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Culinary practices have undergone remarkable transformations over the centuries. While we often overlook the sophistication of modern recipes and cooking technologies, it's fascinating to explore how our ancestors crafted their meals without today's conveniences.
If you've ever been curious about the flavors of the past, you're in for a treat. We've uncovered and preserved recipes dating back to the era of Richard II and even further to the Sumerian empire, allowing you to experience a taste of history today.
10. The Forme Of Cury AD 1390
The Forme of Cury holds the distinction of being England's oldest known cookbook. Preparing one of its recipes allows you to savor dishes that were enjoyed in the 14th century, including those served to King Richard II himself.
This historic cookbook was authored by King Richard II’s personal chefs and features a collection of over 190 recipes, ranging from straightforward to elaborate. Some dishes involve basic steps like simmering garlic in water and oil with a touch of saffron, while others include rare ingredients such as porpoise or whale meat.
For those interested in sampling these ancient recipes, the Cafe at the Rylands offers a taste of history. In 2009, they experimented with several dishes from the cookbook and retained the most popular ones on their menu. Alternatively, you can recreate these recipes at home. The original Middle English version of the cookbook is available for download here, and simplified versions of the recipes can be found here.
9. Annals Of The Caliphs’s Kitchens AD 1000
The Annals of Caliphs’ Kitchens, authored by Al-Warraq, stands as the oldest surviving Arabic cookbook. It contains over 600 diverse recipes, many of which offer a stark contrast to modern culinary practices. These recipes provide fascinating insights into historical cooking methods, such as one sauce that requires milk to be left in the sun for 50 days—a technique vastly different from contemporary approaches.
Beyond recipes, the book delves into cultural norms, etiquette, and health advice, including tips to prevent hangovers. It suggests consuming cabbage before drinking and preparing a stew called “Kkishkiyya” the next morning to alleviate headaches and stomach discomfort.
You can purchase the book online. Alternatively, if you’re preparing for a night out, the recipe for Kkishkiyya is available for free here.
8. Apicius (c. AD 500)
To discover the extravagant dishes that might have graced a Roman emperor's table, look no further than Apicius. This ancient cookbook is attributed to Marcus Gavius Apicius, a renowned Roman culinary expert. While its exact date of origin remains uncertain, it is estimated to be at least 1,500 years old.
The recipes within were groundbreaking for their era, offering innovative techniques for preparing meat, many of which sound irresistibly delicious. For instance, one method involves filling a pig's mouth with dried figs and feeding it honeyed wine before slaughter. The book boasts over 500 recipes, with more than 400 featuring dishes generously coated in rich sauces.
The original cookbook is available to read here, though recreating the dishes poses a challenge. Designed for seasoned Roman chefs, most recipes omit ingredient quantities and cooking times, requiring you to rely on intuition and taste.
However, a recipe for pork with apples has been adapted by The Silk Road Gourmet with precise, modern instructions, offering a chance to savor a dish from the Roman Empire today.
7. The Life Of Luxury 300 BC
The first three entries on this list date from after the time of Christ and resemble modern cookbooks in structure. However, with The Life of Luxury, we travel further back in time, where culinary practices begin to diverge significantly from today's norms.
The Life of Luxury is intended to be humorous. Written in verse as a parody of grandiose epics, it offers a comedic take on cooking. While scholars find it amusing, some jokes, like “a rather rough ox-tongue... is good in summer around Chalcis,” may not resonate as strongly after 2,300 years.
It is believed that the book was displayed at banquets for guests to enjoy and laugh at while dining. Unfortunately, the original text did not survive. Our knowledge of it comes from quotes preserved by Athaneaues in his work Philosophers at Dinner, written around AD 200.
You can explore the surviving excerpts online here and even attempt recipes that predate the birth of Christ.
6. Garum 600–800 BC
Garum is an intensely salty fish-based dish. Some recipes require equal parts fish and salt, meaning if you use a one-pound fish, you’ll need to add an entire pound of salt to the mixture.
While this recipe wasn’t documented as meticulously as earlier ones, Laura Kelley, an expert in ancient cuisine, has reconstructed it. She traced references to it as a “Carthaginian sauce” in records dating back to 600–800 BC, confirming its ancient origins.
