Eats History

Bibingka: The Filipino Rice Cake That Smells Like Christmas Morning

Bibingka isn’t just a dessert in the Philippines. It’s a season, a ritual, and a memory tied to early mornings, church bells, and the warmth of shared food. For centuries, this humble rice cake has been part of Filipino life, long before modern ovens or holiday excess. Made from ground rice and traditionally cooked with heat from above and below, bibingka reflects a cuisine shaped by agriculture, climate, and community.
Historically, bibingka belongs to the world of kakanin, rice-based foods that formed the backbone of precolonial Filipino cuisine.

Early versions relied on soaked rice, stone grinding, and natural fermentation, producing dense cakes with deep flavor. Cooked in banana leaf–lined clay pots over charcoal, the cakes picked up a smoky aroma and charred finish that defined the dish long before butter, eggs, or sugar became common.

Over time, colonial influence softened the recipe. Milk, eggs, and baking powder transformed bibingka into the lighter, fluffier versions many people recognize today. Yet its soul remained intact. Rice, coconut, banana leaf, and high heat still anchor the dish to its roots, even in modern kitchens.

Bibingka became inseparable from Christmas through Simbang Gabi, the nine dawn masses leading up to December 25th. After worship, Filipinos would gather outside churches to share warm slices of bibingka and puto bumbong, fueling both body and spirit before the day began. That tradition lives on, making bibingka one of the most emotionally powerful holiday foods in the Philippines.

This cast iron version is a historically inspired way to bring that tradition home. Lined with banana leaf, baked hot, and finished with melted butter, it captures the aroma, texture, and warmth that made bibingka endure for centuries. It’s best eaten fresh, shared, and enjoyed slowly.

Rating: 9.1/10
A simple rice cake with a long memory.

Full Recipe: eatshistory.com/bibingka-recipe-a-filipino.../

Would you try making bibingka at home for the holidays?

1 day ago | [YT] | 747

Eats History

It was awesome to be featured on USA Today’s 250th Celebration of America!

We talked all things historical cooking, my oringinal presidents series, and I even make some hoecakes for you guys to try at home!

Check out the full article here:

www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/12/20/hist…

3 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 824

Eats History

Leave the powdered hot chocolate in the pantry with this REAL recipe from 1816.

Hot chocolate feels cozy and innocent… but it started as a luxury drink for emperors and kings.

Long before powdered cocoa packets and marshmallows, hot chocolate was one of the most exclusive drinks in Europe. After arriving from Mesoamerica in the 16th century, it became a status symbol among Spanish and German aristocracy, served thick, spiced, and enriched with eggs and sugar. In some courts, it was treated almost like medicine. In others, it was breakfast.

For this holiday season, I went back to 1816 Germany and recreated a hot chocolate straight from Neues Fränkisches Kochbuch by M.D. Funk. This version is rich, custard-like, and intensely chocolatey. No shortcuts. No cocoa powder. Just melted chocolate, milk, egg yolks, sugar, and cinnamon, whisked into something closer to a dessert than a drink.

It’s decadent, warming, and a reminder that hot chocolate was once a drink of power and privilege, not just a winter treat.

If you’re looking to level up your holiday drinks this year, this one is absolutely worth making.

👉 Full history + recipe here: eatshistory.com/the-history-of-hot-chocolate-a.../

3 days ago | [YT] | 817

Eats History

This Traditional Mexican holiday soup has quite a history behind it...

Pozole is now one of Mexico’s most beloved dishes, especially around Christmas and celebrations, but its earliest recorded versions tell a far darker story. According to the Florentine Codex, this hominy and chile stew was once prepared for sacred ceremonies using the flesh of ritual sacrifice, eaten as part of Aztec religious life.

After the Spanish conquest, human sacrifice was banned, and pozole was transformed. Pork replaced human meat, onions and garlic entered the pot, and over centuries the soup evolved into the dish families gather around today. Red pozole, green pozole, and white pozole all trace their roots back to this ancient base.

I made pozole rojo, slow-simmered with pork, dried chiles, and hominy, and honestly it’s incredible. Deep, comforting, rich, and layered, with a history that reminds you how much food can change while still carrying memory.

If you’re looking for a new soup to try this holiday season, this one has both flavor and a story you won’t forget.

9.4/10.

Full Recipe: eatshistory.com/authentic-pozole-recipe-from.../

6 days ago | [YT] | 978

Eats History

This Fearsome Warrior Porridge Fueled The Cossacks

Before MRE's and battlefield rations, there was kulish. This thick millet porridge fed the Cossacks, the infamous steppe warriors who terrorized empires from the 15th to 18th centuries.

Living between the Ottoman Empire, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire, these free men survived on what could be cooked fast, shared easily, and eaten hot by the fire. Kulish was their answer. Millet simmered in broth, enriched with pork fat, onions, garlic, and chunks of meat, served with dark rye bread to soak it all up.

Simple, brutal, and deeply satisfying. I recreated this historic warrior meal as a tribute to one of the most fascinating military cultures in history.

