The grueling routine of lighthouse keepers and a corn chowder from 1896 that they would have had the ingredients for

The rugged explorers and Canadian mounties who cooked and ate rubaboo, and a recipe from the journal of Sam Steele, the man who brought order to the Klondike gold rush.

How the Ottoman Empire’s soldiers ate and a delicious recipe for a centuries-old confectionary

The various versions of that nectar of the weary farmhand and congressman alike, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries

Delicious, creamy baked oysters and the oyster craze in 19th century New York City.

The crucial role of coffee in a Civil War soldier’s life, and the alternatives they came up with for it

Victorian salmi de perdrix (partridge salmi) and the men who ate it inside an iguanodon

The history of the Hawaiian luau, and Kepanipa’a makes kalua pork in the ground at the Marriott and Chef Ippy Aiona of Ippy’s Hawaiian Barbeque in Waimea makes it in the kitchen

The history of chemical leavening agents in baking and a simple, hearty Irish soda bread

The history and evolution of Ukrainian borshch and a wonderful 19th century recipe for it

The history of Thai massaman curry and the kings who ate it

The Great Molasses Flood of 1919 and Boston brown bread

The history of wassail and its myriad forms, along with a recipe from 19th century Oxford

Coffee’s checkered past and a coffee-less coffee-looking cocktail that would have been safe to drink during one of the several times the brew was banned

The long relationship of macaroni and cheese, and how they were brought irrevocably together by a Scottish macaroni salesman, two Swiss food chemists, and a Canadian cheesemonger, along with a fancy 19th century recipe.

The curious tradition of sin eaters and gingerbread cookies that could have been used as funeral biscuits in Victorian England

The role of pemmican in the lives of indigenous North American tribes and the European exploration of the continent, and 19th century instructions on how to make it.

The origins of afternoon tea and a 19th century recipe for the classic afternoon tea treat: Victoria sandwich

The possible origins of tacos and a customizable recipe from 1831

The unfortunate tale of gruel’s bad PR, and a surprisingly tasty recipe for 19th century gruel