Gingerbread with Sam Bilton

In the first episode of the second season Neil chats to food historian, cook and chef, Sam Bilton, author of gingerbread cookbook ‘First Catch Your Gingerbread’. We talked about – amongst other things – the origins of gingerbread, gingerbreads that do not contain ginger, gingerbread’s close ties with Victorian fairgrounds and the difficulties surrounding cooking historical foods. Then, Neil talks a little bit more on the best of all the gingerbreads: parkin (this is not an opinion, but a true fact).

Sam’s book ‘First Catch Your Gingerbread’ is published by Prospect Books: https://prospectbooks.co.uk/products-page/current-titles/first-catch-your-gingerbread/

Sam Bilton’s excellent website and blog: http://www.sambilton.com/

Sam’s twitter handle: @sjfbilton; Sam’s Instagram: @mrssbilton

Neil’s parkin recipe: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2011/11/04/yorkshire-parkin/

Neil’s blog post about Golden Syrup: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2012/02/01/golden_syrup/

Gingerbread recipes can be found on both of Neil’s blogs: ‘British Food: a History’ (www.britishfoodhistory.com) & ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’ (www.neilcooksgrigson.com)

Also, don’t forget if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email me at [email protected], or find me on twitter @neilbuttery, or Instagram dr_neil_buttery.

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Mentioned in this episode:

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