Awesome shows it takes me back to the ole days around my granny’s stove. Watching her make perfect biscuits simple yet the work was a labour of love which to this day I still enjoy passing on what I learned from my elders. Thank you this rekindles my memories. Be blessed
The fact that i get to sit on my bum, binge watching these on a weekend, while my washing machine washes my clothes, my dishwasher washes my dishes, my reverse cycle heating warms my home, and my gas stove cooks my food at a touch of a button, makes me eternally grateful. For as long as it lasts.. this victorian life looks like a dream, but in reality i would never have the energy and resilience for it. We are soft nowdays.
Me too. When I was young I. Lived on a farm, cooked and heated with wood stove, butchered chickens and 2 hogs a year and had help to can 1000 quarts a year, made our own beer, soda pop, raised bees and had a half acre garden. Left because of divorce, but it was the happiest time of my life. Most people today. Can't imagine such a life.
Alex ; "Are you all right with the first complicated manouver of the day, Peter" ? Clumper ; "I'm NOT" "There I was, happily snoozing in my stall, when Tall and Burly show up again" ... "Don't they know I've RETIRED" !!! 😅❤
I feel very sympathetic toward Ruth. I love gardening. I had a huge yard and I knew where every plant was and where it came from. Ruth planted it with love. I appreciate her and I am so sorry for her disappointment. I expect she planted flowers that would reseed every year. ❤️🌹❤️
Same, she seemed soo disappointed and couldn't hide it. At first I thought well, it was a show, they were gone and probably didn't have plans to ever come back to film there again so ofc things would change. But it also seems like a total waste, to get rid of a beautiful garden someone has built in favor of a - maybe posh-er looking - grass lawn.
Same! When my husband and I were first married, we rented a place from my in-laws. I had put in so much work because we had planned on buying it eventually, but being young, we couldn't get a loan since the house was a trailer house unless we decided to build, but in the meantime I had put in apple trees, raspberry bushes, a perennial bed all along the house including peonies and a lilac bush and hydrangea that I had gotten from my grandparents who had since moved. I also have a current bush also from my grandparents. When we moved, it was to another rental, and my in-laws sold the house they had built to move into the trailer house to save on expenses and taxes. That was the whole reason we had to move, so they could save money of course. Anyway, I didn't know if I would be allowed to do any gardening at the new place, and it was supposed to be temporary until we could find place to buy. Temporary turned into 10 years later, lol. I'm rambling. My in-laws the spring after moving in to the place we had been renting from them decided to put an addition on the front, so they completely bulldozed all of that landscaping I had done. They never even offered for me to come get the plants. Fortunately once we were able to buy a home, the current bush was still there, and she let me come get it because they were sick of mowing around it. I was so angry, not only at the 3 years of work I had put into that property, but also at the loss of plants that I could not replace. Yes, it was a common lilac and yes it was a basic white hydrangea, but they were given to me by my grandparents who were no longer able to take care of their own home, and my grandpa is now gone. It's a connection I'll never have and wasn't even given the chance to save even though they knew where they came from and had seen the work I had put in, and I could have taken them and nurtured them for the rest of my life.
Don’t you just want to spend time with her?? A day just wouldn’t be enough. Do you know if Ruth has written any books? I’d buy anything that she wrote.
I'm a little sad we don't get to see her interact with others as much as the other reenactors. (At least from what I've seen of this cast from the tudor series.) The men "seem" like they know less but I've been wondering if it's partially because they are also interacting with other people at the same time. I personally have difficulty being social and factual simultaneously in my workplace so maybe I'm projecting.
I love Ruth!!!! This woman isn’t afraid, nor is she intimidated, to attack any project regardless of the hard, hard work involved. She is such an incredible historian and every single project is absolutely authentic. I enjoy watching Alex and Peter as well. I didn’t realize that both of them are archeologists. Their approach to their projects are authentic as well. Until I watched this series, I had no true idea just how hard people worked during the Victorian era, and the historical periods/eras before it. Many blessings to you all!! 🇺🇸❤️🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️🇺🇸
I absolutely love this show. After a long day at work and coming home, taking a nice shower then chilling all cozy in my room while watching these series. It is an Absolute joy! Such a well made show
When I was a kid my uncle and my brother were the 'hay loaders'...I stomped the hay down in a horse drawn cart. It was forked by hand up into the hay loft and I stomped it down again. It had been harvested by a horse drawn mower (horse was named Pansy, bless her!). This was in the early 70s...My mom always made mince meat with a lot of deer meat. There was more meat than fruit. I can still see her grinding meat with a hand cranked grinder that bolted to the counter top...we had wood heat, so no hot water in the summer, you had to fire up the kitchen stove if you wanted a bath. Mom did laundry using a wringer washer that I was always scared to death of getting caught in. I hung laundry outside, when we got a proper washer and dryer we were so tickled! Still hung out laundry unless it was raining. Even in winter...the frozen long johns were brought in and stood around the wood stove, lol. I carried wood in from the barn for the stove and helped put potatoes in the cellar for the winter. The odd thing is, it never seemed like a big deal to live this way. We just got on with it.
