“Even if we never make these dishes of ancient times, Miller’s book is a fascinating read.”

“They say ‘history is written by the victors,’ but in my experience, history is written by those who write stuff down, and food is no exception,” writes Max Miller in the introduction to Tasting History, his new cookbook that delves into the foods we’ve eaten throughout millennia.

Four years ago, Miller had little interest in cooking. But when a friend became sick while they were vacationing and they watched seasons of a cooking shows while overindulging on nachos, that all changed. Developing a passion for baking, he soon was taking his cakes and pastries to Walt Disney Studios where he worked. Besides sharing his creations, Miller also explained the origins of the recipes. Suggestions from friends influenced him to start a YouTube show titled “Tasting History with Matt Miller.” Shortly after, the pandemic hit, Miller was furloughed from his job, as were many others, and his show became a hit to all those stuck at home.

Now Miller has taken it to the next level with this deep dive into food history that includes original recipes and Miller’s adaptations for home chefs as well as photos, original drawings, anecdotes, and cook’s notes.

Sure we may never cook such dishes as Melas Zomos or Spartan Black Broth, circa 400 BCE. It’s a dish that required exercising “in the Spartan manner” and bathing in the Eurotus, which makes it hard to do even for those interested in giving the recipe a try. And besides it probably isn’t very tasty, but the story behind it is fascinating. Then there’s Stew of Lamb, a Babylonian favorite circa 1740 BCE. Lamb was a favorite ingredient back then, but they weren’t the lambs we’re familiar with today. The prized sheep of Babylon had tails so fat that shepherds constructed little carts so the tails didn’t drag through the muck and dirt.

The recipe for this stew is easy, but even if a person could, though it’s unlikely, find the fatty sheep tails, another ingredient—risnatu—has no definite translation, though Miller says it’s commonly agreed upon that it’s a type of dried barley cake. He solves both those problems in his adaptation of the recipe by providing appropriate substitutions that honor the dish’s origins but make it available to modern kitchens.

But even if we never make these dishes of ancient times, Miller’s book is a fascinating read. As we get closer to our own times—the book is arranged chronologically—we find dishes that are more recognizable such as precedella, a German recipe originating in 1581 that instructed cooks to “Take fair flour, a good amount of egg yolk, and a little wine, sugar and anise seed and make a dough with it.”

Of course, modern pretzels don’t typically have wine and anise seeds in them, but Miller provides a recipe using all those ingredients so we can get the same flavor profile as the precedellas that were baked almost 500 years ago. It is indeed tasting history.

Miller has culled recipes from around the world. The book also includes the foodways of medieval Europe, Ming China, and even the present with a 1914 recipe for Texas Pecan Pie that Miller describes as “a time before corn syrup came to dominate the dessert.” His adaptation of the original recipe uses sugar since corn syrup didn’t begin to dominate until the 1930s. The 1914 recipe also calls for a meringue topping, an addition not found in modern pecan pies. So even within a short time span of just over 100 years, Miller shows us how a recipe has evolved though he assures us, we’ll like the 1914 version best.

One would think that with a title like "Tasting History" that the author would've made a greater effort to have a variety of recipes considering how vast history is.

The cookbook is heavily focused on European recipes, and any mention of the new world is largely based on U.S. and Mexican cuisine even though there are many indigenous folks around and their recipes are still accessible, especially to an author.

This might be my favorite cookbook ever! I love the mixture of history and cooking. Historical context and beautiful pictures highlight the uniqueness of each ancient recipe.

This book did not hold my attention. I found myself drifting away from recipes that sounded quite disgusting. I appreciate the history but I just wasn't that interested.

It cracked me up how many recipes he prefaced with "this does not taste good!". There are a few recipes I would try in here, but I also see this as a history book more than or equal to the amount that it is a cookbook. Each recipe has lots of information about the food and the culture it came from.

I love ancient food and this is a perfect introduction for any foodie that is interested. I’ve read the histories and the recipes, and I’m planning on trying a few of them! Bonus - there are so many more recipes on Max Miller’s YouTube channel. Stay tuned to see how they turn out! 4.5/5

Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for sending the book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

I absolutely adore Max Miller's YouTube videos, and have been watching them for years. I was so excited when I heard he was releasing a cookbook, and I was in no way disappointed! Not only is this book full of historic recipes, that have been tested, but you get the history behind the dishes as well. If you love cooking and history, this is definitely a book for you. Thank you to NetGalley for eArc, and the chance to view this book early.

Do you love history? Do you eat food? Are you curious about where, how and when your favorite hummus or lemonade or Peach Melba came into being? Then Tasting History will be a welcome addition to your library. Max Miller started a YouTube channel that took off during the pandemic and went on to develop the recipes for this book with Ann Volkwein. I devoured the book, loved the fascinating facts behind ancient dishes and Irish stew and familiar dishes from all over the world. There aren't too many that might go into your weekly rotation-- but absolutely a fund book to have for experimenting!

