Historian Tastes Food From Every Historical Era | Full History Hit Series 

If anyone else on here watches Tasting History, as soon as he said hardtack, did you envision the video clip of Max going *clack, clack*? Lol!

Why isn't this titled "History Hits Tortures Dan Snow for Likes"?

I heard him say ‘hardtack’ and had a Pavlovian response of hearing *clack clack* straight after.

I remember an old song I learned in school: "The biscuits in the army They say are mighty fine. One fell off the table And killed a pal of mine."

I think there's one aspect missing here. Dan Snow is not starving. He does not exert himself from sun up to sun down with hard manual labour. He does not walk miles back and forth every day. For those soldiers in the trenches, for the poor in Victorian UK , the food they ate everyday that tastes terrible to us today would be normal and heartening to them. They would be grateful and thankful that they had those to eat when faced with starvation.

Pig trotters are actually a part of traditional dish among Eastern Europeans. It is cooked for long hours, better overnight, then cleaned from skin and bones, and the broth was divided on small portions and cooled in wells or basements where the T was never higher than 6-8C. The broth which is the collagen extract turns into jello, and was eaten with garlic or horseradish. People who had meat, added meat on the bottom on the jello form, also pepper or other spices, so they could get much more delicious jello, and it looked nice too. From biochemical point of view this dish is very fulfilling and healthy, because it’s a pure collagen, very well extracted from joints. Humans digest it easily, and it goes directly to build our skin and joints. BTW biochemically pigs are very close to humans, we even can use pigs’ organs as transplants. My friend who was a vegetarian for over 2 decades suffered from terrible joints pain, had to use a cane to walk. I recommended her to stop idiotic diet and eat collagen foods at least for 2 weeks… she refused, but after the pain became severe so she barely was able to walk, she did similar dish as I described earlier but used chicken feet, not pig’s. How long it took her to be able to walk as normal human, what do you think? 3 weeks. After that she decided to eat chicken ones a week.

I read that hard tack or biscuits weren't meant to be eaten without soaking them first. My hats off to you for surviving all of these meals.

Spam is not meant to be eaten cold. Some people actually like it , but only when fried to render some of the fat.

You have dripping completely wrong! It is the fat that is in the baking tin after a large piece of meat is roasted so it contains the flavor of the meat plus any spices or herbs rubbed into meat before cooking. Yes there was a layer of fat on top but I grew up in postwar Britain and we loved dripping spread on bread. Your father was right!

Maize alkalized in lime is called hominy. It's hominy.

I laid on that bed and walked that exact room a few months ago! I travelled from Texas to Butser Farm and got there on a day they closed for staff training! The group were SO NICE! All the staff invited us in to have the whole place to ourselves while they freshened up their knowledge. Regularly checked in on us to make sure our questions were answered and we had a good time! I will never forget that place. Recognized your set immediately

Pickled pig's feet! I was raised on those. My Nannie was raised in the South and used to make this. It really was delicious.

Finally a full complete series of Dan eating all of the foods cold

In Germany during WW II cigarettes again became the main currency on the black market. Almost everybody started smoking, sometimes even children. Because nicotin would calm your shattered nerves after an air raid and even dull the feeling of constant hunger. That was certainly unhealthy, but at a time when you felt you could die any minute, a longterm healthy lifestyle seemed less urgent.

I was born end of the 60s. Our parents were WW2 kids (1 early teen, 1 small child). Products of the "Protestant work ethic", they ate what they were given and expected us to do the same. We had bread and dripping often (the Monday remnant of the small Sunday roast)... it was delicious! The way it is "served" with no effort in this programme is ridiculous drama. In reality: Toasted chunky brown bread, re-melted beef dripping, white pepper, salt.... and in the summer a tomato (home grown and ripened in the airing cupboard) and small chunk of cheese on the side. Simple and lovely!

And sweetbreads is not ovaries in testicles, it is the thymus gland of the throat, and the pancreas.

In Ireland pottage was called stirabout because you put things in the pot and stirred it about

You should link up Tasting History by Max Miller. There could be awesome collaboration videos!

It would be interesting to see if Dan's opinions would change if he revisted these foods with some "historical hunger" such as after fasting for a few days.

