Tasting History: Explore the Past through 4,000 Years of Recipes (A Cookbook)

In February of 2020, Max Miller started the YouTube show Tasting History with Max Miller. It soon became an internet sensation. And Max an almost overnight success. I didn’t find Tasting History until a year ago when it popped up in my YouTube feed and what a delight this show is. If you are a Food Network fan, you will understand that Tasting History is a solid mix of Alton Browns Good Eats and The Two Fat Ladies. It’s a brilliant show that takes a recipe from long ago, gives you the history of the dish, and then shows you how to make it. A few of my favorite episodes are Pumpion Pie the fore runner of our pumpkin pie, Gingerbread, and Soul Cakes. Max Didn’t start out life as a cook or a chef. It was on a trip to Disney World with a friend where he got stuck in the hotel as his friend got sick. They binge watched early episodes of the Great British Baking Show with the original hosts and format. This format occasionally gave some history to the food the contestants were preparing. Max got hooked and began to become his own home cooking master. Just before Covid hit, he began his show Tasting History with Max Miller. After Covid hit Max got furloughed from his job but his show really took off. Everyone was home, and everyone was cooking. His show soared in popularity and a YouTube legend was born. I have to admit that I am a bit of a snob. YouTube shows seemed to be about well-to-do young people showing off their swag. I liked the clips of old movies and TV shows and seeing the inside of the rehearsal rooms for Broadway shows but beyond that I felt YouTube had very little of interest to me Max changed that. I love Tasting History. I have yet to actually cook from his show, but I will soon. The recipes, though truly ancient at times, he has made clear and adapted for a modern kitchen. His history lessons are spot on. In anticipation of the crowning of King Charles, Max did a show on Coronation Chicken, a dish that was served at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. It looked delicious and fairly simple to make. While preparing the dish, he gave us quite the history of English coronation Banquets. His show is run once a week and releases on Tuesdays. Anyone who loves good cooking and wonderful stories will love this show. And to top it off Max has just released his first cookbook called Appropriately Tasting History by Max Miller with Ann Volkien. This book has 4000 years’ worth of recipes. I know this because it says so on the cover. The book is divided into five sections. The Ancient World, The British Isles, Continental Europe, The Near and Far East and The New World. Each recipe in the book has a history lesson on the particular dish and the time it was prepared. The Recipe follows the history. The recipes are clear and easy to understand. Some of the ingredients may be not what you normally find in your pantry but most of the more exotic ingredients, if not all, can be found for purchase via the Internet. Personally, I have found purchasing ingredients on the internet to find ingredients you can’t get here. Mary Berry, the British equivalent to Julia Child or Rachel Ray, made gingerbread from stem ginger. I had no idea what stem ginger was, but I found it easily accessible with an Internet search. Max’s book is fun, and entertaining and I can’t wait to dive in and try some of the recipes here. There’s an ancient Lamb Stew, a British mead, a European Beef with Garlic Harvester Sauce (The recipe is specifically from Transylvania), Little Meat Cakes from China, and from The New World, an amazing recipe for Egg Nog. I know this one will be good as I saw him make it on the show. This is really a great cookbook and a lot of fun. I can see it being used as a reference book or even the basis of school projects. The more we get to know about ancient and surrounding cultures the more we come together and bond as the one big world family we truly are and food always speaks for us. If you have yet to watch Max on YouTube, I highly recommend him. If you have watched him then you know how good he is so get out there and buy those cookbooks. You’ll be glad you did.

I absolutely love this cookbook. It’s equal parts history book and cooking guide, and it flows through time in a way that makes both subjects genuinely engaging instead of intimidating. What really sets this apart is the work the author has already done for you. Historic ingredients are clearly explained, renamed where necessary, and paired with modern substitutions when something is difficult to find today. You’re never left guessing what an ingredient actually is or how to make a recipe achievable in a modern kitchen. Each recipe feels thoughtfully researched and respectfully adapted, so you’re not just cooking something inspired by history—you’re as close as possible to recreating it authentically. All you have to do is follow along, and suddenly you’re eating food with real context behind it. If you love food, history, or both, this book is a perfect match. It’s educational without feeling academic, practical without losing its soul, and genuinely fun to cook from. One of those cookbooks you’ll keep reaching for, not just read once and shelve.

I bought this for my brother-in-law, he really enjoyed reading all the recipes, I read them as well on Christmas Day. Such a cute fun historical book, I really love Max Miller’s YouTube channel and the book is just as thought out and detailed and researched as the videos. I am excited to see what he will cook from the book. It is a perfect last-minute Christmas gift.

LOVE IT and Max and the YouTube Channel Tasting History. Honestly, all of the above have helped keep me focused on positive things (food, learning new things about older history) in the most turbulent years of recent history. I love that the book is dense like a good cake - full of history and illustrations and photos - and that it's something that I can use to make actual food. The history sections will appeal to the history nerd while the recipes are approachable and made from ingredients that are obtainable by the home cook; it's exactly what I'd hoped for and more from watching the YouTube videos.

As His posts are interesting to watch so is this book. Full of recipes, and the history of them.

This is an excellent cookbook if you, like me, enjoy historical dishes but have a hard time parsing through the originals. This book offers clear instruction and fun little nuggets of history. What I enjoy the most is that this book actually has recipes that a person can enjoy often! I have a few other cookbooks that are geared towards historical recipes and, while they are fun and I enjoy the things I've made, they mostly sit unused unless I have a spare weekend and it tickles my fancy. With this book, there are enough simple and tasty recipes included that it can be used as any other cookbook. I made the Douce Ame for dinner after work; just a casual Monday night dinner of capon in milk and honey (or regular ol' chicken, in my case :) ) and it was both easy and delicious. I will definitely be making it again. Being able to add a recipe from c. 1390 to my rotation of meals is very fun. The book itself is well-written and the images are delightful. The cover has already stood up to some mild kitchen-adjacent abuse. There is a nice broad range of recipes, from the simple, weeknight-friendly to the "maybe for a Sunday with nothing else going on". The front of the book offers explanations and replacements for the ingredients that might be outlandish or hard to source for our modern lives, which I appreciate. So, all that to say, if you enjoy the channel and/or you enjoy historical recipes, this is an excellent purchase.

Beautifully done book. Great recipes and information. Love the channel as well. Great illustrations.

Very good book indeed

Every bit as engaging as the YouTube channel it sorting from. With a background in historical cooking from medieval and Roman reenactment, many recipes were familiar to me. Still an excellent buy. The author has enough material for a 2nd cookbook, and I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Awesome book I bought to gift to a friend.

I liked this book, really nice cover and it looks pretty good inside good prints