Medieval Daily Meals
The quantity, quality and type of food consumed by Royalty and Nobility differed considerably from the diet of the Lower Classes. The number of courses and variety of Middle Ages foods consumed by the Upper Classes included ingredients which were far too expensive for the majority of English people. The nobility had acquired a taste for spicy and also sweet foods and they could afford the expensive spices and sugar required to create these exotic recipes. Both the Upper and Lower classes generally had three meals a day but the commoners obviously far less elaborate than the Upper Classes. Menus for the wealthy were extensive, but only small portions were taken. A change in society emerged during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages when the travel prompted by the Crusades led to a new and unprecedented interest in beautiful objects and elegant manners. This change extended to food preparation and presentation resulting in fabulous food arrangements and exotic colors and flavorings.
Royalty and the nobility would eat their food from silverware, and even gold dishes. Lower classes would eat their food from wooden or horn dishes. Every person had their own knife. Spoons were rarely used as any liquid food, such as soups, were drunk from a cup. Forks were introduced in the late 14th century. The kitchens in large houses or castles were usually situated some distance from the Great Hall and therefore food was often served cold. The number of daily meals eaten during the day by the Upper Classes were as follows:
Breakfast - Food and drink generally served between 6 -7
Dinner - Food and drink generally served at mid-morning between 12 - 2
Supper - Was a substantial meal and food and drink was generally served between 6 -7 and accompanied by various forms of entertainment
Medieval Daily Meals for the Upper Classes
The daily meals for the Upper Classes during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages provided a huge variety of different types of food. Vegetables were limited for the Upper Classes. Only Lords and Nobles were allowed to hunt deer, boar, hares and rabbits and these foods were therefore used in the daily meals of the nobility. Food items which came from the ground were only are considered fit for the poor. Only vegetables such as rape, onions, garlic and leeks graced a Noble's table. A type of bread called Manchet, which was a bread loaf made of wheat flour, was consumed by the Upper classes. Food was highly spiced. These expensive spices consumed by the wealthy included Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg, Ginger, Saffron, Cardamon (aka Cardamom ), Coriander, Cumin, Garlic, Turmeric, Mace, Anise, Caraway and Mustard.
The staple diet of the lower classes were bread, pottage (a type of stew), dairy products such as milk and cheese products and meats such as beef, pork or lamb. The punishment for poaching could result in death or having hands cut off, so the Lower Classes would only poach if they were desperate. The Lower Classes ate rye and barley bread. The poor could not afford to buy the spices so enjoyed by the wealthy. Biscuits were invented by the Crusaders and these were eaten as a convenience food by the workers of the Middle Ages. The 'Ploughman's Lunch' of bread and cheese was also a staple diet of Lower Class workers. Communal ovens were available in villages for baking.
Fasting During the Medieval Times of the Middle Ages
People of the Middle Ages were highly religious and at certain times the eating of meat was banned. This was not an occasional ban. Certain religious observances banned the eating of meat on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Meat was also banned during the religious seasons of Lent and Advent. Meat was also declined on the eves of many religious holidays. Fasting and abstaining from eating meat was practised for over half the days of the Medieval year.
Medieval Food Preservation
It was important for the Medieval people of the Middle Ages to preserve food in the summer to be eaten during during the winter months. Foods which could not be preserved were only eaten when they were in season. It was not economic to keep and feed animals during the winter so animals were slaughtered in the autumn. The meat during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages was preserved in salt. Some historians believe that pepper was also used in food preservation during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages, however pepper was even more expensive than salt that its use for such a purpose must have been extremely limited.
The use of Salt in Medieval Food Preservation
There were two methods of food preservation using salt as a preservative. Dry-salting where the meat or fish was buried in salt and brine-curing where meat was soaked in salt water. Each year households prepared tubs of a thick saline bath and undertook to preserve fresh meats for the coming winter. The problem was that any food preserved in salt had a constant salt taste. Methods were therefore introduced to disguise the salty taste. Spices form the East were added to cooking recipes. These spices included Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg, Ginger, Saffron, Cardamom, Coriander, Cumin, Garlic, Turmeric, Mace, Anise, Caraway and Mustard. Food was also served with a variety of sauces which also disguised the salt taste. Salted meats and fish were generally rinsed in several changes of liquid before they were added to a dish.
