Both the Eastern and the Western churches ordained that feast should alternate with fast. In England in the 13th century, meat contributed a negligible portion of calories to a typical harvest worker's diet; however, its share increased after the Black Death and, by the 15th century, it provided about 20% of the total. Though sweeping generalizations should be avoided, more or less distinct areas where certain foodstuffs dominated can be discerned. Medieval Food. Judging from the advice given in many medieval documents on how to salvage wine that bore signs of going bad, preservation must have been a widespread problem. Fish was up to 16 times as costly, and was expensive even for coastal populations. [26], In Europe there were typically two meals a day: dinner at mid-day and a lighter supper in the evening. In one early-15th-century English aristocratic household for which detailed records are available (that of the Earl of Warwick), gentle members of the household received a staggering 3.8 pounds (1.7 kg) of assorted meats in a typical meat meal in the autumn and 2.4 pounds (1.1 kg) in the winter, in addition to 0.9 pounds (0.41 kg) of bread and 1⁄4 imperial gallon (1.1 L; 0.30 US gal) of beer or possibly wine (and there would have been two meat meals per day, five days a week, except during Lent). As the stomach had been opened, it should then be "closed" at the end of the meal with the help of a digestive, most commonly a dragée, which during the Middle Ages consisted of lumps of spiced sugar, or hypocras, a wine flavoured with fragrant spices, along with aged cheese. It also left vast areas of farmland untended, making it available for pasture and putting more meat on the market. The preservation techniques available at the time, although crude by today's standards, were perfectly adequate. Vegetables were more for peasants, both in reality and imagination. Even though meat was highly valued by all, lower classes often could not afford it, nor were they allowed by the church to consume it every day. [5], The trend from the 13th century onward was toward a more legalistic interpretation of fasting. These were consumed as bread, porridge, gruel and pasta by all of society's members. In England there were also the variants poset ale, made from hot milk and cold ale, and brakot or braggot, a spiced ale prepared much like hypocras. Fine-textured food was also associated with wealth; for example, finely milled flour was expensive, while the bread of commoners was typically brown and coarse. By the High Middle Ages breweries in the fledgling medieval towns of northern Germany began to take over production. In the Middle Ages, cooked food was the norm, but the foodstuffs that went into a dish and their quality depended to a large degree on the social class. [63], While all forms of wild game were popular among those who could obtain it, most meat came from domestic animals. In Medieval times, food was medicine, religion and status. Yet the daily menu and average diet for poor people was plain and simple food. In lower-class households it was common to eat food straight off the table. This way, the smoke, odors and bustle of the kitchen could be kept out of sight of guests, and the fire risk lessened. Even there it was not until the 14th century that the fork became common among Italians of all social classes. It was popular, and recommended by medical expertise, to finish the meal with aged cheese and various digestives. Exotic and spicy dishes were regular features of medieval banquets where the rich and powerful dined. However, it can be assumed there were no such extravagant luxuries as multiple courses, luxurious spices or hand-washing in scented water in everyday meals. The first cookbooks began to appear towards the end of the 13th century. Cookbooks, which appeared in the late Middle Ages and were intended mostly for those who could afford such luxuries, contained only a small number of recipes using vegetables as the main ingredient. The ever-present candied ginger, coriander, aniseed and other spices were referred to as épices de chambre ('parlor spices') and were taken as digestibles at the end of a meal to "close" the stomach. [80] The quality of wine differed considerably according to vintage, the type of grape and more importantly, the number of grape pressings. Skilled cooks were expected to conform to the regimen of humoral medicine. Even comparatively exotic products like camel's milk and gazelle meat generally received more positive attention in medical texts. Its production also allowed for a lucrative butter export from the 12th century onward. This is partially true since mead bore great symbolic value at important occasions. However, the honey-based drink became less common as a table beverage towards the end of the period and was eventually relegated to medicinal use. [88] It was unfiltered, and therefore cloudy, and likely had a lower alcohol content than the typical modern equivalent. Among the first town guilds to be organized were the bakers, and laws and regulations were passed to keep bread prices stable. [3], While animal products were to be avoided during times of penance, pragmatic compromises often prevailed. Although also used in sausages, stews and soups, most cultivated wheat was turned into bread. Swans and peafowl were domesticated to some extent, but were only eaten by the social elite, and more praised for their fine appearance as stunning entertainment dishes, entremets, than for their meat. It was written by Vinidarius, whose excerpts of Apicius[120] survive in an eighth-century uncial manuscript. Medieval scholars considered human digestion to be a process similar to cooking. To peasants, porridge was an alternative to bread. These operations later spread to the Netherlands in the 14th century, then to Flanders and Brabant, and reached England by the 15th century. Medieval Food Facts for Kids In last week’s blog I shared a little bit about my family history with food that was inspired by work on my second Sir Kaye book, The Lost Castle Treasure . It was also common at weddings and baptismal parties, though in limited quantity due to its high price. The recipe for Tart de brymlent, a fish pie from the recipe collection Forme of