This is a fascinating mix of history and cooking. Each recipe starts with the historic recipe, a little history, and then the full recipe with modern measurements and cooking times. It was an engaging read, and a wonderful way to look back at history through the lens of food.

While many of the recipes were beyond my capabilities to actually cook, there were multiple recipes where I felt I was both capable of cooking and enjoying the recipe described.

Tasting History is an absolutely fascinating combination of history and cooking. I am not a follower of the author’s YouTube channel which begat this book, but I am planning on checking it out after reading his book!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the history of each of the recipes, learning about the no-longer-available ingredients, and the author’s creative, modern substitutes for those ingredients. I was amazed at the highly herbaceous recipes of ancient Rome. I loved the unique names of the English fare. There is just so much interesting stuff packed into this book! Mr. Miller made his passion for his subject infectious. I devoured each page even though I know I won’t be devouring each recipe. From Ancient China to Frannie Farmer, the author presents a large slice of history through recipes. Grab your mortar and pestle and dig into Tasting History!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for free access to this e-ARC.

What a wonderful book!! A fantastic journey for any history lover or foodie, this book explores historic recipes and the ingredients they contain. The author provides detailed explanations of the ingredients and offers modern substitutes. A delightful journey through history!

This is a great addition to the literature on food history. A great mix of wide-ranging ancient recipes, with some background and historical context included. Some recipes are pretty obscure, so this isn't necessarily an everyday cookbook, but those who are adventurous cooks who are willing to try something new (or old, in this case) will have fun with this!

I've been watching "Tasting History with Max Miller" for over a year, so I was happy to get a copy when the book became available for review.

I wasn't disappointed. Max Miller can combine entertainment with well-researched material to provide a cookbook with excellent historical commentary. The book can be read as history. The reader can pick an interesting recipe, read its history, note the modern replacements for ancient and/or unfeasible ingredients, and follow Miller's recipe and instructions to produce their own historical cuisine.

Max Miller's writing style mirrors his online presentations--"Tasting History with Max Miller" is both highly enjoyable and educational!


Five stars: Very highly recommended

This is one I know I'll be coming back to because I just love the concept. I happen to follow a food historian on tiktok which has really gotten me into wanting to try some ancient recipes and I think this title did an awesome job at making those sorts of recipes available to folks interested. I can't wait to catch the physical copy of this because I'm going to wear it out in my kitchen!!

A fantastic historical cookbook on its own, but even better as a companion to Max Miller’s wonderful Tasting History video series on YouTube.

Our entire family has been obsessively interested in Miller’s YouTube cooking series for a few years now, and we’ve attempted to copy a few of the recipes at home. So I was thrilled to get the actual cookbook (which includes different/more recipes from the show) so that we would have more to learn and more to test out at home.

The book is organized by region and includes lovely
photographs of the dishes as well as some supplementary historical material. Some are easier than others to recreate at home, as there are a few with difficult to find ingredients, but they’re all loads of fun to read about. It’s a great way to learn historical tidbits, both for kids and adults.

Highly recommend this one, and recommend watching Miller’s YouTube show as well!

If you love Tasting History on YouTube you're definitely going to want to read Max Miller's cookbooks that gives detailed recipes based on ancient versions for modern cooks alongside the history behind them. A lot of the recipes will be familiar to dedicated fans, but I appreciated getting to read about them in a new format with new information nonetheless.

Even in this day of digital recipes and quick Googling to find something to truly delight dinner guests, I still have faith in cookbooks. They are windows into other cultures, an example of the serendipitous discovery, and a way to think about art. This cookbook takes that to a new level. How much has been written of these cultures from which these recipes came? But how many of them let us step back into time and experience the same sensations that those in history have? Not many.

This book is one that I would describe not just as inspiring (I definitely want to make some of these) but also relaxing and reassuring. One one hand, it is good to let the mind wander about the history behind these recipes, and think about how these ingredients come together into something that would be so appealing. In another sense, it gives us recognition that our cooking is not as time consuming as it used to be, nor is it as time-consuming to find quality ingredients. Not saying that I am proud to live in a fast cooking world (or fast food, at that).

Sure, there are recipes here that I will not touch, but I honestly don't see that as a reason for not getting the book. We can dip in and out of time through this book, and depending on your ambitions and curiosity, stay there longer than others.

This is a really interesting book, and I was intrigued after watching Max Miller's youtube channel. I always appreciate a great book on history, and discovering the foodways of different cultures. This book isn't one I would purchase to cook from, nor is it simply a history book. It's a nice mix of both. Very interesting. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book. This book was very well written. The authors did their homework on the history of all the foods, great recipes and the pictures were outstanding. If you are into history of foods, great recipes., this book is for you. Highly recommend.

Brilliant, educational cookbook. Miller does a great job of explaining food history and recipes to the general audience without watering things down too much. I would absolutely purchase this for myself or a friend!