My Dad had one of those hand-cranked countertop grinders, too. He never made mincemeat pies that I remember, but he did make venison sausage and a sandwich spread of bologna and pickles. Venison tends to be pretty lean, so he'd buy some pork fat and mix it in to help that aspect of the sausage. One deer makes a lot of meals that way. I also had an aunt with an old-fashioned wringer-washer. She often made a little money sewing clothes for both neighbors' kids and the kids' dolls. This was all in the 1980s in midwest America. Gardening was big with us as well, even though we lived in town. We were poor and we damn well knew it LOL. But we managed, and we never really went hungry.
@@dogslobbergardens6606I Also Have Memories Of All The Gardening We Did Every Year. We Had Six Large Gardens That Were All Helped With Planting & Harvesting The Food, Canning It & Hunting For Deer, Rabbits, Etc. With Six Kids NOTHING Went To Waste & EVERYONE Was Expected To Pitch In With All The Work Including The Hunting And Fishing. I Still Do The Same Things, And My Six Kids Were Raised The Same Way. I Make The Jams & Jellies, Pickles, & I Even Can Some Of The Meat. There's Nothing As Good As Canned Venison, Rabbit & Squirrel. Our Turkey For Christmas Dinner Was Either One Of Our Own Which We Raised, Or Sometimes A Wild One That We Shot During The Fall Season. Although My Kids Are Grown, They Are Teaching Their Own Kids To Do The Same Thing. The Only Ones That Can't Do The Things I Taught Them Are The Girls. My Eldest Daughter Is A Horrible Cook, But My Sons Are Fantastic Cooks & Hunters. I Did The Butchering Of The Wild Game Myself. Not Only Did I Do Our Own Deer, I Did The Same For Other People Who Didn't Know How. At One Point I Had EIGHT Of Them To Get Butchered For Other People. Thankfully It Was Mid Winter So I Didn't Have To Worry About Them Going Bad. I Continue To Do This To This Day, & Still Enjoy It.. 58:15
My mother is 93 and starting to visibly fade. This is probably her last Christmas where she will be able to make the mince. A family tradition that has been around a long time. The family recipe dates from before 1900. Allspice was called "mixed spice". There is a very similar recipe in the second edition Mrs. Beeton's. I wish there had been a list of ingredients from the 1850ish recipe here on the program. The family would use either brandy or dark rum. I like the brandy but the dark rum is very smooth. Great Aunt Laura taught me how to make pastry,but that was in the 1970s. Looks like it is my turn to get it all right. Apples are the key to good mince. Some green apples ,baking quality,and others that will remain firm after cutting and aging. Get it right and the stuff is food of the gods. Retrieving the paper in my grandmother's handwriting is part of the Christmas tradition.
I loved your story. My grandmother always made mince as well, and it is still my favorite. It’s not everyone’s taste and I’m glad of it. More for myself!
@@dougkelley2781 Every once in a while,commercially made mince can be very good. A friend,since passed,had his own recipe and just for fun we would trade oh,a couple of 6" pies each. Flavour and texture can vary widely. He would add some honey. A little too sweet for me,we each preferred what we grew up with. Finding a source for suet is year by year more difficult. One observation. Home Economics is no longer taught in high schools. If you have children or interested kinfolk,pass the recipe around and teach how to make good pastry. If just one youngster grabs the interest and runs with it,that will make a difference. All the best.
So happy to find this episode. My grandmother and mother made mince pies at Christmas and this is the first time I have found a recipe that resembles my grandmother’s. In her cookbook she has a list of ingredients, no amounts. She came to California from England in 1910 with her husband and children and brought many traditions with them. One was mince pies. I still have her tins to bake the pies, a few were hand made. I will try this fall to make it.
On the farm, there was such a feeling of relief when the barn was full of hay in the fall. We used to say "A barn full of hay is like money in the bank."
You're not kidding. I live in farm country in TN (lots of small farms with horses and/or beef cattle) and this has been a bad spring for hay so far... wrong amounts of rain at the wrong times. Plus fertilizer prices are going crazy. Local farmers are really concerned. I've spoken to a few that say they're already running out of last year's stock and they don't know if they'll be able to grow what they need. The folks at the local farm co-op store say they can't even order it in for gardeners like me who only need a small amount for mulch etc; they're just isn't any close enough to make it worthwhile trucking it in. It's a very scary feeling when you can't even buy something so basic but important, even if you had plenty of cash for it.
Wonderful video. One reason that dairy maids were considered so sexy was cowpox. This is a fairly mild illness, passed from cows to humans, that "vaccinates" the person catching it against Small Pox, a much worse disease that left it's survivors with pock marked skin. Since dairy maids seldom caught Small Pox they were known for their flawless complexions.
I love the banter between Alex and Peter when they were dealing with the hay coming at them on the wagon. I never laughed so hard during these shows. Thank you for making more episodes 💕
The "damsel in distress" the damsel is a spindle that strikes the shoe to make grain drop into the eye of the millstones. There's a strap that runs across the hopper and is held down by the weight of the grain. When the grain runs out, the strap springs up and causes a bell to ring each time the damsel strikes the shoe. The ringing bell is called a 'damsel in distress' and the miller would have a bell with a different ring on each hopper so that he knew which grain had run out. The gap between millstones can be adjusted to give control over the fineness of the grain. When the stones meet they literally "grind to a halt".And that's the run of the mill
My guess would have been the damsel was called such because of the way it seems to "dance" or whirl, rather than because of any noise it makes, which really didn't sound like much...?