Cury, includes a mix of figs, raisins, apples and pears with fish (salmon, codling or haddock) and pitted damson plums under the top crust. [96], Spices were among the most luxurious products available in the Middle Ages, the most common being black pepper, cinnamon (and the cheaper alternative cassia), cumin, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. [19] Overall, a monk at Westminster Abbey in the late 15th century would have been allowed 2.25 pounds (1.02 kg) of bread per day; 5 eggs per day, except on Fridays and in Lent; 2 pounds (0.91 kg) of meat per day, four days per weeik (excluding Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday), except in Advent and Lent; and 2 pounds (0.91 kg) of fish per day, three days per week and every day during Advent and Lent. Adamson (2004), p. 65. One typical estimate is that an adult peasant male needed 2,900 calories (12,000 kJ) per day, and an adult female needed 2,150 calories (9,000 kJ). Interesting Facts and Information about Medieval Foods The food and diet of the wealthy was extensive, but only small portions were taken. Since bread was such a central part of the medieval diet, swindling by those who were trusted with supplying the precious commodity to the community was considered a serious offense. [36], Fruit was readily combined with meat, fish and eggs. In turn, ale or beer was classified as "strong" or "small", the latter less intoxicating, regarded as a drink of temperate people, and suitable for consumption by children. The 14th century cookbook Le Viandier, describes several methods for salvaging spoiling wine; making sure that the wine barrels are always topped up or adding a mixture of dried and boiled white grape seeds with the ash of dried and burnt lees of white wine were both effective bactericides, even if the chemical processes were not understood at the time. It would then be followed by vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, purslane, herbs, moist fruits, light meats, such as chicken or goat kid, with potages and broths. [110], Research into medieval foodways was, until around 1980, a much neglected field of study. The upper classes also used wheat flour to make cakes and pies. cheese image by AGITA LEIMANE from Fotolia.com, Copyright © 2020 Leaf Group Ltd., all rights reserved. Each had its place within a hierarchy extending from heaven to earth. See more ideas about medieval recipes, recipes, food history. The fruits of choice in the south were lemons, citrons, bitter oranges (the sweet type was not introduced until several hundred years later), pomegranates, quinces, and grapes. While the nobility could afford top quality meat, sugar, exotic fruit and spices imported from Asia, peasants often consumed their own produce, which included bread, porridge, peas, onions, carrots, cabbage and other vegetables, as well as dairy products and very occasionally meat. They These, along with the widespread use of sugar or honey, gave many dishes a sweet-sour flavor. Even if most people respected these restrictions and usually made penance when they violated them, there were also numerous ways of circumventing them, a conflict of ideals and practice summarized by writer Bridget Ann Henisch: It is the nature of man to build the most complicated cage of rules and regulations in which to trap himself, and then, with equal ingenuity and zest, to bend his brain to the problem of wriggling triumphantly out again. Wheat was widely cultivated across Medieval Europe. In the British Isles, northern France, the Low Countries, the northern German-speaking areas, Scandinavia and the Baltic, the climate was generally too harsh for the cultivation of grapes and olives. [50] While the necessity of the cook's services was occasionally recognized and appreciated, they were often disparaged since they catered to the baser of bodily human needs rather than spiritual betterment. The norm was self-sufficiency with only a small percentage of production being exported or sold in markets. // Leaf Group Lifestyle, "Food and Eating in Medieval Europe"; Martha Carlin et al. Misconceptions and outright errors were common among historians, and are still present in as a part of the popular view of the Middle Ages as a backward, primitive and barbaric era. 3–4. French Medieval Food Bread, accompanied by meat and wine, was the centrepiece of the medieval diet. The finely sifted white flour that modern Europeans are most familiar with was reserved for the bread of the upper classes. Plain milk was not consumed by adults except the poor or sick, being reserved for the very young or elderly, and then usually as buttermilk or whey. He also recommended watching that the servants not make off with leftovers to make merry at rere-suppers, rather than giving it as alms. Middle ages food: HOW PEOPLE ATE. A New Perspective on his Final Days", "Recreating Medieval English Ales (a recreation of late-13–14th unhopped English ales)", Medieval Food – academic articles and videos, The History Notes website tells the story about the food and drink in the Middle Ages, Medieval cookery books at the British Library, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medieval_cuisine&oldid=991763705, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. This was based on a belief among physicians that the finer the consistency of food, the more effectively the body would absorb the nourishment. Plain fresh milk was not consumed by adults except the poor or sick, and was usually reserved for the very young or elderly. The hierarchical nature of society was reinforced by etiquette where the lower ranked were expected to help the higher, the younger to assist the elder, and men to spare women the risk of sullying dress and reputation by having to handle food in an unwomanly fashion. [87], Before hops became popular as an ingredient, it was difficult to preserve this beverage for any time, so it was mostly consumed fresh. Wine was restricted to about 10 imperial fluid ounces (280 mL; 9.6 US fl oz) per day, but there was no corresponding limit on beer, and, at Westminster Abbey, each monk was given an allowance of 1 imperial gallon (4.5 L; 1.2 US gal) of beer per day. Before the widespread use of hops, gruit, a mix of various herbs, had been