The Poor Sailor's Feast

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  • Опубліковано 29 вер 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,9 тис.

  • @townsends
    @townsends  11 місяців тому +49

    Simple wooden bowl www.townsends.us/products/wooden-bowl-wb898-p-118

    • @siiashr
      @siiashr 9 місяців тому +4

      this is in fact a Simple wooden bowl

    • @oksanaprokuda8930
      @oksanaprokuda8930 9 місяців тому

      How was raisins used...didn't catch it

    • @asdf2593
      @asdf2593 8 місяців тому +2

      28 bucks lmao

    • @jin_cotl
      @jin_cotl 6 місяців тому

      @@asdf2593yeah it’s kind of expensive for a bowl

  • @hannahpumpkins4359
    @hannahpumpkins4359 Рік тому +1936

    I worked on a commercial fishing boat in the Florida Keys - the captain would give us all grog after working really hard. If he put ice in your grog, you knew he was exceptionally happy with your work efforts - if you got 2 cups of grog, captain was proud of you and you'd most likely be able to take a nap/rest for a while too as a reward... I worked my way up to being the 1st Mate, and to this day I miss sailing at night, when the crew was quiet because they were busy getting everything ready, and the captain would have me at the helm while he checked the fishing reports and charted and logged... On moonless nights it felt like we were floating in space because of all the stars reflected in the calm water, everywhere you looked. I always liked to feel in the wheel the vibration of the engines, and loved the sound of the water churned up behind us, which made a gentle 'woosh', very rhythmically, or the lapping of the waves against the bow as we ran... But of course getting back from the trip it was nice to eat good quality food - instead of like once when I went to take a bite out of my piece of pizza and a wave broke over us, drenching the pizza, which then tasted like brine with a hint of fish! Anyway, here on my desk I have 3 bottles of various rums - I love the stuff, and drink a little each day in the evening, and it reminds me of being at sea.

    • @captainggttv3243
      @captainggttv3243 Рік тому +72

      Awesome story

    • @laika6661
      @laika6661 Рік тому +63

      Beautiful comment. Thank you for sharing

    • @chiconeededthemoney
      @chiconeededthemoney Рік тому +69

      I served in the US Navy for four years. The duty station I loved working on was on the bridge at night. When I wasn't busy with the radar, I was an Operations Specialist, I'd love looking at the night sky. Being in the middle of the Atlantic was an experience. The whole of the Milky Way, the stars. I don't miss the military much but I miss those nights.

    • @parkerstroh6586
      @parkerstroh6586 Рік тому +18

      I just want to say this was lovely to read

    • @human4582
      @human4582 Рік тому +12

      That's so magical. Thank you for sharing the awesomeness!

  • @dimitarhristov8704
    @dimitarhristov8704 Рік тому +436

    As a sailor, I find this video not only so full of information, but it`s kind of emotional too :) At the point where you are tired to the brink of exhaustion of everyday work, and also your ears are ringing from the constant rolling and pitching, when you can barely decide on eating rather than going straight to the hammock.... such a simple dish could be a bliss. Cheers, good sir, for you are a spirited soul indeed :) ! God bless!

  • @monkcho7934
    @monkcho7934 Рік тому +44

    As a Navy vet I’d LOVE to experience this! Living the old school sailor life.

  • @deanframe9095
    @deanframe9095 Рік тому +25

    Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot 9 days old. Some like it hot, Some like it cold, some like it in the pot 9 days old! 😂. Now I know what I was jumping rope to!

  • @sajidmushfique6375
    @sajidmushfique6375 8 місяців тому

    Sir , you are wordsmith. Listening to you I felt like I lived through those moments that you described . 👍

  • @sirjojo88
    @sirjojo88 Рік тому +1

    Norway here, we eat lapskaus often! Here lapskaus is root vegetables cooked til their mushy and usually salt meat. But what root vegetables you use and what meats is really up to you. We only distinguish between light or brown lapskaus.

  • @lucasweckstrom9225
    @lucasweckstrom9225 Рік тому

    Peas pudding is very similar to what we still eat as a tradition in Finland once a week, pea soup made out of dried peas and with a little ham. It is served every thursday nation wide in the military, at sea and at lots of restaurants as lunch. As dessert there is also pancakes with jam.

  • @johnmcmorris1170
    @johnmcmorris1170 Рік тому

    Thanks for the shout out to sailors of old. The world was changed by them and even formed by them.

  • @yobgodababua1862
    @yobgodababua1862 Рік тому +8

    Thanks to the Tasting History channel I can no longer hear the word "hardtack" without expecting it to be followed by the "clack - clack" of inedible biscuits being knocked together.
    Thank you for including that auditory example of "more rock than bread".

  • @flyshacker
    @flyshacker Рік тому +2

    Absolutely love your videos! The content. The presentation. 👍👍👍👍👍

  • @tjvaneyk7010
    @tjvaneyk7010 Рік тому +5

    Love me some Townsend, I live in New England so I respect the history

  • @SGM97B
    @SGM97B Рік тому

    I share your love of the book series. I read all of Patrick O'Brian stories when I was stationed in The Netherlands.

  • @Contingentx
    @Contingentx Рік тому +6

    love this channel, thank you for soo many cool things from the past.

  • @mikecurtis11
    @mikecurtis11 Рік тому

    After college, when very poor, I lived off of green pea stew, no meat, but seasoned with butter and salt. I probably added onion and carrots sometimes. A cheap loaf of grocery store bakery bread accompanied it. Peas pudding reminds me of that.

  • @johnclarke6647
    @johnclarke6647 7 місяців тому

    My 3rd GGF was a ship captain in the 18-19th centuries, as well as an officer in the Continental Navy. Many in my family have been Marines, so the Naval Service is in our DNA.

