I turned a bit green at the Victorian cheese making process, extracting rennet from the calf's stomach - ew Also I couldnt work out - how could they possibly know the contents of a calf's stomach was needed in the process to turn milk into cheese
But another fascinating show and I don't want it to ever end!!
That's exactly what I thought!! And not just any stomach but the 4th one!! and that the milk had to remain at a particular temperature.
Having some knowledge of the Talyllyn Railway, I know that the journey they made could not have been done like that! (and my sister in law used to fancy that engine driver!)
I turned a bit green at the Victorian cheese making process, extracting rennet from the calf's stomach - ew Also I couldnt work out - how could they possibly know the contents of a calf's stomach was needed in the process to turn milk into cheese
But another fascinating show and I don't want it to ever end!!
Well, cheesemaking is ancient. This is from Wiki:
"Proposed dates for the origin of cheesemaking range from around 8000 BCE (when sheep were first domesticated) to around 3000 BCE. The first cheese may have been made by people in the Middle East or by nomadic Turkic tribes in Central Asia. Since animal skins and inflated internal organs have, since ancient times, provided storage vessels for a range of foodstuffs, it is probable that the process of cheese making was discovered accidentally by storing milk in a container made from the stomach of an animal, resulting in the milk being turned to curd and whey by the rennet from the stomach."
I love this series and sorry it will soon be coming to an end, it should have been longer. I have also thought from the start how wonderful it is the people involved are all so enthusiastic and not the usual reality programme people who spend all their time whinging and moaning.
I would love to see more of the people in other things! It was really funny last nigth expecially when the bloke was saying how 'proud' he was of his piglets.
Yes 'not so proud of the one's with their heads in the buckets'
I like this sort of thing, along with 'what the ....... did for us' series.
Strangely compelling, usually watch it again on Saturday and just have done.
I like the way all the experts have to be dressed in the period clothing too.
Couple of things I'd like to know.
We've focused on the Farmer's wives clothes, what about the Farmer's themselves, would the wives have made their clothes too.
As an aside the Italian (I'm guessing) sewing expert was good value.
How would the Landlords like Mr Acton 'encourage' their tenants to take up sports like Cricket, instead of Boxing and hunting?
What would their attitude be to the Rabbit poaching.
Yes 'not so proud of the one's with their heads in the buckets'
I like this sort of thing, along with 'what the ....... did for us' series.
Strangely compelling, usually watch it again on Saturday and just have done.
I like the way all the experts have to be dressed in the period clothing too.
Couple of things I'd like to know.
We've focused on the Farmer's wives clothes, what about the Farmer's themselves, would the wives have made their clothes too.
As an aside the Italian (I'm guessing) sewing expert was good value.
How would the Landlords like Mr Acton 'encourage' their tenants to take up sports like Cricket, instead of Boxing and hunting?
What would their attitude be to the Rabbit poaching.
Not sure about all your questions but as far as rabbit poaching goes it would have been frowned upon but perhaps a blind eye turned as well...it wasn't as bad as the pheasant poaching in the landlords eyes.
As for encouraging cricket days...that was easily done, they donated cider, gave staff time off....sort of endorsed it. Made it into a fun day for all the village.
The cottage that they use as the base for the series is going to be available as a holiday cottage too, from Easter I think. It looks great - a stand pump for water, lighting by candles and oil lamps. They have made a concession to 21st century, for those who can't bear to go the whole hog, though and have provided a flush loo and electric shower in a 'shed' away from the house itself.
Yes 'not so proud of the one's with their heads in the buckets'
I like this sort of thing, along with 'what the ....... did for us' series.
Strangely compelling, usually watch it again on Saturday and just have done.
I like the way all the experts have to be dressed in the period clothing too.
Couple of things I'd like to know.
We've focused on the Farmer's wives clothes, what about the Farmer's themselves, would the wives have made their clothes too.As an aside the Italian (I'm guessing) sewing expert was good value.
She would have made things like shirts, and also quite probably all the household linen, sheets, curtains etc. Judging from my reading iof Victorian novels (!) the men would have had their suits made at the taylors. I remember reading Dorothy Wordsworth's diary from earlier in the century, and she was asked to make 12 shirts for her brother Christopher. The mind boggles, she wouldn't even have had a sewing machine:eek:
I've adored this series, i expected it to be abit boring but gave it ago anyway.
I was proved wrong! actually it was educational, fun, exciting ! My god it brought on home how hard our ancestors had to work in that particular period. I found the food scenes abit hard to watch especially the poor pig but that was life then and i respect that.
Peter Ginn.... how nice is he ! mind i was laughing away at the guy teaching ruth how to sew !
10/10 to all 3 of them
Like i said very educational and enjoyable i loved it !
She would have made things like shirts, and also quite probably all the household linen, sheets, curtains etc. Judging from my reading iof Victorian novels (!) the men would have had their suits made at the taylors. I remember reading Dorothy Wordsworth's diary from earlier in the century, and she was asked to make 12 shirts for her brother Christopher. The mind boggles, she wouldn't even have had a sewing machine:eek:
My great-great grandfather (born 1854) was a travelling tailor and went from village to village getting orders for mens suits/coats and ladies capes etc, the big orders would be taken back to the main shop to be done then delivered next time he was in the area while he did smaller repairs on the spot.