used. In 1496 the city of Nuremberg issued restrictions on the selling of aquavit on Sundays and official holidays. Butter tended to be heavily salted (5–10%) in order not to spoil. Overall, fine dining was a predominantly male affair, and it was uncommon for anyone but the most honored of guests to bring his wife or her ladies-in-waiting. Middle Ages Food - Vegetables The following vegetables were available during the Medieval era, even though many were looked upon with sheer distain, especially by the Upper Classes. Though less prominent than in the north, beer was consumed in northern France and the Italian mainland. Exceptions from fasting were frequently made for very broadly defined groups. Meat was a staple food among the rich, who often enjoyed hunting. If this regimen were not respected it was believed that heavy foods would sink to the bottom of the stomach, thus blocking the digestion duct, so that food would digest very slowly and cause putrefaction of the body and draw bad humours into the stomach. It has been estimated that around 1,000 tons of pepper and 1,000 tons of the other common spices were imported into Western Europe each year during the late Middle Ages. In keeping with the spirit of this mandate, the monks of Cluny, an extremely wealthy and powerful monastery in southern Burgundy, placed a premium on silence from a very early date. [73] While large quantities of fish were eaten fresh, a large proportion was salted, dried, and, to a lesser extent, smoked. [104] Salt was present during more elaborate or expensive meals. Guidelines on how to prepare for a two-day banquet can be found in the cookbook Du fait de cuisine ('On cookery') written in 1420 in part to compete with the court of Burgundy[45] by Maistre Chiquart, master chef of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy. Cheese was used in cooking for pies and soups, the latter being common fare in German-speaking areas. Forks for eating were not in widespread usage in Europe until the early modern period, and early on were limited to Italy. Butter and lard, especially after the terrible mortality during the Black Death made them less scarce, were used in considerable quantities in the northern and northwestern regions, especially in the Low Countries. For the poorest (or the most pious), watered-down vinegar (similar to Ancient Roman posca) would often be the only available choice. [20] This caloric structure partly reflected the high-class status of late Medieval monasteries in England, and partly that of Westminster Abbey, which was one of the richest monasteries in the country; diets of monks in other monasteries may have been more modest. While medieval foods weren't so different from the meals we eat today – think bread, porridge, pasta and vegetables for the poor and meat and spices for the rich – the way it was prepared often differed greatly from the way we prepare our food today. [48], The majority of the European population before industrialization lived in rural communities or isolated farms and households. [114], The numerous descriptions of banquets from the later Middle Ages concentrated on the pageantry of the event rather than the minutiae of the food, which was not the same for most banqueters as those choice mets served at the high table. This was circumvented in part by declaring that offal, and various processed foods such as bacon, were not meat. [101], Common herbs such as sage, mustard, and parsley were grown and used in cooking all over Europe, as were caraway, mint, dill and fennel. By the 13th century, Hausbrand (literally 'home-burnt' from gebrannter wein, brandwein 'burnt [distilled] wine') was commonplace, marking the origin of brandy. Another common sight at the medieval dinner table was the frumenty, a thick wheat porridge often boiled in a meat broth and seasoned with spices. [6] There are many accounts of members of monastic orders who flouted fasting restrictions through clever interpretations of the Bible. [86], That hops could be used for flavoring beer had been known at least since Carolingian times, but was adopted gradually due to difficulties in establishing the appropriate proportions. The Taste of Medieval Food. A medieval cook employed in a large household would most likely have been able to plan and produce a meal without the help of recipes or written instruction. Cookshops could either sell ready-made hot food, an early form of fast food, or offer cooking services while the customers supplied some or all of the ingredients. In order for the food to be properly "cooked" and for the nutrients to be properly absorbed, it was important that the stomach be filled in an appropriate manner. It was also thought to cause melancholy and nightmares, though it was recommended as an antidote to drunkenness. In monasteries, the basic structure of the diet was laid down by the Rule of Saint Benedict in the 7th century and tightened by Pope Benedict XII in 1336, but (as mentioned above) monks were adept at "working around" these rules. Others focus on descriptions of grand feasts. Leavened bread was more common in wheat-growing regions in the south, while unleavened flatbread of barley, rye or oats remained more common in northern and highland regions, and unleavened flatbread was also common as provisions for troops. Their bread was made from barley. This meant that fasts could mean an especially meager diet for those who could not afford alternatives to meat and animal products like milk and eggs. 72, 191–92. Carlin, Martha & Rosenthal, Joel T. (editors). [82] Spiced or mulled wine was not only popular among the affluent, but was also considered especially healthy by physicians. Towards the onset of the early modern period, in 1474, the Vatican librarian Bartolomeo Platina wrote De honesta voluptate et valetudine ("On honourable pleasure and health") and the physician Iodocus Willich edited Apicius in Zurich in 1563. Peas did not have the same reputation as beans, which were also regarded as "peasant's food.". [100] Few dishes employed just one type of spice or herb, but rather a combination of several different ones. The most prevalent butcher's meats were pork, chicken and other domestic fowl; beef, which required greater investment in land, was less