  • @beepseatsfindingfoodtreasu8756

    Sailors were probably the most unappreciated under written men in history. Yet without them there wouldn't be the society we enjoy today. Spices, linens, jewels, foods and minerals all came by ship. Being on the Great Lakes I understand the dangers they faced. With well over 2000 wrecks some so deep and devoid of light their rigging is still in place. As though they are docked in the cold darkness waiting to set sail. So many of those lost souls have never been recorded because only the ships log would have them listed. But I do imagine how it would have been to see every continent pulling into their busy ports amongst sailors from the far flung corners of the world. Although their diet left much to be appreciated along with the high chance to aquire scurvy. The travel must have been the only thing keeping them before the mast. Great video hope you do more about sailing in 17th and 18th centuries.

  • @peepresc8002
    @peepresc8002 Рік тому

    In England someone from Liverpool is known as a Scouser. A staple food was normally something that would be left keeping warm on the Stove, sometimes all week, as this pan of food had meals taken out of it more things was thrown back in the pan to keep the pan going.The pan originally started with Meat and what ever Vegetables was available. As the week went by the Meat was used up, but the stew type food still had the taste of meat from the stock. To Lob Something means to throw something. So all week various Veg and various scraps of meat was thrown or lobbed into the big pan on the stove.
    So in the UK this is how we came to Lob Scouse or depending in what area of Northwest England you may call it Lobbies.
    Lob as to throw, and Scouse as an abbreviation of the name Scouser.
    Liverpool was a large Maritime Port and this dishes name obviously spread although the dish was probably already being cooked all over the world.

  • @CELINExDION
    @CELINExDION Рік тому

    This is such an important channel. Thank you for showing so many how the rest of us used to eat.

  • @josephstevens9888
    @josephstevens9888 Рік тому +4

    Great episode.... You're correct. Without ordinary sailors risking their lives day in and day out, this world would look very different than it does today!

  • @Chris-yh3ym
    @Chris-yh3ym 10 місяців тому

    Love the poor sailors feast thumbnail. He's holding an empty plate.

  • @Killthefish
    @Killthefish Рік тому

    Fun fact of the day, some sailers used to ask for the ships biscuit with bugs because they had more flavour and a better texture

  • @countrymousesfarmhouse497
    @countrymousesfarmhouse497 Рік тому +4

    I love this. You brought it all to life and somehow made me want to try pease pudding and plum pudding again this way. Even that stew sounded appealing when you talk about it. Haha . Thank you for a wonderful look into sailing life back then 😊

  • @seymourfields3613
    @seymourfields3613 3 місяці тому

    You said "hard tack" and I felt like I was holding in a sneeze up until you lacked the biscuits together later on.

  • @bholdr----0
    @bholdr----0 Рік тому +2

    Yeah!!! The Aunrey/Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brien were once called by the New York Times book review "The best historical novels ever written", and, as a student of history I absolutely agree!
    I've even been to a fan meeting where we ate skilligalle, hardtack, toasted cheese, soused hogs face (Vapt. A's favourite dish), and some other meals from the novels that I don't recall...
    Thanks for mentioning that exceptional series- if any viewer of your channel is even remotely interested in the French revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, or warfare in the age of sale, or even in just a great story, IMHO, they owe it to themselves to pick those books up. (No kidding, I have probably read the entire series more than a half dozen times!!)
    Cheers! (And didn't it just KILL you when you-know-who dies in the 20th book?)

  • @TankManHeavy
    @TankManHeavy Рік тому

    The North of England still eat Pease pudding, I went to Newcastle, England a few years ago and you could readily order it at cafes & eateries.

  • @thedustofages
    @thedustofages Рік тому

    Really interesting.......Also reminds me of Eric Newby's account in 'The Last Grain Race' of being a young man on board the Moshulu in 1938. Well worth reading.

  • @_Peremalfait
    @_Peremalfait Рік тому

    How interesting it is to know how men lived aboard ships during the time of sail. It strikes me that a ship's cook must've been a very important position. A good cook was surely held in high esteem by sailors, a bad one the opposite.

  • @shaunbrennan5882
    @shaunbrennan5882 Рік тому +1

    First time viewer.i really enjoyed that. The stew didn't look to bad!
    With all the peas pudding they ate I'm amazed they didn't blow the ship to bits with all that methane and naked flames. Lol.

  • @johnsheetz6639
    @johnsheetz6639 Рік тому

    I couldn't imagine how good the saltwater fishing would have been if they would have had the right lures and lines off the back of a tall ship back then.

  • @StompDeni42
    @StompDeni42 Рік тому

    This was just a truly wonderful episode!

  • @shinyjirachi272
    @shinyjirachi272 Рік тому

    Watching this video, getting hungry and stopping in the middle to make ramen on my stove in 5 minutes makes me realize how lucky we are to live in the modern day.

  • @Jeremy-yr8yg
    @Jeremy-yr8yg 8 місяців тому

    “Jack, you have debauched my sloth!”

  • @jimmybrennan9249
    @jimmybrennan9249 Рік тому

    In England you can buy tins of Pease pudding mainly eaten In the north east of England ie Newcastle

  • @irathi2722
    @irathi2722 Рік тому

    LOB Scouse - sounds like the Norwegian traditional "lapskaus". Looks the same as well. Tastes very nice, we eat it a couple of times a year :)

  • @trashpanda_0605
    @trashpanda_0605 9 місяців тому

    It doesn't matter if it's ship's biscuits or hardtack. If you mention it, you must "clack-clack" 😂.

  • @estebanmiguel6019
    @estebanmiguel6019 Місяць тому

    Sailors of old wouldn’t be able to comprehend how good modern US Navy sailors eat. I was on an extended westpac in the 90s, we ate steak steak regularly. I think we even had crab once.