Some of the best series in history, ON HISTORY. For fans of this, make sure to check out Wartime Farm, Edwardian Farm, Tudor Monestery Farm, Tales From The Green Valley, Secrets Of The Castle, and Victorian Pharmacy. All are as excellent as this series, "Victorian Farm".
I wish they would make more from the Victorian era in particular, I love the shows, I've watched them over and over. These 3 people together are my favorites!
@@thebovineavenger For sure! How could I forget? Also an excellent series! Thank you. If you know of any others, please post them here! I have seen all I know of, including Full Steam Ahead. I and surely plenty others, would love to learn of them. Thanks again for adding to the list, a very important series. 😁👍
@@amandak3198 Likewise! They all work great together. But for me, it would be further into the Edwardian era -With a good amount of focus on the transportation revolution. Cars, motorcycles, airplanes, ships, fast trains, and all that entailed....
I think there is also a Victorian bakery one, but I haven't watched it. I'm in the US, so some shows are blocked for me unless I pay for a subscription to britbox or whatever.
@@lizard3755 I still use tallow in my soap. My family hunts, and I render the fat into tallow in an effort to use as much of the animal as I can. Some people are disgusted by it, but I love tallow in my soap.
@@lauracarrier6158 I think that's awesome! I think it's really cool that you're respecting the animal it's from and that you're carrying on your family tradition.
Yes, my good neighbors have lost many a crop of hay due to unexpected rain. Because of this they are often out at 3 in the morning to get in their hay before it rains. Always trying to beat the weather, it's still a lot of hard work. Cut the hay, turn the hay, bale the hay, pick up the hay with a fork lift and store the hay. They do this 3 or 4 times a year.
Sr. Mr. Acton was a right proper gentleman! I would love to sit and listen to his life stories. I hope he is still with us and wish him many more seasons on the farm!
I would NOT have been that brave, just casually walking beside Ruth when she noticed the garden was destroyed. And then to show the "new garden", looking totally awful!
I'm an American from South Carolina of Scottish-Irish and English Ancestry. I thoroughly enjoy these videos as we live in a farming community. And Victorian Era England was so Interesting
I just started watching this show a few weeks ago and I really love it it's really interesting and I'm learning a lot about how people used to live I would like to try doing that myself once maybe only for a weekend not a whole year LOL
44:56 For all those who think farmers abuse their animals, this is the reality. Clumper is part of the team and knows his humans will take care of him.
Where would humans be without horses?! 🐴💙 Throughout history, we've used them for transportation, in wars (cavalry), to power machinery, for equestrian sports, and so on. They have really served humankind a lot.
@Celto Loco indeed, for much of history the horse was a rich man's status symbol or reserved mainly for military exploits. Even today they're really sort of a luxury item. You were quite right to describe them as the Ferrari of farm animals, as the comparison is suiting and of course Ferrari uses a stallion as their logo. Oxen and beef and/or dairy cattle were and still are far more important to the average farmer, as you said. And if you don't have a tractor, oxen are much, much stronger than horses anyhow. Then of course there's the humble pig, which can turn almost ANY kind of forage or scraps into meat for you, pretty quickly. Goats and sheep, somewhat similar, with the added bonus of milk or wool. Rabbits and chickens are likewise very efficient at turning almost anything that grows into valuable food for people. And let's not forget humankind's best friend, the dog. Our partnership with them pre-dates agriculture itself.
I love this team. I know this production was years ago, but this team of experts and historians should just start a village together and I would absolutely go there.
Sadly he passed away earlier this year www.shropshirestar.com/entertainment/attractions/2020/06/18/he-was-held-in-respect-but-also-great-affection-founder-of-acton-scott-working-farm-dies-aged-95/
"Tom died peacefully in the house he was born in over 95 years ago.." May we all be so fortunate in the end. A good innings and a life well lived, not so very sad.
When I had to remove part of my own garden, due to being disabled, I was heartbroken...even though I was doing it myself! I can’t imagine anyone doing it to me.
Thats interesting, in the US we use the side delivery rake to rake up the grass after mowing it, and use it to turn the rows over to dry, if done with a sickle bar mower you need 4 clear days, 1 to mow, 2 to dry and 4th day is baling it.
Im loving all these videos on old farm ways. Life was certainly hard and always busy. It makes you really appreciate modern appiances, but a little sad for all the knowledge that has been lost to the majority of the population.
It’s not that it hardens it’s that it will burn you as the lye his time fully in the soap. That’s one reason you add salt . The sodium in the salt will push the reaction so that the -OH base will join to the fats . Chemistry 101
I for one love these shows and appreciate their value... though we are a continent apart, this is how my family lived in the United States as tenant farmers
When I was young, we used a horse drawn sickle mower, towed behind an old 1936 dodge four wheel drive fire truck (stripped to it's frame with two six speed transmissions in it) to mow our fields.... That thing, in double reverse, would go slow as hell and could pull a house off it's foundation...
