Everyone enjoy this first episode of the happy, upbeat history of sugar! Next week I will talk about the more depressing "recent" history of sugar-cane.
If there's one thing people should enjoy, it's sugar cane juice. It's amazing!!! We have it in Singapore's many drink stalls at hawker centers and some coffee shops. Such a refreshing drink.
I appreciate everything about this dude. His accuracy, the fantastic history lessons, his advice, his hints, his descriptions of taste- this is truly one of my favorite fucking things on the internet
He’s always asking on Twitter for people who speak these other languages and can help him with pronunciation. It’s really great that he puts that much effort into it
@@johnnycashew9101 the Crusades in that area were just part of the local power struggle between the Byzantines, who had ruled that region for centuries, and their allies, the Crusaders, vs the Muslim powers, which had only developed much more recently. Additionally, the first crusades were actually the campaigns of the Reconquista.
As mentioned before "darken the pupils" means dilating them, which happens when your parasympathic nerve system emits more of its hormons, which could lead to a shock. Septic shocks were pretty common when infected at that time due to a lack of antibiotocs or adequate treatment. So a sickness that darkens your pupils is a pretty severe sickness.
1. A gluten free historical recipe! Thank you! 2. “Throw the sesame oil in the dist” is such a lovely poetic phrase. 3. Great job on the Arabic pronunciation! 4. Maybe the “darkened” pupils were dilated pupils. The ancient Greeks described colors in reference to light and shadow, not color family, so the sea was sometimes described as bronze, presumably because it sparkles like hammered bronze. By that token pupils might be “darkened” simply by dilating and showing less of the iris.
Bronze also turns green and there are some parts of the sea that will have a greenish tinge to it, like patina'd bronze. Example bronze: bit.ly/2IQ3Agn Sea: bit.ly/3ji372O
Which is funny, because high blood sugars can contribute to glaucoma! I’m diabetic and have to use special eye drops to lower my eye pressure so I don’t go blind.
@@jamesv.7041 Well, in italy it wouldn't be pistachio to begin with, but rather pistacchio. But as it so happens he's using the english word which may or may not directly derive from the italian term. Plus, it's not like the italians invented the word to begin with, it traces all the way back to latin (pistacium) and greek (pistakion) which in turn seems to be derived from the old armenian word պիստակ (which would be "pistak" in latin letters). So, he's not mispronouncing the italian word pistacchio because he isn't even using it to begin with, but rather the english word and his pronunciation for it is perfectly good.
An old candy-makers trick I learned help with boil over is to smear the top 1 inch of the rim of your pan with softened butter before you start cooking in it. If your sugar mixture rises up to the butter line it will instantly back off in time for you to reduce heat! Great vid can't wait to try it!
I think the whole pupils darkening thing was mentioning how with copious amounts of sugar your pupils will dilate which can be perceived as “darkening”.
@@KairuHakubi yeah but back then they didn't have a lot of stimulation or sensation, imagine the serotonin dump you would get from eating concentrated sugar once a year pretty much popped a molly now I'm sweatin.
I don't know what it says about me but I can almost always recognize them (depending on generation somewhat) and this time even know the costume. (Probably it's having grown up in gen1 pokemon and now having small kids who watch the show)
There's a Chinese RUclipsr called Dianxi Xiaoge who cooks stuff with traditional methods (I believe she's from rural China not sure which region) and she uses the large sugar crystals the Greeks mentioned being the size of hazelnuts, I found them very interesting the first time I saw them
When we get to christmas time, I think you should make a danish pastry called "klejner". It's a pastry fried in lard that has been made since the middle ages. They are usually eaten around christmas. they are also popular in Norway where they are known as "fattigmann" but they are a little bit different from the danish.
Just a reminder for everyone trying this at home: DO NOT POUR WATER ON A GREASE FIRE. POURING WATER ON A GREASE FIRE WILL MAKE IT EXPLODE. DON'T USE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS OR MOVE THE PAN. Smother the fire with a lid or metal sheet, turn off the heat, and call the fire department. Hopefully no one will need to use this info, but with fire safety, better to know before you need to know. Edit: Some replies noted that fire extinguishers can be effective against grease fires, and that is true if you have a Class B or K extinguisher. I decided to say that you shouldn't use them because it's better to have clear, direct instructions in a dangerous situation when people may be panicking, and smothering a fire and removing it from the heat source is a safe and effective way to contain it while you wait for professionals. If you know you have a fire extinguisher that is effective for grease fires, use it, but if you are not sure, leave it until you are safe.
@@periwinklesprinkles there are many types of fire extinguisher, only a few are safe for grease fires. Also, I have a glass wool blanket in the kitchen to cover the fire with. Never had to use it, but it's big enough to be a heat shield for you as you put it over the fire.
I feel like my man Michael Coffrey might be GenX. Because I, too, feel the need to append a helpful and detailed safety warning to about 95% of the uploads I view. Regardless, thank you, Michael. 👍 I salute you.
Sugar is mentioned in the ancient Pali texts. There's mention of a sugar factory in the ancient Pali texts in India. A monk called Revata the Doubter saw them mixing in a little flour to make the sugar stick together in balls so he thought it shouldn't be allowable in the afternoon, but the Buddha said it was still ok. (from my friend who is a senior monk and Buddhist scholar, fluent in Pali)
@@topheavykoolaid’m not really sure but I would assume that its because in Buddhism if you become a monk or nun it would be required for you to fast in a way, and monks and nuns aren’t allowed to eat after 12 because of that (they can still drink). So maybe he thought putting flour in candy would be some sort of cheat as flour is used in solid foods, but candy is sort of a loophole to have something that’ll give some energy or satiate hunger as you don’t have to chew it and it just dissolve so yeah I think that’s why, because of monks and nuns not eating after 12 could be why he had to ask about if it is allowed in the afternoon specifically
My grandmother once made an apple pie with salt accidentally... she took it out of the oven and it was hard as rock and awful smelling. She was so pissed she opened the back door and threw it (pan and all since it was stuck) as far as she could into the field, but a while afterwards she was sad about the loss of the pan. My dad (this was back way before I was born when my dad was around 12) secretly went out into the field and searched for it and once he found it he cleaned the pan and presented it to my grandma lol.
yeap, eat some sugar, use leaches, and watch your phlegm and bile and before you sleep snort a bit of arsenic and use a mask or mercury ... you'll live to the ripe old age of 23!
@@TastingHistory Yes Max we appreciate you! This has been such a shitty year for me, but I still hop on to RUclips almost every day to see what you're cooking. I literally jumped up and down when I saw a new video today!
This is really true. I can have a really rough day (every day, basically) and then see a new episode in my notifications and suddenly my mood is lifted!
Re candy thermometers. People used to make candy by evaluating the “ball” condition as it cooked. I recall soft balls, hard ball and something like “cracked” ball. You dribbled a bit of the stuff into cold water and the relative hardness of the ball it formed was how you rated it’s doneness.
That's how I learned. It worked fine. Soft ball, hard ball, thread stage, hard crack, it was totally accurate. just drop the candy into cold water and then squeeze it between the finger and thumb and see what the texture is
I am almost certain this is the ancient version of a Persian candy called “Sohan”. It has all the key elements of Persian cuisine like saffron, rose water and pistachios.
I agree. The cuisine of the Kitab al Tabikh was the cuisine of the Abbassid court, a forerunner of the court of the shahs. As cookbooks go, it was the medieval equivalent of Carême's cookbook.
