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Halloween has a 2000 year history, extending from the time of the Ancient Celts to the modern day. Learn how the Romans and Christians changed this ancient feast and how it found its way to the Americas. You will also get recipes for a Celtic stew and a pumpkin dish associated with Halloween.

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Beef is a very flavoursome meat, as long as it is well matured, but it does have the cachet of being expensive and to be used only as a treat. Partly this is due to the history of beef as a high-status ingredient. Partly it's due to the cost of the better cuts. But you have a whole animal to consider and this article takes you through the history of beef eating and gives you a recipe for both the best and one of the poorer cuts of meat.

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Chocolate is a spice processed from the seeds of the cocao tree. It was first used and cultivated almost 3000 years ago and is a mainstay of modern snacks and sweet dishes. But chocolate is a much more versatile ingredient than this and can be used in a whloe range of sweet and savoury dishes. Here you will find recipes for a classic chocolate cake as well as a Mexican stew with chocolate.

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Liberia is a West African country formed by freed slaves. It is one of only two African countries never to have come under European rule. Liberia is also one of the few African countries with a tradition of baking. Sitting alongside these are ingredients sourced directly from the rainforest.

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Pizzas have become a staple of modern cooking and a staple of fast food. The known history of pizzas stretch back over 2000 years, from topped flatbreads depicted in Pompeii to the first 'true' Neapolitan pizzas of the 1890s to the sweet pizzas of the 1980s. Here the recipes for a classic savoury pizza crust and a modern sweet pizza crust are presented. Once you can create a pizza crust to perfection then the remainder of the pizza is easy!

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The Romans were the first peoples to formally add a dessert course at the end of a meal. Here you will learn a little about why we like sweet desserts and why they all, in one way or another, echo the fruit our ancestors used to eat. You will also see two recipes for classic fruit-based desserts.

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The thought of a cold or chilled soup sends shivers up the spines of many diners. After all, soups are meant to be hot aren't they. But, just as a good hot soup can warm you up on a cold winter's day a chilled soup can also serve to soothe the palate and cool you on a hot summer's day. A century ago chilled soups were all the rage, and though we don't tend to make them much these days, there recipes are much in need of a revival. Here a classic hot soup is compared with a chilled soup.

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An ice cream is a cold dessert made, at the most basic level, with cream and flavourings and which is whipped to incorporate air into the mix both before and during the freezing process. However, Italian ice creams (gelati) have more flavour and are whipped less so they contain less air and are creamier. French ice creams (glaces) are based on an egg custard and taste rich and creamy. Find out more about these frozen desserts and how to prepare them.

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With Autumn approaching, the mind naturally turns to how best to preserve the season's glut of fruit for the coming winter. One of the best preservation methods is to turn the fruit into jams and jellies, which will last you through the winter and well into the following spring. Here you will learn the secrets of making perfect jams and jellies with grape jam being used as an example.

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Much of what we know, historically, about English cookery originates from the grand houses, as only these recipes were written down in recipes. The food of the 'common man' had to rely on oral tradition to be transmitted through the ages. As a result we know far more about the cookery of the grand houses than the cookery of the common man. This all changed in the Victorian ear with the rise of the middle classes and the adoption of recipes, spices and cookery methods from elsewhere in the world.