I believe, technically, the Victorian period began in 1837 when Victoria became queen and ended when she died in 1901. Then don't forget Edward VII from 1901-1910. Best do a fact check on that. A bit disappointed that a history show would get that so wrong. Makes me mistrust the accuracy of the other information presented.

Chocolate with chili is brilliant, and yes it does cure everything, as far as I’m concerned😂

My grandmother would fry Spam, and we would make sandwiches. They were delicious! I’m sure you know how much Spam is loved in Hawaii! Great video! I’m sending it to my sister the chef! 😊

01:08:40 Ohhh the disrespect shown to SPAM😆You never eat it cold Dan, thats disgusting🤣You fry it up in thin slices and eat it with eggs or as a sandwich. Scramble some eggs, dice some SPAM up, add rice and seasoning, fry it all up together...delish!

They make sweet breads in Argentina and it’s delicious. They make him in the grill until crispy and put lime on it. I have gotten a lot of American friends into it. It’s pretty good.

Spam is so much more edible when sliced and cooked and served hot.

This was a great documentary. I love that he is actually tasting the food vs just talking about it

Sweet potatoes are from a different plant family from potatoes.

You know, I have never ever once considered WHY there's pineapples everywhere on old timey stuff. Now I know. Also, I LOVE Spam but the thought of eating it cold from the can makes me feel ill haha

20:20 the way he is holding that tortilla is almost infuriating

I bet the tribes were laughing: "this Emperor wants *parsnips* instead of gold, we're rich!!"

My dad used to love his bread and dripping, though my mum couldn't stand it. It brought her too many bad memories of childhood, incorporating aircraft falling out of the skies and respectful funerals for foreign and/or enemy pilots whose families would likely never get to visit the graves. Three decades after the war we used to eat spam sandwiches, with the block of spam cut into thin slices like luncheon meat and covered with pickles. I've never eaten it like that since I left home, but I do love spam grilled or fried and eaten as part of a full English or in a bap with a shit-ton (technical term) of brown sauce.

A lot of these dishes look as if they would have tasted much better when prepared well

I once tried cajun-blackened spam. I spent half the night afraid I'd die and the other half afraid I wouldn't.

Pottage looks nice. Basically just a vegetable stew. I make a similar type of soup all of the time. Needs salt and herbs to make it tasty though.

Believe or not, spam is extremely popular in Hawaii due to their experience with it in WW2. You can still get spam, egg, and cheese sandwiches for breakfast there.

Maize gruel=grits I even like hominy

I wish we had more documentaries with Dan Snow. He's super nice!

Maybe at the front you might eat Spam straight out of the can, otherwise you'd fry it up like ham or bacon.

I bought hard biscuits from an Italian shop 50 years ago while travelling around Europe by train , they were wrapped in a paper bag and did not go soft for the next ten days. I do not think they tasted of much. We dipped the in red wine!

I am very sorry to hear that the editor responsible for cutting out smacking, spitting and slurping was unwell and unable to work. Get better soon, buddy!

Dan wasn't listening when his mom said "Never talk with your mouth full Danny!"

Dan Snow is such a Legend. Great work, Sir!

Pottage sounds just like Chicken Carcass Glop (tm) that kept us going through Thatcher's Britain in a pokey bedsit in Devon. My mum would save her Sunday chicken carcass & freeze it. We'd take it home & boil the pygostyle off of it in a pressure cooker with an onion and salt & pepper. Strain that stock, add a dash of light soy sauce, sliced button mushrooms, sweetcorn & spring onion & you've got the nicest Chinese chicken soup you've ever tasted. Just right for those willow pattern bowls with china spoons! Anyway, that would've wasted a week's food so that was a special treat. Normally we'd add leeks, onions, root veg ect. to the stock and add all the meat we could find still adhering to the bones. Throw in some barley, lentils ect. Often called "Soup Mix" nowadays, and that makes a great chicken stew. Especially with dumplings if we could afford the suet. Each day we'd add an onion, more pulses, veg... Day two was nearly as good as day one. By day 5 finding a bit of chicken was cause for celebration. It started to become greyer then too. And because of the starch in the pulses & gluten in the dumplings it would set to a firm, grey gel. Seasoning became more and more important especially by Saturday. It was like salty, peppery wallpaper paste by the end of the week. But Sunday arrived and we'd walk the hour's walk to me mum's. Sometimes we'd get to partake of the roast chicken... But mostly not. So we'd reinvented Pottage had we? It definitely keeps you going through a cold winter.

