Borough Market: Edible Histories

A short history of Britain's favourite food and drink; from strawberries to spaghetti, tomatoes to tea, and how we have enjoyed them over the centuries.

As a nation of food-lovers we have been munching on fruit and veg, drinking tea and coffee, and using oils and spices for generations, but have you ever stopped to think how our most beloved foods came to be the way they are now?

In Borough Market: Edible Histories, award-winning food writer, Mark Riddaway, takes us on a culinary journey through the most fascinating, surprising and downright bizarre stories behind Britain's favourite tipples and nibbles.

For example; the variety of strawberry that became Britain's favourite fruit had its roots in a clandestine trip to South America taken by an 18th century French spy whose surname happened to be Strawberry and the speed of Britain's rush to embrace tea as its national drink was disguised by the fact that in the late 18th century around three-quarters of the country's intake was imported by smugglers and sold on the black market, much to the delight of violent criminal tea gangs.

From the humble apple that has donned our dishes for centuries, to exotic ingredients like sugar that have travelled from across the world to finesse our food, discover the charming stories behind every last morsel.

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