Think four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie is only a nursery rhyme?
Think again.
According to Francine Segan, author of Shakespeare’s Kitchen-- an introduction for contemporary cooks to the foods of William Shakespeare’s world--during the Elizabethan era in England, people entertained their friends by offering them unusual foods and surprises, such as a baked pie crust filled with live blackbirds, or “putting a flying bat into an emptied goose egg.”
To reciprocate, guests specially prepared jokes for these feasts; medical philosophy at the time valued laughter, Segan said, because of its benefits to health and digestion.
Although some dining customs during the Elizabethan era were similar to those still practiced today, others were not: For example, since there was no formal mail delivery then, messengers were sent by a feast’s host to personally invite each guest. Seating of guests was carefully orchestrated, with a special hierarchy for table placement of a duke, earl, bishop, viscount, baron, knight, etc. A page escorted each diner to his or her place based on a printed master-seating list.
Tablecloths were usually white, while plates were made of wood, pewter or silver. Starting in the Middle Ages, pieces of toast were added to drinks, hence the concept of drinking a toast. Drinking goblets were made of wood, pewter, leather or silver; these were rinsed in a communal basin and then passed on to the next guest.
Recipes during Elizabethan times were written in a running text and did not include titles or lists of ingredients, said Segan, who added that, similarly, Shakespeare’s plays were originally written and published without the acts and scenes used to present them today.
A special tasting menu--to be presented by Segan after a performance of Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Theatre for a New Audience in Brooklyn this weekend--will feature dishes whose ingredients were available during Shakespeare’s time in a modern presentation: pickled oysters; a pottage of artichokes; mincemeat pie with orange marmalade; potato and cod croquette with saffron aioli; leek and rice croquette; and boiled asparagus with lemon aioli and almond gremolata. The menu was created by Segan and Danny Meyer's Union Square Events.
Segan said that when she began to study cooking practices in the Shakespearean era, she was “amazed by how cutting-edge the foods were. For example, they used parsnips for desserts. I was very startled by how unique and interesting the foods were, by the flavor combinations.”
