A Feast of Folklore: The Bizarre Stories Behind British Food

By Ben Gazur£20.00 + Shipping
Status: in prepress
Publication Date: TBCAvailable
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About The Book

Who was the first person to throw salt over their shoulder? Why do we think carrots can help us see in the dark? When did we start holding village fairs to honour gigantic apple pies? Or start hurling ourselves down hills in pursuit of a wheel of cheese?

Folklorist Ben Gazur guides you through the dark alleys of British history to uncover how these unconventional actions have been passed down through generations of folklore. He investigates the origins of famous food superstitions as well as much more bizarre and lesser-known tales too, from what day the devil urinates on blackberries to how to stop witches using eggshells as escape boats.

Over thirteen hilarious and fascinating chapters you’ll meet the gloriously eccentric folk who aren’t often noticed by historians: people whose kitchen larders became medicine cabinets and magic books out of necessity, boredom or belief. Here lies a smorgasbord of their dark remedies and deadly delicacies, waiting to be discovered.

A Feast of Folklore will have you looking at your Spotted Dick in an entirely new light.

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  • Updates From The Author

    Cooking up A Feast of Folklore!

    Hello! Just wanted to let you all know that A Feast of Folklore has reached its crowdfunding target. I cannot thank you enough for all the support you have given and without you it would never have ha...

    25.01.2023
    Food Folklore Remedies

    Hello! It has been a little while since I last posted an update. Please forgive me. I fell a little ill last year but thankfully I’m back up to full speed and ready to get to work on this book – which...

    17.01.2023
    Happy Pancake Day!

    Hope everyone is making some pancakes tonight. Here are a couple of tips from British food history to make the day even more festive! First when you toss your pancakes make sure there are real consequ...

    01.03.2022
    Happy Cake Month!

    Hello all! It is cake month. At least it is according to the Anglo-Saxons. They called February “Solmōnaþ” – meaning something like “Month of the Hearth Cakes.” These were cakes that were baked on the...

    03.02.2022
    Merry Christmas Cakes!

    Merry Christmas! Hope everyone is ready for Christmas and has stocked up on food. You might, or might not, like to try this bit of foody folklore to get your party started. It used to be a tradition t...

    21.12.2021
    Witch cakes

    Looking through old books of folklore I found a few references to witch cakes. If you do a quick search online your likely to find cakes covered in lurid green icing and a little woman in a pointed ha...

    22.11.2021
    An onion a day...

    Hello All! Thank you everyone who has supported A Feast of Folklore so far. It really means a lot that so many people seem interested in the topic! While I’ve been working on this book I seem to keep ...

    08.11.2021

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