Abstract: The Taste of Ancient Food and Drink

Lecturer: Michael Fuller

Ancient food was bland and tasteless, right? Medicinal drinks must have tasted awful? These questions can only be answered with a time machine OR experimental archaeology using Medieval recipes from the Middle East and Europe. Inscriptions on a pottery sherd at Tell Tuneinir (Syria) sent Professor Fuller into the laboratory to recreate a “wine to cure the bad cough” and “wine to cure the blue disease.” Multi-chambered spice bowls and cooking pots from Tell Tuneinir pointed to time consuming experiments with exotic herbs and the elusive sauce called Murri. Yes, all test subjects survived and the results will be discussed.

Short bibliography and/or website on lecture topic:

http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/pennsic2011cooking.html