I helped my husband put up hay, we had modern equipment, and I could "tet" in with the truck. We also had a "wind rower" and bailer, as well as the cutter.... I used to love putting up hay with my husband, He passed away in 2017.
i LOVE THESE DOCUMENTARIES. I'VE WATCHED THEM TIME AND TIME AGAIN! I must have seen all of Ruth, Alex and Peter's movies, they are brilliant. Why couldn't they have these done when I was in school and simply positively HATED history. I would have loved it had these been around then!
That would be so much fun to attend their Christmas party with all of the hard work. I would love to go there and eat and drink and enjoy the labor of their hard work
![Coheed and Cambria - Searching for Tomorrow [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hDsYGLbmadg/mqdefault.jpg)
I am deeply saddened by the low amount of views and likes. These farming series are an absolute joy to watch, I wish more people can appreciate them.
why... 100k is pretty good for a documentary given its the least popular film genre.
I love these series too!
I think the unlikes came from the "click bait" title. It led you to believe you would be learning about mince meat pies🤷.
Not nice and modern
I'm a history buff, and didn't know about these videos.
Awesome shows it takes me back to the ole days around my granny’s stove. Watching her make perfect biscuits simple yet the work was a labour of love which to this day I still enjoy passing on what I learned from my elders. Thank you this rekindles my memories. Be blessed
It's adorable how clearly Alex loves Clumper. Their bond is so sweet
Imagine Clumper's thought upon the boys returning ;
"Oh no" !!!
"Those two clutzes again "...
😅❤
The fact that i get to sit on my bum, binge watching these on a weekend, while my washing machine washes my clothes, my dishwasher washes my dishes, my reverse cycle heating warms my home, and my gas stove cooks my food at a touch of a button, makes me eternally grateful. For as long as it lasts.. this victorian life looks like a dream, but in reality i would never have the energy and resilience for it. We are soft nowdays.
No wonder the average life expectancy of everyone but the wealthy was around age 50!
Back then you didn't need a gym membership to stay in shape!
😂
Me too. When I was young I. Lived on a farm, cooked and heated with wood stove, butchered chickens and 2 hogs a year and had help to can 1000 quarts a year, made our own beer, soda pop, raised bees and had a half acre garden. Left because of divorce, but it was the happiest time of my life. Most people today. Can't imagine such a life.
soft eggs,we have all of that except the instantly hot water machine i was 19 yrs before i saw that.
Just here to say I’m happy Clumper is back to full health. I love that horse
Alex ;
"Are you all right with the first complicated manouver of the day, Peter" ?
Clumper ;
"I'm NOT"
"There I was, happily snoozing in my stall, when Tall and Burly show up again" ...
"Don't they know I've RETIRED" !!!
😅❤
I loved the guy who taught how to make the rake. "here's something no one has ever seen before... The inside of this tree" love it
I love ruths enthusiasm, she gets into the work like she loves it.
Clumper is a magnificent horse. What a beautiful beast
Clumper is a gorgeous horse! It's so nice to see the 'crew' together on the farm again! :)
I feel very sympathetic toward Ruth. I love gardening. I had a huge yard and I knew where every plant was and where it came from. Ruth planted it with love. I appreciate her and I am so sorry for her disappointment. I expect she planted flowers that would reseed every year. ❤️🌹❤️
Same, she seemed soo disappointed and couldn't hide it. At first I thought well, it was a show, they were gone and probably didn't have plans to ever come back to film there again so ofc things would change. But it also seems like a total waste, to get rid of a beautiful garden someone has built in favor of a - maybe posh-er looking - grass lawn.
@user-cx2ji6tl6t
I felt Ruth's pain. I don't think the owner's son appreciated the labor intensive job of putting in a new garden from scratch.
Agreed; my heart sank when she found her lovely garden was gone. How could that young man have done that??
Same! When my husband and I were first married, we rented a place from my in-laws. I had put in so much work because we had planned on buying it eventually, but being young, we couldn't get a loan since the house was a trailer house unless we decided to build, but in the meantime I had put in apple trees, raspberry bushes, a perennial bed all along the house including peonies and a lilac bush and hydrangea that I had gotten from my grandparents who had since moved. I also have a current bush also from my grandparents. When we moved, it was to another rental, and my in-laws sold the house they had built to move into the trailer house to save on expenses and taxes. That was the whole reason we had to move, so they could save money of course. Anyway, I didn't know if I would be allowed to do any gardening at the new place, and it was supposed to be temporary until we could find place to buy. Temporary turned into 10 years later, lol. I'm rambling. My in-laws the spring after moving in to the place we had been renting from them decided to put an addition on the front, so they completely bulldozed all of that landscaping I had done. They never even offered for me to come get the plants. Fortunately once we were able to buy a home, the current bush was still there, and she let me come get it because they were sick of mowing around it. I was so angry, not only at the 3 years of work I had put into that property, but also at the loss of plants that I could not replace. Yes, it was a common lilac and yes it was a basic white hydrangea, but they were given to me by my grandparents who were no longer able to take care of their own home, and my grandpa is now gone. It's a connection I'll never have and wasn't even given the chance to save even though they knew where they came from and had seen the work I had put in, and I could have taken them and nurtured them for the rest of my life.
these shows are utterly fascinating, the best way to learn about history is to live it.
Aaahh! The joy of Ruth! She is just so enjoyable.
Absolutely love Ruth! She's such a library of knowledge and enthusiastic about learning.