Full recipe and history: eatshistory.com/kulish-recipe-eating-like-the.../

1 week ago | [YT] | 601

Eats History

A Great Depression Christmas Dessert That Still Inspires

During the Great Depression, Christmas looked very different from the holiday we know today. Money was scarce, ingredients were limited, and families had to stretch every dollar just to get by. But even in the hardest years, people still found ways to bring sweetness to the holiday season.

One of the most beloved traditions to come out of that era was the Poor Man’s Fruitcake. No candied cherries, no nuts, no butter. Just raisins, lard, warm spices, and a whole lot of creativity. It became a staple across countless American homes because it was inexpensive, reliable, and filled the kitchen with the unmistakable smell of Christmas.

This humble fruitcake is dense, comforting, and surprisingly rich despite its simple ingredient list. Baking it today is like stepping back into a time when families relied on resourcefulness and heart to make the holidays feel special.

I spent the day recreating this historic recipe exactly the way it would have been made in the 1930s. If you want to taste a piece of Great Depression Christmas history, the full story and recipe are here:

👉 eatshistory.com/christmas-during-the-great.../

1 week ago | [YT] | 728

Eats History

What was a Roman Soldier's Dinner Like?

Dinner was the one moment in a soldier’s day where warmth and comfort returned. Legumes were among the most common ingredients in the Roman diet. Split peas, onions, and pork create a hearty evening stew that echoes ancient patterns of military cooking. Garum and vinegar provide seasoning, making the otherwise simple ingredients fragrant and satisfying. This type of soup appears widely across Roman culinary tradition and would have been familiar to soldiers stationed anywhere in the empire.

Pan fried salted pork belly adds richness and fat, which soldiers desperately needed after burning calories all day. The pork was usually heavily salted, so frying it helps render some of the fat and soften its texture. When paired with the pea soup it becomes a complete meal that balances protein, fat, and carbohydrates. This combination would have restored strength after a long day of marching or fort duty.

The remaining buccellatum is eaten with the soup. Its dryness makes it ideal for dipping. One final cup of posca closes out the meal. After eating like a Roman soldier you realize how deliberate their food system was. Nothing luxurious, nothing wasted. Everything had a purpose directed toward endurance and survival. This dinner reflects that philosophy perfectly.

Full Recipe: eatshistory.com/what-did-roman-soldiers-eat-a-full…

1 week ago | [YT] | 907

Eats History

The Christmas Porridge with a Hidden Almond: A Holiday Tradition Hundreds of Years Old

Imagine a winter night, snow falling, candlelight flickering, and a steaming bowl of creamy rice porridge passed around the table. This isn’t just comfort food. It’s a centuries-old Scandinavian ritual where one hidden almond means good luck, extra blessings, or even love for the year ahead.

I just made that porridge: Julegrøt — a creamy, cinnamon-sweet rice pudding rooted in Norse feast tables and kept alive through modern holiday kitchens. It’s rich, warm, and deeply nostalgic, and it carries thousands of years of folklore in every bite.

Serve it piping hot with butter melting in the center, sprinkle some cinnamon sugar, slide in the almond, and watch the magic begin. Perfect for cozy winter nights, festive gatherings, or anyone who loves food with a story.

Ready to try some history this holiday season? Check out the full recipe and lore here:

👉 eatshistory.com/julegrot-recipe-the-scandinavian..…

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 839

Eats History

The Original Medieval “Gingerbread” Was Not anything like our modern Gingerbread Cookie… and I Just Made It

If you think gingerbread means little men and iced cookies, the Middle Ages would like a word.

The earliest English gingerbread from the 1400s was not baked at all. It was a honey candy thickened with breadcrumbs and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper. Yes, pepper. Medieval cooks then shaped it into squares and decorated each piece with a clove. It was served at Christmas feasts, winter banquets, and royal celebrations as a luxury sweet reserved for the wealthy.

I recreated this recipe straight from a fifteenth-century manuscript called Harleian MS 279 (2 Fifteenth Century Cookbooks), and it tastes like a medieval holiday in one bite. Warm, chewy, honey rich, and beautifully spiced. It is nothing like modern gingerbread, but honestly it is kind of better.

If you want to bring a real medieval dessert to your holiday table, the full history and recipe are here:

👉 eatshistory.com/medieval-gingerbread-a-15th.../

Perfect for impressing your friends or showing up to a Christmas party with the oldest “gingerbread” they have ever seen.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 940

Eats History

A 1,000-Year-Old “Dessert for Romance” — Medieval Carrot Paste from al-Andalus

What if I told you this dessert once made people lose their minds — in a good way?

Imagine a time when spices were rarer than gold, honey was the main sweetener, and cooks believed a rich dish could stir love and desire. I just revived one of those desserts: a carrot paste from a 13th-century Andalusian cookbook, described as a “fortifier of coitus and beauty.”

It’s simple: carrots, honey, warming spices, and nothing fake. Stir it, cook it, form it into little balls — and you get something aromatic, sweet, and surprisingly sensual. This might be the closest thing to a medieval love potion you can actually eat.

Curious to taste history and romance intertwined? Check out the full recipe and background here:

👉 eatshistory.com/a-dessert-for-romance-aphrodisiac-…

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 816