  • @misterdinkleburg789
    @misterdinkleburg789 Рік тому

    From a sailor: do not buy a ship, yacht, or boat unless it is small, your wallet is fat, or you have time and resources on your side. (not to mention the drive.)
    As my harbor master said: "it's a hole in the water for your money" and he lived 15+ year on board with the navy and in his sailboats that he traded around untill had a 56' beast. Still, best job I ever had.

  • @jesseelves959
    @jesseelves959 Рік тому

    I thought a few drops of lemon or lime was added to the grog. They thought of it as a kind of medicine, preventing scurvy and generally calming the crew.

    • @jesseelves959
      @jesseelves959 Рік тому

      @Danny miller You can ask 2 questions- the one you just asked and the one your about to.

  • @censusgary
    @censusgary Рік тому

    What kind of stove or fire source did the sailing ships have? You should do an episode showing what a ship’s galley was like.

  • @hiddenwoodsben
    @hiddenwoodsben Рік тому

    the word was taken into german as "labskaus", which i always found funny, as it is spelled as a non-english-speakin german would understand "lobscouse".
    made with taters, beets and either herring or corned-beef and still eaten today.

  • @bellofbelmont
    @bellofbelmont Рік тому

    Thanks. Jim Bell (Australia)

  • @anomonyous
    @anomonyous Рік тому

    It's kind of insane how this blew up. I've been watching since almost the very beginning. I guess it shows that some people do still have a genuine interest in real history, and not the revisionist garbage they're being fed everyday.

  • @zoobie2000
    @zoobie2000 Рік тому

    great video as always

  • @nate4730
    @nate4730 11 місяців тому

    You and Max Miller doing a joint video would be freaking awesome!

  • @steliokontos3935
    @steliokontos3935 Рік тому

    The first thing I thought when I saw the thumbnail was, "Pokemon episode? Jon is in his Ash Ketchum costume!"
    But no. Darn.

  • @benw9949
    @benw9949 Рік тому

    @Townsends. When did they begin using limes and other citrus to combat scurvy? Today, we tend to think of vinegar with fish and chips, and possibly lemon juice, and I often use a spritz of lemon juice on my peas. But limes, lemons, oranges, fruit in general, when did they start this as a standard practice, thus the nickname Limeys for English sailors?

    • @benw9949
      @benw9949 Рік тому

      I wonder ow conservative they were about butter or other fat sources, since they had to use meat sparingly, yet they also had to use it up before it spoiled, and a higher meat and fat content was common back then. -- Just the peas cooked down into a mush...bleh. But with some pork or beef, a little onion or other veggies, spices, a little butter or similar for flavor, they could have a better (tastier and more nutritious and filling) something like pea soup, pea and hambone soup, if they could do so without using up supplies too fast. -- How often could they re-provision, since they'd have to do so frequently, lack of space, spillage, need for fresh food. Everything I've heard sounds like they had very limited supplies, often very bad food. et if they could trade in certain places, they could periodically have better food supplies, a more varied menu, not only for the officers (privileged) but also for the ordinary crew (very poor)/

  • @yordanyordanov7903
    @yordanyordanov7903 Рік тому

    Wait that looks like something i would make when i was home alone as a child...

  • @wayne2816wayne
    @wayne2816wayne Рік тому

    Another great video.

  • @donmcleod4371
    @donmcleod4371 Рік тому

    Lobscouse? I've got Scandinavian heritage. I'm familiar with a Norwegian stew called Lapskaus, sound kind of the same.

  • @kennethcope7266
    @kennethcope7266 Рік тому

    I'm surprised that lobscouse is a mystery term. I was taught what it was at, around 7-8 years old in school in England (Manchester). It's why the people of Liverpool are called, Scousers. It comes from the viking invaders who established the Dane Law across the Northern swath of the British Isles. the term is from Scandenavian and is a thickened stew of, well, stuff. Anything to make a hearty meal. Liverpool was not the first major Norther port in the British Isles, suprisingly that seems that is a accepted as being Preston, which is much more inland. (As a side-note, Preston has the biggest postcode (zip code) in the country for this reason, The mail would be shipped there and then distributed via the canal system over large areas). If you look at a map you can see how raiders traveling down the Western coastline would hit, what is now Liverpool pretty quickly. And if you look at a map of the Island and Europe in general, you can see how invaders/settles from the Iberian peninsila would travel up the West side of the country and produce so many decendants with black hair (Cornwall, Wales,West Britain in general, and Eastern Ireland) compared to those parts of the country populated by people coming directly from what is now Northern France, Germany and the Netherlands (Anglo-Saxons) [Wow 0 ended up going way futher back in history than I expected when I started this reply TLDR; lobscouse; old old term for a thick, substantial stew, of varied ingredients].

  • @mariushansen9528
    @mariushansen9528 Місяць тому

    we at the same thing here we call it lapskaus and is regarded more or less as traditional food.

  • @AlbiesProductsOnline
    @AlbiesProductsOnline Рік тому +1

    I noticed you never said what they tasted like compared to food your usually eating

  • @Snikker
    @Snikker 10 місяців тому

    Poor sailor's meat, but it's a meal that sounds and looks better than the stuff we eat today...

  • @danielcurtis1434
    @danielcurtis1434 Рік тому

    I don’t think I’ll ever try these recipes. I just wouldn’t feel right without all that period correct cooking utensils and gear. Also I’m not getting dressed up just to make it which is probably half the flavor profile.

  • @capt.bart.roberts4975
    @capt.bart.roberts4975 Рік тому

    You holding an axe and a plate, I'm in.

    • @capt.bart.roberts4975
      @capt.bart.roberts4975 Рік тому

      My grandad always said, "Son, war is 99% of the time being bored out of your tiny mind, the other 1% is wishing you were still bored."