@@marmary5555 Well, it's hard to tell which came first. Those ingredients not belonging to North Africa isn't concrete evidence that Sohan came first. After all, tomatoes aren't native to Italy yet it's false to say that South Americans invented Marinara. Same with things like Mapo Tofu, again chilies are native to South America yet it was the Chinese who developed that dish
Hey Max, if you ever make these again, could I suggest trying out a thing we do with a very similar candy in Finland (and I assume at least in other Nordic countries as well) for shaping them? You could cut about 4 inch x 4 inch (10 cm) squares from parchment/wax paper and twist it into a cone shape which you then stick upright whichever way seems the most manageable to you, then you pour the mixture in the paper cones and place a stick in the middle for a handle. When they harden you'll have these cone shaped "lollipops", all neatly in the same shape.
I can totally vouch for chewing on sugarcane. My grandma in the Philippines gave it to me and by brother as a treat. The fibers inside the cane are super tough so yes you do just chew on it and suck out the sugar. Sooooo delicious!
Not sure if this is true elsewhere, but India has both purple and green sugarcane. The green is used for making sugar, and the purple is meant for straight consumption, including "juicing". It isn't just like drinking sugar water; it's sweet but has it's own unique flavor. Closest thing I could compare it to is coconut water, but not quite.
We used to “eat” sugar cane in the Southern US when I was growing up. I’ve begun to see it in grocery stores as a “specialty” item in the summer. It’s all trimmed down and cut into lengths about 12-18” long and wrapped in plastic. We used to buy the long stalks in the store when I was a kid, but that was 50+ years ago!
@Ben Höflinger doubtful? The context of the quote wasn't negative. Plus, sugar doesn't cause blindness (diabetes can, but sugar doesn't cause diabetes, despite popular belief. If an ancient had diabetes, they'd be dead and gone long before they consumed enough sugar for a link to be made)
i dont think so - in hebrew, dark in the context of eyes means blindness, and greek may have borrowed that meaning. to me, darkening pupils suggests blindness or poor vision. also - pupils' color stays the same when dilated, so i have some difficulty seeing the analogy.
These videos are so joyful. A bright spot in a dark time, and there’s nothing about this channel I don’t love. Me and my husband love to shotgun these vids with J Townsend cooking vids back to back (and I love a little Mrs. Crocombe on the side)
Does anyone besides me think this guy needs his own tv show? He is funny and makes the history of food interesting. Love to watch his you tube channel.
Originally from south Alabama and my grandfather used to always grow a little sugar cane just for the grandkids to chew on. One of our neighbors put in a small mill and made and sold syrup locally. Another small town, Loachapoka, held a festival every year called "Syrup Soppin' Day" where hot cane and sorghum syrup was pressed and served.
My Aunt used to mix honey and sesame seed, then bake it claiming it was an ancient Egyptian recipe. Your's look the same, though apparently we weren't wealthy enough for the pistachios :( Great tasting mate :)
I believe your aunt was making something called سمسمية (pronounced "Sim smeh yeh" although in Egyptian dialect it's probably "som someh yah"). it is sometimes called "sesame snaps" in the west. It's basically sesame seeds, honey, and sugar and a few bits and bobs added depending on the region. Once as a kid my sister and I tried to make it but decided that it had too many calories with both honey and sugar so we kept the sugar out. Turns out the sugar's main purpose was binding, not flavoring, so we ended up with a type of goo that tasted exactly like sesame snaps but had to be eaten with a spoon.
as a part of the sugar series, could you pleaaaaaase talk about the tudor practice of making fake meals out of marzipan and sugar? Like the marchpane sugar work that looks like bacon and eggs?
Sesame oil that is mentioned multiple times in that book (كتاب الطبيخ) is not the same as the regular sesame oil that we use today. It was extremely mild in taste compared to what we can get in gorcery stores nowadays. It's more like a tasteless vegetable oil, if you want to replicate the taste of whatever recipe you try from that book. (I don't remember exactly what is the source of this, and I wrote it somewhere; but I'm sure that this was my conclusion after hours of research). Also, when the author says: «equal parts», more often than not he means equal volumes, not equal weights. Accurately measuring the weight was difficult at the time, and sometimes he speaks of small quantities that it was impossible to have equal weights of! So unless he explicitly uses a weight unit, it is volumes all over.
YAAAAAASSSSS! When I was little, the women wouldn't teach me to cook.. I've had to learn most things myself. It's channels like this, with this one included, that teach me the best recipes and techniques!! Thank you!!!!!
my guess as to "darkens the pupils" is that it is a slight mistranslation and it means darkens the irises, refering to liver psoriasis which causes a buildup of bilirubin, the compound that makes your urine yellow, in the blood and tissues of your body, which is especially apparent in eyes turning them a dark yellow color
@@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920 well the comparison to the normal state of the color of somones eyes is what would make it obvious that they have darkened, you wouldn't have to observe them darken
I think the best part of making your recipes isn’t the end product, but introducing yourself to a weird ingredient that you otherwise wouldn’t have bought. I made these today and now I have rosewater for other uses!
Put rosewater in cheesecake and add a strawberry sauce on top, lovely combo. I have tried rosewater and dried strawberry shortbread but it just didn't bake properly, and I will get round to rose and vanilla ice cream. The classic rose recipe is lokum, but it looks really hard to make.
When you said “darkens pupils” the first thing I thought of was those stories of women who used to put Belladonna(?) tinctures in their eyes to cause their pupils to dilate, so maybe it is something similar to that.
Various types of nightshade (belladonna, henbane) were in use in Ancient Greece, and certainly known by the 1st century CE. So this could very well be what the text refers to. Not that external (or internal) use of sugar would have any effect on atropine poisoning, but...
@Spine122251 - Instilling sugar water/ syrup/ juice into one's eyes would be a great big mistake (like belladonna isn't!). 1. As the water dries in the eye, the sugar becomes more and more granular, sharp, and gritty. Talk about painful! Talk about scratching one's cornea, leaving permanent scarring! 2. Sugar is an EXCELLENT medium for the growth of bacteria. That would result in RAGING conjunctivitis. The ancients would recognize this instantly (though they had no germ theory, they could recognize infection and inflammation). So, no - no sugar water/ syrup/ juice in the eye, please!!!!
As a complete aside, I am really impressed with your Pokemon collection, and it's always a joy to see who is going to show up in the next episode. Thank you.
As an anthropology major (and a home cook) I really appreciate your videos. Your work is amazingly thorough and blends the two worlds of history and cooking effortlessly. Hopefully everyone who’s coming for one of those things ends up staying for both! Personally, I know I’ve been curious about culinary history for as long as I can remember. Thanks for giving me such a great way to learn!!
Thank you! I was just thinking the other day watching one of your other mediaeval recipes “how did they find sugar in the Middle Ages “ and now you have answered my question in this really interesting and informative video. As a bonus the recipe looks divine! Thank you again from Australia 🇦🇺
Here is a suggestion I have for you Max. Onion soup. In France, there is a more or less known legend that states king Louis XV "invented" on an hunt, when he figured he only had butter, onions and champagne as ingredients. While the dish is more likely older and I guess you would be abble to find older recipes for it, it would make a good idea for a winter dish on the channel.
Not gonna lie. butter, onions and champagne doesn't sound like it would make for a good soup. Like, wouldn't it be really sour? All recipes I've seen for onion soup involved some kind of stock or broth (though I guess if he was out hunting he could've used veil or boar or whatever he was hunting for to make a broth).
Almost makes me wonder if it was some kind of publicity/propoganda thing. Have your name be what people call the thing that everyone loves. So when they say it they think of you...or something like that I don't know
Happy to inform, that the Egyptian sweet-tooth is still prevalent till this very day :D Can’t wait for more recipes! Hopefully some ancient Egypt ones maybe?