common. After all, there were no chocolates, potatoes, or tomatoes. She was the wife of Domenico Selvo, the Doge of Venice, and caused considerable dismay among upstanding Venetians. The use of plant-based milk sources is a fairly new occurrence in Western culture, although the trendy variety of the moment, almond, was actually quite commonly used in the Medieval … But for most people, almost all cooking was done in simple stewpots, since this was the most efficient use of firewood and did not waste precious cooking juices, making potages and stews the most common dishes. [11], Before a meal, the stomach would preferably be "opened" with an apéritif (from Latin aperire, "to open") that was preferably of a hot and dry nature: confections made from sugar- or honey-coated spices like ginger, caraway and seeds of anise, fennel or cumin, wine and sweetened fortified milk drinks. [52] Before the 14th century bread was not as common among the lower classes, especially in the north where wheat was more difficult to grow. This last type of non-dairy milk product is probably the single most common ingredient in late medieval cooking and blended the aroma of spices and sour liquids with a mild taste and creamy texture. In the middle ages, food and eating was very different. Because the church preached against gluttony and other weaknesses of the flesh, men tended to be ashamed of the weak practicality of breakfast. Most of these methods had the advantage of shorter preparation times and of introducing new flavors. It would mostly come from cows, but milk from goats and sheep was also common. Porridge, gruel and later, bread, became the basic food staple that made up the majority of calorie intake for most of the population. With the exception of peas, legumes were often viewed with some suspicion by the dietitians advising the upper class, partly because of their tendency to cause flatulence but also because they were associated with the coarse food of peasants. As a consequence of these excesses, obesity was common among upper classes. Yet for almost everything that’s been manufactured you will have to negotiate. Vinidarius' own dates may not be much earlier. Wealthy guests were seated "above the salt", while others sat "below the salt", where salt cellars were made of pewter, precious metals or other fine materials, often intricately decorated. A Good Roast Alows de Beef Autre Vele en Bokenade Balls or Skinless Sausages In most of Europe, Fridays were fast days, and fasting was observed on various other days and periods, including Lent and Advent. Travellers, such as pilgrims en route to a holy site, made use of professional cooks to avoid having to carry their provisions with them. Mutton and lamb were fairly common, especially in areas with a sizeable wool industry, as was veal. A knife was usually shared with at least one other dinner guest, unless one was of very high rank or well-acquainted with the host. Estimates of bread consumption from different regions are fairly similar: around 1 to 1.5 kilograms (2.2 to 3.3 lb) of bread per person per day. By the Late Middle Ages biscuits (cookies in the U.S.) and especially wafers, eaten for dessert, had become high-prestige foods and came in many varieties. Kitchen stoves did not appear until the 18th century, and cooks had to know how to cook directly over an open fire. In some cases the lavishness of noble tables was outdone by Benedictine monasteries, which served as many as sixteen courses during certain feast days. It was also of vital importance that food of differing properties not be mixed. White wine was believed to be cooler than red and the same distinction was applied to red and white vinegar. Even if vinegar was a common ingredient, there was only so much of it that could be used. The following list of … [46] Chiquart recommends that the chief cook should have at hand at least 1,000 cartloads of "good, dry firewood" and a large barnful of coal. Medieval cuisine includes foods, eating habits, and cooking methods of various European cultures during the Middle Ages, which lasted from the fifth to the fifteenth century. [31], Things were different for the wealthy. The symbolic role of bread as both sustenance and substance is illustrated in a sermon given by Saint Augustine: This bread retells your history … You were brought to the threshing floor of the Lord and were threshed … While awaiting catechism, you were like grain kept in the granary … At the baptismal font you were kneaded into a single dough. Medieval recipes fed people from all backgrounds. [70], Although less prestigious than other animal meats, and often seen as merely an alternative to meat on fast days, seafood was the mainstay of many coastal populations. Beef was not as common as today because raising cattle was labor-intensive, requiring pastures and feed, and oxen and cows were much more valuable as draught animals and for producing milk. Other tools more specific to cooking over an open fire were spits of various sizes, and material for skewering anything from delicate quails to whole oxen. Domestic working animals that were no longer able to work were slaughtered but not particularly appetizing and therefore were less valued as meat. Edited from the Ms. S 103 Bibliothèque Supersaxo, (in the Bibliothèque cantonale du Valais, Sion, by Terence Scully, Beth Marie Forrest, "Food storage and preservation" in, Martha Carling, "Fast Food and Urban Living Standards in Medieval England" in, Margaret Murphy, "Feeding Medieval Cities: Some Historical Approaches" in, Hans J. Teuteberg, "Periods and Turning-Points in the History of European Diet: A Preliminary Outline of Problems and Methods" in, Cabbage and other foodstuffs in common use by most German-speaking peoples are mentioned in Walther Ryff's dietary from 1549 and, Adamson (2004), pp. Though most of the breweries were small family businesses that employed at most eight to ten people, regular production allowed for investment in better equipment and increased experimentation with new recipes and brewing techniques. The herring was of unprecedented significance to the economy of much of Northern Europe, and it was one of the most common commodities traded by the Hanseatic League, a powerful north German