    • @capt.bart.roberts4975
      @capt.bart.roberts4975 Рік тому

      "Weevils! Extra protein!" My uncle! 😐

  • @CSymmes-u9e
    @CSymmes-u9e 11 місяців тому

    Hello! I've just subscribed and joined and am excited to have found you. I'm writing a book that takes place in 1768-1774 London. Because much of my book happens over meals, I want to be sure I have the right food and dishes, for the poor and upper class. With this in mind? what books would you recommend? Thank you!

  • @sworduser5086
    @sworduser5086 Рік тому

    Hes going to see the merry wives at sea!

  • @VirusDeliveryProgram
    @VirusDeliveryProgram Рік тому

    Is this where peas porridge like the nursery rhyme came from?

  • @WhiteGussy
    @WhiteGussy Рік тому

    lobscouse was probably a sailors favorite word

  • @TastingHistory
    @TastingHistory Рік тому +581

    Was that a clack clack I heard? 😮

    • @bobthabuilda1525
      @bobthabuilda1525 Рік тому +28

      Surprised this doesn’t have more likes

    • @readmedottext
      @readmedottext Рік тому +42

      there needs to be a Max Miller/Townsends clack clack remix

    • @madelers
      @madelers Рік тому +11

      Clack clack!

    • @firstpersonwinner7404
      @firstpersonwinner7404 Рік тому +14

      Hahaha, as soon as I heard it I thought if @TastingHistory

    • @punky19761
      @punky19761 Рік тому +1

      That always makes me chuckle.

  • @urskrik6353
    @urskrik6353 Рік тому +1006

    As a poor man myself I cannot thank you enough for the teachings about a poor mans food. This information is littarily filling my belly.

    • @exidy-yt
      @exidy-yt Рік тому +162

      It's astounding how much flavour and nutrition you can get out of very inexpensive ingredients. A medium cabbage, a small onion, a few oz of butter and 2L of $1 no-name brand chicken stock (plus pepper, garlic salt and rice if you want) gives you a giant pot of tasty soup that can easily feed you for 2 days for less then you pay for a small lunch at even McDonald's today.

    • @Twinsidedsoldier
      @Twinsidedsoldier Рік тому +26

      ​@@exidy-yt Something I'm curious to make now.

    • @exidy-yt
      @exidy-yt Рік тому +61

      @@Twinsidedsoldier You will be amazed at just how tasty and filling it turns out to be. Brown the chopped onions in the butter for 7-8mins before you add the stock and cabbage. Don't forget lots of black pepper and some garlic salt, but don't salt it too much, it really dosen't need it. You can also use salt-reduced stock, it's often on sale even cheaper then the already cheap stock. Also sub 1l of chicken stock for 1l of veggie stock, both versions are fantastic. I cook it for about an hour and a half to two hours get the cabbage nice and soft, but you do your own preference, and add the rice at the last 30 mins if you are going to add some. 1 cup is plenty. Add water as desired if you want more soup or more stew texture. Enjoy!

    • @Dantprime
      @Dantprime Рік тому +13

      ​@@exidy-ytthank you for the recipe! It sounds delicious.

    • @exidy-yt
      @exidy-yt Рік тому +17

      @@Dantprime Thank you for saying so! I know that many MANY people have come up with cabbage and onion soups but this is my personal variation that I challenged myself to make the most delicious veggie soup for the least money, and I am really proud of it. Browning the onions in butter at the start is really the key to taking it to the next level above other basic soups and will make your home smell like Heaven as well. I really hope you like it. Enjoy!

  • @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon
    @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon Рік тому +1386

    I don't know if Jon realizes how much this channel means to us.

    • @Just_Sara
      @Just_Sara Рік тому +33

      You know, I have a feeling he does.

    • @hohenheimoflightorseth7157
      @hohenheimoflightorseth7157 Рік тому +2

      Youd be wrong.

    • @hohenheimoflightorseth7157
      @hohenheimoflightorseth7157 Рік тому +2

      Do you subscribe to every channel to come across? Jfc.

    • @brandoncherry1651
      @brandoncherry1651 Рік тому +2

      I feel that comment should be in the millions Jon is passionate to a t at his craft its pure brain food looking back into the past and I feel close ..makes you wonder if people lost power fuel phones hmm people would be screwed.. Mr Townsend keep up the good work 💯

    • @ItsSomeDeadGuy
      @ItsSomeDeadGuy Рік тому +2

      ​@@Just_Sara I agree. I think he does and is extremely grateful.

  • @theonetralewolf
    @theonetralewolf Рік тому +176

    Townsends: "My job is to study history, and for fun, I study it even harder!"
    John, you're the best! ❤️

  • @seanvich3857
    @seanvich3857 Рік тому +499

    It is such a joy that you provide. You are always so friendly, welcoming, and insightful- it reminds me of Mr. Rogers with a twist of history. (And cooking!)

  • @lukas_dox
    @lukas_dox Рік тому +352

    In northwestern Germany we have a dish called "Labskaus" as well. It's basically potatoes with beetroot, gherkins and Corned beef mashed together and topped with bacon in fine cubes that been roasted. That's my favourite childhood memory and still my favourite dish for sure!

    • @joker_storm2232
      @joker_storm2232 Рік тому +8

      That sounds pretty good.

    • @birkplaum9042
      @birkplaum9042 Рік тому +12

      Important with Pickeld Hering „Bismarck Hering“ or „Rollmops“ and an fried egg on Top.

    • @carstenandersenboje9053
      @carstenandersenboje9053 Рік тому +15

      In Denmark our version is called Skipperlabskovs, skipper being a kind of slang for a ships captain.