@@TastingHistory I would love to see andalusian food! Im spanish and my family is from the south, let me know if you need help with research or translation, i would love to help :)
Yep. It's basically sugar water but you don't think of it as that because of the distinct flavor that you don't get from processed cane sugar. Really nice with lots of ice on a hot day.
I would recommend dealing with them like you would Swedish knäck: put a dollop of them in candy wrapper cups. I imagine that would make them easier to eat and store.
Max I dont know if you'll see this or not but I just wanted you to know how much I genuinely appreciate your vids. If my anxiety is acting up for that day I just come watch your vids. It's like coming home at Christmas. Just makes me feel good for some reason. Really glad your channel has blown up as you absolutely deserve it. Love from montana.
me, internally: "man I sure love this wholesome channel about historical recipes but it would be neat if there was some more mid-eastern content" *an hour later*
The changes I made to this recipe were: 1. I used sesame oil instead of toasted sesame the way you did (although I like toasted more and maybe next time I will use that), 2. I didn't use any sugar, I used twice as much honey instead, 3. I didn't completely grind the pistachios into a powder, I "coarsely" ground them in a mortar and pestle, and 4. I only had rose essence, not rose water. I believe if you're using essence you need to use 1/5 of what you would need with rose water so I used less than half a tsp The candies were absolutely delicious and I don't think I even need the extra sesame seeds but next time I think I want them to have more pistachio in the matrix. I also think they're pretty oily which mediaeval Arabians may have liked but I don't think it's necessary for them to be as oily. Changes I'll make for next time: 1. Less oil (maybe half??) 2. Less honey (also maybe half??) 3. Halving the oil and honey probably means I'll need to reduce the rose essence/water Thank you for doing this video!!
So just a tip for people that dont have a candy thermometer, You can test the varying stages of sugar melting(Soft ball, hard ball, soft crack, etc) by putting a drop of what your heating into a bit of water. 270 is Soft Crack stage so you are looking for the mixture to form flexible strands when dropped in. Another way to KINDA tell you are there is the bubbles of your mixture will be small and pop quickly. This shows the moistures low enough. Hope this helps! Ive made varying candies from fudge to lollys for years without a thermometer.
Nice, we used to make peanut brittle, but we never thought of adding aromatics like saffron and rose water. Might be time to make a fancy version of it.
Love this episode and excited for episode 2. My family comes from a line of sugar cane cutters in Queensland, Australia - one of the homes of sugar cane in the new world! - and just the effort of manufacture historically, as well as how sugar has shaped the world... it really is a fascinating topic!
When my boyfriend and I went to Cuba, the resort we stayed at served all of their cappuccinos with a piece of sugar cane (exactly like the little boy was chewing on in the photo you included) and it was PHENOMENAL! You would have to ask for sugar packets if you wanted those instead of cane 😊
love this ! the uses of sugar pre-western europe are super interesting ! if anyone’s interested and can find it, i’d highly recommend the show The Sweet Makers! its 4 episodes of modern confectioners going through making british sweets from different eras, while a historian covers the sugar industry in asides !
@@Rachel-fi4sc hello, thank you for your interest!! i ended up recruiting my sibling to help me since i’m not entirely confident in a kitchen.. but yeah, ultimately, they didnt leave a single crumb on the plate cuz they hoovered it up better than any newfangled vacuum cleaner xD
There's a very similar Spanish Christmas desert called "turrón" which mixes almonds, honey and sugar (sometimes almond oil as well, just no rose). Now I know where we got it from!
Oooh, it's nice of you to say. I've just binged more than half of this channel and already gotten my brother, uncle and mum on it, too! And I must say, I've studied languages and your pronunciation is excellent!
I’m Cuban and it is also a custom in our culture to each raw sugar cane by just munching on it. It is soooo delicious and actually tastes quite different from refined sugar.
Your sound is wonderful! The background guitar sounds as if it is coming from another room, so it doesn't interfere with your voice, that sounds "right here". I love these ancient recipes, too. Your reactions are great!
I love those sesame caramel thingies (no idea what they are called) and I love almonds and pistachios so this sounds really good! Not a huge fan of rose tho, I'd probably use orange flower water I think that would taste awesome! Also I am sick right now and I'm toying with the idea of consuming inappropriate amounts of candy - for medical reasons obviously! Very excited for part 2 of the history of sugar!
I loved the verbal gynastics to avoid saying they looked like cow patties. Though I think the sesame seads on top actually worked perfectly and made them look extra tastey. Maybe some chopped or crushed pistachios would be good on top too.
@@TastingHistory And it's going really well! By all means, keep doing whatever episodes interest you; I think that's what always makes them so great. Your passion for food and history is infectious, no matter the dish, region or time period.
I would love to see you go into a bit more history of refining oils for food like olive and sesame or maybe a specific episode on distilling and essences like rose water and vanilla extract.
@@skippyjonjones23 its a heck of a lot better than nothing, not only is it a natural antiseptic that never goes bad, but it also seals the wound from debris and liquids to allow a more complete healing. Clean the wound of any foreign matter, stitch if necessary, smear with a thin layer of honey, then wrap with clean (preferably boiled) undyed cloth. Badabing badaboom, you got yourself an ancient neosporin band-aid.
Love this! I wonder though: is the sesame oil that they are referring to in the recipe 'toasted sesame oil' or just standard sesame oil? Because the flavor would turn out very differently, as well as the cooking process (toasted will burn much quicker)
I was expecting this. Just finally watched your appearance at the Nutmeg Tavern last night. I really enjoyed it. I think a good collab with you guys would be John taking a basic recipe for something, home cooking style, and you doing a more Court or Lord's version or a version from somewhere else in the world or different part of history with your little "history of" segment thrown in to join the 2 versions together.
I desperately want to see the full collection of Pokemon stuffies. You're my kinda nerd, Max. The two upsides to this pandemic for me have been discovering channels like this, and reinvigorating my love for PokemonGo. Going to the park to spin Pokestops is good for your mental health, y'all.
Dare I say, this show of yours could be ranked among the top 3 things I look forward to from day to day. The other 2 being my bed, and dinner. Keep up the amazing work!
You should try to find a recipe for pastilla or bastilla, from what I know it's a Moroccan spiced chicken pie with almonds, sugar, and cinnamon. It used to be made with pigeon, and I think there's a fish variety as well! The crust is super thin pastry, called warqa. I'd love to see if you can find a medieval recipe for it!
He is absolutely right about sugar cane. That was our favorite treat when all my cousins were at our grandma's house. She would have a huge knife and peel and chop off pieces for us kids.
Another great episode! As usual, your videos fill me with the desire to go and try the recipe as demonstrated. With regard to "darkening the pupils:" I suspect (and this is simply my guess) that this is a metaphor. In the old days, lanterns were made using a candle or oil light, surrounded by translucent "windows" of horn. As the candles/oil burned they created soot, which built up on the sheets of horn as a layer of dark material, and darkened the light. The similarity to cataracts on the human eye still leads us to use phrases like "my eyesight is dim;" a line from the Bible refers to seeing "through a glass darkly." I imagine this is a similar thing, with the pupils "darkened" by age or illness. Side-note: It also occurs to me that, unchecked, diabetes/fluctuating blood glucose can lead to vision problems - so, if a person was having regular bouts of weakness (from hypoglycæmia) and nommed some sugar cane as a remedy (thereby normalizing blood sugar until a proper meal came around), it might have a long-term effect of reducing vision loss compared to someone who had simply fasted. I can't imainge how it would help by being "rubbed on," though...