alliance of trading guilds. Smaller intermediate meals were common, but became a matter of social status, as those who did not have to perform manual labor could go without them. Meat, and animal products such as milk, cheese, butter and eggs, were not allowed, only fish. For practical reasons, breakfast was still eaten by working men, and was tolerated for young children, women, the elderly and the sick. According to Galen's dietetics it was considered hot and dry but these qualities were moderated when wine was watered down. Freshwater fish such as pike, carp, bream, perch, lamprey and trout were common. moderately warm and moist. We tend to think of medieval food as bland or boring. Common seasonings in the highly spiced sweet-sour repertory typical of upper-class medieval food included verjuice, wine and vinegar in combination with spices such as black pepper, saffron and ginger. "[51], The period between c. 500 and 1300 saw a major change in diet that affected most of Europe. Figs and dates were eaten all over Europe, but remained rather expensive imports in the north. Bread consumption was high in most of Western Europe by the 14th century. In a time when famine was commonplace and social hierarchies were often brutally enforced, food was an important marker of social status in a way that has no equivalent today in most developed countries. [107] Le Ménagier de Paris ("Parisian Household Book") written in 1393 includes a quiche recipe made with three kinds of cheese, eggs, beet greens, spinach, fennel fronds, and parsley. All foodstuffs were also classified on scales ranging from hot to cold and moist to dry, according to the four bodily humours theory proposed by Galen that dominated Western medical science from late Antiquity until the 17th century. Porridges were also made of every type of grain and could be served as desserts or dishes for the sick, if boiled in milk (or almond milk) and sweetened with sugar. It allowed lords to distance themselves further from the household and to enjoy more luxurious treats while serving inferior food to the rest of the household that still dined in the great hall. [13], The caloric content and structure of medieval diet varied over time, from region to region, and between classes. Food for the wealthy. These would be contained in small bags which were either steeped in wine or had liquid poured over them to produce hypocras and claré. Oats… Smoking or salting meat of livestock butchered in autumn was a common household strategy to avoid having to feed more animals than necessary during the lean winter months. Food was mostly served on plates or in stew pots, and diners would take their share from the dishes and place it on trenchers of stale bread, wood or pewter with the help of spoons or bare hands. Essential items such as ale and bread have their prices fixed by law. For those living in the manor house, there was a wide range of foods available. There were also portable ovens designed to be filled with food and then buried in hot coals, and even larger ones on wheels that were used to sell pies in the streets of medieval towns. Nobles dined on fresh game seasoned with exotic spices, and displayed refined table manners; rough laborers could make do with coarse barley bread, salt pork and beans and were not expected to display etiquette. Bynum (1987), p. 41; see also Scully (1995), pp. They could hunt rabbits or hares but might be punished for this by their lord. "[95] In the Late Middle Ages, the production of moonshine started to pick up, especially in the German-speaking regions. Political power was displayed not just by rule, but also by displaying wealth. Cooked dishes were heavily flavoured with valuable spices such as caraway, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger and pepper. Medieval foods and diets depended much on the class of the individual. At best, cooking times could be specified as the time it took to say a certain number of prayers or how long it took to walk around a certain field. Microbial modification was also encouraged, however, by a number of methods; grains, fruit and grapes were turned into alcoholic drinks thus killing any pathogens, and milk was fermented and curdled into a multitude of cheeses or buttermilk. Those engaged in particularly heavy physical labor, as well as sailors and soldiers, may have consumed 3,500 calories (15,000 kJ) or more per day. The Liber de Coquina, perhaps originating near Naples, and the Tractatus de modo preparandi have found a modern editor in Marianne Mulon, and a cookbook from Assisi found at Châlons-sur-Marne has been edited by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat. [84] However, the heavy influence from Arab and Mediterranean culture on medical science (particularly due to the Reconquista and the influx of Arabic texts) meant that beer was often disfavoured. Those who could afford it drank imported wine, but even for nobility in these areas it was common to drink beer or ale, particularly towards the end of the Middle Ages. The rank of a diner also decided how finely ground and white the salt was. Beer was just an acceptable alternative and was assigned various negative qualities. Pies filled with meats, eggs, vegetables, or fruit were common throughout Europe, as were turnovers, fritters, doughnuts, and many similar pastries. Many variants of mead have been found in medieval recipes, with or without alcoholic content. Easily digestible foods would be consumed first, followed by gradually heavier dishes. New techniques, like the shortcrust pie and the clarification of jelly with egg whites began to appear in recipes in the late 14th century and recipes began to include detailed instructions instead of being mere memory aids to an already skilled cook. Many of these were eaten daily by peasants and workers and were less prestigious than meat. During feasts, women often dined separately from men due to stupid social codes. [43] There were also cranes with adjustable hooks so that pots and cauldrons could easily be swung away from the fire to keep them from burning or boiling over. While locally grown herbs were less prestigious than spices, they were still used in upper-class food, but were then usually less prominent or included