    • @lukas_dox
      @lukas_dox Рік тому +3

      @carstenandersenboje9053 Yeah I that's easy to understand. Cool that so many countries have the same or similar food. 😃

    • @The4stro
      @The4stro Рік тому +5

      that sounds really good

  • @Barrobroadcastmaster
    @Barrobroadcastmaster Рік тому +765

    Another one of the very rare videos where nutmeg is not mentioned even a single time. Truly, the sailors had the roughest time of all without heaven's spice.

    • @keithtorgersen9664
      @keithtorgersen9664 Рік тому +48

      Many of the older videos 10+ years ago, he doesn’t talk about nutmeg. I want to say that it’s about 6-7 years ago that he starts obsessing with nutmeg.

    • @townsends
      @townsends  Рік тому +337

      It could work in the lobscouse.

    • @Barrobroadcastmaster
      @Barrobroadcastmaster Рік тому +64

      @@keithtorgersen9664 I was just being silly. We love Townsends, I certainly do for keeping history alive. He adds spice and nutmeg to history keeping it fun and flavorful even into this day and age!
      One day we may find ourselves on another planet and might have to make do with meals just like these. History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes!

    • @keithtorgersen9664
      @keithtorgersen9664 Рік тому +13

      No worries, I was just being silly as well.

    • @lapideous
      @lapideous Рік тому +7

      @@Barrobroadcastmaster We might need it on this planet in the case of a CME that takes out the entire electric grid, always good to be prepared!

  • @louel9272
    @louel9272 Рік тому +333

    This is like what History Channel used to be. Thank you for these videos!

    • @MADmosche
      @MADmosche Рік тому +39

      You mean you don’t want to watch HARDCORE PAWN where today a customer is selling his custom frog-themed guitar?

    • @theblackbaron4119
      @theblackbaron4119 Рік тому +33

      ​@@MADmosche or some crazy shite about aliens and weird pseudo scientific garbage

    • @CocoLeCat
      @CocoLeCat Рік тому +12

      Raahh raah secret german alien bases on moon ahhh

    • @colonelkurtz2269
      @colonelkurtz2269 Рік тому +10

      The History Channel became a joke.

  • @xavierisrael3320
    @xavierisrael3320 Рік тому +305

    Gotta love the Tasting History w/ Max Miller allusion with the hardtack "clack-clack"

    • @jacobv3396
      @jacobv3396 Рік тому +16

      I was searching for this comment! Ha

    • @PotatoSho_
      @PotatoSho_ Рік тому +35

      I've been conditioned beyond reason by Max Miller. I heard the word hardtack and instantly thought "clack-clack".

    • @alexfarkas3881
      @alexfarkas3881 Рік тому +11

      @@PotatoSho_ Saaaame, it took me a second to go 'wait, this isn't Tasting History!'

    • @hellcat_axg
      @hellcat_axg Рік тому +5

      Omg yea. I was kinda just waiting for it

    • @Camurgladius
      @Camurgladius Рік тому +14

      My brain automatically played the clip. May that gag continue forevermore.

  • @spammyv
    @spammyv Рік тому +4939

    I've always loved that this channel was willing to go past the big names and mythologized moments to examine the lives of the poor and the common soldiers and sailors.

    • @captainwallard2788
      @captainwallard2788 Рік тому +59

      Agreed. Best channel of its kind in my humble opinion. :)

    • @digdug1577
      @digdug1577 Рік тому +70

      a peoples history!

    • @SavageGreywolf
      @SavageGreywolf Рік тому +33

      I'd love to see more crossovers with Michael Twitty as well, considering the lives of the enslaved and their experiences. I'm sure he's busy on his own projects but that is an often neglected part of history as it is taught in schools and well worth learning of.

    • @Raskolnikov70
      @Raskolnikov70 Рік тому +23

      @@SavageGreywolf That would be awesome. The institution of slavery is typically portrayed in a very two-dimensional way, either glorified through rose-tinted glasses or condemned as nothing but pure misery for the people in it. But it existed for hundreds of years here in the US and the lives of enslaved people were just as complex and varied as the lives of everyone else at the time.

    • @TheAxeaman
      @TheAxeaman Рік тому +45

      It's by design that we don't talk about the poor and the workers because if we did, then we would start to understand that without us, nothing is gonna happen. We the workers push the wheels of time forward.

  • @Timboozle
    @Timboozle Рік тому +259

    I live in northern germany close to denmark and Labskaus as we call it or lobscouse has a really big tradition here. It's nowadays usually made with corned beef, mashed potatos and beetroot to give it texture. It is then topped with a fried egg and a small rolled salted hering. Lovely dish and I love that it's such a traditional type of food that is so connected to all the people that sailed those nowadays museum ships all arround the globe. Lovely video by the way

    • @MaleLion.
      @MaleLion. Рік тому +9

      Yes, and a Grog on cold days is a nice thing too ;)

    • @tobiastho9639
      @tobiastho9639 Рік тому +13

      In Hamburg, pickled cucumber is also added. It's a dish you can get in restaurants (near the harbour) to this day.

    • @Timboozle
      @Timboozle Рік тому +6

      Oh yeah I forgot about the pickled cucumber. I live closer to Kiel but the recipe is pretty much the same I do really enjoy it from time to time

    • @dgh25
      @dgh25 Рік тому +7

      This was a stable dish at my childhood home in Denmark. Yummy!

    • @TheGismono
      @TheGismono Рік тому +3

      ​@@dgh25 same story for me. And to this day stille something that's on the menu in my house. It a Wonderful filling meal.