Unfortunately (because I've seen them all, most many times)I discovered this channel not long after Max started it so I eagerly awaited the new episodes every week. I am a huge history fan!!
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Everyone enjoy this first episode of the happy, upbeat history of sugar! Next week I will talk about the more depressing "recent" history of sugar-cane.
If there's one thing people should enjoy, it's sugar cane juice. It's amazing!!! We have it in Singapore's many drink stalls at hawker centers and some coffee shops. Such a refreshing drink.
@@Boom12 In the Dominican Republic we also have came juice! Is delicious! We also eat a lot of sugar cane. Very refreshing.
@@AngelaMerici12 Have you tried cane juice with lemon? It's such an incredible combination.
i'm sure no human suffering was used before the 1600s in order to get sugar to the rich
@@AlvarazCMSB We just don't know about it
People, be careful with unwrapped candy when you go trick or treating with your kids, I found an entire Ottoman Empire regiment in one of those
For real though, I had a tiny foot soldier stuck in my tooth and almost lost a filling.
I found an entire crusade inside my Mars bar
😂
@@tom4tpuree That's what you get for stealing The Pope's candy.
@@MK_ULTRA420 that’s probably what I get for hammering a piece of paper stating the all of the problems of the Catholic Church
can we all just appreciate the fact that this guy is actually researching the correct pronunciation of names and ingredients?!
I appreciate everything about this dude. His accuracy, the fantastic history lessons, his advice, his hints, his descriptions of taste- this is truly one of my favorite fucking things on the internet
He’s always asking on Twitter for people who speak these other languages and can help him with pronunciation. It’s really great that he puts that much effort into it
I would appreciate it more if he didn't have such an outdated view of the Crusades. They weren't even as bad as the Arab conqiest of Persia.
@@ThugShakers4Christ ignoring how dumb of a statement that is concerning literal history- what about his view is outdated
@@johnnycashew9101 the Crusades in that area were just part of the local power struggle between the Byzantines, who had ruled that region for centuries, and their allies, the Crusaders, vs the Muslim powers, which had only developed much more recently. Additionally, the first crusades were actually the campaigns of the Reconquista.
Kid 1: I got M&Ms!
Kid 2: I got Twizzlers!
Kid 3: I got a 13th c. Middle Eastern pistachio and rose confection.
That third kid was me
Kid 4: I got shampoo. (no joke... a lady gave me shampoo and my brother candy, I was thoroughly confused)
Kid 5: I got a rock
Kid 6: Ooh, fingers! (Yes, I baked finger cookies one year.)
Kid 7: I got a goodie bag (that happened to me when I was 8).
Pliny: "Sugar is only used for medical purposes."
Mary Poppins: Say no more
_a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go downnnn_
_the medicine go downn_
_the medicine go downn_
_in the most delightful way_
Medieval doctors: I'm Mary Poppins y'all!
You get medicine and you get medicine and you get medince!
@@KeepCalmContemplateYourChoices I understood that reference...
As mentioned before "darken the pupils" means dilating them, which happens when your parasympathic nerve system emits more of its hormons, which could lead to a shock. Septic shocks were pretty common when infected at that time due to a lack of antibiotocs or adequate treatment.
So a sickness that darkens your pupils is a pretty severe sickness.
1. A gluten free historical recipe! Thank you!
2. “Throw the sesame oil in the dist” is such a lovely poetic phrase.
3. Great job on the Arabic pronunciation!
4. Maybe the “darkened” pupils were dilated pupils. The ancient Greeks described colors in reference to light and shadow, not color family, so the sea was sometimes described as bronze, presumably because it sparkles like hammered bronze. By that token pupils might be “darkened” simply by dilating and showing less of the iris.
Makes sense with the pupils
That's what i thought about the pupils.
Bronze also turns green and there are some parts of the sea that will have a greenish tinge to it, like patina'd bronze.
Example bronze: bit.ly/2IQ3Agn
Sea: bit.ly/3ji372O
Bronze patina is greenish blue. Considering that they also described sky as being the bronze colour, I guess that's where it comes from.
@@lemmypop1300 Ooh! Good point!
"These Twinkies are for my glaucoma, man!" D E A D
this is an under appreciated line and comment
Which is funny, because high blood sugars can contribute to glaucoma! I’m diabetic and have to use special eye drops to lower my eye pressure so I don’t go blind.
I mean they probably would go well with a dose MJ for *actually* treating the glaucoma, no?
@@defectiveshark7602 Pprrreeeettttyyy sure that's what Max was alluding to, my guy. :)
@@skippyjonjones23 Yesss, it's like the worst (or best?) line! Oh the irony.
His pronounciation in different languages is on point
Attention to pronunciation and diction in various languages - one of the few transferable skills of being a classically-trained singer!
@@ericcc172 he sings?
Hate to be that guy, love this channel, but he is actually mispronouncing "pistachio." In Italian, it would be a hard C because of the H that follows.
@@jamesv.7041 Well, in italy it wouldn't be pistachio to begin with, but rather pistacchio. But as it so happens he's using the english word which may or may not directly derive from the italian term. Plus, it's not like the italians invented the word to begin with, it traces all the way back to latin (pistacium) and greek (pistakion) which in turn seems to be derived from the old armenian word պիստակ (which would be "pistak" in latin letters).
So, he's not mispronouncing the italian word pistacchio because he isn't even using it to begin with, but rather the english word and his pronunciation for it is perfectly good.
@@darthplagueis13 God damn dude you didn't just murder him you buried his ass. Straight facts.
An old candy-makers trick I learned help with boil over is to smear the top 1 inch of the rim of your pan with softened butter before you start cooking in it. If your sugar mixture rises up to the butter line it will instantly back off in time for you to reduce heat! Great vid can't wait to try it!
I, too have done this with oil on a paper towel
I think the whole pupils darkening thing was mentioning how with copious amounts of sugar your pupils will dilate which can be perceived as “darkening”.
eh? I would think they'd do the opposite, pupes dilate when you're relaxed. and the guy said it FIXES darkened pupils, didn't he?
@@KairuHakubino, he said it darkens the pupils
@@z3rox969 oh I misheard. But still, the other point remains. sugar, if anything, shrinks your pupils.
They were getting high on sugar and then crashing
@@KairuHakubi yeah but back then they didn't have a lot of stimulation or sensation, imagine the serotonin dump you would get from eating concentrated sugar once a year pretty much popped a molly now I'm sweatin.
I have never seen a food show nearly as fascinating, and well researched as this. Every episode has been so interesting, well laid out and presented.
This channel is just a GEM for me
Have you seen Townsends channel? I think he's just as fantastic.
These pokemon stuffies are getting shockingly detailed
I love whatever is placed there is different in each video.
I swear they have a room dedicated to them. bahahaha
@@mikelegault9344 I actually think they do :D I believe Max showed sth of the sort on instagram
I don't know what it says about me but I can almost always recognize them (depending on generation somewhat) and this time even know the costume. (Probably it's having grown up in gen1 pokemon and now having small kids who watch the show)
An egg-cellent easter egg in each video
You MUST do ma'amoul: one of the oldest confections on earth, from ancient Mesopotamia, delicious and something everyone can make!
Ma'amouls are lovely! And there is such a wide variety of date ma'amouls themselves, not to mention the numerous other flavours.
You cultured devil, you! Ma'moul is one of my favorites of all time. Karbouj a close second if you're familiar with it!
Ma'moul is awesome. Especially with datefruit filling.
What’s ma’amoul, if you don’t mind me asking?
