Folklore, Food & Fairytales Rachel Mosses

In which we discover that the trickster can be tricked, that a good knowledge of crops is essential if you want to best a bogle, that everyone needs a wiffle waffle occasionally and there are few situations in which festival specific bread & cheese doesnt enhance your daily experience.

The Tale: The Farmer & The Bogle

The Recipe: Harvest Lardy Cake

If you would like to find more information about any of the stories,  books or research mentioned in this episode you can find them in Further Reading.

You can subscribe (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail.

You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  If you'd like to get in touch about the podcast you can find me on Twitter or Instagram at @FairyTalesFood. If you fancy signing up to my newsletter then you can read my first one and see if you like it.

A bonus interview episode with historian Emma Kay about her brand new book A History of Herbalis: Cure, Cook and Conjure.  we had a lovely chat and I asked some slightly impertinent questions.  All I can say if you are interested in Herbalism for any reason, go and get this book as its a fascinating read and we only really touched the surface.

You can subscribe (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore,  history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional  cocktail.

You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past podcast episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  If  you'd like to get in touch about the podcast you can find me on Twitter or Instagram at @FairyTalesFood. 

You can find Emma's book here or learn more about her and her other projects and books on her website

A little more from the publisher about the book:

Food historian Emma Kay tells the story of our centuries-old  relationship with herbs. From herbalists of old to contemporary cooking,  this book reveals the magical and medicinal properties of your  favourite plants in colourful, compelling detail.

At one time, every village in Britain had a herbalist. A History of  Herbalism investigates the lives of women and men who used herbs to  administer treatment and knew the benefit of each. Meet Dr Richard  Shephard of Preston, who cultivated angelica on his estate in the  eighteenth century for the sick and injured; or Nicholas Culpeper, a  botanist who catalogued the pharmaceutical benefits of herbs for early  literary society.

But herbs were not only medicinal. Countless cultures and beliefs as far  back as prehistoric times incorporated herbs into their practices:  paganism, witchcraft, religion and even astrology. Take a walk through a  medieval ‘physick’ garden, or Early Britain, and learn the ancient  rituals to fend off evil powers, protect or bewitch or even attract a  lover.

The wake of modern medicine saw a shift away from herbal treatments,  with rituals and spells shrouded with superstition as the years wore on.  The author reveals how herbs became more culinary rather than medicinal  including accounts of recent trends for herbal remedies as lockdown and  the pandemic leads us to focus more on our health and wellbeing.

In which we discover the connection between unmanageable women, good strong vinegar and the importance of good manners. We also learn that happiness can be found anywhere but chances are improved if there is a rocking chair, a fire and a cat.

The Tale: The Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle adapated from various versions including Katharine Briggs and Rumer Gooden

The Recipe: Instant Pink Pickled Onions

You can subscribe (or just read) my free newsletter for further snippets of folklore, history, stories, vintage recipes, herblore & the occasional cocktail.

You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  If you'd like to get in touch about the podcast you can find me on Twitter or Instagram at @FairyTalesFood. If you fancy signing up to my newsletter then you can read my first one and see if you like it.

In which we discover that having long, strong hair doesn’t mean you can’t think for yourself, that you can learn a lot of incredible things from books, that parsley is both useful and tasty and that you should always remember to pack your acorns.



The Tale: Petrosinella 


The Recipe: Turkish Parsley & Onion Salad and Sort of Fattoush Salad



If you would like to find more information about any of the stories,  books or research mentioned in this episode you can find them in Further Reading.

You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  If  you'd like to get in touch about the podcast you can find me on Twitter or Instagram at @FairyTalesFood. If you fancy signing up to my newsletter then you can read my first one and see if you like it.

In which we discover that even in the darkest of tales we can find some light, that boldness & curiosity can save lives, and that a pie can hold both wonders and terrors.

The tales in this episode are traditional tales but contain some dark & violent themes.

The tales in this tale are Mr Fox, Captain Murderer and The Rose-Tree

The episode recipe is Leek, Cheese & Potato Pasties

If you would like to find more information about any of the stories,  books or research mentioned in this episode you can find them in Further Reading.

You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  If  you'd like to get in touch about the podcast you can find me on Twitter or Instagram at @FairyTalesFood.

In which we find that clever beautiful women are always an asset, that a magical mother-in-law should not to be under-estimated, that a magical servant will always improve your day and cruel kings are more frequent than you might think. It is also wise to beware of hen-women and servants of the king.

The episode recipe is Spaghetti al Olio E Aglio

If you would like to find more information about any of the stories,  books or research mentioned in this episode you can find them in Further Reading.

You can also find out more at Hestia's Kitchen which has all past episodes and the connected recipes on the blog.  If  you'd like to get in touch about the podcast you can find me on Twitter or Instagram at @FairyTalesFood.