Methods and Techniques of Medieval Food Preservation - Pickling, Gelatine, Smoking
There were several other methods used during the process of Medieval food preservation:
Pickling - Pickling in a salt brine was the standard method of preserving meats and fish. Typical pickling agents included brine (high in salt) and vinegar
Gelatine - Jelly or gelatine was used for preserving cooked meat or fresh fish. Food may be preserved by cooking in a material, such as gelatine, that solidifies to form a gel. Some foods naturally form a protein gel when cooked such as eels
Smoked Food - Wood smoked food was a method use to preserve pork or fish
Drying - Most meats and fruit can be preserved through the drying process. Drying is also the normal means of preservation for cereal grains such as wheat, oats, barley and rye.
Candies - Fruits & nuts could be candied in order to prolong their life
Honey - Was used a preservative in mead
Principle of Medieval Food Preservation
The principle of food preservation was to treat food in such a way as to safely stop, or slow down, the spoilage of food. The preservation methods require the food to be sealed after treatment.
Medieval Diet
Did the people of the Middle Ages eat food which constituted a good balanced diet? No! And especially not for the rich! The wealthy nobles ate few fresh vegetables and little fresh fruit - unprepared food of this variety was viewed with some suspicion. Fruit was only usually served in pies or was preserved in honey. Vegetables and fresh fruit were eaten by the poor - vegetables would have been included in some form of stew, soup or pottage. Vegetables which came from the ground were only are considered fit to feed the poor. Only vegetables such as rape, onions, garlic and leeks graced a Noble's table of the Medieval era. Dairy products were also deemed as inferior foods and therefore only usually eaten by the poor. Little was known about nutrition and the Medieval diet of the rich Nobles lacked Vitamin C and fibre. This led to an assortment of health problems including bad teeth, skin diseases, scurvy and rickets.
The food and diet of the wealthy was extensive, but only small portions were taken. A change in society emerged during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages when the travel prompted by the Crusades led to a new and unprecedented interest in beautiful objects and elegant manners. This change extended to food preparation and presentation resulting in fabulous food arrangements and exotic colors and flavorings. Their food was highly spiced. These expensive spices consumed by the wealthy included Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg, Ginger, Saffron, Cardamon (aka Cardamom ), Coriander, Cumin, Garlic, Turmeric, Mace, Anise, Caraway and Mustard. The diet of the Upper Classes would have included:
Manchet bread
A vast variety of meats and game including venison, beef, pork, goat, lamb, rabbit, hare, mutton, swans, herons and poultry
Fish - fresh and salt water fish. The range of fish included herring, salmon, eel, whiting, plaice, cod, trout and pike
Shell fish included crab, oysters, mussels and cockles
Spices
Cheese
Fruits
Limited number of vegetables
Medieval Diet of the Lower Classes/Peasants
The Medieval Diet of the peasants was very much home grown. They were unable to afford luxury items such as spices and only Lords and Nobles were allowed to hunt deer, boar, hares and rabbits. The punishment for poaching could result in death or having hands cut off. The staple diet of the lower classes included:
Rye or barley bread bread
Pottage ( a type of stew)
Dairy products such as milk and cheese products
Meat such as beef, pork or lamb
Fish - if they had access to freshwater rivers or the sea
Home grown vegetables and herbs
Fruit from local trees or bushes
Nuts
Honey
The methods of Cooking food during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages depended on the place where you lived. The majority of the lower classes lived in villages in poor, small huts. If you were wealthy or of the Upper classes your home would be in a castle or great house. The castles had great kitchens serviced by many serfs or servants. The poor had to cook in their small hut over an open fire.
Cooking Food in the Castles
The ground floor of the castle was the place where the kitchen and storerooms were located. Castle Kitchens were included cooking ovens for baking and huge fireplaces for smoking and roasting food. They also had a water supply complete with a sink and drainage. The kitchens were built against the curtain wall of the castle , in the inner bailey and connected to rooms called the Buttery, the Bottlery, the pantry and the storerooms:
The Buttery was originally intended for storing and dispensing beverages, especially ale. The person who presided over the buttery was called the Butler. Next to the buttery another room was added later called the Bottlery.
The Bottlery was intended for storing and dispensing wines and other expensive provisions. It was usually located between the Great Hall and the Kitchen
The Pantry was intended for the storage of perishable food products
The Storerooms in castles were often located over the buttery and pantry and were used to store non-perishable kitchen items and products
Methods of Cooking Food in Medieval Times
The Cooking Methods used during the Medieval era included:
Spit roasting
Baking
Boiling
Smoking
Salting
Frying
Cooking Food in Medieval Times - Cooking Utensils
The majority of cooking food during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages was conducted over an open fire. Useful cooking utensils for this method of cooking were pots, pans, kettles, skillets and cauldrons. To prepare the food a range of knives, ladles, meat forks and scissors were used. The mortar and pestle were essential cooking utensils for cooks who used nuts spices in their recipes
The people of the Middle Ages enjoyed to drink, and as water was often unclean, it was a necessity. The poor drank ale, mead or cider and the rich were able to drink many different types of wines. Beer is not only one of the oldest fermenting beverages used by man, but it is also the one which was most in vogue in Medieval Times.