@@justanotherhappyhumanist8832 It's a biscuit/cookie type thing, filled with stuff like walnuts or dates.
Seeing someone from a different culture respect and be so enthusiastic about my own is heartwarming. Much love for your entire channel.
There's a Chinese RUclipsr called Dianxi Xiaoge who cooks stuff with traditional methods (I believe she's from rural China not sure which region) and she uses the large sugar crystals the Greeks mentioned being the size of hazelnuts, I found them very interesting the first time I saw them
When we get to christmas time, I think you should make a danish pastry called "klejner". It's a pastry fried in lard that has been made since the middle ages. They are usually eaten around christmas. they are also popular in Norway where they are known as "fattigmann" but they are a little bit different from the danish.
Those sound great! I’ve never heard of them.
That’s an awesome idea klejner are sooo good
oh I second this! I love fattigmann!
Those seem quite similiar to the german Schmalzkuchen wich is eaten around christmas as well
Fattigman is my absolute fav! gods they are delicious!
“The twinkies are for my glaucoma” made me chuckle. 😂
@Summer Martin - I loved Twinkies when I was a kid, but I have come to realize that they are as nauseating as some medications.
Just a reminder for everyone trying this at home: DO NOT POUR WATER ON A GREASE FIRE. POURING WATER ON A GREASE FIRE WILL MAKE IT EXPLODE. DON'T USE FIRE EXTINGUISHERS OR MOVE THE PAN. Smother the fire with a lid or metal sheet, turn off the heat, and call the fire department.
Hopefully no one will need to use this info, but with fire safety, better to know before you need to know.
Edit: Some replies noted that fire extinguishers can be effective against grease fires, and that is true if you have a Class B or K extinguisher. I decided to say that you shouldn't use them because it's better to have clear, direct instructions in a dangerous situation when people may be panicking, and smothering a fire and removing it from the heat source is a safe and effective way to contain it while you wait for professionals. If you know you have a fire extinguisher that is effective for grease fires, use it, but if you are not sure, leave it until you are safe.
You can actually use a fire extinguisher, but it depends on what kind. Carbon Dioxide ones work but ones which use water obviously don’t
@@nicholasledermann3086 well, you could also use a powder extinguisher, if you were planing on renovating the entire house anyway...
fire extinguishers are supposed to be safe for grease fires tho
@@periwinklesprinkles there are many types of fire extinguisher, only a few are safe for grease fires. Also, I have a glass wool blanket in the kitchen to cover the fire with. Never had to use it, but it's big enough to be a heat shield for you as you put it over the fire.
I feel like my man Michael Coffrey might be GenX. Because I, too, feel the need to append a helpful and detailed safety warning to about 95% of the uploads I view. Regardless, thank you, Michael. 👍 I salute you.
Sugar is mentioned in the ancient Pali texts. There's mention of a sugar factory in the ancient Pali texts in India. A monk called Revata the Doubter saw them mixing in a little flour to make the sugar stick together in balls so he thought it shouldn't be allowable in the afternoon, but the Buddha said it was still ok. (from my friend who is a senior monk and Buddhist scholar, fluent in Pali)
Why not allowable in the afternoon specifically?
@@topheavykoolaid Religion can be oddly specific at times, no sense trying to logic it.
@@topheavykoolaid’m not really sure but I would assume that its because in Buddhism if you become a monk or nun it would be required for you to fast in a way, and monks and nuns aren’t allowed to eat after 12 because of that (they can still drink). So maybe he thought putting flour in candy would be some sort of cheat as flour is used in solid foods, but candy is sort of a loophole to have something that’ll give some energy or satiate hunger as you don’t have to chew it and it just dissolve so yeah I think that’s why, because of monks and nuns not eating after 12 could be why he had to ask about if it is allowed in the afternoon specifically
People calling it sweet salt made me think that, even back then, someone accidentally made a cake with salt 😂
I still taste a bit before I add it to my tea or coffee when I'm at a friend's lest I salt my beverage.... again
My grandmother once made an apple pie with salt accidentally... she took it out of the oven and it was hard as rock and awful smelling. She was so pissed she opened the back door and threw it (pan and all since it was stuck) as far as she could into the field, but a while afterwards she was sad about the loss of the pan. My dad (this was back way before I was born when my dad was around 12) secretly went out into the field and searched for it and once he found it he cleaned the pan and presented it to my grandma lol.
@@MsStarSwordPlays Your grandma is dedicated to her craft.
Better than when I was at a fish and chip restaurant and said, I love lots of salt on my chips, proceeded to put lots of sugar on them. Yuck!
@@MsStarSwordPlays Your family sounds pretty cool :) Nice to hear your story
Sugar as medicine sounds like the most 1AD thing ever
🤣 so true
I could have been used to treat diabetes
It's really not that strange to find stuff like that in history. Cocaine and radioactive substances were used for medicinal purposes too.
Medicines now: DO NOT PUT RADIOACTIVE STUFF
Medicines then: lol idc here's 3 metric tons of cocaine
yeap, eat some sugar, use leaches, and watch your phlegm and bile and before you sleep snort a bit of arsenic and use a mask or mercury ... you'll live to the ripe old age of 23!
Best thing to come out of 2020 and coming out each Tuesday.
No matter how bummed out I am Max Miller always jumps in and saves the week for me.
Awww shucks ☺️
@@TastingHistory Yes Max we appreciate you! This has been such a shitty year for me, but I still hop on to RUclips almost every day to see what you're cooking. I literally jumped up and down when I saw a new video today!
This is really true. I can have a really rough day (every day, basically) and then see a new episode in my notifications and suddenly my mood is lifted!
@@TastingHistory you are a life saver man !
It's so great to finally see an Arabic recipe here! Being an Arab, it really brings me pride to see it represented on this channel :)
Love arabs bro
I love how this series didn't get all euro centric. Best food history RUclipsr!
Thank you 🙏
Re candy thermometers. People used to make candy by evaluating the “ball” condition as it cooked. I recall soft balls, hard ball and something like “cracked” ball. You dribbled a bit of the stuff into cold water and the relative hardness of the ball it formed was how you rated it’s doneness.
That's how I learned. It worked fine. Soft ball, hard ball, thread stage, hard crack, it was totally accurate. just drop the candy into cold water and then squeeze it between the finger and thumb and see what the texture is
I don't feel i'm as much of a candy stage expert as you guys but i can at least make an italian meringue without using a thermometer...
@@haroldbaluyottan Wow! For that I go to the panificio in my street!
Can confirm. My grandma calls it "punto de bolita". This translates to "point at which a small bead forms"
@@hombreg1 my grandmother used this for the soft ball stage when she made pine nut cheese
Making candy can be tricky. Have you ever had a go at it? How'd it turn out?
I make a Scottish candy called “tablet.” It was first documented in the 1700’s, but possibly comes from earlier.
It’s very rich, and very yummy.
it melted all over the place, burnt my fingers..so...yea.
I think the most difficult but worthwhile Candy I have made at home is divinity. Delicious!! 🥰🙌🏻
I tried to make hard candy one time...I had to replace the pan because I cooked it too long
I’ve made divinity, marzipan, and “colored glass” candy. Very yummy! Also tried making saltwater taffy, but didn’t stretch it enough
I am almost certain this is the ancient version of a Persian candy called “Sohan”. It has all the key elements of Persian cuisine like saffron, rose water and pistachios.
I agree. The cuisine of the Kitab al Tabikh was the cuisine of the Abbassid court, a forerunner of the court of the shahs. As cookbooks go, it was the medieval equivalent of Carême's cookbook.
Yeah this is essentially today's Sohan halwa.
