What Did the Tudors Eat at a Royal Banquet?

[@HistoryHit]

Anyone tempted by the conger eel? 🤔We've got more episodes like this one coming up - which periods would you like to see most?

[@IreneAdler-ds5mo]

Victorian so you make him eat Jellied eels.

[@dimitridenelzen1556]

Grill that eel on the BBQ. It's delicious!

[@PlymouthT20]

I catched a 49lb Conger eel, I cut it up in 4 inch joints and slow roasted it in roasting bags with butter and parsley. It was very tasty after 1 hour at 180 C.

[@lifeschool]

I'd rather see an eel do the Conga. Ever heard of Dutch smoked eels? But then, the Dutch smoke everything.

[@ikarly2898]

please make episodes on other countries too

[@Oj12323]

I remember seeing this guy on tv at 3AM on bbc while waking up from a panic attack and I swear to god this mans voice calmed me down faster and more effective than anything else I’ve tried or done

[@tifKh]

Hope you haven’t had any more panic attacks since! They’re terrifying.

[@nonyabeeznuss304]

I grew up poor in rural Montana, we ate deer and elk almost exclusively to the point I actually got sick of it. My parents would always scold me "this is what royalty used to eat, its good enough for you too!"

[@1987MartinT]

Eating the same food constantly is not good for you. Humans need a varied diet. And your body has ways of telling you that you need to eat something else. That's what happened to you. You experienced one of those ways.

[@joshschneider9766]

That's one of several dozen proteins royalty ate. The above poster is correct. We evolved to forage and hunt variety is absolutely the spice of life and required for a healthy one

[@TheBastet613]

my mom grew up in rural Montana when she married she told dad she would never eat wild game any more and she never did.

[@wisecoconut5]

Of course, deer raised in a park will be much more tender than a mountain mule deer.

[@debbylou5729]

@@wisecoconut5lived in eastern Montana. The deer there were basically grain fed

[@Patricia-zq5ug]

Dan Snow is one of my favourite presenters, even when he talks with his mouth full.

[@HistoryHit]

🤣🤣

[@dylanpiazza6358]

Lmao

[@holly7869]

I wish he would STOP talking with his mouth full

[@catgladwell5684]

@@holly7869 I wish he would buy a thesaurus. Then he might find some alternative descriptions to "absolutely delicious" and "absolutely disgusting".

[@ccptube3468]

He is awesome and his Dad..

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Dan Snow looks rather cool in the shirtsleeves. Also, he should Collab with Max Miller.

[@MonicaB666]

That would be a cool colab indeed! 😊

[@trueKENTUCKY]

I heard he is cheating on his wife with a fan of his channel 😮

[@ruKUSS_.117]

@@trueKENTUCKY think you are talking about Mac Miller or the politician with the same name.

[@Wago1995]

Was literally coming here to say that haha! Would be good for max miller and the history channel to collab

[@bcaye]

His manners are execrable and his history is excrement. He doesn't cook and his facts are sketchy. Max would hate him.

[@mercenarygundam1487]

More History Feasts please.

[@kelley-annconroy5013]

With regards to the marchpane dessert, Dan mentions it's made with shelled, ground almonds. Then, after the first bite, he said it reminds him of marzipan. I submit that the similarity between the words marchpane and marzipan is no accident.

[@dylanpiazza6358]

Had the same thought. Maybe theres somethin there lol

[@1987MartinT]

Yeah, I'm guessing that one of the dishes was the origin of the other. But apparently marchpane doesn't lie so heavily in the stomach. Perhaps it has something to do with how it's made, and/or the ingredients in it.

[@joshschneider9766]

It's not they are close cousin dishes but definitely did not evolve off one another.

[@themightyjt]

My grandmother used to cook conger eel after my dad had caught them out of Poole Harbour, bloody delicious

[@adam_p99]

Marchpane is just a harder version of marzipan. Salmon in Tudor times was often eaten by the poor. It was regarded as a paupers meal and avoided by the aristocracy.

