Sailing the Pirate Round

This year sees Tastes Of History portraying reputable innkeepers famed for our ‘good food at the most reasonable prices’. Of course, we can keep costs low because our chief suppliers are notably 'legitimate' importers of ‘revenue-free’ goods (don't ask any questions!). They also operate a most profitable side-line in beach clearances and marine salvage should an unfortunate vessel be wrecked [1] on England's treacherous coasts…who said we’re ‘Pirates’?

Anyway, this summer saw us ‘Sailing the Pirate Round’ on behalf of English Heritage where we visited several different ports of call, including Whitby [Abbey}, Dover [Castle], the Isle of Wight [Carisbrooke Castle], Falmouth [Pendennis Castle] and Scarborough [Castle].

Most of the recipes we prepared and offered visitors the chance to sample have already been published in earlier Blog entries, namely 'A Banquet Fit for Pirates' and 'Pirates of Pendennis'. At Whitby Abbey, however, two additional sweet treats were available to try. The first was Margaretta Acworth’s 1745 recipe for a Georgian period 'Orange Cake', which can be likened to a drizzle cake albeit made with oranges rather than lemons. It is interesting to note that Mrs Acworth’s collection of recipes includes a wide range of cakes that perhaps reflected the relatively new Georgian fashion for taking afternoon tea.

The second was an alternative to Hannah Glasse’s 1747 recipe for 'Shrewsbury Biscuits' which can be found in the aforementioned ‘A Banquet Fit for Pirates’. The revised version may well have been more at home in the 16th and 17th century England of William Shakespeare.

Bon appétit.

Endnotes:

1. Wrecking is the practice of taking valuables from a shipwreck which has foundered or run aground close to shore. A tradition still exists that wreckers deliberately decoyed ships on to coasts using tricks, especially false lights, so that they run ashore for easy plundering. While this has been depicted in many stories and legends, there is no clear evidence that it has ever happened.