I'm sure this was based on the Sohan and not the other way around. Saffron, rose water and pistachios are NOT from Arabia.
@@marmary5555 Well, it's hard to tell which came first. Those ingredients not belonging to North Africa isn't concrete evidence that Sohan came first. After all, tomatoes aren't native to Italy yet it's false to say that South Americans invented Marinara. Same with things like Mapo Tofu, again chilies are native to South America yet it was the Chinese who developed that dish
i know! That's exactly what I thought, it reminded me of Sohan from my chilhood
"Darkening the pupils" sounds like dilation.
@Brandon Taitano - I think you are right.
I would say the eyes dilating from relaxation or pleasure.
That's my thinking as well.
or the pupils (childs) it makes them dark, because candy is a helluva drug when youre a kid
I think so, too. It makes a lot of sense.
Hey Max, if you ever make these again, could I suggest trying out a thing we do with a very similar candy in Finland (and I assume at least in other Nordic countries as well) for shaping them? You could cut about 4 inch x 4 inch (10 cm) squares from parchment/wax paper and twist it into a cone shape which you then stick upright whichever way seems the most manageable to you, then you pour the mixture in the paper cones and place a stick in the middle for a handle. When they harden you'll have these cone shaped "lollipops", all neatly in the same shape.
I can totally vouch for chewing on sugarcane. My grandma in the Philippines gave it to me and by brother as a treat. The fibers inside the cane are super tough so yes you do just chew on it and suck out the sugar. Sooooo delicious!
I'm egyptian and we do the same. We even drink the juice and serve it as a street-drink.
Not sure if this is true elsewhere, but India has both purple and green sugarcane. The green is used for making sugar, and the purple is meant for straight consumption, including "juicing".
It isn't just like drinking sugar water; it's sweet but has it's own unique flavor. Closest thing I could compare it to is coconut water, but not quite.
We used to “eat” sugar cane in the Southern US when I was growing up. I’ve begun to see it in grocery stores as a “specialty” item in the summer. It’s all trimmed down and cut into lengths about 12-18” long and wrapped in plastic. We used to buy the long stalks in the store when I was a kid, but that was 50+ years ago!
I got the chance to eat raw sugarcane a few years ago, I kept the bag in the fridge and it was the most refreshing delicious treat I've ever had.
Is it like chewing celery? (But tougher?)
Can't emphasize enough how good of a format these videos are.
Thank you 🙏
"Darkens pupils" just means dilating them.
@TheOwneroftheIC - That makes a lot of sense.
So, cocaine.
@Ben Höflinger doubtful? The context of the quote wasn't negative. Plus, sugar doesn't cause blindness (diabetes can, but sugar doesn't cause diabetes, despite popular belief. If an ancient had diabetes, they'd be dead and gone long before they consumed enough sugar for a link to be made)
@@petercarioscia9189 I think there was an awareness of sugar in the urine and that was the early association, not eating it.
i dont think so - in hebrew, dark in the context of eyes means blindness, and greek may have borrowed that meaning. to me, darkening pupils suggests blindness or poor vision.
also - pupils' color stays the same when dilated, so i have some difficulty seeing the analogy.
These videos are so joyful. A bright spot in a dark time, and there’s nothing about this channel I don’t love. Me and my husband love to shotgun these vids with J Townsend cooking vids back to back (and I love a little Mrs. Crocombe on the side)
Yes all the major food chefs!
Same!
Commoner: hey what are you doing with that medicine?
Some dude who's about to invent candy: *looks to the side* nothing.
Does anyone besides me think this guy needs his own tv show? He is funny and makes the history of food interesting. Love to watch his you tube channel.
He should team up with Alton Brown
You are not, judging by the comments under other videos of his.
I feel like RUclips is the best thing for this type of stuff.
Why TV? TV is dead, RUclips and Twitch are the future and he's one of the best in RUclips, so he's good here.
I think that he is perfect for RUclips, maybe a live cooking on twitch would be awesome. The TV is dying
Originally from south Alabama and my grandfather used to always grow a little sugar cane just for the grandkids to chew on. One of our neighbors put in a small mill and made and sold syrup locally. Another small town, Loachapoka, held a festival every year called "Syrup Soppin' Day" where hot cane and sorghum syrup was pressed and served.
My Aunt used to mix honey and sesame seed, then bake it claiming it was an ancient Egyptian recipe. Your's look the same, though apparently we weren't wealthy enough for the pistachios :( Great tasting mate :)
They are crazy expensive!
I believe your aunt was making something called سمسمية (pronounced "Sim smeh yeh" although in Egyptian dialect it's probably "som someh yah"). it is sometimes called "sesame snaps" in the west.
It's basically sesame seeds, honey, and sugar and a few bits and bobs added depending on the region.
Once as a kid my sister and I tried to make it but decided that it had too many calories with both honey and sugar so we kept the sugar out. Turns out the sugar's main purpose was binding, not flavoring, so we ended up with a type of goo that tasted exactly like sesame snaps but had to be eaten with a spoon.
They sell sweetened sesame bars at my local grocer and they are so tasty!
Sesame seed snaps-a favourite here!
Oooh I want to try that. I cant eat pistachios or almonds!
as a part of the sugar series, could you pleaaaaaase talk about the tudor practice of making fake meals out of marzipan and sugar? Like the marchpane sugar work that looks like bacon and eggs?
Sesame oil that is mentioned multiple times in that book (كتاب الطبيخ) is not the same as the regular sesame oil that we use today. It was extremely mild in taste compared to what we can get in gorcery stores nowadays. It's more like a tasteless vegetable oil, if you want to replicate the taste of whatever recipe you try from that book. (I don't remember exactly what is the source of this, and I wrote it somewhere; but I'm sure that this was my conclusion after hours of research).
Also, when the author says: «equal parts», more often than not he means equal volumes, not equal weights. Accurately measuring the weight was difficult at the time, and sometimes he speaks of small quantities that it was impossible to have equal weights of! So unless he explicitly uses a weight unit, it is volumes all over.
Ah, so Mary Poppins was a practitioner of aryuvedic medicine.
🤣
it all makes sense now haha
Lol! Exactly where my mind went too! 😂
Maybe she flew in from India?
@@lhfirex That would explain her entrance. She got it from the yogis.
Finally an Arabic recipe lol
A fan from Saudi Arabia
More to come!
YAAAAAASSSSS! When I was little, the women wouldn't teach me to cook.. I've had to learn most things myself. It's channels like this, with this one included, that teach me the best recipes and techniques!! Thank you!!!!!
my guess as to "darkens the pupils" is that it is a slight mistranslation and it means darkens the irises, refering to liver psoriasis which causes a buildup of bilirubin, the compound that makes your urine yellow, in the blood and tissues of your body, which is especially apparent in eyes turning them a dark yellow color
would have have happened fast enough to be noticeable to an observer?
@@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920 well the comparison to the normal state of the color of somones eyes is what would make it obvious that they have darkened, you wouldn't have to observe them darken
I think the best part of making your recipes isn’t the end product, but introducing yourself to a weird ingredient that you otherwise wouldn’t have bought. I made these today and now I have rosewater for other uses!
Put rosewater in cheesecake and add a strawberry sauce on top, lovely combo. I have tried rosewater and dried strawberry shortbread but it just didn't bake properly, and I will get round to rose and vanilla ice cream. The classic rose recipe is lokum, but it looks really hard to make.
When you said “darkens pupils” the first thing I thought of was those stories of women who used to put Belladonna(?) tinctures in their eyes to cause their pupils to dilate, so maybe it is something similar to that.