[@matthewyounger6834]

Would've been more for me then

[@rustomkanishka]

Unless I'm mistaken, there were laws against hunting the King's Deer or boar but fishing was fine. Also, do try Kaju Katli once, it's extremely close to marzipan. It's very popular amongst the south asian community, and not heavy like most south asian sweets and growing up we called marzipan the yt man's kaju katli. It's made from cashews, not almonds. Almonds are native to Brazil. 😊

[@Arthur-pc1eh]

@@rustomkanishka No, the almond tree is native to Iran and the Near East. It has always been known in the Old World, way before the landing of Columbus in America.

[@rustomkanishka]

@@Arthur-pc1eh sorry, cashews are native to Brazil. I make severe errors sometimes. Apologies. Almonds were originally domesticated in Iran, yes. I do wonder if anyone died in the process, bitter almonds have tiny amounts of cyanide. American almonds dont but taste like furniture. I'm obligated to say this due to my father being a refugee from that country. Most people in my home state won't believe you if you told them that cashews were a colonial product brought in by the Portugese. The alcohol made from the fruit - Feni - is another story entirely.

[@MrEagleeye58]

Conger eels have a "protein glue" that makes itself present when the flesh has been ground up and mixed at high speed in a mixer. This glue can then be used to mix other kinds of fish meat together so that they don't fall apart. This is a common low class item for making Fish balls in Asia as it has that glue and you grind it up into a fine paste with all the pinbones to obtain this paste. Placing it into a high speed grinder and adding salt, sugar pepper etc will produce a paste that you can form into any kind of shape and if place back in the fridge so that it becomes very cold, it becomes very bouncy when formed into balls and cooked in boiling water... or you form into elongated shapes and deep fry

[@therealhellkitty5388]

It’s said that Anne Bolyne introduced the use of forks to the Court. She had learned about them when living in France.

[@harukrentz435]

You meant africa? She was black, no?

[@tamioenmu3190]

@@harukrentz435 why do u think she was black? And she was white as she was born in England but banished to France for a short time

[@stufour]

@@harukrentz435interesting that this is an issue for you, but the fact that Henry VIII is played by English actors and not Welsh descendant actors (Like Henry) is not.

[@luxpursuits]

@@harukrentz435 That's Dan's mom-in-law. She is related to Hannibal via Pushkin.

[@horatiohuffnagel7978]

This guy is good. Great historian that brings a sense of responsibility to the table, like his father. Always enjoyed watching them. My girlfriend asks me why I'm so good at jeopardy. History that entertains!!

[@johnbeene3117]

Years go by and Dan Snow is still 🔥🔥🔥🔥 AFFFFF

[@ianwebb2235]

An intriguing video, Thank you, We live in Japan. My wife - Japanese - and I ate it in an Izakaya - a Japanese pub restaurant - last week. It was seared with a blow torch like thingy and coated with a teriyaki like sauce. My Mrs said it was called anago......I hadn't heard the word before,,,,it means conger eel. Had I known, maybe I would not have eaten it,,,,in fairness, it was very good! Would I eat it again? Maybe not,,,,,,,there are too many Japanese dishes I prefer!

[@stevewebster5729]

When excavating a medieval street frontage in Salisbury some years ago the enviro sieving produced a lot of conger eel bone. As I was going on local radio to talk about the site I tried to find how the eels would have been eaten and found that in Birmingham and the Black Country curried conger eel was the way to go... I did try to cook it once, without producing a meal that I am minded to repeat... :-)

[@eiros59]

Venison is disgusting, but to the Brit’s I can see why it would seem like a royal food. Meat pies again, eh gov?

[@alalalala57]

​@@eiros59 Lmao venison is disguting. Go back to yer industrial chicken.

[@Cookinoutdoors]

Where in Salisbury?

[@stevewebster5729]

@simondowns2618 Gigant Street

[@Cookinoutdoors]

@@stevewebster5729 cool, I live in Salisbury

[@DonnaBarrHerself]

I hate to say it, but being from the PNW, I find that eel looks utterly delicious. That aspic with salt on bread must be heaven.

[@martinlarkin8066]

I have eaten lots of Tudor food at historical events in England. Mostly of the common kind. Pottage was a staple of our diet. If my character was of high enough status I would dine at the high table. Nutmeg being the highlight as it was the king of spices. Costing more than it's weight in gold.

