AVOID Ancient Recipes With Sohla, from the History Channel

[Loyalist Dave]

So I like historic recipe shows, but Ancient Recipes With Sohla which is sponsored or produced by The History Channel demonstrates that The History Channel has maintained its reputation. I expected the show to be low on scholarship and low on actual history, and The History Channel did not disappoint.

I watched an episode on a Viking feast....

Mispronounced words

Unnecessary modern ingredients (If you can't actually mill the oats, then say that and use cut oats not rolled oats and rye)

Claims the Vikings (so they were Norse or Danes or Rus etc, "Viking" was a verb in their day) drank more beer than mead. NO, they might have consumed more ale, but beer in English means a lagered, malted barley beverage flavored with Hops...., the Norse didn't do lagering back then and didn't have the hops. "Ale" and "Beer" are not interchangeable terms today, nor were they back then.

Made unleavened bread because she wanted to do it "really ancient"..., um.... she said they had mead but even more beer..., so they had yeast.......

OH well, that's 22 minutes of my life wasted..

LD

 

[tenngun]

Got the same impression,, Tasting History with Max Muller And English Heritage with Mrs Crocombe I find MUCH better.
Though Max does make up some of his recipes along the way…. He tells you so and why.

 

[Flintfan69]

Good to know, however your definition of ale, lager, and beer are different then I have known. Ales and lagers are both beer, as far as I have always understood. The only difference between the two being the temperature at which they are fermented. Ales are fermented at room temperatures with top fermenting yeasts, while lagers use a bottom fermenting yeast which are active at much lower temperatures. Lagering is a much newer process, which gained popularity in the 19th century.

Both the terms ale and lager are interchangeable with "beer", but not with each other.

If there is another definition that contradicts that, please point it out to me. I have some brewing friends I would love to show up.