merely as coloring. Meat could be up to four times as expensive as bread. [62] Many varieties of cheese eaten today, like Dutch Edam, Northern French Brie and Italian Parmesan, were available and well known in late medieval times. Few in a kitchen, at those times, would have been able to read, and working texts have a low survival rate. [40], In most households, cooking was done on an open hearth in the middle of the main living area, to make efficient use of the heat. Stockfish, cod that was split down the middle, fixed to a pole and dried, was very common, though preparation could be time-consuming, and meant beating the dried fish with a mallet before soaking it in water. While Byzantine church officials took a hard-line approach, and discouraged any culinary refinement for the clergy, their Western counterparts were far more lenient. For example, sailors in 16th century England and Denmark received a ration of 1 imperial gallon (4.5 L; 1.2 US gal) of beer per day. Members of the lower class and peasants had to settle for salted pork and barley bread. This was considered less of a problem in a time of back-breaking toil, famine, and a greater acceptance—even desirability—of plumpness; only the poor or sick, and devout ascetics, were thin. Food is a defining element of any culture and medieval recipes are a great example of that. 46–7; Johanna Maria van Winter, "The Low Countries in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries" in, Simon Varey, "Medieval and Renaissance Italy, A. An early form of quiche can be found in Forme of Cury, a 14th-century recipe collection, as a Torte de Bry with a cheese and egg yolk filling. They were used in a variety of ways: whole, shelled or unshelled, slivered, ground and, most importantly, processed into almond milk. Only (olive) oil and wine had a comparable value, but both remained quite exclusive outside the warmer grape- and olive-growing regions. [15] Meat of "four-footed animals" was prohibited altogether, year-round, for everyone but the very weak and the sick. In the household of Henry Stafford in 1469, gentle members received 2.1 pounds (0.95 kg) of meat per meal, and all others received 1.04 pounds (0.47 kg), and everyone was given 0.4 pounds (0.18 kg) of bread and 1⁄4 imperial gallon (1.1 L; 0.30 US gal) of alcohol. [117], The recipes were often brief and did not give precise quantities. "Fish" to the medieval person was also a general name for anything not considered a proper land-living animal, including marine mammals such as whales and porpoises. [66] Further south, domesticated rabbits were commonly raised and bred both for their meat and fur. To sneak off to enjoy private company was considered a haughty and inefficient egotism in a world where people depended very much on each other. When speaking of medieval foods, most people think of one or two things: drab, tasteless foods, or the historically inaccurate meals served at medieval reenactments where patrons eat sans utensils while watching some sort of entertaining reenactment. [27], The most common grains were rye, barley, buckwheat, millet and oats. [59], Milk was an important source of animal protein for those who could not afford meat. The most common and simplest method was to expose foodstuffs to heat or wind to remove moisture, thereby prolonging the durability if not the flavor of almost any type of food from cereals to meats; the drying of food worked by drastically reducing the activity of various water-dependent microorganisms that cause decay. The importance of bread as a daily staple meant that bakers played a crucial role in any medieval community. The lower classes consumed cabbage cooked and fermented. [22] Monks consumed 6,000 calories (25,000 kJ) per day on "normal" days, and 4,500 calories (19,000 kJ) per day when fasting. In warm climates this was mostly achieved by leaving food out in the sun, and in the cooler northern climates by exposure to strong winds (especially common for the preparation of stockfish), or in warm ovens, cellars, attics, and at times even in living quarters. By Analida Braeger. [85], The intoxicating effect of beer was believed to last longer than that of wine, but it was also admitted that it did not create the "false thirst" associated with wine. Medieval Food for Peasants. Melitta Weiss Adamson, "Medieval Germany" in, Terence Scully, "Tempering Medieval Food" in, Eszter Kisbán, "Food Habits in Change: The Example of Europe" in, Barbara Santich, "The Evolution of Culinary Techniques in the Medieval Era" in, Liane Plouvier, "La gastronomie dans les Pays-Bas méridionaux sous les ducs de Bourgogne: le témoignage des livres de cuisine". Though rich in protein, the calorie-to-weight ratio of meat was less than that of plant food. They were of particular value for monasteries, because newborn rabbits were allegedly declared fish (or, at least, not-meat) by the church and therefore they could be eaten during Lent. Bakers who were caught tampering with weights or adulterating dough with less expensive ingredients could receive severe penalties. [121], Foods, eating habits, and cooking methods of various European cultures during the Middle Ages. During Lent, kings and schoolboys, commoners and nobility, all complained about being deprived of meat for the long, hard weeks of solemn contemplation of their sins. [106] Anglo-Norman cookbooks are full of recipes for sweet and savory custards, potages, sauces and tarts with strawberries, cherries, apples and plums. Extant recipe collections show that gastronomy in the Late Middle Ages developed significantly. It was common for a community to have shared ownership of an oven to ensure that the bread baking essential to everyone was made communal rather than private. The nobility avoided garlic and onions, because of their strong taste and smell, preferring instead to use the milder leek to make soups, stews and sauces. [25], Olive oil was a ubiquitous ingredient in Mediterranean cultures, but remained an expensive import in the north where oils of poppy, walnut, hazel and filbert were the most affordable alternatives. While meat was destined for the landlords, milk and eggs were generally more accessible to the peasants. A medieval recipe reflects the culture of the people of