[@joshschneider9766]

I don't understand why. It can be gathered up from under it's trees by the bushel, it was hardly the rarest of the spice trade.

[@MGMan-ce7sf]

Great! It's wonderful to see Dan tucking into that conger! (A sentence, I dare say, no one's ever written before.)

[@goyoelburro]

They eat A LOT of Conger Eel in Chile. They call it "Congrio". It's often fried or grilled. I honestly didn't even know congrio was eel until someone pointed one out in a supermarket there 😂 Conger Eel is delicious when fried. If you want next level fish and chips, try some congrio instead of cod!!!

[@harukrentz435]

The brits will just boil their eel with no spices and sprinkle of salt.

[@joshschneider9766]

I had some saltwater eel grilled in Tokyo. Would never have believed it was so good if I hadn't actually eaten it

[@williamrobinson7435]

Absolutely brilliant. The visuals, music, presentation, the lot. Venison I think needs that crusting of spices as it can be a bit bland. I do like the fact that Henry used his meat as a love letter. I too was a bit surprised by the look of conger eel, once the flesh was revealed. Looks like haddock. Sweet potatoes are always delicious. A bit of butter and pepper and salt and some strong cheese grated with these and I too could easily give the big fat king a run for his money. I don't know how to spell marchpaign but I DID know that it gives us marzipan, this looks like a pievl from Heaven. Where I work they're gearing up for The Tudor Pull on Sunday, and yesterday (Friday) I quipped that this event originated as Henry VIII's 'sorting out his next wife' thing, and guess what? An eavesdropping tourist BELIEVED THIS TO BE TRUE! 🤣😂🤣😂🤣.. I mean, how excellent can it possibly get? Nice one Dan. 🌟👍

[@cleverusername9369]

Venison can be bland?? Wtf kind of venison are you eating that's bland?

[@twilightofthegods33]

Good commentary from Mr Snow. Very interesting

[@AMX86]

love it! more like this please.

[@HistoryHit]

More to come!

[@joshschneider9766]

There's places in London that serve eel to this day. Also both salt and freshwater versions are served grilled in Japan. I love eel its delicious white fish meat when cooked properly

[@MichelleBruce-lo4oc]

Hi, Dan Snow awesome live history video. The tudors loved there food. That's why henry the eighth is so big 🤔

[@Lord_Baphomet_]

I feel like Dan is just living his fantasies out… like I imagine him in a producer’s meeting trying to explain why he needs to live like a king for a day.

[@michaelpage4199]

Dan soooo good seeing you eating something you enjoyed. I would pass on the eel. Cheers

[@ngaireg7736]

Ale or beer? At that point in time there were specific (and legislated) differences between the two. Ale was non-hopped and beer was hopped. Ale was the long-term English staple and beer was the upstart, lowland brew that started to become popular in Henry VIII's time. Most of what was drunk would have been very low in alcohol, not because they watered it (that was more a thing for wine) but because it was the product of a second or third run of the grain mash - known as a small ale. This was the ale children drank and was the traveller's ale that the saying "one for the road" came from. Ale was a significant source of vitamin B at the time.

[@candaceloftus1047]

It would have been ale, at least as we define it today. Hops weren't introduced into England until the end of the 15th century and therefore the end of the Tudor period.

[@ngaireg7736]

@@candaceloftus1047 I believe that was my point. He called it beer and I questioned that. Actually, beer was around during Henry VIII's time - he had a number of beer masters on his payroll and supplied beer to his army. By the end of Elizabeth I's reign, beer was more popular than ale. The Tudors reigned from 1485 to 1603 - the 16th century - so your dates for them are a tad out. The earliest mention of brewing beer in England dates to 1412 and hops have been cultivated in Kent since 1520.

[@joshschneider9766]

I make a mighty fine barley wine from naturally occurring yeast here in Pennsylvania USA. It's usually between fifteen and eighteen percent abv. Good freaking luck doing that with modern brewers yeast.

[@LornaBall]

Interesting 🧐💛🌸

[@kimberlypatton205]

Dan is adorable in his Puffy shirt!

[@robertpearson8798]

I remember reading many years ago that Pike were also highly favoured as a food fish as well.

[@elainebezuidenhout162]

Love history hit videos especially dan snows videos. Your videos are really good. Thanj you😄

[@HistoryHit]

Thank you very much!