I thought the same
Various types of nightshade (belladonna, henbane) were in use in Ancient Greece, and certainly known by the 1st century CE. So this could very well be what the text refers to. Not that external (or internal) use of sugar would have any effect on atropine poisoning, but...
I wondered
@Spine122251 - Instilling sugar water/ syrup/ juice into one's eyes would be a great big mistake (like belladonna isn't!).
1. As the water dries in the eye, the sugar becomes more and more granular, sharp, and gritty. Talk about painful! Talk about scratching one's cornea, leaving permanent scarring!
2. Sugar is an EXCELLENT medium for the growth of bacteria. That would result in RAGING conjunctivitis. The ancients would recognize this instantly (though they had no germ theory, they could recognize infection and inflammation).
So, no - no sugar water/ syrup/ juice in the eye, please!!!!
I came to say exactly this, but I scrolled first because I knew I couldn't be the only one.
As a complete aside, I am really impressed with your Pokemon collection, and it's always a joy to see who is going to show up in the next episode. Thank you.
@KensanOni - They are actually from the extensive Pokemon collection of Jose, Max's fiancé. But they probably share. ^_^
Same here. He is lucky.
Protip: Sugarcane juice with lime is even more "muah" than just sucking a stick.
I’ll need to try that
@@TastingHistory Don't forget to add some rum to that ;)
@@longcat7673 Go with an agricole or cachaça for the full sugar cane experience.
It's pretty easy to see how the original daiquiri came to be. Those ingredients were practically begging to be combined.
Lime, pineapple or passion fruit and served ice cold. MUAH!
As an anthropology major (and a home cook) I really appreciate your videos. Your work is amazingly thorough and blends the two worlds of history and cooking effortlessly. Hopefully everyone who’s coming for one of those things ends up staying for both! Personally, I know I’ve been curious about culinary history for as long as I can remember. Thanks for giving me such a great way to learn!!
Part 2 cant come sooner! Tasting History is now my favourite series on RUclips. My god is it an absolute binge, Keep it up Max!
Thank you!
Thank you! I was just thinking the other day watching one of your other mediaeval recipes “how did they find sugar in the Middle Ages “ and now you have answered my question in this really interesting and informative video. As a bonus the recipe looks divine! Thank you again from Australia 🇦🇺
Here is a suggestion I have for you Max. Onion soup.
In France, there is a more or less known legend that states king Louis XV "invented" on an hunt, when he figured he only had butter, onions and champagne as ingredients. While the dish is more likely older and I guess you would be abble to find older recipes for it, it would make a good idea for a winter dish on the channel.
Not gonna lie. butter, onions and champagne doesn't sound like it would make for a good soup. Like, wouldn't it be really sour? All recipes I've seen for onion soup involved some kind of stock or broth (though I guess if he was out hunting he could've used veil or boar or whatever he was hunting for to make a broth).
@@darthplagueis13 I tend to add white wine instead of champagne in my onion soup. It's rather savory and delicious.
I use a dry white wine, too. It offsets the sweetness of the cooked onion.
Catherine di Medici had the french court eating a tuscan onion soup, there are lots of good stories around french onion soup.
Champagne like the alcohol or champignon like the mushroom? Because either/both sound great in that context
This really is a quality channel. And for a new channel, it's already quite _refined._
if you get my drift
Sweet comment!
your arabic pronunciations are almost perfect!! that's super impressive! amazing video btw, love from Lebanon 💙💜❤💞❤💙💞💜❤💞💙💜💕❤💞💙💜💕
Bisexual flag?
@@dayalasingh5853 ...perhaps
I think its interesting how "tang" in a different tone (糖) means sugar, and it was popularized under Tang Taizong :)
Almost makes me wonder if it was some kind of publicity/propoganda thing. Have your name be what people call the thing that everyone loves. So when they say it they think of you...or something like that I don't know
Happy to inform, that the Egyptian sweet-tooth is still prevalent till this very day :D Can’t wait for more recipes! Hopefully some ancient Egypt ones maybe?
It's the whole Meditteranean I think or at least eastern side as far west as Sicily
Finally do we have some Middle Eastern cuisine, I wonder if you would talk about Andalusian food.
I definitely will.
@@TastingHistory I would love to see andalusian food! Im spanish and my family is from the south, let me know if you need help with research or translation, i would love to help :)
@@19Nessiee hey yo también soy español
words cannot convey the sense of calm and joy this man gives me. All the stress is gone, we are just cooking and learning.
Over here we still make sugarcane juice. It is indeed divine because it's never too sweet and it has a great flavour that comes only from the plant.
I like my drink with kumquat
Yep. It's basically sugar water but you don't think of it as that because of the distinct flavor that you don't get from processed cane sugar. Really nice with lots of ice on a hot day.
I’m in China and I fucking love sugar cane juice
I just love seeing him so happy with his creation at the end genuinely so excited by the flavors he is experiencing! Blessings ♥️
I would recommend dealing with them like you would Swedish knäck: put a dollop of them in candy wrapper cups. I imagine that would make them easier to eat and store.
Max I dont know if you'll see this or not but I just wanted you to know how much I genuinely appreciate your vids. If my anxiety is acting up for that day I just come watch your vids. It's like coming home at Christmas. Just makes me feel good for some reason. Really glad your channel has blown up as you absolutely deserve it. Love from montana.
me, internally: "man I sure love this wholesome channel about historical recipes but it would be neat if there was some more mid-eastern content"
*an hour later*
I love that you put Mozart's rondo alla turka in the background music. Its one of my favorite classical music pieces!
The changes I made to this recipe were:
1. I used sesame oil instead of toasted sesame the way you did (although I like toasted more and maybe next time I will use that),
2. I didn't use any sugar, I used twice as much honey instead,
3. I didn't completely grind the pistachios into a powder, I "coarsely" ground them in a mortar and pestle, and
4. I only had rose essence, not rose water. I believe if you're using essence you need to use 1/5 of what you would need with rose water so I used less than half a tsp
The candies were absolutely delicious and I don't think I even need the extra sesame seeds but next time I think I want them to have more pistachio in the matrix. I also think they're pretty oily which mediaeval Arabians may have liked but I don't think it's necessary for them to be as oily.
Changes I'll make for next time:
1. Less oil (maybe half??)
2. Less honey (also maybe half??)
3. Halving the oil and honey probably means I'll need to reduce the rose essence/water
Thank you for doing this video!!
You're a treasure! I was thinking that's a LOT of oil!
So just a tip for people that dont have a candy thermometer, You can test the varying stages of sugar melting(Soft ball, hard ball, soft crack, etc) by putting a drop of what your heating into a bit of water. 270 is Soft Crack stage so you are looking for the mixture to form flexible strands when dropped in. Another way to KINDA tell you are there is the bubbles of your mixture will be small and pop quickly. This shows the moistures low enough. Hope this helps! Ive made varying candies from fudge to lollys for years without a thermometer.
Nice, we used to make peanut brittle, but we never thought of adding aromatics like saffron and rose water. Might be time to make a fancy version of it.
The flavor of the peanuts may be too heavy, please let us know the result. You can make Barfi, which is delicious.
Love this episode and excited for episode 2. My family comes from a line of sugar cane cutters in Queensland, Australia - one of the homes of sugar cane in the new world! - and just the effort of manufacture historically, as well as how sugar has shaped the world... it really is a fascinating topic!