Medieval Drink - Ale and Beer
Under the Romans, the real beer, was made with barley; but, at a later period, all sorts of grain was indiscriminately used; and it was only towards the end of the sixteenth century that the flower or seed of hops to the oats or barley was added. Another sort of beer was known during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages, which was called godale. This name was derived from the two German words god and ael, which mean "good beer" and was of a stronger description than the ordinary beer. When, on the return from the Crusades, the use of spice had become the fashion, beverages as well as the food were loaded with spice, including beer. Allspice, juniper, resin, apples, bread-crumbs, sage, lavender, gentian, cinnamon, and laurel were each thrown into it. The object of these various mixtures was naturally to obtain high-flavoured beers. Other beers, called 'Small Beer' were sweetened simply with honey, or scented with ambergris or raspberries.
Medieval Drink - Cider
Cider (in Latin sicera) and perry can also both claim a very ancient origin. Cider is a drink made of apples sometimes this was made by pouring water on apples, and steeping them, so as to extract a sort of half-sour, half-sweet drink.
Medieval Drink - Wine
The English experimented with mixing resin with their wines to preserve them and prevent them from turning sour, as the temperature of their country was not warm enough thoroughly to ripen the grape. It was not very successful and most wines were imported. In 1372, a merchant fleet of two hundred came from London to Bordeaux for wine. In the 13th century, in the "Battle of Wines" we find those of Aquila, Spain, and, above all, those of Cyprus, spoken of in high terms. A century later, Eustace Deschamps praised the Rhine wines, and those of Greece, Malmsey, and Grenache. In an edict of Charles VI. mention is also made of the muscatel, rosette, and the wine of Lieppe. Generally, the Malmsey was an artificial preparation, which had neither the colour nor taste of the Cyprian wine. Malmsey wine was made with water, honey, clary juice, beer grounds, and brandy. At first the same name was used for the natural wine, mulled and spiced, which was produced in the island of Madeira from the grapes which the Portuguese brought there from Cyprus in 1420.
Many wines were made with infusions of wormwood, myrtle, hyssop, rosemary which were mixed with sweetened wine and flavoured with honey. The most celebrated of these beverages bore the pretentious name of "nectar;" those composed of spices, Asiatic aromatics, and honey, were generally called "white wine".
Medieval Drink - Fruit Wine
The name of wine was also given to drinks composed of the juices of certain fruits, and in which grapes were in no way used. These were the cherry, the currant, the raspberry, and the pomegranate wines; also the moré, made with the mulberry. There were also sour wines, which were made by pouring water on the refuse grapes after the wine had been extracted; also the drinks made from filberts, milk of almonds, the syrups of apricots and strawberries, and cherry and raspberry waters, all of which were refreshing, and were principally used in summer.
Medieval Drink - Mead
Honey was used to make a sweet alcoholic drink called mead which was drunk by all classes. Wine was generally imported although some fruit wines were produced in England. A form of cider referred to as 'Apple-wine' was also produced. Ales were brewed with malt and water, while beer contained hops that held a bitter flavor. Other flavors were added to ales and beers such as bayberries, orris, or long pepper. Consumption of weak, low-alcohol drinks at this time has been estimated at around one gallon per person per day.
 |
| Spices trade - Lisbon 1562 |
Crusades introduced different Spices during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages food changed considerably during the Medieval period and much of this was due to the different spices that were brought back from the Crusades. Kings, Knights, Lords and other crusaders, including many women, had travelled 3000 miles to reach the Holy Lands. And during their travels they were introduced to the unusual spices which were added to different foods by different cultures. These new ideas about Middle Ages food were brought back by the Crusaders and new foods and spices were introduced to the European menu. Up to this point the staple diet consisted of foods that were home grown or occasionally imported from Europe.
Spices in Medieval Times - Trade Centres
The spices introduced during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages came from the Eastern lands which the Crusaders travelled through to reach Jerusalem. Commerce changed to include different products, including spices from Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt, Damascus in Syria, Baghdad & Mosul in Iraq and other great cities which were important trading centre because of their strategic location, astride the trade routes to India, Persia and the Mediterranean. The spices were then carried across the Mediterranean to the Italian seaports to the major towns and cities of Europe.