Don’t you just want to spend time with her?? A day just wouldn’t be enough.
Do you know if Ruth has written any books? I’d buy anything that she wrote.
How to be a Victorian written by Ruth Goodman
Fun drinking game, do a shot every time she giggles or laughs.
I'm a little sad we don't get to see her interact with others as much as the other reenactors. (At least from what I've seen of this cast from the tudor series.) The men "seem" like they know less but I've been wondering if it's partially because they are also interacting with other people at the same time. I personally have difficulty being social and factual simultaneously in my workplace so maybe I'm projecting.
@@camilledvorak7151 We’d die of alcohol poisoning! She is giddy with learning! ❤️
I love Ruth!!!! This woman isn’t afraid, nor is she intimidated, to attack any project regardless of the hard, hard work involved. She is such an incredible historian and every single project is absolutely authentic. I enjoy watching Alex and Peter as well. I didn’t realize that both of them are archeologists. Their approach to their projects are authentic as well. Until I watched this series, I had no true idea just how hard people worked during the Victorian era, and the historical periods/eras before it. Many blessings to you all!! 🇺🇸❤️🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️🇺🇸
This is my very favorite part of Absolute History. I wish they'd keep it up forever.
I absolutely love this show. After a long day at work and coming home, taking a nice shower then chilling all cozy in my room while watching these series. It is an Absolute joy! Such a well made show
When I was a kid my uncle and my brother were the 'hay loaders'...I stomped the hay down in a horse drawn cart. It was forked by hand up into the hay loft and I stomped it down again. It had been harvested by a horse drawn mower (horse was named Pansy, bless her!). This was in the early 70s...My mom always made mince meat with a lot of deer meat. There was more meat than fruit. I can still see her grinding meat with a hand cranked grinder that bolted to the counter top...we had wood heat, so no hot water in the summer, you had to fire up the kitchen stove if you wanted a bath. Mom did laundry using a wringer washer that I was always scared to death of getting caught in. I hung laundry outside, when we got a proper washer and dryer we were so tickled! Still hung out laundry unless it was raining. Even in winter...the frozen long johns were brought in and stood around the wood stove, lol. I carried wood in from the barn for the stove and helped put potatoes in the cellar for the winter.
The odd thing is, it never seemed like a big deal to live this way. We just got on with it.
Lovely memories!
My Dad had one of those hand-cranked countertop grinders, too. He never made mincemeat pies that I remember, but he did make venison sausage and a sandwich spread of bologna and pickles. Venison tends to be pretty lean, so he'd buy some pork fat and mix it in to help that aspect of the sausage. One deer makes a lot of meals that way.
I also had an aunt with an old-fashioned wringer-washer. She often made a little money sewing clothes for both neighbors' kids and the kids' dolls.
This was all in the 1980s in midwest America. Gardening was big with us as well, even though we lived in town. We were poor and we damn well knew it LOL. But we managed, and we never really went hungry.
@@dogslobbergardens6606I Also Have Memories Of All The Gardening We Did Every Year. We Had Six Large Gardens That Were All Helped With Planting & Harvesting The Food, Canning It & Hunting For Deer, Rabbits, Etc. With Six Kids NOTHING Went To Waste & EVERYONE Was Expected To Pitch In With All The Work Including The Hunting And Fishing. I Still Do The Same Things, And My Six Kids Were Raised The Same Way. I Make The Jams & Jellies, Pickles, & I Even Can Some Of The Meat. There's Nothing As Good As Canned Venison, Rabbit & Squirrel. Our Turkey For Christmas Dinner Was Either One Of Our Own Which We Raised, Or Sometimes A Wild One That We Shot During The Fall Season. Although My Kids Are Grown, They Are Teaching Their Own Kids To Do The Same Thing. The Only Ones That Can't Do The Things I Taught Them Are The Girls. My Eldest Daughter Is A Horrible Cook, But My Sons Are Fantastic Cooks & Hunters. I Did The Butchering Of The Wild Game Myself. Not Only Did I Do Our Own Deer, I Did The Same For Other People Who Didn't Know How. At One Point I Had EIGHT Of Them To Get Butchered For Other People. Thankfully It Was Mid Winter So I Didn't Have To Worry About Them Going Bad. I Continue To Do This To This Day, & Still Enjoy It.. 58:15
I appreciate these videos because it gives us such a glimpse into how our ancestors lived and worked.
My mother is 93 and starting to visibly fade. This is probably her last Christmas where she will be able to make the mince. A family tradition that has been around a long time. The family recipe dates from before 1900. Allspice was called "mixed spice". There is a very similar recipe in the second edition Mrs. Beeton's. I wish there had been a list of ingredients from the 1850ish recipe here on the program.
The family would use either brandy or dark rum. I like the brandy but the dark rum is very smooth. Great Aunt Laura taught me how to make pastry,but that was in the 1970s. Looks like it is my turn to get it all right. Apples are the key to good mince. Some green apples ,baking quality,and others that will remain firm after cutting and aging. Get it right and the stuff is food of the gods.
Retrieving the paper in my grandmother's handwriting is part of the Christmas tradition.
Love all the roots of saying " make hay while the sun shines" etc.😊
Mince is absolute shit.