When my boyfriend and I went to Cuba, the resort we stayed at served all of their cappuccinos with a piece of sugar cane (exactly like the little boy was chewing on in the photo you included) and it was PHENOMENAL! You would have to ask for sugar packets if you wanted those instead of cane 😊
Max is such a good story teller. It’s been like a dozen times I’ve completely forgotten what we were cooking and was just enamored with the history.
love this ! the uses of sugar pre-western europe are super interesting !
if anyone’s interested and can find it, i’d highly recommend the show The Sweet Makers! its 4 episodes of modern confectioners going through making british sweets from different eras, while a historian covers the sugar industry in asides !
I make blossom cookies with rose and orange blossom waters... one of my favorite winter cookies
Finally a recipe I can make! I love pistachio, rose water, sesame oil and sugar so this is perfect for me!
Hey I’m arab and surprised to find something arabian here!! This honestly sounds like something my parents would enjoy!
Did you make some for your parents? How did it go?
@@Rachel-fi4sc hello, thank you for your interest!! i ended up recruiting my sibling to help me since i’m not entirely confident in a kitchen.. but yeah, ultimately, they didnt leave a single crumb on the plate cuz they hoovered it up better than any newfangled vacuum cleaner xD
@@PirateDivine Oh, that's wonderful! I'm so glad they liked it and that it seemed to be a good family bonding experiment. ^-^
There's a very similar Spanish Christmas desert called "turrón" which mixes almonds, honey and sugar (sometimes almond oil as well, just no rose). Now I know where we got it from!
This is _insane._ I am _so_ happy to have found this gem of a channel! My family literally just consists of history nerds, so sharing this is a must!
Sounds like a cool family to me.
Oooh, it's nice of you to say. I've just binged more than half of this channel and already gotten my brother, uncle and mum on it, too!
And I must say, I've studied languages and your pronunciation is excellent!
Commenting to give you more engagement so this platform shows you more because your channel is amazing thank you
I’m Cuban and it is also a custom in our culture to each raw sugar cane by just munching on it. It is soooo delicious and actually tastes quite different from refined sugar.
Oh my gosh, Max, I love how you just casually placed a picture of "The Village People" in there. That was great.
Food AND History, what is this magical channel...
SUBSCRIBED
Your sound is wonderful! The background guitar sounds as if it is coming from another room, so it doesn't interfere with your voice, that sounds "right here". I love these ancient recipes, too. Your reactions are great!
Oh, you HAD to start covering the history of sugar just after I started my no sugar diet...
🤣 sorry
You started it during Halloween season? Best of luck!
@Mel Barrett Yes, "hoping" is definitely the word to use there.
Turn it around... Have sugar with every meal.
I love those sesame caramel thingies (no idea what they are called) and I love almonds and pistachios so this sounds really good! Not a huge fan of rose tho, I'd probably use orange flower water I think that would taste awesome! Also I am sick right now and I'm toying with the idea of consuming inappropriate amounts of candy - for medical reasons obviously! Very excited for part 2 of the history of sugar!
I think orange would actually be a great substitute. And yes, the depressing second part of the history will be up next week.
@@TastingHistory woo hoo, so good you almost forget to do slavery
@@TastingHistory Oh thank goodness...rose water in any amount tastes like soap! Thanks for the suggestion, Agi Magi.
I loved the verbal gynastics to avoid saying they looked like cow patties. Though I think the sesame seads on top actually worked perfectly and made them look extra tastey. Maybe some chopped or crushed pistachios would be good on top too.
I love how you always make the effort of at least trying to pronounce everyone's names correctly.
And, obviously, great video as always
Thank you!
The Some Like it Hot reference totally made my day!! LOVE IIIITTTTTT!!!!
Always happy to see a new upload! I love the episodes that focus on cultures outside of Europe and America (though I love all of em)
Trying to spread my wings a bit 😉
@@TastingHistory And it's going really well! By all means, keep doing whatever episodes interest you; I think that's what always makes them so great. Your passion for food and history is infectious, no matter the dish, region or time period.
I would love to see you go into a bit more history of refining oils for food like olive and sesame or maybe a specific episode on distilling and essences like rose water and vanilla extract.
Interesting. I’ll have to do some research on that. Good idea!
“Put the honey on it” - medieval Arabic Def Leppard vibes
Honey has antiseptic qualities so it’s better than nothing when it comes to wound care.
"...in the name of Allah!"
@@skippyjonjones23 its a heck of a lot better than nothing, not only is it a natural antiseptic that never goes bad, but it also seals the wound from debris and liquids to allow a more complete healing.
Clean the wound of any foreign matter, stitch if necessary, smear with a thin layer of honey, then wrap with clean (preferably boiled) undyed cloth. Badabing badaboom, you got yourself an ancient neosporin band-aid.
It puts the honey on the skin...
It puts the honey in the basket or it gets the hose.
Put the honey in the fkg basket.
Love this! I wonder though: is the sesame oil that they are referring to in the recipe 'toasted sesame oil' or just standard sesame oil? Because the flavor would turn out very differently, as well as the cooking process (toasted will burn much quicker)
Yeah, toasted sesame oil is so strong, it dominates the other flavors.
I was expecting this. Just finally watched your appearance at the Nutmeg Tavern last night. I really enjoyed it. I think a good collab with you guys would be John taking a basic recipe for something, home cooking style, and you doing a more Court or Lord's version or a version from somewhere else in the world or different part of history with your little "history of" segment thrown in to join the 2 versions together.
Got a name check. Yayyyyy! The little things that make one's day brighter, eh?!
Thank you for being a patron Jill!
I desperately want to see the full collection of Pokemon stuffies. You're my kinda nerd, Max.
The two upsides to this pandemic for me have been discovering channels like this, and reinvigorating my love for PokemonGo. Going to the park to spin Pokestops is good for your mental health, y'all.
Well post on Instagram Stories here and there :)
I can’t wait to try it with you! Thank you for always giving us wonderful content and fun recipes
Thank you for watching!
As someone who is studying Anthropology of Food & Nutrition
the links are MUCH appreciated!
Dare I say, this show of yours could be ranked among the top 3 things I look forward to from day to day. The other 2 being my bed, and dinner. Keep up the amazing work!
You should try to find a recipe for pastilla or bastilla, from what I know it's a Moroccan spiced chicken pie with almonds, sugar, and cinnamon. It used to be made with pigeon, and I think there's a fish variety as well! The crust is super thin pastry, called warqa.
I'd love to see if you can find a medieval recipe for it!
He is absolutely right about sugar cane. That was our favorite treat when all my cousins were at our grandma's house. She would have a huge knife and peel and chop off pieces for us kids.
Would love to see more ancient Greek, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern dishes!!
Another great episode! As usual, your videos fill me with the desire to go and try the recipe as demonstrated.
With regard to "darkening the pupils:" I suspect (and this is simply my guess) that this is a metaphor. In the old days, lanterns were made using a candle or oil light, surrounded by translucent "windows" of horn. As the candles/oil burned they created soot, which built up on the sheets of horn as a layer of dark material, and darkened the light. The similarity to cataracts on the human eye still leads us to use phrases like "my eyesight is dim;" a line from the Bible refers to seeing "through a glass darkly." I imagine this is a similar thing, with the pupils "darkened" by age or illness.
Side-note: It also occurs to me that, unchecked, diabetes/fluctuating blood glucose can lead to vision problems - so, if a person was having regular bouts of weakness (from hypoglycæmia) and nommed some sugar cane as a remedy (thereby normalizing blood sugar until a proper meal came around), it might have a long-term effect of reducing vision loss compared to someone who had simply fasted. I can't imainge how it would help by being "rubbed on," though...
Unfortunately (because I've seen them all, most many times)I discovered this channel not long after Max started it so I eagerly awaited the new episodes every week. I am a huge history fan!!