Very good program but have you thought of the food they ate? You wouldn't get things like 'calf's udders', 'pig's heads','cow heels', 'cow palete's' past a modern family today! Ruth was using a book called The Family Save All to prepare a meal which gives an eye opener into Victorian fare .... nothing was wasted in those days but today we only accept it as sausages providing we don't know what's in them. Treat your family to some good old pigs trotters or brains and see the response!! The Family Save All can be found at www.lukiebooks.com and it is full of household tips as well as recipes. A great book to help you re-serve leftovers to the old man!
I turned a bit green at the Victorian cheese making process, extracting rennet from the calf's stomach - ew Also I couldnt work out - how could they possibly know the contents of a calf's stomach was needed in the process to turn milk into cheese
That's been known about since ancient times:
The first cheese may have been made by people in the Middle East or by nomadic Turkic tribes in Central Asia. Since animal skins and inflated internal organs have, since ancient times, provided storage vessels for a range of foodstuffs, it is probable that the process of cheese making was discovered accidentally by storing milk in a container made from the stomach of an animal, resulting in the milk being turned to curd and whey by the rennet from the stomach.
I really love this series. What has struck me is the little things that HAVEN'T changed so much. Like making the christmas pudding - my nan (who is 94) STILL makes her the exact same way with muslin etc. Also the barn dance for mayday. I remember going to events like this as a child in Dorset. My nan still has the big old accordian her father would play. I remember HER mother too and she was the wife of a shepherd. In fact, not just my great grandfather, but his father before him was a shepherd in West Dorset (in the 1870's). So watching this has been a joy as it really brings to life their work. (He was also a poet and wrote the most lovely poems as he tended to his sheep there in Victorian times, mainly about the seasons and the landscape but very evocative).
My mum also grew up on a farm and had to be up 4.30 every day to milk the cows by hand. She used to fall asleep, leaning against the side of their belly. It was only in the 1950's that mechanisation and milk machines came in for them. They had no heating to speak of save for the kitchen range. At night they'd heat a brick by the range, wrap it in a blanket and put it into bed for warmth. My nan told me they had to make her own sanitary pads from spare cloth! They kept pigs and sheep and chickens on a smallholding not dissimilar to the one shown in the programme. My granded would sell the pigs for slaughter but they would NEVER go to the butcher supplied by that slaughterhouse as he couldn't bear thinking of it being one of his pigs. He was actually a big strong man but a softy at heart.
A lot of the old ways are dying out, but I feel glad that I was around at a time to see them being used "first hand". But that said times then were hard and the people were hardened by it. Not in a bad way, just that life was harder then. But people got along and enjoyed the simple pleasures more.
This show is just wonderful in how it captures that spirit.
Very good program but have you thought of the food they ate? You wouldn't get things like 'calf's udders', 'pig's heads','cow heels', 'cow palete's' past a modern family today! Ruth was using a book called The Family Save All to prepare a meal which gives an eye opener into Victorian fare .... nothing was wasted in those days but today we only accept it as sausages providing we don't know what's in them. Treat your family to some good old pigs trotters or brains and see the response!! The Family Save All can be found at www.lukiebooks.com and it is full of household tips as well as recipes. A great book to help you re-serve leftovers to the old man!
Well considering that most people eat burgers and chicken nuggets etc, you probably would, as they are all made of reconstituted offal.
Very good program but have you thought of the food they ate? You wouldn't get things like 'calf's udders', 'pig's heads','cow heels', 'cow palete's' past a modern family today!
In posh restaurants offal and sweetbreads are still much eaten and a lot of people still eat black pudding and liver and such stuff, which is not far removed from those sorts of dishes. We Scots still eat our haggis! We're so much richer today we can afford to eat only the 'better' parts of the animal, when I was in China I noticed they still eat pretty much every part of everything, but that won't last.
I was also surprised about the Currys and foods from 20 different countries thing.
The older chap who was training them in using the reaper-binder, didn't give the expected answer to the horse or tractor question, tractor.
I was also expecting something more mechanised for heating the steel tyre.
I'm sure they should have made more beer and really got into the spirit of things, with a proper raucous party.
Gave us this weeks comedy moment with the chaps sieving it, last week it was bees on the 'meat and two veg'.
The cutting of the wheat couldn't have been any more dramatic if you tried with the broken reaper-binder and storm clouds.
Where's Mr Acton been, I miss his dry sense of humour, oh there he is.
Curtsy and doffing of caps to the Landlord
Yes we could have done with 12 shows giving a monthly update on happenings.
Pvr'd it, probably watch it again on Sunday when it's quiet.
I thought this series really didn't compare to the first one and I am sure in the first show they didn't have to pretend that everyone around was contemporary as well.... (Or did they??) It made it slightly absurd, also, I thought it was better when there were more historians re-enacting it than just the three of them.