I loved your story. My grandmother always made mince as well, and it is still my favorite. It’s not everyone’s taste and I’m glad of it. More for myself!
@@dougkelley2781 Every once in a while,commercially made mince can be very good. A friend,since passed,had his own recipe and just for fun we would trade oh,a couple of 6" pies each. Flavour and texture can vary widely. He would add some honey. A little too sweet for me,we each preferred what we grew up with. Finding a source for suet is year by year more difficult.
One observation. Home Economics is no longer taught in high schools. If you have children or interested kinfolk,pass the recipe around and teach how to make good pastry. If just one youngster grabs the interest and runs with it,that will make a difference.
All the best.
God bless. My mum passed 21 years ago. She would have been 97 this year
I love that they're all so good humored; I'm especially fond of Ruth's laugh!
So happy to find this episode. My grandmother and mother made mince pies at Christmas and this is the first time I have found a recipe that resembles my grandmother’s. In her cookbook she has a list of ingredients, no amounts. She came to California from England in 1910 with her husband and children and brought many traditions with them. One was mince pies. I still have her tins to bake the pies, a few were hand made. I will try this fall to make it.
I'm always happy for more Ruth, Alex, and Peter :)
So what ever happened to Tom?
On the farm, there was such a feeling of relief when the barn was full of hay in the fall. We used to say "A barn full of hay is like money in the bank."
You're not kidding. I live in farm country in TN (lots of small farms with horses and/or beef cattle) and this has been a bad spring for hay so far... wrong amounts of rain at the wrong times. Plus fertilizer prices are going crazy. Local farmers are really concerned. I've spoken to a few that say they're already running out of last year's stock and they don't know if they'll be able to grow what they need. The folks at the local farm co-op store say they can't even order it in for gardeners like me who only need a small amount for mulch etc; they're just isn't any close enough to make it worthwhile trucking it in.
It's a very scary feeling when you can't even buy something so basic but important, even if you had plenty of cash for it.
I love learning the etiology of our idioms - make hay when the sun shines, grinding to a halt, etc.
Yeah, liked the tenderhooks too, and the rule of thumb (I think both was mentioned in the Tudor series, the latter here too)
46:28 - famous last words. I felt a cloud coming even as she spoke those words.
Also, that butter looks so good.
I love Ruth. She is so entertaining and educational.
I am sad to report that Mr.Acton has passed away in 2020 at the ripe old age of 95. Rest in peace.
He was a great landlord.
I'm not a historian or an archeologist. ... but I do appreciate the time you all have spent sharing your adventures!
Wonderful video. One reason that dairy maids were considered so sexy was cowpox. This is a fairly mild illness, passed from cows to humans, that "vaccinates" the person catching it against Small Pox, a much worse disease that left it's survivors with pock marked skin. Since dairy maids seldom caught Small Pox they were known for their flawless complexions.
how fascinating!
That is very interesting, thank you.
That's fascinating thanks for sharing I can't wait to pass that on to people.
Peter is so damn handsome
So cowpox is similar enough to small pox that when the body fights off cow pox and formed a immunity to it, it would be able to fight off other poxes
Yay! I just found the Victorian Farm series over the summer, and so glad to find this in my recommendations. Thank you, just love these shows!
I love the banter between Alex and Peter when they were dealing with the hay coming at them on the wagon. I never laughed so hard during these shows. Thank you for making more episodes 💕
The "damsel in distress" the damsel is a spindle that strikes the shoe to make grain drop into the eye of the millstones. There's a strap that runs across the hopper and is held down by the weight of the grain. When the grain runs out, the strap springs up and causes a bell to ring each time the damsel strikes the shoe. The ringing bell is called a 'damsel in distress' and the miller would have a bell with a different ring on each hopper so that he knew which grain had run out. The gap between millstones can be adjusted to give control over the fineness of the grain. When the stones meet they literally "grind to a halt".And that's the run of the mill
My guess would have been the damsel was called such because of the way it seems to "dance" or whirl, rather than because of any noise it makes, which really didn't sound like much...?
My English mother made the best mince meat pie. She’s gone now, but her recipe lives on.
Willing to share any good secrets on them?
Eve wearing Ruth's dress from Victorian Farm makes me happy
This series legit makes me so happy. What a wonderful production, again!
Love this series. It teaches you so much while being completely entertaining. It also inspired me to do more DIY projects during the pandemic.
Yay, Clumper fully recovered! :D
Some of the best series in history, ON HISTORY. For fans of this, make sure to check out Wartime Farm, Edwardian Farm, Tudor Monestery Farm, Tales From The Green Valley, Secrets Of The Castle, and Victorian Pharmacy. All are as excellent as this series, "Victorian Farm".
Dont forget "Full steam ahead" I believe there are a couple others we are both forgetting about.
I wish they would make more from the Victorian era in particular, I love the shows, I've watched them over and over. These 3 people together are my favorites!
@@thebovineavenger For sure! How could I forget? Also an excellent series! Thank you. If you know of any others, please post them here! I have seen all I know of, including Full Steam Ahead. I and surely plenty others, would love to learn of them. Thanks again for adding to the list, a very important series. 😁👍
@@amandak3198 Likewise! They all work great together. But for me, it would be further into the Edwardian era -With a good amount of focus on the transportation revolution. Cars, motorcycles, airplanes, ships, fast trains, and all that entailed....
