Ten Ages of Christmas Food Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hot chocolate

Chocolate originally came from Central America and was first introduced to Europe in the 16th century. Many centuries before that, and even long before the Roman invasion of Britain and the introduction of Christianity, ancient cultures in the northern hemisphere celebrated the winter solstice on the shortest day of the year.

The term solstice means "sun stands still". People celebrated the rebirth of sunlight which brought about a new cycle of life. They carried out animal sacrifices and feasted on meat dishes including pork and lamb. This was accompanied by fruit, nuts, biscuits and caraway cakes, all washed down with eggnog, cider, ginger tea, wassail and lamb's wool, a drink made from ale, sugar, apples and spices.

Answer: Trencher

During the Middle Ages, people had to live off the land and supply their own food. Meat, game and fish were caught in abundance and then cured for the winter months, although poachers paid the price heavily if they were caught on the property of the local Lord. Dairy products included eggs, butter and milk, with trees and plants harvested for their fruit, nuts and herbs. Honey added sweetness to their diet. Bread was made from rye, barley or wheat, although peasants had to pay his Lordship for the use of his kiln. People living in the manor house and their guests would eat abundantly. Warming stews were served on a bread plate (later hollowed out bread bowls) called trenchers, and once the stew had been eaten, the gravy soaked trencher would be passed back to the kitchens where it was handed down to the poor.

Answer: Umble pie

Samuel Pepys diary on 5th July 1662 quoted "I having some venison given me a day or two ago, and so I had a shoulder roasted, another baked, and the umbles baked in a pie, and all very well done." Many people could not afford prime cuts of meat at Christmas and had to make do with edible entrails including heart, liver, kidneys and brain. Umble pie was made by using these entrails, usually from deer, although other animals were used. Umble, or numble, came from the Latin word "lumbulus" meaning "little loin".

It is often believed that some people felt humiliated eating umbles, which is where the phrase "eating humble pie" came into being.

Answer: The Boar's Head Carol

The boar was a popular food during a time in history when they ran abundantly wild throughout wooded areas of Britain. It was first recorded that they were eaten as part of a festive feast from as early as the 13th century, and it was later when they became the main centrepiece of a banqueting table.

"The Boar's Head Carol" is still sung at Hurstpierpoint College, West Sussex, and Queen's College, Oxford, usually accompanied by a candlelit procession as the roasted boar's head is carried through to the dining room on a large platter. Further afield, the custom is practised in Knox College, University of Toronto, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, and St. John's College, Johannesburg. The carol was first published 1521 by Wynken de Worde in "Christmasse Carolles". It included the lyrics:

"The boar's head in hand bring
Bedeck'd with bays and rosemary.
I pray you, my masters, be merry
Quot estis in convivio" (All of you who are at this feast).

Answer: False

King Henry VIII (1491-1547) and his rotund belly would have been horrified if Christmas festivities had been banned. His legendary appetite was well documented. Porpoise, lobster and cream tarts featured on his Christmas menu, as did grilled beaver tails and roasted swan, all washed down with gallons of wine and ale. Up to 14 courses were often served at his vast banquets.

It was nearly 100 years after his death when the Puritan controlled Parliament banned Christmas festivities in January 1645 with their Directory of Public Worship. Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) was himself a Puritan and would have been sympathetic towards such a measure. Penalties were given to anyone openly celebrating Christmas and shops were made to stay open on 25th December.

An old English ballad opposed to the new law had words which included:

"Listen to me and you shall hear, news hath not been this thousand year.
Since Herod, Caesar, and many more, you never heard the like before.
Holy-dayes are despis'd, new fashions are devis'd.
Old Christmas is kickt out of Town."

The ban was lifted in 1660 when King Charles II took over the throne at the start of the Restoration period. One of his Christmas menus was recorded in Robert May's 1685 book, "The Accomplisht Cook" which included "a swan roast, a kid with a pudding in his belly, three brace of partridge, ten plovers, a dish of larks and powdered geese".

Answer: Marchpane

Christmas feasts in Elizabethan England saw a revolution as more food was being introduced from the New World. These included potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate and sugar. Sugar was in much demand and used in their pastries, cakes, custard and crystallized fruit.