Comments
That's exactly what I thought!! And not just any stomach but the 4th one!! and that the milk had to remain at a particular temperature.
Having some knowledge of the Talyllyn Railway, I know that the journey they made could not have been done like that!
Well, cheesemaking is ancient. This is from Wiki:
"Proposed dates for the origin of cheesemaking range from around 8000 BCE (when sheep were first domesticated) to around 3000 BCE. The first cheese may have been made by people in the Middle East or by nomadic Turkic tribes in Central Asia. Since animal skins and inflated internal organs have, since ancient times, provided storage vessels for a range of foodstuffs, it is probable that the process of cheese making was discovered accidentally by storing milk in a container made from the stomach of an animal, resulting in the milk being turned to curd and whey by the rennet from the stomach."
Woohooo! I am so glad you said that. He REALLY is good looking.
An hour of quality TV
Yes 'not so proud of the one's with their heads in the buckets'
I like this sort of thing, along with 'what the ....... did for us' series.
Strangely compelling, usually watch it again on Saturday and just have done.
I like the way all the experts have to be dressed in the period clothing too.
Couple of things I'd like to know.
We've focused on the Farmer's wives clothes, what about the Farmer's themselves, would the wives have made their clothes too.
As an aside the Italian (I'm guessing) sewing expert was good value.
How would the Landlords like Mr Acton 'encourage' their tenants to take up sports like Cricket, instead of Boxing and hunting?
What would their attitude be to the Rabbit poaching.
Not sure about all your questions but as far as rabbit poaching goes it would have been frowned upon but perhaps a blind eye turned as well...it wasn't as bad as the pheasant poaching in the landlords eyes.
As for encouraging cricket days...that was easily done, they donated cider, gave staff time off....sort of endorsed it. Made it into a fun day for all the village.
She would have made things like shirts, and also quite probably all the household linen, sheets, curtains etc. Judging from my reading iof Victorian novels (!) the men would have had their suits made at the taylors. I remember reading Dorothy Wordsworth's diary from earlier in the century, and she was asked to make 12 shirts for her brother Christopher. The mind boggles, she wouldn't even have had a sewing machine:eek:
I was proved wrong! actually it was educational, fun, exciting ! My god it brought on home how hard our ancestors had to work in that particular period. I found the food scenes abit hard to watch especially the poor pig but that was life then and i respect that.
Peter Ginn.... how nice is he ! mind i was laughing away at the guy teaching ruth how to sew !
10/10 to all 3 of them
Like i said very educational and enjoyable i loved it !
My great-great grandfather (born 1854) was a travelling tailor and went from village to village getting orders for mens suits/coats and ladies capes etc, the big orders would be taken back to the main shop to be done then delivered next time he was in the area while he did smaller repairs on the spot.
My mum also grew up on a farm and had to be up 4.30 every day to milk the cows by hand. She used to fall asleep, leaning against the side of their belly. It was only in the 1950's that mechanisation and milk machines came in for them. They had no heating to speak of save for the kitchen range. At night they'd heat a brick by the range, wrap it in a blanket and put it into bed for warmth. My nan told me they had to make her own sanitary pads from spare cloth! They kept pigs and sheep and chickens on a smallholding not dissimilar to the one shown in the programme. My granded would sell the pigs for slaughter but they would NEVER go to the butcher supplied by that slaughterhouse as he couldn't bear thinking of it being one of his pigs. He was actually a big strong man but a softy at heart.
A lot of the old ways are dying out, but I feel glad that I was around at a time to see them being used "first hand". But that said times then were hard and the people were hardened by it. Not in a bad way, just that life was harder then. But people got along and enjoyed the simple pleasures more.
This show is just wonderful in how it captures that spirit.
Some of the food they cook up though looks good. The bacon and egg on the coal shovel was very tempting.
screentest mode on:
What was the rhyme recited by Ruth and her Daughter in the Churchyard?
screentest mode off:
Well considering that most people eat burgers and chicken nuggets etc, you probably would, as they are all made of reconstituted offal.
In posh restaurants offal and sweetbreads are still much eaten and a lot of people still eat black pudding and liver and such stuff, which is not far removed from those sorts of dishes. We Scots still eat our haggis! We're so much richer today we can afford to eat only the 'better' parts of the animal, when I was in China I noticed they still eat pretty much every part of everything, but that won't last.
Thanks Kimbo and Red Kola for the explanation of how the cheese making process may have been discovered - fascinating!
The older chap who was training them in using the reaper-binder, didn't give the expected answer to the horse or tractor question, tractor.
I was also expecting something more mechanised for heating the steel tyre.
I'm sure they should have made more beer and really got into the spirit of things, with a proper raucous party.
Gave us this weeks comedy moment with the chaps sieving it, last week it was bees on the 'meat and two veg'.
The cutting of the wheat couldn't have been any more dramatic if you tried with the broken reaper-binder and storm clouds.
Where's Mr Acton been, I miss his dry sense of humour, oh there he is.
Curtsy and doffing of caps to the Landlord
Yes we could have done with 12 shows giving a monthly update on happenings.
Pvr'd it, probably watch it again on Sunday when it's quiet.