I think there is also a Victorian bakery one, but I haven't watched it. I'm in the US, so some shows are blocked for me unless I pay for a subscription to britbox or whatever.
I love these guys. I really hope they keep doing these shows. Very educational. Hello from Los Angeles
I really love her bonnet and the red capelet!
As a soap maker myself I can see how far we have come after watching the Victorian methods. Rather eye opening
That was how my grandmother made soap
I'm definitely happy I get to use things like olive oil and shea butter to make my soaps instead of tallow
@@lizard3755 I still use tallow in my soap. My family hunts, and I render the fat into tallow in an effort to use as much of the animal as I can. Some people are disgusted by it, but I love tallow in my soap.
@@lauracarrier6158 I think that's awesome! I think it's really cool that you're respecting the animal it's from and that you're carrying on your family tradition.
@@lauracarrier6158 ethical hunting is amazing, may i ask what you/your family does with the hide, and with the bones
I found myself positively grinning during the dance! A fun and educational experience- and a treat to watch!
I really love this trio! Peter and Ruth are such a treat!
Yes, my good neighbors have lost many a crop of hay due to unexpected rain. Because of this they are often out at 3 in the morning to get in their hay before it rains. Always trying to beat the weather, it's still a lot of hard work. Cut the hay, turn the hay, bale the hay, pick up the hay with a fork lift and store the hay. They do this 3 or 4 times a year.
Sr. Mr. Acton was a right proper gentleman! I would love to sit and listen to his life stories. I hope he is still with us and wish him many more seasons on the farm!
Sadly Tom Acton died at 95 years old on May 27 2020.
Truly learnt a lot of Victorian Culture!!!
Love these series!!
Keep it up!!
The AUDACITY of this man to destroy Ruth's garden. I'm throwing hands with him
Same! And didn’t even have the decency to replant something in the new location 😭😭😭
That poor beautiful garden!
Yes, Horrible. It wouldn't likely have been done in my thought. Not with a skilled Estate Manager's "easy" agreement, anyways...my thinking, of course
Ruth certainly sounded and looked disappointed, after all her hard work to establish it.
This is kind of like Melanoma destroying Ms Jackie K' s Rose and Ms Obama's vegetable gardens. Thoughtless!!
I would NOT have been that brave, just casually walking beside Ruth when she noticed the garden was destroyed. And then to show the "new garden", looking totally awful!
Good lord, those rams have some enormous pendulums
AHH THEY'RE BACK!! I am so happy
When Lord Acton used a monocular to assess the rainfall he made the day!
Monocle :)
I was missing these three SO much !!! THANK YOU ✨🧡
I enjoyed the video, but when I first saw the title it led me to believe it would be more about victorian mince pies.
Just because it had "Victorian Mince Pie" you thought there would be Victorian mince pie?
@@Guitcad1 That was my impression. I was hoping for a recipe.
@@kathleen1685 I have a very old one and I use venison in mine
@@kathleen1685 I was also. Would have loved to get the recipe.
Me too. So I Googled Victorian mince pie recipe.
I'm an American from South Carolina of Scottish-Irish and English Ancestry. I thoroughly enjoy these videos as we live in a farming community. And Victorian Era England was so Interesting
When Clummper didn't like the grass hitting him, 😫
I think Clumper is my favourite member of this team.
I just started watching this show a few weeks ago and I really love it it's really interesting and I'm learning a lot about how people used to live I would like to try doing that myself once maybe only for a weekend not a whole year LOL
44:56 For all those who think farmers abuse their animals, this is the reality. Clumper is part of the team and knows his humans will take care of him.
Old horses that can not continue working were sold to make soap.
@@iwd1856 that's what we did with my grandma, too
@@Bowie_E Awww, pull the uther one!
@@iwd1856 That is soooo sad! But it is what they'd do in those times as every penny counted.
@@Bowie_E you WHAT
I love these trio.. They are such a team!! ❤️❤️❤️
Where would humans be without horses?! 🐴💙
Throughout history, we've used them for transportation, in wars (cavalry), to power machinery, for equestrian sports, and so on.
They have really served humankind a lot.
Multiply human power x 5!
@Celto Loco indeed, for much of history the horse was a rich man's status symbol or reserved mainly for military exploits. Even today they're really sort of a luxury item. You were quite right to describe them as the Ferrari of farm animals, as the comparison is suiting and of course Ferrari uses a stallion as their logo.
Oxen and beef and/or dairy cattle were and still are far more important to the average farmer, as you said. And if you don't have a tractor, oxen are much, much stronger than horses anyhow.
Then of course there's the humble pig, which can turn almost ANY kind of forage or scraps into meat for you, pretty quickly. Goats and sheep, somewhat similar, with the added bonus of milk or wool. Rabbits and chickens are likewise very efficient at turning almost anything that grows into valuable food for people.
And let's not forget humankind's best friend, the dog. Our partnership with them pre-dates agriculture itself.
The whole UK country side is so magic and so beautiful
I love this team. I know this production was years ago, but this team of experts and historians should just start a village together and I would absolutely go there.
I was just about to re-watch this series! Excellent timing, I'm glad it's back for a holiday special!
I love these so much. Please never stop making them!
