The boar’ s head was probably the most iconic Christmas fare at the table of the nobility, but venison( deer) was a highly regarded social marker and only available to those with access to a hunting ground.
Brawn, a salty piece of pork, served with mustard was one of the most common meaty Christmas dishes found at the tables of the rich and poor alike.
Plum pottage, another culinary Christmas special, was originally a thick broth of mutton or beef with plums, bread, spices, dried fruit and wine.
Fowl graced the tables of the wealthy, while poultry enriched the generally monotonous diet of the less affluent at Christmas. Turkey was the new bird on the seasonal feasting table of Tudor influencers wishing to show off their wealth and status. Still very rare and hence most desirable, it was known as‘ Turkey chickens’, named after the widespread misapprehension that it came from Turkey, when they actually came from North America.
Frumenty, a dish of wheat or barley boiled in milk or ale with eggs was consumed across the social spectrum. The rich served it with their venison, adding spices( cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, sugar) and dried fruit. For the less fortunate in society, it was served in a simple form as a side dish for sausages.
Words: Brigitte Webster. Illustration: Isabel Otten
In Tudor England, the only raising agent was yeast so all cakes were a kind of sweet bread. Bean cake was one of the oldest Christmas traditions. Inside the cake was a bean and whoever found it in their slice was made king / queen and led all merriments that day.
Figgy pudding was a sweet dish made from almonds, wine, figs, raisins, ginger and honey.
Twelfth cake, with spices and dried fruit( raisins, figs, dates), was named after the final day of celebrations.
Christmas presents were exchanged on New Year’ s Day. Novelty and prestigious food gifts were highly regarded, and Elizabeth I even kept detailed accounts. She was the lucky recipient of several marchpanes( marzipan) and marmalades. Most of them she kept, but in 1575 she instantly re-gifted a marmalade given by someone known as‘ Hampton’ to Mrs Skydmore.
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