Tea and Crumpets

I wasn't going to do this topic but then when you specifically didn't choose it for an example in class, you spiked my interest and i had to. Now on to the essay!

Do you even know what tea and crumpets are? We all recognize them as a traditional British snack, and even associate them with kings. But how traditional are they? Do they date back say 100 years? How bout 200? Do they date back all the way to the time of Shakespeare? What the heck are they? And did Shakespeare eat them himself? In the following i hope to answer all of the above and much more.

Tea and crumpets were originally devised by some lucky Anglo-Saxon from as far back as the 5th century A.D. Far forward from the time of Shakespeare, which was in the 17th century. All they were was hard pancakes cooked on a griddle. But then in the victorian era two thing happened. First People of the lower east and midlands developed a unique structure of holes in the top of the crumpet by adding extra baking powder. And second bakers started using yeast in their batter. With both of these you now in modern day times get...

But the Victorian era came much latter than the Elizabethan era, 200 years latter. Now it is possible for Shakespeare to have eaten them just not in the same modern form they are now.

The diet of someone in Shakespeare's time consisted mostly of lamb cows chickens and poultry, like most of us today. But they ate a lot of stews, because it was an easy way to prepare food, boil it and make it sterile, and it made the food stretch a long way. They ate bread, some of which still could have been crumpets. Also for someone of Shakespeare's status he could have easily bought the the best bread at the time which was " 'Manchet' (a white bread) was the finest and most expensive" (Blurtit) So a crumpet couldn't be that far off.

We can also assume that Shakespeare ate what was served at his theater, 'The globe.' Every time a play would come around the "Non playgoers would flock to the grounds to go to the market stalls and 'soak in ' the holiday-like atmosphere" (Globe Theater) They served all sorts of things from hazel nuts to pig fried on a portable spit Right out in front. Shellfish such as oysters clams and crab were served as in theater food to. It's as close as you can get to modern day convenience food.

So while it may seem that it is unlikely that Shakespeare ate modern day crumpets because they were invented after he lived and died. His diet consisted more of meat potatoes and stew with a lot of bread mixed in some of which could have been called a crumpet. But the one thing he most likely did drink was tea, which has been around since the beginning of time.

By, Austin Sandford

Bibliography

Globe Theatre. Globe Theatre Food. 23 may 2010 www.globe-theatre.org.uk/globe-theatre-food.htm>.

Wilbert. BlurtIt. 2007-2010. 23 may 2010 <www.blurtIt.com/q743279.html>.