Alex, Peter and Ruth what a gorgeous trio - is there nothing these folks cant do?
Biggest shock of all, Mr.Actin is still alive and completely in control of his faculties.
Sadly he passed away earlier this year www.shropshirestar.com/entertainment/attractions/2020/06/18/he-was-held-in-respect-but-also-great-affection-founder-of-acton-scott-working-farm-dies-aged-95/
@@spooningkat6933 Thanks for info.
"Tom died peacefully in the house he was born in over 95 years ago.." May we all be so fortunate in the end. A good innings and a life well lived, not so very sad.
@@spooningkat6933 wow! He was 95?!
@@spooningkat6933 Oh no! I’m so sad to hear of his passing! He allowed such a wonderful thing to happen in this!
I absolutely love this series and I adore Ruth!
Love this ...Ruth and the gang are awesome
Love this series, suddenly found myself binging a lot of the playlists!
Me encanta ver como se preservan las antiguas formas de vivir antaño, gracias por el esfuerzo.
Really enjoyed this👍One can truly appreciate the history & the meaning of hard work. TFS! 🙏✌💖
Thank you very much. So interesting.
I love these videos! Well done & i love seeing how things were done in these times!
That look of disappointment when she saw her garden turned into a lawn...
I'm glad that I am not her I would have been pissed off all that hard work for nothing
When I had to remove part of my own garden, due to being disabled, I was heartbroken...even though I was doing it myself! I can’t imagine anyone doing it to me.
And then to be told to plant things for the landlord’s Christmas.
Yeah, "well i've destroyed your work, but do it again 1 1/2 meters away from the original position. have fun"
kinda mean.
Then he presents her with a nasty old weed patch instead:(
Can't wait for parts 2 and 3, interested to see if they'll have a Christmas tree and how it will be adorned
They're all available already
ruclips.net/video/LJOVnV4iJGU/видео.html
Thats interesting, in the US we use the side delivery rake to rake up the grass after mowing it, and use it to turn the rows over to dry, if done with a sickle bar mower you need 4 clear days, 1 to mow, 2 to dry and 4th day is baling it.
Im loving all these videos on old farm ways. Life was certainly hard and always busy. It makes you really appreciate modern appiances, but a little sad for all the knowledge that has been lost to the majority of the population.
16:20 if you just want to get right to the mince pie
Omg thank you lol
Thank youuuu!!!
I have to love Clumper.
He reminds me of one of my late father's horses whom I loved as a little girl.
I think that Clumper is my spirit animal ❤
My Grandmother fed me Minced Meat Pie until she passed away in the mid 90s It's a Christmas treat that I still miss.
I enjoy these shows immensely!
This and Time Team kept me reasonably sane during the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
We make our own soaps at home and I can tell y’all we it sets up quick enough but takes 2-3 month to harden properly.
It’s not that it hardens it’s that it will burn you as the lye his time fully in the soap. That’s one reason you add salt . The sodium in the salt will push the reaction so that the
-OH base will join to the fats . Chemistry 101
@@dancingnature never knew that, thanks for the info
I for one love these shows and appreciate their value... though we are a continent apart, this is how my family lived in the United States as tenant farmers
omg, more of these please. love love it
When I was young, we used a horse drawn sickle mower, towed behind an old 1936 dodge four wheel drive fire truck (stripped to it's frame with two six speed transmissions in it) to mow our fields.... That thing, in double reverse, would go slow as hell and could pull a house off it's foundation...
Amazing series!❤❤❤❤❤❤
I helped my husband put up hay, we had modern equipment, and I could "tet" in with the truck. We also had a "wind rower" and bailer, as well as the cutter.... I used to love putting up hay with my husband, He passed away in 2017.
“This machine is brilliant, absolutely brilliant and I’ve only stabbed Alex once with the pitchfork!” Too funny Peter!
I never knew that rams only had on set of teeth on the bottom!!!! And I consider myself educated, I guess not!! LOL 😂
i LOVE THESE DOCUMENTARIES. I'VE WATCHED THEM TIME AND TIME AGAIN! I must have seen all of Ruth, Alex and Peter's movies, they are brilliant. Why couldn't they have these done when I was in school and simply positively HATED history. I would have loved it had these been around then!
The squad is back!
Ruth saying feeeyafully needs to be my new ringtone. Peter with the ram is too cute.
It's so heart warming to see how genuinely happy they are to return to Glebe Farm, just like coming home! ♥♥
I love history... this is amazing and great education
How did anyone ever bring in a hay crop in the UK? Doesn’t it almost always rain?
Yes it never stops.
I most certainly appreciate these films and the work they have put in.
Quite eye-opening and educational.
That is awesome. Can't wait for the next part. I am so glad that I discovered this channel.
the characters all have such great moments, could easily make a compilations of humerous/wholesome moments/agriculture nods in modern culture
I JUST LOVE THESE TWO VIDEOS AND ESPECIALLY NOW WITH HD QUALITY!!
That would be so much fun to attend their Christmas party with all of the hard work. I would love to go there and eat and drink and enjoy the labor of their hard work
Here in the Shenandoah Valley you can get three hay cuttings I believe. The last one is usually least in nutrition as I was taught as a kid.
Watching these programs, I’m in my happy place..