its time. The centrality of bread in religious rituals such as the Eucharist meant that it enjoyed an especially high prestige among foodstuffs. Peas were considered a staple food among the rich and the poor alike. [64] Far more common was pork, as domestic pigs required less attention and cheaper feed. Citrus fruits (though not the kinds most common today) and pomegranates were common around the Mediterranean. Wheat was for the governing classes. The lack of recipes for many basic vegetable dishes, such as potages, has been interpreted not to mean that they were absent from the meals of the nobility, but rather that they were considered so basic that they did not require recording. From the 8th to the 11th centuries, the proportion of various cereals in the diet rose from about a third to three quarters. French cardinal Jacques de Vitry's sermons from the early-13th century describe sellers of cooked meat as an outright health hazard. From the south, the Arabs also brought the art of ice cream making that produced sorbet and several examples of sweet cakes and pastries; cassata alla Siciliana (from Arabic qas'ah, the term for the terracotta bowl with which it was shaped), made from marzipan, sponge cake and sweetened ricotta and cannoli alla Siciliana, originally cappelli di turchi ('Turkish hats'), fried, chilled pastry tubes with a sweet cheese filling. A type of refined cooking developed in the late Middle Ages that set the standard among the nobility all over Europe. In the early-15th century, the English monk John Lydgate articulated the beliefs of many of his contemporaries by proclaiming that "Hoot ffir [fire] and smoke makith many an angry cook. This meant that food had to be "tempered" according to its nature by an appropriate combination of preparation and mixing certain ingredients, condiments and spices; fish was seen as being cold and moist, and best cooked in a way that heated and dried it, such as frying or oven baking, and seasoned with hot and dry spices; beef was dry and hot and should therefore be boiled; pork was hot and moist and should therefore always be roasted. Milk was also available, but usually reserved for younger people. The only sweet food eaten by Medieval peasants was the berries, nuts and honey that they collected from the woods. Up to the start of the Middle Ages when William the Conqueror and the Normans invaded England the only real influence on the types of food consumed had been from the Romans. Medieval physicians feared that these foods were the cause of putrified fevers (though we now know this to be false). [35] Overall, most evidence suggests that medieval dishes had a fairly high fat content, or at least when fat could be afforded. Many of the poor city dwellers had to live in cramped conditions without access to a kitchen or even a hearth, and many did not own the equipment for basic cooking. [12], The most ideal food was that which most closely matched the humour of human beings, i.e. Medieval Food was obsessed with healthful eating, though the beliefs that guided cooking and eating are very different from the beliefs that underline today’s. Cereals were the basic food, primarily as bread. Dietary and behavioral inferences from dental pathology and non-masticatory wear on dentitions from a British medieval town. [2] Dependence on wheat remained significant throughout the medieval era, and spread northward with the rise of Christianity. Over 70 collections of medieval recipes survive today, written in several major European languages.[118]. When Pope Benedict XII ruled that at least half of all monks should be required to eat in the refectory on any given day, monks responded by excluding the sick and those invited to the abbot's table from the reckoning. Expensive salt, on the other hand, looked like the standard commercial salt common today. [108] The choice of ingredients may have been limited, but that did not mean that meals were smaller. But some medieval foods were so strongly flavored that we would find them unpalatable today, especially because people back then loved to mix fragrances like rose water or lavender with their dinners. Equally common, and used to complement the tanginess of these ingredients, were (sweet) almonds. Nobles were careful not to eat meat on fast days, but still dined in style; fish replaced meat, often as imitation hams and bacon; almond milk replaced animal milk as an expensive non-dairy alternative; faux eggs made from almond milk were cooked in blown-out eggshells, flavoured and coloured with exclusive spices. My husband has done medieval enacting for decades and I joined in the fun when we got together four years ago. By the 14th century, bagged spice mixes could be bought ready-made from spice merchants.[83]. [97] While pepper was the most common spice, the most exclusive (though not the most obscure in its origin) was saffron, used as much for its vivid yellow-red color as for its flavor, for according to the humours, yellow signified hot and dry, valued qualities;[98] turmeric provided a yellow substitute, and touches of gilding at banquets supplied both the medieval love of ostentatious show and Galenic dietary lore: at the sumptuous banquet that Cardinal Riario offered the daughter of the King of Naples in June 1473, the bread was gilded. [54], While grains were the primary constituent of most meals, vegetables such as cabbage, chard, onions, garlic and carrots were common foodstuffs. [116] Though it is assumed that they describe real dishes, food scholars do not believe they were used as cookbooks might be today, as a step-by-step guide through the cooking procedure that could be kept at hand while preparing a dish. [4], Medieval society was highly stratified. Even if this limited the combinations of food they could prepare, there was still ample room for artistic variation by the chef. All animal products, including eggs and dairy products (but not fish), were generally prohibited during Lent and fast. Just about every part of the pig was eaten, including ears, snout, tail, tongue, and womb. Many medieval recipes specifically warn against oversalting and there were recommendations for soaking certain products in water to get rid of excess salt. [102], Surviving medieval recipes