Spices in Medieval Times - List of Spices
There is no clear distinction between herbs and spices. Herbs are usually derived from leaves or seeds) and Spices are usually derived from flowers, fruits, or bark of tropical-origin plants. The spices introduced the Medieval times included those detailed on the following list. All of these spices were imported to Europe:
Pepper - The most sought after spice. Black pepper was the most expensive. Imported from Asia and later Africa.
Cinnamon - A Spice made from bark of the Cinnamomum zeylanicum
Cloves - Cloves were indigenous to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, of Indonesia
Nutmeg - Spice made from seeds also indigenous to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, of Indonesia
Ginger - Ginger was a spice also known as 'Grains of Paradise', also called Atare Pepper, was used as a substitute for the more expensive black pepper during the 1300 and 1400's
Saffron - The dried aromatic stigmas of this plant, was used to color foods and as a cooking spice and dyes
Cardamon (aka Cardamom ) was a spice made from the whole or ground dried fruit a plant of the ginger family, indigenous to India and Sri Lanka
Coriander - A Spice made from seeds and leaves and a relative of the parsley family
Cumin - Spice made from the dried fruit of a plant in the parsley family
Garlic - A spice mported by the Romans
Turmeric - Spice made from a root, related to ginger and has a vivid yellow-orange color
Mace - A spice made from the dried fleshy covering of the nutmeg seed
Anise - A liquorice flavored plant whose seeds and leaves are used to spice a variety of dishes
Caraway - Caraway or Persian cumin are the small, crescent-shaped dried seeds from a herb
Mustard - A spice with a pungent flavor, either used as seeds or ground
Uses of Spices in Medieval Times
Joining the Crusades meant that people during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages experienced extensive travel and a change in society started to emerge when they returned to their homes. Travel certainly broadened the mind of the Crusaders who developed a new and unprecedented interest in beautiful objects and elegant manners. The importation of spices resulted in a highly spiced cuisine for the nobility and spices were seen as a sign of wealth. The higher the rank of a household, the greater its use of spices. Spices were not only extensively used in the preparation of food but they were also passed around on a 'spice platter'. Guests at banquets took additional spices from the spice platter and added them to their already spiced food. Following a great meal the royalty and nobility of the Middle Ages would say Grace, wash their hands and then drink malmsey or other wines. These drinks were accompanied by another choice of spices which intended to aid digestion. Many of the wines also contained spices! The cost of spices was so great that they were presented as gifts.
Salt in Medieval Times
Salt was considered so important it was stored in the Tower of London. The Tower of London is a castle which consisted of many towers. One of the towers is called the 'Salt Tower'.
The Salt Tower was initially called the Julius Caesar’s Tower and then Baliol's Tower. The tower was given the lasting nickname of the 'Salt Tower' during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages when salt was extremely expensive and only afforded by the higher Nobility. Salt was stored in this building. The Medieval Lords sat on the dais at the 'high table' and their commoner servants at lower trestle tables. The salt was placed in the centre of the high table and only those of the appropriate rank had access to it. Those less favoured on the lower tables were "beneath the salt".
We have all heard about the extravagant feasts and banquets of the Medieval times of the Middle Ages. Menus for the wealthy were extensive, but only small portions were taken. Social etiquette dictated that an extensive choice of foods should be made available. A change in society had emerged during the era of the Middles Ages when travel, prompted by the Crusades, led to a new and unprecedented interest in beautiful objects and elegant manners. This change extended to food preparation and presentation resulting in fabulous food arrangements with exotic colors and flavorings - especially when preparing a Middle Ages banquet which was fit for a king.