[@KC-gy5xw]

Yeh, Dan is a meal worth having...

[@therealhellkitty5388]

Couldn’t agree more 😊

[@CatharticCreation]

Oh my…

[@realbroggo]

There were two aspects of eating & feasting that meant far more than mere sustenance. The first was a demonstration of power & wealth. Many accounts record the fact that some meals were prepared merely for show. The more expensive, exotic & rare the better. The second was fulfilment of want. It allowed the wealthy & powerful to satisfy all their wants or desires. It gave them choice. I want eel - give me eel. I want nutmeg - give me nutmeg. etc... The poor didn't have choice let alone fulfilment.

[@pheart2381]

Had conger eel,its really nice and meaty. I could do conger eel every friday,no problem. I fried mine in butter.

[@54mgtf22]

Love your work, Dan 👍

[@jeetime9436]

You stretched the gap when you ate the eel. It reminded me of the screeching eels in the Princess Bride Movie. Well Done

[@minhquanle5209]

For the past two years, I was under the impression that Henry the VIII ate almost no vegetables. This led me to conclude that he suffered from severe constipation, due to the sheer intake of meats and carbs. If he indeed consumed that many sweet potatoes per day, the fibre in them would have been sufficient for his bowel movement.

[@nickharmer3049]

Fantastic episode. Really good stuff. I've had conger eel steaks, quite a few times, when I was younger. Very nice, indeed. Bless up 👊

[@hadronoftheseus8829]

Is that Joe Gans in your profile pic?

[@nickharmer3049]

@@hadronoftheseus8829 No bro. It's George Dixon. 🥊

[@johnbraggins3294]

My gran used to cook conger eel. It was lovely.

[@rainstand2772]

That food looks so delicious 😋😋😋

[@rickdagrexican7351]

New subscriber here and I enjoy your content from across the Atlantic and then some. Cheers

[@dun0790]

Id love this as a weekly show 😅

[@LindaLinda80Linda]

Fascinating. And so good-looking.

[@graememorrison333]

The beer wasn't watered down as such. It was 'small beer', i.e., weaker: the final runnings from the mash tun after the grains have been rinsed.

[@joshschneider9766]

The third fermentation in plain English. They wasted as little as possible and that included grain.

[@joshschneider9766]

The first fermentation was best bitters the second was table beer and the third was small beer. Basically modern light beer or even weaker.

[@rc59191]

Tudor butterbeer really needs to catch on with the bars here in Kansas that stuff is amazing especially in the winter.

[@gadgetgirl02]

This is three parts history, one part Fear Factor, one part gonzo reporting (and I am here for it!). I love eel perched neatly on top of rice in sushi, but I wouldn't be able to manage it with it staring back at me.

[@Ray.Norrish]

different eel

[@TheDeliciousLegacy]

Conger eel was always a delicacy (presumably for its rich fatty flesh mainly) Athenaeus on 293F tells us what Archestratus allegedly wrote about conger eel: "We must speak of the conger eel. Archestratus in his Gastronomy relates where each part of it ought to be purchased: The conger. You have the head of the conger, friend, in Sicyon, a fat and strong and large head and all the belly parts. Then boil it for a long time in salt water, sprinkled with green herbs."

[@zworm2]

You missed the best and most healthy part of the conger eel The jelly! I used to cook it as jellied eel. Wonderful stuff.

[@nicolekuek7358]

I love how Dan hosted this video! I suppose bread was the main carbohydrate source before potatoes...?

[@NavyDood21]

That eel does not look good, but I still would 100% give it a try. I say this having not grown up eating anything like that, so maybe its not that it looks bad its that it just looks different.

[@joshschneider9766]

Jellied eel is pretty wretched by modern standards I would definitely recommend grilling it like the Japanese do theirs though

[@brendabrass2715]

Dan Snow in a fluffy shirt❤️

[@spudgunn8695]

The ale in Tudor times mostly wasn't watered down, it was just brewed incredibly weak, about 1.5 to 2% abv.

[@sirchromiumdowns2015]

Very interesting video.

