Cooking an Anglo-Saxon Meal

How did people cook their meals in Anglo-Saxon times? This video shows how they may have prepared and cooked a simple meal of barley and bean stew with hearth cakes, which people living in the past might have eaten.
This video has been made for illustration purposes and is not an instructional video.
Made in partnership with Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service and West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village and Museum, for the Rendlesham Revealed project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
To find out more visit: heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/rendlesham

[@christinethornhill]

Oh, my goodness! I found a grinding stone in my garden , beneath the soil ! How I wish I’d kept it . Perhaps it was much older than I imagined. Thank you for such a fascinating demonstration of the process.

[@roygrutchfield5715]

Interesting. Maybe you could do seasonal meals, autumn , spring, winter, summer. Thankyou

[@emmahardesty4330]

Such basic food produced strong and enduring people. That basic bread, beans, barley, leeks--makes me hungry. Thank you for these presentations.

[@UnclePutte]

The birdsong really makes the atmosphere. Food looks splendid, as does the setting. There's the makings of a long life in that food... with the help of modern medical services, that is.

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

The sheer amount of elbow-grease involved in making flour in pre-industrial eras is something I think we tend to forget in this time of easy accessibility! 😣 What a workout... Eventually wind & water driven mills would come into use of course & serviced whole communities, but even then I'd imagine many households probably would've kept a hand quern, so they could be independent in enough flour production for the household, if the Miller started charging too much or you couldn't afford their fees...?

[@ridethecurve55]

Grinding grain was time-consuming, but more importantly, it was rather hard on teeth, since some of the stone ground into powder along with the grain and when chewed, it wore down tooth enamel so by the time a person was in their 20s, their teeth were often not functional anymore. A rather gastly condition to suffer through until death.

[@temmy9]

One reason to eat porrige instead

[@rosiewilkin9117]

Wondeful Steph! Lovely to see you and to some see 'proper' Anglo-Saxoning being done online. Well done. And well done all involved.

[@patrickporter1864]

What is particularly Anglo saxon about this activity. Cooking is cooking world wide.

[@ron.v]

Y'all are makin' me hungry. This reminds me of how Native Americans pounded their maize into meal on a large stone, added water, made cakes, then cooked it either over a flat stone, metal if they had it, or over hot coals like you did. They've been doing this for thousands of years. They call them tortillas. I ate one cooked by a lady living in a grass hut with a dirt floor in Tamazunchale, Mexico in 1961. Bean soup is also popular. Indigenous tribes in Western U.S. eat "3 Sisters Soup" made of beans, corn, and squash.

[@Jabberstax]

This lady is amazing.

[@valentinoringo]

finally can catch a glimpse of anglo-saxon meal looks like. very interesting.

[@fortheearth]

Wonderful knowledgable demonstrator! Thank you!

[@sswan5271]

Successful hearth cakes, Alfred never got near them.

[@Rymontp]

Wow, definitely making some hearthcakes next. So far I've only made hardtack which is quite similar but definitely trying this the next time I light a fire. Thanks!

[@phillgreenland2390]

Honestly, that looks awfully good even with today's cooking standards! ❤

[@hellofditties]

i love these videos!

[@elineeugenie5224]

The smell of baking onions is as old as time itself 😊

[@sagapoetic8990]

I just joined your channel - thank you for showing this. That had to be so satisfying at the end, not to mention - bread baked over the fire like that is wonderful. The hearth reminds me of the Japanese irori -- is there an ancient connection? Were there indoor hearths/fireplaces in this period in the homes of nobles?

[@pocketman5510]

Awesome

[@scottyrobot]

what type of beans would those be?

[@yup9647]

More!

[@emmaaustin123]

I wonder if they had a stone by the fire that they could cook their flatbreads on.

[@rand503]

So how do they taste???

[@sagapoetic8990]

They are quiet -- who wants to talk when you are devouring a delicious meal.

[@carloshenriquebins5113]

It would be perfect if spoken in Old English

[@robertabray-enhus3198]

Everything was so labour intensive then..

[@888jackflash]

Fascinating! I'm thinking there'd be quite a bit of carcinogens in those hearth cakes... plus the vast amounts of wood smoke in their environment.. couldn't have been the best. Thanks!

[@thananightshade]

I didn't think beans were native to Brittania?

[@kikiwylde]

They've been eaten in Britain since the Bronze Age. Not sure when they arrived though.

[@ajrwilde14]

they knew how to bake they knew how to bake bread in pots come on

[@clwest3538]

I was thinking the same - also, with butter, comes buttermilk ... flour, buttermilk, barm from the ale, butter, salt ... baked in a crockery pot .... sounds like a better bread than 'hoe cakes' (unless you're in a hurry) ... but enjoyed the video.

[@kaygee301]

I agree, it wouldn’t make sense they would be cooked directly on the fire unless they didn’t have a pot.

[@user-hl6ls8sv4t]

Pots weren’t cheap

[@ellaisplotting]

...there wasn't just one type of bread? This is just illustrating a convenient type to eat with a meal, not claiming this is the only bread the Anglo Saxons could and would ever make.