Kelley has dedicated significant effort to recreating Garum. By combining instructions from ancient texts with her culinary intuition, she developed a modern version. You can follow her detailed guide here, but be prepared for a lengthy process. This recipe, rooted in a different era and technology, requires nine months of fermentation to achieve the desired result.
5. Midas Touch Beer 700 BC
You’ve likely heard the legend of Midas, the king whose touch turned objects to gold, but you may not know he was a historical figure. While King Midas couldn’t literally turn things to gold, he did exist and eventually passed away. Remarkably, his tomb was discovered 2,700 years later.
Midas’s tomb contained no gold—instead, he was buried with bronze possessions, a curious irony. However, archaeologists found something fascinating: traces of the beer he once enjoyed.
Chemical analysis of the residue in Midas’s cups provided enough data to recreate his ancient beverage, revealing a drink vastly different from modern ones. It was a blend of wine, beer, and mead—similar to mixing the last drops from nearly empty bottles in a determined effort to enjoy a strong drink.
Trying this ancient concoction is easier today, as the Dogfish Brewery has reverse-engineered it and offers it globally. Reviews describe it as muddled, flat, and lifeless, but the experience of tasting a drink cherished by King Midas himself makes it worthwhile.
4. The Babylonian Tablets 1700–1600 BC
Yale University holds a collection of ancient Babylonian tablets, dating back 3,700 years, filled with recipes. These dishes are incredibly old—historians note that the use of liquid in cooking was revolutionary at the time, as the concept of cooking with water hadn’t yet been widely adopted.
Jean Bottero, the first to thoroughly study these tablets, wasn’t impressed. He described the food as “fit only for his worst enemies.” The recipes are admittedly simple—one dish, named Akkadian, translates to the less-than-appetizing “meat cooked in water.”
Despite Bottero’s critique, others have worked to prove him wrong. Brown University has refined his interpretations, arguing that these recipes can be made palatable. A modernized version of one dish, “Wildfowl Pie,” is available online here.
3. Sumerian Beer 1800 BC
This ancient Sumerian beer recipe isn’t a traditional recipe but rather a poem dedicated to Ninkasi, the goddess of beer. The poem is surprisingly detailed, with lines like, “You are the one who bakes the bappir in the big oven / puts in order the piles of hulled grains,” providing enough information for enthusiasts to recreate the beverage with reasonable accuracy.
The resulting beer must be consumed with straws and reportedly tastes similar to hard apple cider. Unlike Midas Touch, it can’t be mass-produced, as it spoils quickly. The only way to try it is to brew it yourself.
You can attempt it by reading the poem here. Just ensure you have a bappir and some large reed mats prepared.
2. Kebabs 1700 BC
While eating a kebab might not seem as unique as some other entries on this list, its historical significance is undeniable.
A kebab, for those unfamiliar, consists of meat, often skewered on a stick, and is enjoyed worldwide. What’s fascinating is its ancient origins. Evidence shows that Greeks were eating kebabs as early as the 17th century BC, meaning every bite of a Greek kebab connects you to a tradition spanning nearly 4,000 years.
Even the Chinese version, known as chuan, is thought to have evolved from the Greek recipe, introduced by European traders around 2,000 years ago. The Chinese adapted it by adding local spices, making it their own. Archaeological findings from Chinese tombs suggest they were consuming kebabs as early as AD 220.
No matter where you are in the world, biting into a kebab means savoring a piece of history that stretches back almost four millennia.
1. Mersu Before 1600 BC
According to Jean Bottero, only two full recipes predate the Babylonian Tablet, one of which is for mersu. Bottero refers to the mersu tablet as a “recipe” for a “cake,” though the tablet simply mentions that dates and pistachios were used to prepare a dish called mersu.
The rest of our understanding comes from theories based on the dish’s name and similar recipes, so the exact preparation of mersu remains uncertain. However, there are modern interpretations you can try that reflect our best guesses.
The oldest known recipe, discovered in the city of Nippur, was likely used as a sacrificial offering to the gods. It includes ingredients like figs, raisins, minced apples, garlic, oil, cheese, wine, and syrup, making it sound like an incredibly rich and indulgent treat.
You can find some guidance on recreating your own version of mersu here. While a complete recipe for something this ancient isn’t available, you can still assemble a dish that comes close to the original.
