Regency Diet

 Pat here:

Since I totally blew my blog date while buried under revisions, edits, and the start of a new book, I’m pulling out an oldie for you to consider how to approach not dieting for the holidays.

In hunting for a food that small boys might relish at a village fair, I went on a google expedition. The internet boasts a plethora of material that I would have given my right hand to own back when I first started writing. Now, instead of procrastinating— researching—by getting lost in my library, I hunt through Wikipedia, jump to Google Books, dig deep into newspaper archives, or just generally wallow in the wealth of Regency blogs and websites available with the click of a mouse.

I can’t say I was particularly successful in my search for small boy food (Bath Buns? Pudding sausages? What, no deep-fried donuts with ice cream filling?) but I did run across a brilliant site packed with disgusting recipes for old-fashioned “puddings” that mostly consisted of fat and hog intestines. Yummy. Those Regency types sure knew how to...uh...eat high on the hog?

 Reading through some of these sites, one must wonder if vegetables were a twentieth  century invention, although the painting on the right proves otherwise. I understand that only the wealthy had hothouses for fruit in winter, but looking at this grocery list from 1784, it doesn’t appear as if they ordered anything resembling vegetables. So one assumes they only ate homegrown root vegetables preserved for winter just like the poor?

Byron’s Don Juan goes on with verses of exotic dishes, most of which involved venison, ham, pork, and sauces, none of which had anything to do with healthy. Of course, Byron was reported to be anorexic and bulimic, surviving on one meal a day and ingesting vinegar and magnesia to keep his boyish figure—so perhaps Don Juan’s Canto XV was a hallucination about food.

Digging further into the lovely Jane Austen website, I see that fruits were considered dangerous until sailors learned to eat citrus to prevent scurvy, and vegetables were usually served with fat and flour—sauces. Presumably most of today's seasonings were unavailable and/or too expensive for most households.

The vegetables might not be much, but the array of desserts was beyond staggering! They actually set out dessert tables! Oh merciful heaven, could we skip the venison (which was only for the wealthy who owned large parks) and go straight to death-by-chocolate?

How on earth did our ancestors survive with that kind of diet? Perhaps peasants and the middling sorts walked everywhere, as Jane Austen’s characters often did. Our Regency heroes might occasionally frequent Gentleman Jackson’s gym in the city, or go for bruising rides when they were in the country, but honestly, does anyone think they wouldn’t be round butterballs by the age of 35? And drop dead of cholesterol poisoning by 50 or die painfully from diabetes by 60?

I had to leave many of my research books behind when I moved, so I can’t find legitimate resources for statistics like mortality rates in the Regency—but if this blog’s numbers are correct, I’m not very far off in my guess of a short life expectancy!

And no, of course this blog has nothing to do with New Years’ resolutions about dieting. Anyone have any diet-proof dessert recipes out there?

Oh, and does anyone have an opinion on how to spell "fair" as in festival for the Regency era? I want to say "fair food" but that just comes off wrong. Am I being pretentious by describing "fayre food"? (fayre fare?!) 

 What foods are you serving over the holidays that you might regret come January?

Comments

[Mary M.]

Hahaha, Pat! You've caught me out. Because of health issues, I'm totally sheltering in place, with just my Sammy the Siamese for company. But before I retired here completely, I made a few runs to Trader Joe's. Need I say more? Well, I will anyway. I am being good in doling out to myself: TJ's panettone, Chocolate Brooklyn Babka, some fantastic frozen desserts, and most of all Kringle. Oooh, Kringle! I am so glad TJ ran out of this most addictive of treats early. Otherwise, I truly would look like a butterball by January.

[theo]

We have a pretty basic menu for Christmas. I do a whole standing prime rib and sauted mushrooms. Sis in law brings twice baked potatoes, Thing 1 brings brussels sprouts that are divine and Thing 2 brings the appetizers. But! I do make Egg Nog Cheesecake for dessert along with various cookies, my great gran's shortbread and a couple pies. The cheesecake never lasts long though. ;)

[Maggie Robinson]

I ordered a traditional Christmas pudding and brandy butter from an English food store. Can't wait!