  • @Kuemmel234
    @Kuemmel234 Рік тому +21

    Interesting to hear the word Lobscouse in an English context. In my hometown (Hamburg, Germany) we eat Labskaus, which I would describe as pimped mashed potatoes: Corned Beef, potatoes, beet mashed to a paste with pickles and soused herring on the side and a fried egg on top. Sort of the thing people want to eat when they visit

    • @sontaron7
      @sontaron7 Рік тому +1

      Yeah though today theres 2 basic types Brown (or red) and white.
      Both basically use the potatoes as thickeners but the Hamburg style uses mashed potatoes while white uses diced that's are cooked to where they're just falling apart.

  • @chrissiddall8525
    @chrissiddall8525 Рік тому +161

    I can't remember if you have these books in your store, but 'Lobscouse and Spotted Dog' by Anne Chotzinoff Grossman is a book that recreates the recipes found in the Aubrey/Maturin novels and 'Feeding Nelson's Navy' by James Macdonald which covers the intricacies of victualling Men of War during the period are a good place for anybody looking to study or actually cook the foodstuffs of the era.

    • @townsends
      @townsends  Рік тому +80

      Yes, it's a great book!

    • @essaboselin5252
      @essaboselin5252 Рік тому +12

      A later time period, but "Feeding Nelson’s Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the Georgian Era" is an excellent book as well.

    • @ErikBramsen
      @ErikBramsen Рік тому +2

      Somebody also issued a O'Brian-dictionary for all the words he dug up that were forgotten before they made it to the common dictionaries.

    • @rharris22222
      @rharris22222 Рік тому +1

      And I found that plum duff (aka spotted dog) really is a great treat. Just don't tell your guests that they're eating a spotted dog (or a boiled baby) made with REAL chopped beef fat for the shortening. What they don't know won't hurt 'em!

    • @spencerworley6573
      @spencerworley6573 Рік тому

      @@ErikBramsen A Sea of Words!

  • @beansbrewsandbread
    @beansbrewsandbread Рік тому +171

    It would be fair to say that I did not have to choose the lesser of two weevils in deciding to watch this episode of Townsends!😉 These episodes showing a menu with a main theme are great - Pulling(s) together a set of dishes you could use for the family to mix a bit of history in. Cheers, Andy!

    • @pauljeffrey1181
      @pauljeffrey1181 Рік тому +16

      An excellent Townsends feast providing The Nutmeg of Consolation.

    • @TheSaneHatter
      @TheSaneHatter Рік тому +18

      "He who would pun would pick a pocket!"

  • @CosmicSoul333
    @CosmicSoul333 Рік тому +45

    I wish my history teachers in school had been as engaging as you are on this channel. Their lessons were dry and formulaic, lacking the context that would make them come alive. It wasn't until college that I encountered a teacher who was able to provide a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of historical events rather than simply listing them chronologically. That's why I love this channel.

    • @Victormene
      @Victormene 5 місяців тому

      pay teachers as much as this youtuber and then we'll talk

    • @ernestogastelum9123
      @ernestogastelum9123 27 днів тому

      theres a difference between high school and college. in high school they like to move teachers around to cover different curriculum each year. specially in history where they just put anyone there. i remember they moved a PE teacher to teach history, so they wont be as engaging since they just put them there and arent interested . while in College you go in classes where teachers major in those subjects

  • @poples5799
    @poples5799 Рік тому +180

    in norway lapskaus is a common dish on the dinner table. it's such a lovely dish. to me, yours looked a little thin; we like to put even more potatoes in it, and we often mash them lightly too to soak up all the liquids. it also gets better with age; the leftovers next day tend to be better than when you first had it, and if we have any leftover boiled potatoes they go into it too xD

    • @annaakesson2413
      @annaakesson2413 Рік тому +15

      Yes, in Sweden aswell. Lappskojs.

    • @margaretbarclay-laughton2086
      @margaretbarclay-laughton2086 Рік тому +15

      And also lobscouse still popular today in Liverpool

    • @Zzus321
      @Zzus321 Рік тому +4

      I've had it with carrots Mmmm

    • @0michelleki020
      @0michelleki020 Рік тому +18

      Here in Denmark it's Labskovs or Skipper-Labskovs, depending on the region.
      It's basically potatoes, onions, butter, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and beef.
      it's often eaten on bread the day after.

    • @steve1978ger
      @steve1978ger Рік тому +12

      Northern Germany also has Labskaus, it's potatoes, corned beef, and beetroot - but it got more luxurious since the days of sail, with a fried egg on top, and sides of salt herring and gherkins. The beetroot was probably an addition to emulate the bright red color from the cured meat.

  • @travisjones4826
    @travisjones4826 Рік тому +76

    A ship at sea is its own world

    • @NoPantsBaby
      @NoPantsBaby Рік тому +2

      Prison world. With prison rules.

    • @travisjones4826
      @travisjones4826 Рік тому +3

      @@NoPantsBaby its a line from an awesome book called two years before the mast.

    • @nonegone7170
      @nonegone7170 Рік тому

      @@NoPantsBaby Yet freeing in a way.

    • @BSJinx
      @BSJinx Рік тому +6

      "To be the captain of a ship is to be the unquestioned ruler of that world, and requires all of the leadership skills of a prince or minister."

    • @captainkenzie6873
      @captainkenzie6873 Рік тому

      ​@@NoPantsBaby It really isn't, you get to explore anywhere on earth and you get to bring your home with you all for the same price as a car or a quite large shed.

  • @jackblack5996
    @jackblack5996 Рік тому +39

    I love y'all's channel. Please keep it up as long as possible.

  • @stevenworden7890
    @stevenworden7890 Рік тому +221

    When Jon showed the hardtack, I couldn't help but think of Tasting History, and then when he clacked them together! It was a Max Miller Moment! I love all the episodes on your channel Jon. It is a feast for the soul.