frequently call for flavoring with a number of sour, tart liquids. [14] Even among the lay nobility of medieval England, grain provided 65–70% of calories in the early-14th century,[15] though a generous provision of meat and fish was included, and their consumption of meat increased in the aftermath of the Black Death as well. Since the sick were exempt from fasting, there often evolved the notion that fasting restrictions only applied to the main dining area, and many Benedictine friars would simply eat their fast day meals in what was called the misericord (at those times) rather than the refectory. Butter, another important dairy product, was in popular use in the regions of Northern Europe that specialized in cattle production in the latter half of the Middle Ages, the Low Countries and Southern Scandinavia. [41] Few medieval kitchens survive as they were "notoriously ephemeral structures". The sixth-century Rule of Saint Benedict places a premium on silence and proscribes speaking at various times, including during meals. [91], By modern standards, the brewing process was relatively inefficient, but capable of producing quite strong alcohol when that was desired. Meat Dishes - Beef. In times of grain shortages or outright famine, grains could be supplemented with cheaper and less desirable substitutes like chestnuts, dried legumes, acorns, ferns, and a wide variety of more or less nutritious vegetable matter.[53]. A typical procedure was farcing (from the Latin farcio 'to cram'), to skin and dress an animal, grind up the meat and mix it with spices and other ingredients and then return it into its own skin, or mold it into the shape of a completely different animal. In addition to these staple sources, Medieval food did resemble ours in ways that many probably wouldn’t assume. ^ Towle, Ian; Davenport, Carole; Irish, Joel; De Groote, Isabelle (2017-11-19). The Peninsula" in, The Rabbit and the Medieval East Anglian Economy, Mark Bailey, All Things Medieval: An Encyclopedia of the Medieval World, Ruth A Johnston, p. 19, Melitta Weiss Adamson, "The Greco-Roman World" in, B. M. S. Campbell, Mark Overton (1991), Land, labour, and livestock: historical studies in European agricultural productivity, p. 167. [24], The regional specialties that are a feature of early modern and contemporary cuisine were not in evidence in the sparser documentation that survives. Aristocratic estates provided the wealthy with freshly killed meat and river fish, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. [57] Since sugar and honey were both expensive, it was common to include many types of fruit in dishes that called for sweeteners of some sort. [103], Salt was ubiquitous and indispensable in medieval cooking. [28] Minor meals and snacks were common (although also disliked by the church), and working men commonly received an allowance from their employers in order to buy nuncheons, small morsels to be eaten during breaks. All classes commonly drank ale or beer. Each monk would be regularly sent either to the misericord or to the refectory. In medieval Poland, mead had a status equivalent to that of imported luxuries, such as spices and wines. Only the cheapest cuts of meat were available to them. [38] In some recipe collections, alternative ingredients were assigned with more consideration to the humoral nature than what a modern cook would consider to be similarity in taste. Cod and herring were mainstays among the northern populations; dried, smoked or salted, they made their way far inland, but a wide variety of other saltwater and freshwater fish was also eaten.[1]. A nobleman's diet was very different from the diets of those lower down the social scale. The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II examined barnacles and noted no evidence of any bird-like embryo in them, and the secretary of Leo of Rozmital wrote a very skeptical account of his reaction to being served barnacle goose at a fish-day dinner in 1456. The regional cuisines of medieval Europe were the results of differences in climate, seasonal food variations, political administration and religious customs that varied across the continent. Mulon, "Deux traités d'art culinaire médié", The manuscripts from which early books were printed rarely survive, as a scan of introductory materials in the, A generic Roman term for a cookery book, as, "Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in ancient clergymen", "Did St. Peter Damian Die in 1073 ? Distillation was believed by medieval scholars to produce the essence of the liquid being purified, and the term aqua vitae ('water of life') was used as a generic term for all kinds of distillates. However, for most people, the diet tended to be high-carbohydrate, with most of the budget spent on, and the majority of calories provided by, cereals and alcohol (such as beer). [11] German-speaking areas had a particular fondness for krapfen: fried pastries and dough with various sweet and savory fillings. Medieval food is a big part of the feasting at our house, especially the slow-roasted meats, homemade cheeses, sausages, and breads. [105], The term "dessert" comes from the Old French desservir 'to clear a table', literally 'to un-serve', and originated during the Middle Ages. Another method was to seal the food by cooking it in sugar or honey or fat, in which it was then stored. More intense agriculture on ever-increasing acreage resulted in a shift from animal products, like meat and dairy, to various grains and vegetables as the staple of the majority population. A wide range of mollusks including oysters, mussels and scallops were eaten by coastal and river-dwelling populations, and freshwater crayfish were seen as a desirable alternative to meat during fish days. Peasants also consumed carrots, turnips and beetroots boiled or as soup. Spiced wines were usually made by mixing an ordinary (red) wine with an assortment of spices such as ginger, cardamom, pepper, grains of paradise, nutmeg, cloves and sugar. Knives were used at the table, but most people were expected to bring their own, and only highly favored guests would be given a personal knife. In addition to wild deer, boar, duck and pheasant, the nobility also ate beef, mutton, lamb, pork and chicken.