In mycological text after mycological text, in mushroom poisoning report after mushroom poisoning report we get the advice to use abstinece as the fool proof means of avoiding mushroom poisonong. Many texts, for example, advise against foraging for any Amanitas becuase one Amanita, Amanita phalloides, represents something like 95% of all mushroom fatalities globally. This…
Greek Bread Baking Methods
While this is obvioulsy a tandoor style oven from ancient Greece, I have not been able to find confirming archeological evidence for tandoor oven from Greek archeological sites. If you know of evidence for a tandoor oven from a Greek site, please leave a comment. The video I have included here shows breads placed up…
The Furies: Part 1
This is the first part of a two part project. First listen: React to what you hear This a translation project. You are translating musical ideas into prose. For your first listen, I just want you to let yourself fall into this music without being influenced by what narrative the composer might have had in…
Mushroom Stew by E. Smith, circa 1730
Mushrooms species appropriate for this recipe: This recipe was intended for the commercial mushroom, Agaricus bisporus. Because the mushroom is minimally cooked, this recipe is only appropriate for mushrooms that can be eaten raw in some quantity. The only other mushroom I suggest is porcini, Boletus edulis. This recipe for a basic mushroom side-dish is…
An Experimental Recipe for an Historic Pumpernickel
Join me in attempting to bake a pumpernickel that is black through-and-through. Please post your results in the comments, and also on my Facebook Group, Bread History and Practice. Note: Just after publishing this on January 2, 2024, I discovered that I can read Carin Getner’s book, “Pumpernickel: Das Schwartz Brot Der Westfalen” 1991 through…
Historic Edibility Assessments for “False Morel”, Gyromitra esculenta
[Photo by Barbora Batokova] Gyromitra esculenta Fries, was originally Helvella esculenta Persoon. Up to World War II, the mushroom was considered edible, even excellent, although we note a whisp of caution creeping into the 1900 Mcllvaine assessment and again into Krieger’s assessment. Assessments now, in most countries, are negative. The internet is full of references…
Gyrometra esculenta, delicious edible
The following lovely video offers a classic preparation from Northern Europe. Based on my experience, I am guessing something in or near the Baltic Republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. For this, in addition to Gyrometra, you will need onion, potato, dill, butter, and of course, salt and pepper. Gyromitra esculenta, often referred to in…
The Egyptian Triangle Bread
One apparently common bread during the pharaonic period was a bread shaped in the form of an equilateral triangle and painted white. The example here is from the the downtown Egyptian Museum. Note the white covering and the areas where the white has chipped off. The equilateral triangle was an important shape in ancient Egypt….
Egyptian Text: The Inundation
Joy over the Inundation They tremble, that behold the Nile in full flood. The fields laugh and the river-banks are overflowed. The god’s offerings descend, the visage of men is bright, and the heart of the gods rejoiceth. Pyramid Tex circa 2500 BCE. The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians, Adolf Erman, Ed. Aylward M. Blackman,…
A Rare Egyptian Stamped Bread
This is an important Egyptian bread. While it is rarely reproduced. As far as I am aware, this is the only surviving Egyptian bread whose entire surface is marked with a stamped pattern. I would put this into a class of “stamped breads.” This is the only example I know of of a surviving bread…
William Rubel 