This site is for those interested in cooking pre-1600 cuisine for guests with food allergies, intolerances, or preferences. It started with largely European dishes, but hopefully will expand breadth and reach through contributions by other cooks.
The approach for this site is from a cook’s perspective namely: I’m cooking a meal and a guest informs me of an allergy, so show me a list of acceptable recipes. Currently recipes are organized as follows:
- If they avoid seven of the nine major allergies regulated by the FDA:
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
As of January 1, 2023, sesame was added to the FDA’s list of major allergens. This site has been updated to reflect that new category. (None of the previous recipes contained sesame, as my focus has been on western European dishes.)
Recipes on this site include the original source material, the cook’s transliteration of the original material, and finally the cook’s interpretation in a more modern format. Most recipes will have limited allergens in their original form, or with a trivial substitution (for example, frying in olive oil instead of lard or butter). Many recipes can be adapted with more substantial changes; while that is not the focus of this collection, you are welcome to experiment!
Cooking is an individual art, and medieval recipes give us ample leeway to create our own versions. If you test a recipe, please share your redactions and images in the comments sections of the dish you try.
If you would like to contribute a new recipe to the collection, please use this form.
