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Victorian treats discovered in SS Great Britain archives

Adam Gasson Trying Victorian food on the SS Great BritainAdam Gasson
The food was created using the ship's archives and recipe books from the 1800s

Food eaten by Victorian ocean travellers has been revived by chefs.

People visiting the SS Great Britain in Bristol this summer can try delicacies passengers on the ocean liner would have discovered in the 1800s.

They include a traditional Crimean borsch, melon and ginger jam from Cape Town and coriander and coconut chutney from Mumbai.

The recipes were recreated using documents from the ship's archives and Victorian cookbooks.

Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the SS Great Britain sailed around the world 32 times, covering more than a million miles at sea after being launched in 1843 - including transporting the first ever England cricket team to tour Australia.

The three vintage dishes have been recreated by Bristol-based social enterprise Travelling Kitchen, which was started as a way of teaching young children basic cooking skills.

French tourist Leonora tries Victorian recipes on the SS Great Britain
Leonora Hausard, visiting Bristol from France, tried the food this week

Joanna Mathers, head of collections on the ship, said the chutney had been inspired by notes from surgeon Samuel Archer on a trip to Mumbai in 1857.

"We have access to his diary, which describes the food he experienced and this process gives visitors to the ship a chance to step back in time to the days before mass travel," she said.

"These flavours would've been brand new and exotic, and for many, their first time encountering the likes of coconut, ginger and melon."

Coriander and coconut chutney from Mumbai on the SS Great Britain
The chutney was discovered in a diary entry by the ship's surgeon on a journey to Mumbai in 1857

Travelling Kitchen founder Sarah Francis said: "Researching traveller accounts and cookery books of the time has been fascinating.

"We have tested and tried these [recipes], sometimes adapting to reflect availability of ingredients and modern tastes but hopefully still giving visitors to the ship this summer a taste of the past and SS Great Britain's journey around the world."

SS Great Britain interpretation manager Natalie Fey said they had avoided recipes with meat or dairy in to cater for allergies.

"All three of the recipes we have gone with I absolutely love," she added.

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