colonial cooking, camping, logs homes, daub and wattle, clothing, and so on. I like him.
Salt in the hardtack probably pulls moisture out of the air making the biscuit damp, mouldy, and buggy..er.
Did their salt pork get damp and mouldy too, then?
@@phantomkate6 salt pork was packed in salt and any brine collecting in the salt, as slurry, was the wrong environment for mould and such. Some meats were salted and hung up in the open air to be air dried. In those conditions the salted meat is no good for bugs or mould and the meat in the open air, not packed in boxed limiting airflow, slowly dried and seasons as beneficial microbes, which can live with the conditions of the dry salted meat, kind of break down and predigest the meat for us while making the meat more inhospitable for microbes dangerous for human consumption. The chemistry, and packing for storage and transportation, of the bread just doesn't work the same way. The bread would be salty or mouldy mush, depending on how much salt is used, as the salt in the biscuit, in the boxes, are exposed to constant humidity but no air flow and the same beneficial microbes that live on salted meat won't live on salty bread. At least that seems to be how it works. Like when I cook rice, if I don't salt it in the pot it will dry out but be edible the next day. If I do salt it in the pot water collects at the bottom, it gets mushy, and is sour before evening.
This video was an absolute treat! I really enjoy both Townsend and you so this made my day! I'd love to see another of your reactions with him or of Tasting History with Max Miller!
I believe Townsend works/operates a living history museum. It is a museum where the employees dress, act, and work as if they are in the time period. This is how he gained so much practical historical knowledge.
Its part of the Conner Prairie museum in Fishers Indiana just North of Indianapolis. The settlement is called Prarietown and the time period highlighted is 1836.
What I love about your channel and Townsend's is the passion you both have for history. Thank you for keeping history real! 🙂🙂👍👍
Similar to “Lembas Bread” that the hobbits make and eat for long journeys..probably it was inspired by Ships Bread ? Supposedly the Elves invented lembas bread but the hobbits adopted it.
I can definitely see the inspiration. Tolkien would’ve eaten hardtack in his time in the trenches of WWI. A travel ration made of bread. But when reading about lembas in the books I could never compare them to hardtack, they are described as delicious very filling cakes. I get it though
@@Elite94 Because they are Elves, their version of hardtack is gonna be fantastically delicious for a field ration. Realistically it's not a good idea to subsist on dessert cakes for long journeys, since the sugar isn't good fuel for the body in a survival situation. And the softness of being able to eat what is basically cake implies moisture to maintain the crumb, which also can't be feasible for long journeys, not to mention that trying to pack soft cakes/breads is gonna be annoying when they get crushed by other rations. That is why hardtack has to be the way it is/was in history.
The Elves gave it to the Hobbits in the book. The Hobbits hated it but liked its portability.
@@darrinrebagliati5365 I dont remember the hobbits hating it at all. I do remember smeagol hating it. Although it seemed as if the "filling" attributes had not the same effect on the hobbits, but they found them quite delicious otherwise
@@TrueMentorGuidingMoonlight yeah i went back and looked at the passages on lembas and they are actually described like this "The Fellowship of the Ring
Chap. 8- Farewell to Lórien
In the morning, as they were beginning to pack their slender goods, Elves hat could speak their tongue came to them and brought them many gifts of food and clothing for the journey. The food was mostly in the form of very thin cakes, made of meal that was baked a light brown on the outside, and inside was the colour of cream. Gimli took up one of the cakes and looked at it with a doubtful eye.
'Cram,' he said under his breath, as he broke off a crisp corner and nibbled at it. His expression quickly changed, and he ate all the rest of the cake with relish.
'No more, no more!' cried the Elves laughing. 'You have eaten enough already for a long day's march.'
'I thought it was only a kind of cram, such as the Dalemen made for journeys into the wild,' said the Dwarf.
'So it is,' they answered, 'But we call it lembas or way bread, and it is more strengthening than any food made by Men, and it is more pleasant than cram, by all accounts.'
'Indeed it is' said Gimli. 'Why, it is better than the honey-cakes of the Beornings, and that is great praise, for the Beornings are the best bakers that I know of; but they are none too willing to deal out their cakes to travellers in these days. You are kindly hosts!'
'All the same, we bid you spare the food,' they said. Eat a little at a time, and only at need. For these things are given to serve you when all else fails. The cakes will keep sweet for many many days, if they are unbroken and left in their leaf wrappings, as we have brought them. One will keep a traveller on his feet for a day of long labour, even if it be one of the tall Men of Minas Tirith.'" So yeah, very thin and crisp "cakes" it would seem
Old recipes for clam chowder and fish chowder call for hard biscuits as a thickening agent oftentimes!
well you had to make that hardtack edible somehow
Make the video on the food a Roman soldier would eat through the ages.
Tasting History with Max Miller - who also makes a number of recipes from Roman times - covers ship's biscuits/hard tack in one of his videos and he also covers what they were eaten with/how they were eaten
And I'd love a video on Roman food through the ages, the channel mentioned above has done quite a few including one on Roman military food in Britannia but there can never be too many tutorials on Roman foods.
Mr Townsends makes educational and enjoyable videos.
Imagine if these peoole of the past could see us being so interested in dry biscuit which to them was something you ate out of necessity. Like a Roman being fascinated by gas station ham slices instead of fancy pasta or sushi.