My mum swore by powdered egg and wished it was still available. Dripping, as I remember it and still eat, is cooked dripping fat, e.g. from mince, bacon, sausages, onions and roast potatoes etc. It was kept in a cup and used for cooking and a quick "piece". I have personally never heard of anyone eating straight lard from the packet!

Pickled herring is wonderful. I would eat it daily if I could.

The word "potage" means soup in French, to this day. It's not made from any specific ingredients but it's usually vegetable based and might contain meat, but not necessarily. Always eaten piping hot and with loads of delicious buttered bread!

I live in the Southern US, and pickled pig’s feet (trotters) are a thing here. I have never eaten one, never will, but you will see them in big jars all over the South.

Aztec menu looks good and healthy.

I absolutely loved this, thank you.

With no Max Miller? Sacrilege! Sacrilege I say! 🫵🏽

Gerard was his last name. John was his first. He was John Gerard, and he wrote a herbal, a book of herbs called "Gerarde's Herball".

One of my ancestors served in the Roman army, his name was Biggus Dickus and according to my grandfather he never complained about food.

Thanks for this video!

It blows my mind that people today still eat Spam outta the can instead of frying it.

I really enjoyed this ! Found if fascinating and enjoyed the light humour , really good ! Thanks Dan for your sacrifice!

I 100% doubt a high-ranked Roman officer would've eaten in such an awkward position.

Did they shop at Tesco for their Georgian food ?

This is so awesome!!!

That was great!

Did the person cooking the sheep and pig feet do it without any herbs or spices in the broth? And perhaps didn't cook long enough? These items should fall apart readily after cooking and having a strong flavor from the cooking liquid helps make the texture more palatable.

Fantastic show!

The drum tattoo under the pigs’ trotters is hilarious!

Not gonna lie, Henry sending her the buck killed by his own hand is kinda romantic and sexy haha

My college was next to the Huntley and Palmer's building in Reading, I walked past it every day until I was 19

My late great Aunt cooked a fabulous pigs trotter. It was cooked in a stew with onions and vegetables. I swriously doubt that the trotters would have been served cold, but hot with a slab of bread to mop up the juices.

Watching your videos is so much fun! I LOVE SPAM!

May I suggest frying Spam. It's way better than just canned

Thanks.

My mom used to make hard tack for me to go on a long full days horse ride. You take it,break it up and just drop it into broth or stew,or soup and wait for it to soften. It isnt bad really.

I love how they included the stuff miserable soldiers and intentionally abstaining monks would eat and it was still better than the diet of the average person in victorian England. I swear, the more I learn about the period, the more it seems like the single worst time to be alive as a normal person.

As A GenX, I can definetly place you as a millennial,by your queasiness about things as delicious as eel. Also,for most of the foods shown (hard tack and of fall excepted), I'd be quite happy to have them if I were in difficult or dire situations!

Poscum sounds like another recipe for a similar drink that provides electrolytes. It's Roman Gatorade!

I used to like rollmops (pickled herring) as a kid. I liked the sour taste and squeaky rubbery texture, but when I tried them again as an adult I found them disgusting. Maybe it was the brand...? (It wasn't squeaky)

Cool episode! I always wondered what people ate before the Colombian exchange. I just can't imagine a world without tomato's...

I love good quality British food, it is wonderfully hearty and satisfying and delicious, but goddamn did our poor grandpas and grandmas have to eat some utter filth back in the day. I see why foreigners think our food sucks, but in reality, our food during WW1, WW2, and the rationing years was utterly disgusting.

My family is of southern Italian descent and we sometimes eat laying down.

Why wasn't the pottage hot?

Trotters were pickled or smoked; today I have smoked ham hock, without the cloven hoof party. Good with sauerkraut and boild potatoes.

Came for the cheese, stayed for the history.....

When I was in the military, I often ate my MREs cold as I didn’t have the patience to deal with the little heater lol. Would’ve taken just 5 minutes or so but I’m still that way with canned soups 😂. It doesn’t have to be warm to keep me alive.