[@mrhappyfoot]

I've had fillets of eel stir fried with a splash of soy sauce, very tasty stuff

[@metalman7791]

The eel smile was so good lol

[@theaxe6198]

I love these

[@uggerrugger5]

My Nan used to make me conger eel all the time. Lovely with theme liquor and boiled potatoes

[@IreneAdler-ds5mo]

Ahh man you didn't make Dan Snow eat the eel jelly, that is real click bait. That would have been quality content there. Make him eat Victorian Jellied eels, as penance for "noping out" of the Tudor eel jelly. Jellied eels Jellied eels!

[@saltycreole2673]

J-E-L-L-I-E-D E-E-L-S-!-!-!

[@sudzthegreat]

Cod piece installed! Jellied eel served!

[@catshez]

No.. Click bait is having Dan Snow in an open cotton shirt in the thum-nail..then he doesn't actually appear in the video. Here is is.. and I would watch him doing anything, or nothing.. As long as I can watch him.. Did you see him attempting to dig canals ? The most piss-poor thing you could ever watch.. hilarious and pathetic.. Posh boy who obviously had never ever weilded a spade in his whole life.... But my goodness, I loved watching 🤭😈 Hahaha !

[@williamromine5715]

The banquet was a rarety at the time. They lasted for hours with many courses. Unlike today, you didn't eat all of the time. While the tables were being cleared, other things were going on. Maybe dancers would entertain, or everyone would adjourn to another room listen to a recitation from a poet, etc. When eating, it wasn't expected that you ate all the food of each course. The banquet was more than a meal, it was to show off how rich the person was who was the hoste. Henry had been quite an athletic man. As such he ate a lot of food. As he got older, he couldn't be as athletic, but he didn't change his eating habits. He is always depicted as grossly over weight, but that was only true towards the end of his life.

[@harukrentz435]

Robert Baratheon then....

[@anya93918]

He had a hunting or a jousting accident which supposedly gave him an injured, prurient leg, severely restricted his sports and other activities and soured his temper too. In his youth, he was supposedly very handsome and lithe.

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thanks.

[@andrewhayes7055]

Conger Eel was always available in supermarkets back in the 70's my mother loved it, lots of bones the only downside.

[@sofiaelena6808]

Conger eel in Chile is a very popular dish

[@tashamorriss8997]

The Tudors were smart with their culinary choices. They ate absolutely ANYTHING - swans, pigeons, squirrels, etc. It was a real era in new ways of cooking and creating, because sugar started being imported, and only the rich could afford sugar. QEI loved her sweet creations and spun sugar desserts; apparently she hardly ever smiled when she was older as her teeth were either missing and / or rotten. I also read that moats were quite often used as 'fish farms', so it would take less effort to catch your fish for supper!

[@katherinecollins4685]

Interesting video

[@gareginasatryan6761]

From exotic foods I always wanted to try locusts, crickets and garum

[@Sabatta]

I grew up eating Conger Eel, in soup/stew. I think a lot of Wet African do...

[@michelemarmelo3699]

we eat eels in portugal its yummy never seen it look like that one

[@jovanweismiller7114]

It wasn't compulsory to eat fish on Fridays. It was forbidden to eat meat on Fridays, however, so fish was the obvious replacement.

[@rudykadous4005]

I noticed he only took a half a bite of the eel that he said was ''great'' , but ate almost all the venison lol

[@mrs.g.9816]

You can keep the eel, but I sure would have enjoyed the marchpane!

[@ka-boom2083]

Aged Venison slices & Grilled potatoes slices with dark beer Whole jellied eel with pale ale Marchpane tart

[@douglas2632]

You can buy tinned conger eel Expensive, but a treat once in awhile

[@nathanielovaughn2145]

That eel actually looks quite good.

[@williamcattr267]

4:20 That jelly stuff is the dessert! Think of it like Jello.

[@geebopbaluba1591]

I asked Fishlocker if he had eaten conger eel and he told me NO. It’s not something I would eat. I’ve seen him catch many of them in your area.

[@agabrielhegartygaby9203]

Your dedication impresses Sir!

[@lestat602]

Anything for the Medici??? I'd like to explore that Family!!!

[@nanroberts1502]

Dan said that a man named Gerard Herbal commented on sweet potatoes. 😮 It was Gerard's Herball, the guy's book on herbs published in 1597. How could Dan not know that?

