Books published by Prospect Books

Mediterranean favorites as rabbit with garlic sauce punctuate wonderful reflections on such varied topics as wine, pigs, and edible weeds.

Traditional Tuscan life through recipes. Romer found hand-written nineteenth century recipes by villager Beppina, and Pierro Aretino's 1541 account.

A feisty, entertaining and historical account of Anglo Saxon cooking and eating, with reconstructed recipes of the period circa 400 to 1066. Emma Kay believes that the modern world has a huge amount to learn from ancient times. We are now interested in the preservation of original species and plants to nourish the human race. Her book gives us evidence based information from historical artefacts and museum articles, to show us what our ancestors had at their disposal for survival. It discusses the nature of culinary transitions in terms of Roman and Scandinavian influences, as well as providing a social and political backdrop to the Anglo Saxon communities, 400 to 1066 BCE, the time of the Norman invasions, the early Medieval era.

Saffron has allured us with its golden hues throughout time. It was the darling of the Medieval kitchen, the saviour of the apothecary's chest and gave cloth a regal glow. Unlike many spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, saffron can be successfully grown in England. From the middle ages through to the eighteenth century there was a thriving saffron industry in this country. Some people even claimed English saffron was the best to be found in the world. So renowned was the town of Chipping Walden for saffron production that it adopted the spice's name at some point during the fifteenth century (it is now known as Saffron Walden). Despite its expense, saffron was used extensively in British cookery particularly during the medieval era. It was also valued for its medicinal properties and was said to cure everything from melancholy to the plague. However, as tastes change our ardour for saffron waned and so with it the need and desire to farm it. By the end of the nineteenth century saffron production in England had all but disappeared, although there is a current day revival. Saffron is now a spice more commonly associated with 'exotic' dishes from distant climes. Given its lavish reputation (saffron is the most expensive spice in the world) it is no wonder that most people do not have it in their spice cupboard. Sam Bilton will show you how a few saffron fronds can make your repast a thing of great beauty and wonder to your dinner guests.

Corinna Sargood, who illustrated Patience Gray's Honey from a Weed, spends several months each year in Mexico with her partner, Richard, a furniture maker. They live a simple life, renting a home in the Village in the Valley, south of Mexico City, a life she began in her fifties. When Corinna was fifty, she first travelled to Mexico, with Richard, her partner of a few months standing. She had a commission to illustrate a book by the novelist Angela Carter. "Angela Carter had asked me to make another series of lino cuts to illustrate the second Virago Book of Fairy Tales that she was editing. As I had calculated that it would take about 3 months to complete, it seemed a good opportunity to decamp to another country and to work there. Angela was a great friend of mine." Corinna and Richard just took a few clothes hoping to establish their first home together. Most of the time they ended up with leaking roofs, dirt floors that became a sea of mud when they stepped out of bed, and the only shower a bucket of water en plein air, behind a make shift plastic sheet. The book is a love story, a memoir and a travel diary. In addition, the book contains Corinna's escapades in Italy as a young woman. Corinna and Richard now live in Frome, Somerset, where they live a creative life, illustrating and making furniture, in their seventies.

Freekeh (from the Arabic 'to rub' )foundin health and grocery shops, the main staple famed in the Old Testament.

Gingerbread is a loved sweet treat. Enthusiastic bakers and families baking together since lockdown will enjoy the history and recipes.

Madeleine Neave's book is unique, describing her collection of breadboards from Victorian times, from her Antique Breadboard Museum.

If you can manage 50 ways of cooking one ingredient, the carrot, you can master cooking any dish, to perfection.

Josh Sutton discusses our food culture, and how childhood eating governs our future.

Sweet Slices of History is a vividly told story of the creation of sweet dishes from historical recipes in today's setting. Oxford librarian Marjory Szurko, who has run a series of events inviting historians to sample her exotic cakes, was inspired by a small recipe book found in the recesses of a college library. She describes how she researched, baked, and shared recipes from a wealth of sources for vibrant social events, bringing together layers of Oxford society to the 21st century.

The botanical varieties, nutritional values, recipes, and beauty of nuts are celebrated in this delightful book.

Berries were the food of the Olympian gods, and beloved by the Pilgrim founders, with new varieties like Haskap delighting us today.

A collection of dairy-free recipes and their context, from the communities of vegans, in the UK, in the 1970s and early 1980s.

The history of the Petworth House is varied and fascinating, and the kitchens dealt with everything from eels to venison.

Although we eat seaweed in restaurants, we can now use it in our own kitchens due to Fi Bird's book.