February 3, 1637: Gervase Markham died. According to Gervase Markham’s English Huswife recipe book, which was published in 1615, dinners would frequently end with cheese, like parmesan or ricotta, coated in thick cream and dusted with sugar. The cheese was a common meal at this time in England since the country had long embraced a dairy culture. Later Stuart feasts occasionally featured cheesecakes, which are homemade pastries filled with cheese. The after-dinner course in affluent English homes typically included hippocras, a sweet, spiced red wine that was thought to help with digestion. Hippocras had been superseded by new wines by the end of the 17th century. They were frequently favored over their predecessor’s sweet and heavy flavor since they had a lighter fruity or floral fragrance. Wine and cheese were not just for the wealthy. In pubs all around Europe in the early 19th century, wine was regarded as a deserving accompanist to bread and cheese.
Header image: Semnoz — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).