[@paulashe61]

The delicious Dan Snow

[@paulashe61]

Nom nom nom regularly eaten

[@brooklynnchick]

It’s interesting to hear that venison has been considered a wealth-associated food. I’ve grown up in the Western United States, Montana and Wyoming, where venison is associated with lower income families and poverty. Financially disadvantaged people often spend several hundred dollars a year obtaining hunting licenses to harvest deer, birds, elk, fish, moose and other large animals rather than buying protein from grocers throughout the year. Is venison still considered high income?

[@drose44444]

He looked like he was faking liking the eel and thanked god it morally went out of food fashion but genuinely liked the sweet potato and the tart.

[@claireconover]

wouldn’t that jelly be more or less the same as aspic? …. something I think they loved to make all kids of weird “salads” from?

[@givemoreblood]

That's just cooking juices that turned into jelly when cooled Aspic is different and not nice

[@cerveza2297]

My boss and his family eat eel at Christmas time.

[@rowenafletcher-wood4436]

"Tudors needed more calories... because they didn't just sit around all day looking at laptop screens." 🤣

[@northislandguy]

Pirate Shirt is in 😂

[@hopefulfortomorrow1039]

The cake looks like the Tudor rose.

[@freakyflow]

Im sitting here eatting my own version of Sheppards pie with Beef pork and smoked moose..Not knowing the Tudor part of English history But knowing our family line were made Barons from King William from gathering forces against Harold .....Also funny is watching someone that is English Gringe on eating eel ......I watched a story on London's east end And the Green muck soup And eel as a cheap workmans lunch for over 140 years ..but was losing favor after the 70's

[@execbum1]

Is there a recipe for the Marchpane? That looks delicious!

[@ngaireg7736]

Marchpane Ingredients • 2 cups ground almonds • 1 cup confectioners' sugar (icing sugar) • 4 tbsp rose water Method 1. Preheat the oven to 150°C. 2. In a large bowl, stir the ground almonds and sugar until well combined. 3. Add rose water one teaspoon at a time, until you have a smooth paste. The amount of rose water can vary depending on the almonds, but you want a stiff, smooth paste that is not sticky. 4. Put down greaseproof paper or dust a cutting board with a bit of confectioners' sugar, then place mixture on top. 5. Roll out to about 2cm thickness. Cut into a circle shape. (or use a glass to punch a circle out) 6. Transfer to baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. 7. Bake for around 20 minutes until it is just starting to brown Remove from oven and allow to cool. We use this one to make Marchpane biscuits for a school holiday activity we do with kids. We have a carved wooden Tudor Rose stamp that we use on top of the biscuits that finishes it off nicely. It won't let me add the image, otherwise I would include it. Marchpane is delicious - the biscuits are very more-ish and don't last long.

[@anya93918]

Wow, it's like kaju barfi, which is made of ground cashews. The rest of the recipe is almost the same except the ground cashew is cooked on low heat with sugar and milk

[@cleverfitz779]

Good morning everyone

[@dunnkenny]

I'm a little disappointed history hit didn't use a Tudor style fork

[@andreweden9405]

The "Chuda Dinnisty"!😂

[@sawahtb]

I've had white tailed deer, reindeer and moose. Moose was the best. I bet H VIII would have loved moose.

[@jamiehughes5573]

Ah yes tudor mukbang

[@bucc5207]

"I don't wanna be a pirate!"

[@realbroggo]

Just looking for the puffy sleeves now. 🤣🤣🤣

[@kathyvivian8966]

A man called Gerard Herbal? His name was John Gerard and he wrote a herbal!

[@garrethmellett7774]

How does one catch a conger eel in the 1500's? surely a very difficult task.

[@dustinatkinson5744]

COLUMBUS NEVER LANDED IN AMERICA!!!

[@MissMentats]

Might’ve tasted better if you put them in the Tudor microwave for a bit

[@realbroggo]

What was that? Two servants taking it in turns to stoke the oven and when one passes out you know it's ready?

[@jakecavendish3470]

Conger eel is actually really nice, kind of like cod

[@jendagesse4524]

Poor deers😢