    • @Stipopedia
      @Stipopedia Рік тому +2

      Truely amazing

    • @EddieSchirmer
      @EddieSchirmer Рік тому +9

      haha, yup, i had to pause and search for a comment because i Knew some one would mention it hahaha. its hilarious, and one can see why its fun to "Clack the Hard Tack" 🤣

    • @leoniesableblanc
      @leoniesableblanc Рік тому +11

      As soon as he said hard tack I mentally saw Max tapping them together

    • @svargr7982
      @svargr7982 Рік тому +5

      I came to the comments to mention the same thing 🤣👍

    • @PeteOtton
      @PeteOtton Рік тому +1

      Drachinifel, a channel dedicated to naval history had an episode about a sailor's food right around the same time as Max's episode on hard tack. He was eating the meal about 4-6 feet away from his mike and you could hear him crunching on the hard tack.

  • @KGRumph
    @KGRumph Рік тому +121

    Making these feasts “for the sailor”, or the one that sticks out in my mind, feast for the poor family is very touching. You bring these persons back to life in a way that leaves me with such a clear perspective of how hard they had it. You adding the little specialties, like the butter to the peas pudding, or the small beer to the end of the poor families meal make me want to appreciate what I have now and make an effort to continue to appreciate the small things when We have less. Thank you for the care and thoughtfulness you all put into these.

  • @rupertthedrone4717
    @rupertthedrone4717 10 місяців тому +4

    I'm a sailor from Liverpool and us folk from Liverpool are known as scousers, we think this comes from the rich maritime history we have, especially with Scandinavian sailors bringing their lobskaus(?) over! It's still a very popular dish here, we just call it scouse though 😅

  • @UisgeBeathaMountain
    @UisgeBeathaMountain Рік тому +51

    Splendid. Mister Pullings, an extra ration of grog for this man. I've been waiting years for you to make plum duff and these other fantastic foods I've read about for so long.

  • @gimnof
    @gimnof Рік тому +45

    This man's passion for history is contagious!

  • @LilmissJ111
    @LilmissJ111 Рік тому +16

    This reminds me of an old saying when I was in the Navy. "Peas pudding hot, peas pudding cold, peas pudding in the pot 5 days old.". It reminded me to always be thankful for the food we did have. Much respect always. I am curious the history and full saying where this came from. Do you know this?

    • @LilmissJ111
      @LilmissJ111 Рік тому +1

      I remember it also being portage but peas too.

    • @maxibake9323
      @maxibake9323 Рік тому +13

      Pease pudding hot,
      Pease pudding cold,
      Pease pudding in the pot 9 days old,
      Some like it hot,
      Some like it cold,
      Some like it in the pot 9 days old.
      It's a Nursery rhyme from the 1760's.👍

    • @maxibake9323
      @maxibake9323 Рік тому +4

      ​​​@@LilmissJ111Yes, sometimes it's Porridge instead of Pudding.

    • @LilmissJ111
      @LilmissJ111 Рік тому +2

      @@shinrapresident7010 I was able to tour a Canadian Navy ship years ago and anyone on our ship would have traded places with them. This was covering the living conditions we faced daily.

    • @Yesica1993
      @Yesica1993 Рік тому +1

      @@maxibake9323 And now I finally know what it means!!!

  • @joma4452
    @joma4452 Рік тому +74

    Discovering this channel has been such a godsend for me. the way you present the lives of regular people and their day to day activities is extremely therapeutic. its been helping me get away from things in our modern world that merely produce a dopamine rush and be thankful for things that make one feel like they live at the pace of a human being again. the calm and curious presentation of your content is soothing and anxiety reducing. your presence is a blessing in this life. thank you to the entire Townsends team.

    • @Kanamethealfr
      @Kanamethealfr Рік тому

      Unfortunately I added your 70th like.. thus ruining the 69 likes you had.. I apologize but appreciate your commentary

  • @ChaseFreedomMusician
    @ChaseFreedomMusician Рік тому +23

    You guys should start a fundraiser to sail from the new world to England on board a sailing vessel. I would LOVE to see that series.

  • @harryviking6347
    @harryviking6347 Рік тому +14

    This "Pea Pudding" is something that I grew up with in Norway as a side dish to meat cakes, fried pork/meats, and the like, with brown gravy and potatoes! We call it Pea Stew and it is still a much-used thing back home! I love it! Some use a touch of sugar in it to give it a slightly sweet touch. Maybe this dish has been taken ashore by sailors a LONG time ago and the people just liked it very much!

  • @floridaman9260
    @floridaman9260 Рік тому +5

    Any idea what the fuel source was for all the cooking? Seems like it would be a huge space for coal or wood? Oil? Just wondering. Thank you! love your channel.

    • @matthewblackwelder6487
      @matthewblackwelder6487 Рік тому

      Maybe whale oil?

    • @mrdanforth3744
      @mrdanforth3744 Рік тому +2

      Fire wood. It was a most common thing for sailing ships to stop for wood and water at any opportunity. In North America there were hundreds of bays, creeks and rivers where they could anchor a ship, row ashore and cut all the firewood they wanted, and get good fresh water from the stream.

  • @airsoftarmy77
    @airsoftarmy77 Рік тому +24

    As a modern day dock worker I’d love to see more videos on the topic of ships!

    • @zan7838
      @zan7838 Рік тому

      what do you do usually at the docks?

  • @RayMak
    @RayMak 10 місяців тому +1

    I would think lobscause in the past contains lobsters

  • @GunterThePenguinHatesHugs
    @GunterThePenguinHatesHugs Рік тому +4

    Good Lord mushy peas for every meal, not even with chips! People were made of sterner stuff back then fr.
    .... Also, what is 'slush' from the ship's gallery?

    • @Agamemnon2
      @Agamemnon2 Рік тому +1

      Apparently the word referred to the greasy stuff that rises to the surface when you're boiling salt pork in water. It was skimmed off and stored, the fat was too valuable to waste.