[Sue McCormick]

Our very, VERY favorite desert, invented by my mother is a vanilla float. Use pink cream soda (brown cream is a different taste) with the tasted vanilla ice cfeam you can find. Taste to die for; easy to make, and turly not too many calories.

We have that at every family gathering and ofen at other time.

And I've probably mentioned this before.

[Constance]

We’ve had Christmas Eve lunch with my husband’s sister and family for about 20 years. One of our lovely nieces, now 22, has always had an overwhelming array of food allergies, so I have worked diligently thro the years to develop menus she can enjoy - and dessert is by far the hardest! But I’ve come to believe that strawberries and lemon sorbet can be the perfect dessert after a rich meal! Of course, there’s still the cookie plate (actually, a 3-tiered plate), the pecan pralines, and the steamed ginger pudding with whipped cream, for those so inclined!

[Patricia Rice]

LOL! I'm not sure why we reach for those comfort foods at this time of year but it does seem to be necessary to our well-being, doesn't it? Portioning, though, is so hard to do!

[Patricia Rice]

oooo, well organized, you! I'm still waiting for Thing 1 and 2 to tell me what they're bringing. The dessert spread sounds divine. Now I need to rethink mine!

[Patricia Rice]

Tradition!!! Sing along with me... and stamp your feet appropriately as we go. Maybe the dancing helped our Regency people keep the pounds down.

[Patricia Rice]

I don't remember you mentioning this before and I remember desserts! I'm not sure about ice cream this time of year though, although admittedly, I did just buy chocolate chip mint to go on the brownies.

[Patricia Rice]

I hear ya on food allergies and dessert. I've just spent the morning trying to adapt some of my favorites to all the different allergies. I love the idea of strawberries and lemon sorbet! So simple but elegant.
Steamed ginger pudding! My heavens, you do go all out.

[Annette N]

I messed up my Thanksgiving dinner ----really badly. And once in my life I was a really good cook.

So, I am going to get a couple of Lean Cuisines, maybe a spinach pizza, ice cream and maybe a few other things. I have fruit. I have coffee and tea. I have a couple of containers of frozen chili. In short, I will not starve to death. But I am not going to attempt to create anything like what would be a Christmas dinner if I had family here.

Life has been difficult at times this past year. But, not worrying about what to cook is rather freeing.

I do believe that I would have had a problem during the Regency period. I am unable to eat fat. I mean really unable. So, not sure what I would have eaten...but desserts sound really good to me. I never met a grain of sugar I did not like.

I hope everyone is taking care and staying well.

[Patricia Rice]

I'm sorry about your T-day dinner. I ruined a turkey once with a new stove so I understand the disappointment. And you're right, if you don't have to fix dinner, just eat what makes you happy. And you're probably have to do your own cooking in Regency times to avoid fat, so be glad you live in an era of easily available food!

Hugs and take care of yourself!

[Sue McCormick]

OOPs; I forgot to mention the cookies (ususally very, very good commercial Danish).

[Kareni]

I sympathize about ruined dishes. A few years ago I ruined the apple tart I baked for a Thanksgiving dessert when I used salt not sugar. And it smelled so good, too; no clue it was inedible until that first bite....

Thanks for an enjoyable post, Pat.

[Benedicte Reiter]

I have reached the age when my daughters take over most of the cooking on large occasions like Christmas. I hest have to make the bade for our traditional Christmas dessert - rice pudding with whipped cream and almonds(ris a l'amande - though Danish in origin, has a French name). They take care of the caramel sauce topping as well. So No worries for me.

[Patricia Rice]

ohhhh, an apple tart.... my great sympathies!

[Patricia Rice]

you raised good kids! That's a blessing right there. And I love rice pudding and banana pudding and brandy sauce and... but the kids want chocolate and pies, sigh