Tasting History: Explore the Past through 4,000 Years of Recipes (A Cookbook)

Savory: Savory is an herb common in historic recipes and comes in two varieties, summer and winter. Recipes rarely call for either specifically, so it is chef’s choice. Both varieties offer a robust and peppery taste to a dish—the summer variety has a tinge of heat that the earthier winter variety does not, though winter savory carries a hint of pi

Sandalwood powder: Sandalwood was used to color food red in the Middle Ages, though today it is more often used in cosmetics.

Rue: An herb with a musty, bitter flavor used in ancient and medieval cooking, today rue is most often found in a dried form. In small quantities it is harmless but in large quantities can be toxic and an abortifacient. Parsley leaf can be used as a substitute.

Persian shallots: These are often dried and can be rehydrated in a bowl of water after a half hour. Their flavor is more akin to strong garlic than to a shallot.

Passum: Used in many Ancient Roman recipes, passum was a wine made from semi-dried grapes; a raisin wine. It is very sweet and can be replaced by sweet wines such as Vin Santo or ice wine. For a less expensive alternative, a sweet Riesling or Moscato will do the trick.

Lovage: A mildly sweet herb used in ancient and medieval cooking, lovage can be found in some gardens but is not common today and, like rue, has been used as an abortifacient. Celery leaf can be used as a substitute.

Hyssop: A popular medieval herb still commonly used in tea, hyssop has a flavor that is a combination of mint and anise.

Long pepper: Long pepper is a spice popular throughout history, only losing favor in recent centuries when black pepper came to dominate Western cuisine. It has a similar flavor to black peppercorn but with a bit more heat and a lot more complexity. It truly is superior to black peppercorn in every way except in its availability at the grocery stor

Grains of paradise: Grains of paradise is a complex, aromatic spice popular in historic recipes. They offer the heat of black pepper with a hint of citrus and sweet ginger and cardamom. Their flavor is hard to replicate, though equal amounts of black pepper, ginger, and cardamom will come close.