Does HH publish most of their show's episodes on YT or is it worth to become a subscriber? Do you need a VPN to watch it outside of Britain? I love this channel.

If you don't like frogs legs then they weren't prepared properly. They have a light delicate chicken taste. They must be skinned and soaked in lightly salted milk overnight. Then wet and dry battered in a light tempura and fried. They should be light and crispy. Very delicious 🎉

All that Dan lacked with that pickled herring, aka lutefisk, was a large fire with a group singing Icelandic folk songs. 😊

I deliberately ordered sweetbreads at a French restaurant, and they were delicious. They were the pancreas and thymus...I don't think they are still just any offal.

Pickled herring in bread - Matjesbrötchen. Still a staple in Northern Germany

Fry your spam in a skillet--it has its own fat so no margaine or butter needed. College dripiing has been sold by the pound in the Covered market in Oxford--dripping of fat from any meat; beef only is tallow.

I would like to like that vid 5x over, just for his bravery.

I get the impression that DS is a fussy eater or at least has a seriously challenged palette. Spam is still popular and widely available to this day and as it wasn't rationed (unlike things like sugar, butter, eggs etc), people could buy as much as they could afford. I myself eat it although in extreme moderation given the salt content. In fact, in Hawaii its available at most sushi restaurants. Pigs trotters are still consumed today and couldn't be any worse than eating eels. Also considering the English delicacies of Stargazer Pie or Lamprey Pie, I think Pigs Trotters would fit right in. Biscuit, Ships biscuit, ANZAC Wafers etc all refer to thrice baked bread. It was extensively used during the American Civil War so reenactors still consume it. Supposedly in the days of sail, it was common for the sailors to drop it into their coffee, wait for it to soften & all the weevils to float to the surface, discard the bugs then eat the biscuit & drink the coffee.

I love experiencing history. Where can I get this Forced March?

What I would like to know, is the recipe for those frog legs. That looked absolutely delicious!

These are great. Hope you find the time to do some more of these

I loved the history of this, thank you. But as as someone with misophonia, can you please take consideration into either lowering the volume to or muting the mouth-eating noises? It made it utterly impossible for me to watch more than 10mins of this before I had to shut it off. I know the mic's pic it up as he's eating but it becomes all you can hear between the words he speaks (often with his mouth full, which also, ew?)

I love this channel! I watched these as they released, but its fun watching it as a compilation (even if the poor bloke is eating eel as I type this, that is bravery on a whole new level) I admit though, I wouldn't know about History Hit if it weren't for the Timeline and War Stories channels (loyal viewer of both)... but Mr. Snow, Mr. Holland, Ms. Janega, those two boys that do the "could you survive _____" series (forgive me, their names escape me atm but it was watching them fire guns with Jonathan Ferguson that got me into the Royal Armories channel), etc - this channel rules!!!!!

I hope you guys credited artist Giuseppe Vasapolli for using some of his music from the Hollywood Graveyard series.

If otter taste like muskrat I’d say they taste incredibly greasy, gamey, but still somehow pleasant the same way the extremely burnt end of a roast or chicken can have its own charm for people (me)

I have a deep partiality towards spam. In 06' in Iraq, through or due to a supply chain order mix up, I received a 40-foot shipping container of spam. And the convoy crew although tired of spam learned to love spam. 😅

57:08 - For the part of tasting a WWI military ration, Dan Snow should have consulted the Channel of Steve1989MREInfo: www.youtube.com/@Steve1989MRE

I love bread and beef dripping with a sprinkle of salt.

I paid a lot of money today to buy a ham hock for pea and ham soup

When I was a kid I saw a fisherman catch a six-foot conger eel at the local docks. It took three men to haul this writhing monster up the slipway, clear enough of the water that one of them could get in to hit it at the base of the skull and kill it. It was the ugliest thing I'd ever seen, a slimy thigh-thick mud-brown body topped off with a large head and a gaping mouth full of evil spiked teeth. I never had much of a liking for the taste of fish anyway, despite growing up on the coast, but that put me off even thinking of ever trying eel one day. I couldn't watch Dan cut a piece of flesh off that conger eel.