    • @RobSchellinger
      @RobSchellinger Рік тому +1

      Makes me wonder, though, how much choice a man of modest means would have at home. They didn't have the food choices we have today and many probably couldn't afford what was available.

    • @GunterThePenguinHatesHugs
      @GunterThePenguinHatesHugs Рік тому +1

      @@Agamemnon2 Ahh it's the kinda bubbly scum you get sometimes when you do a pork chop in a frying pan, I see!
      ...I guess the sawdust and pitch just give a more smokey flavour? 😂

    • @GunterThePenguinHatesHugs
      @GunterThePenguinHatesHugs Рік тому +2

      @@RobSchellinger That's true, maybe you'd be left to scrounge wastepiles or hunt rats, like even if you lived inland, doubt you'd be able to forage without being thrashed or threatened by a landowner, it's still the case in the English countryside even nowadays, unless you know them! 😂

  • @darwinism8181
    @darwinism8181 Рік тому +13

    Master and Commander and Hornblower were absolute fixtures of my youth and I still go back and re-read them. Fascinating and really well written stories that are still pretty accurate in what they're depicting. Things like burnt toast 'coffee' and tapping your ship's biscuits to agitate the weevils so they'll crawl out are little touches, but damn do they paint a vivid picture.

  • @bryanparkhurst17
    @bryanparkhurst17 Рік тому +14

    John, you guys over there never fail to meet my expectations. This was a fantastic episode, it's always the common man that makes the world go round and it is so good to learn more about the often mundane lives that they led. Thank you so much for what you do.

  • @Staingo_Jenkins
    @Staingo_Jenkins Рік тому +48

    His reaction to the food he's eating is very legitimate. Always appreciate that with these videos.

    • @nessamillikan6247
      @nessamillikan6247 Рік тому +3

      Yes, you can tell he had to choke down that grog at 10:42, but he did it like a gentleman.

    • @neilwilson5785
      @neilwilson5785 Рік тому

      The accent of people in Liverpool is called scouse, which is a contraction of lobscouse. It is a port, after all.

  • @beepbop6542
    @beepbop6542 Рік тому +3

    Let us be thankful every day for the struggle European men went through to tie the Earth together and bring about the modern world, for better and worse.

  • @meredithlyon3142
    @meredithlyon3142 Рік тому +9

    Those Aubrey/Maturin novels are fantastic must-reads for sure.
    Your channel is amazing. Thank you!

  • @d14551
    @d14551 Рік тому +12

    I was also amazed at the fortitude of those men when I read Two Years Before the Mast. And I respect very much that Dana spent part of the rest of his career as an attorney fighting for the rights of sailors.

  • @adihol4140
    @adihol4140 Рік тому +26

    Hi Townsend, my Dutch grandmother regularly cooked what she called 'Labskous' a couple times a year. So this could be a crossover between English and Dutch sailor culture. The word definitely sounds more Dutch than English

    • @Neockoen
      @Neockoen 4 місяці тому +1

      Hey, a Dutchie here, Labskous isn’t a Dutch dish, but a German one. Of course there is a lot of cultural and culinary exchange between our nations, and my own grandmother also used to make some traditional German dishes for me when I was young! Labskous is from Hamburg, a German city in the northwest of the country, which has a rich nautical history and used to trade with Dutch cities a lot through the ‘Hanzesteden’, cities that were linked through the ‘Hanze’ a trading guilt of the north and Baltic Sea.

  • @Yesica1993
    @Yesica1993 Рік тому +10

    I'm still kind of new here. I didn't know he studies this so much and that it's his job. And how wonderful that there exist so many firsthand accounts! I am actually terrified of open water. I can't swim and am not eager to learn. But at the same time, I am fascinated by ships and sailing. It's doubly wild that I am watching this a day or so after the Doctor Who Classic episode called, "Enlightenment", which also had to do with sailing... of a sort. This was incredible! I'm supposed to be doing typing work but I took a little break and could not take my eyes off this video. Honestly, this just over 11 minute video is better than most full done productions from Hollywood. Amazing!

    • @Just_Sara
      @Just_Sara Рік тому +2

      This is a nice place to be! You need to watch the log cabin series, it's my favorite ones. :)

    • @agp11001
      @agp11001 Рік тому +3

      Welcome to the lovely world of Townsends videos.
      And don't feel bad for not being able to swim but having interest in sailing... it was quite common for sailors back in the day to not being able to swim, either.

  • @maevan360
    @maevan360 Рік тому +59

    Master and Commander is one of my favorite movies of all time. The research and recreation is wonderful and really puts you there. The novels are also fabulous! I'm so happy to see more about life at sea on this channel. Thank you for all you do! Also, love the little shoutout to Max Miller and his hardtack (clink clink)!

    • @amh9494
      @amh9494 Рік тому +4

      I fantasise about winning big on the lottery and funding a later book adaption, with the original cast since the books cover many years of their lives. The Commodore would be a great one to cover, they could show how Aubrey a classic traditionalist Tory was very ambivalent towards slavery until he saw it for himself and then went after the slavers hell for leather!

    • @mrcliff3709
      @mrcliff3709 Рік тому +3

      The lesser of two weevils

    • @vincentcleaver1925
      @vincentcleaver1925 Рік тому +1

      If you loved the novels but also like sci-fi, check out David Drake's 'With The Lightnings'

    • @alexfarkas3881
      @alexfarkas3881 Рік тому +2

      @@amh9494 Should I also win the lottery, I would definitely pitch in. Also, let's have an adaptation where the ladies also get to appear! It's the biggest shame that M&C didn't get the sequels they were planning. I could have watched 3 more movies with this cast, at least...

    • @amh9494
      @amh9494 Рік тому

      @@alexfarkas3881 I could have 20 more of the books!