An easy dessert of the Elizabethan era was marchpane; the forerunner to today's marzipan. Rosewater was added to the mixture of sugar and almonds to give it a slightly scented flavour, with the mixture baked in the oven in special molds. The molds were very elaborate, and often depicted the family coat of arms, animals, flowers and mythical beasts. The festive treat was often displayed as an edible centrepiece on a dining room table.

Answer: Beef stock with raisins, breadcrumbs, wines and spices

Although sugar became more popular during the 17th century, not everybody could afford it and so the sweet-sounding dishes of the time were actually savoury. Plum-porridge was a savoury sauce and mince-pies included savoury meat. Plum-porridge did not contain any plums, as plums were known as raisins before the Victorian period.

The diarist Samuel Pepys made nine recordings in his diary between 1660-1668 of his Christmas Day. In 1660, he ate a "good shoulder of a mutton and a chicken". In 1666, he "dined well on some good ribbs of beef roasted and mince pie". The year after, he went home to find "Jane and the maids making pyes". Not all was bliss in his household as in 1661, he "dined at home all alone, and taking occasion from some fault in the meat to complain of my maid's sluttery, my wife and I fell out."

The plum pudding (plumb-pudding as it was known) and even the Christmas pudding evolved from plum-porridge. The sauce changed beyond recognition during the 18th century when more fruit was added, making the mixture thicker and with a cake like consistency. It was cooked by pouring into animal skins and boiling in water. No longer was it a light dish used as a starter, but a heavy dessert used to finish the meal.

Answer: Twelfth night cake

Popular items on a Georgian Christmas menu would have included brawn, roast swan, plum-porridge and meaty mince pies. Brawn was a cold meat dish similar to a terrine which used pig or calf meat served in jelly. Twelfth night was a popular time in the Georgian calendar, and would involve feasts, parties and games.

As a centrepiece, the twelfth night cake would be brought in and displayed on the table. It was a rich fruit cake which included a pea or bean. The man who was served the slice with a bean would become king for the night.

The woman who was served a pea in her portion would be crowned his queen.

Answer: Snap-dragon

Drinking games date back to Ancient Greece and during the Tang dynasty of Ancient China. They were brought to medieval Europe, but it was during the Victorian era when they reached the height of their popularity. Games included charades, tiddlywinks and squeak piggy squeak. Snap-dragon, of flap-dragon, was a popular game which involved drinking, dexterity and dodging hot flames as you tried to pluck currents from a bowl of burning brandy.

Scottish writer Robert Chambers quoted in "The Book of Days" (1879):

"Here he comes with flaming bowl,
Don't he mean to take his toll,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
Take care you don't take too much,
Be not greedy in your clutch,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
With his blue and lapping tongue
Many of you will be stung,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
For he snaps at all that comes
Snatching at his feast of plums,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
But Old Christmas makes him come,
Though he looks so Fee! Fa! Fum!
Snip! Snap! Dragon!
Don't 'ee fear him but be bold,
Out he goes, his flames are cold,
Snip! Snap! Dragon!".

Answer: Murkey

War time rations saw a shortage of a lot of food staples including sugar, butter and meat. People learned to live from sustainable foods grown on the land, and to improvise with recipes even when certain foods were not available. "Dig for Victory" was the motto used in Britain during World War II, and saw an increase in town and city allotments where people could grow their own fruit and vegetables.

Housewives listened to a daily BBC radio show called "The Kitchen Front". Managed by the Ministry for Food, over 2,000 broadcasts of the five minute show was listened to by millions of people during the war. It gave dietary guidance on how to eat healthily, household tips, and included many recipes.

On 20 December 1941, a special festive edition was broadcast by Cockney sisters, Elsie and Doris Waters, otherwise known as Gert and Daisy. They introduced the "fake" Christmas dinner called murkey (mock turkey). The dish was a joint of mutton stuffed with a mixture of pork sausage meat, breadcrumbs and herbs, and cooked in the same way as a roast turkey.