Serving Medieval Banquets
Serving these elaborate banquets and organisation:
The different provisions necessary for food were usually entrusted to the squires of the kitchen, and were chosen, purchased, and paid for by one or more of these officials, assisted by the cooks
The dishes prepared by the cooks were placed, by the help of the esquires, on dressers in the kitchen until the moment of serving and carried to the tables in the Great Hall of the castle
The Great Table was set on a dais which was strictly reserved for the persons of distinction, often covered with a table cloth
Guests were shown to their seats after washing their hands at the entrance of the Great Hall
Buffets - these were a series of wooden planks with a number of stepped shelves. The number of shelves indicated rank! The more shelves the higher the rank. The 'Stepped Buffets' were covered with rich drapes and assembled for use at Banquets and Feasts
The Nobles finest plates of gold or silver were displayed on the 'Buffet' and servants served from them
The dishes, consisted of three, four, five, and even six courses
The main courses were sometimes made to imitate a sort of theatrical representation
Coloured jellies of swans, of peacocks, or of pheasants adorned with their feathers, having the beak and feet gilt, were served as a speciality and placed on the middle of the table on a sort of pedestal
French Medieval Banquets
The historian of French cookery, Legrand d'Aussy, describes a great feast given in 1455 by the Count of Anjou, third son of King Louis II of Sicily. This description illustrates the theatrical representation of the banquet:
On the table was placed a centre-piece, which represented a green lawn, surrounded with large peacocks' feathers and green branches, to which were tied violets and other sweet-smelling flowers
In the middle of this lawn a fortress was placed, covered with silver
The fortress was hollow, and formed a sort of cage, in which several live birds were shut up, their tufts and feet being gilt
On its tower, which was gilt, three banners were placed
The first course consisted of a civet of hare, a quarter of stag which had been a night in salt, a stuffed chicken, and a loin of veal
The two last dishes were covered with a German sauce, with gilt sugar-plums, and pomegranate seeds
At each end, outside the green lawn, was an enormous pie, surmounted with smaller pies, which formed a crown
The crust of the large pies were silvered all round and gilt at the top
Each pie contained a whole roe-deer, a gosling, three capons, six chickens, ten pigeons, one young rabbit, and, no doubt to serve as seasoning or stuffing, a minced loin of veal, two pounds of fat, and twenty-six hard-boiled eggs, covered with saffron and flavoured with cloves
For the three following courses, there was a roe-deer, a pig, a sturgeon cooked in parsley and vinegar, and covered with powdered ginger
A kid goat, two goslings, twelve chickens, as many pigeons, six young rabbits, two herons, a leveret, a fat capon stuffed, four chickens covered with yolks of eggs and sprinkled with spice, a wild boar, some wafers and stars
A jelly, part white and part red, representing the crests of the honored guests
Cream covered with fennel seeds and preserved in sugar
A white cream, cheese in slices, and strawberries
And, lastly, plums stewed in rose-water
Besides these four courses, there was a fifth, entirely composed of the prepared wines then in vogue, and of preserves. These consisted of fruits and various sweet pastries.
Medieval Recipes
Traditionally, Middle Ages Recipes were passed from one generation to the next by word of mouth, when the art of cooking and recipes was passed verbally form mother to daughter or from master to apprentice. The first recipe books were printed in England during the 1500's - but these would have certainly included the recipes from the Medieval times of the Middle Ages.
Old Medieval Recipes
The following recipes are written in totally different way to today's recipe books and taken from:
The Compleat CookExpertly Prescribing The Most Ready Wayes, Whether Italian, Spanish Or French, For Dressing Of Flesh And Fish, Ordering Of Sauces Or Making Of Pastry Author: AnonymousPrinted by E.B. for Nath. Brook , at the Angel in Cornhill, 1658These old recipes were written in totally different way to modern recipe books. There were no lists of ingredients - these were included as part of the text. Food and ingredient measurements were extremely basic - quantities were not often specified. Temperature control was difficult and therefore not specified. Cooking times were vague - and left to the cook to decide and it was always assumed that the reader would already have some knowledge of cooking.
Medieval Recipe for Dressed Salmon
An excellent way of dressing Fish. Take a piece of fresh Salmon, and wash it clean in a little Vinegar and water, and let it lie a while in it, then put it into a great Pipkin with a cover, and put to it some six spoonfuls of water and four of Vinegar, and as much of white-wine, a good deal of Salt a handful of sweet herbs, a little white Sorrel, a few Cloves, a little stick of Cinamon, a little Mace; put all these in a Pipkin close, and set it in a Kettle of seething water, and there let it stew three hours. You may do Carps, Eeles, Trouts, &c. this way, and they Tast also to your mind.
Medieval Recipe for Sheeps Feet
To fricate Sheeps-feet. Take Sheeps-feet, slit the bone, and pick them very clean, then put them in a Frying-pan, with a Ladlefull of strong Broth, a piece of Butter, and a little Salt, after they have fryed a while, put to them a little Parsley, green Chibals, a little young Speremint and Tyme, all shred very small, and a little beaten Pepper; when you think they are fryed almost enough, have a lear made for them with the yolks of two or three Eggs, some Gravy of Mutton, a little Nutmegg, and juyce of a Lemon wrung therein, and put this lear to the Sheeps feet as they fry in the Pan, then toss them once or twice, and put them forth into the Dish you mean to serve them in.
Medieval Recipe for Currant Cake
A Singular Receit for making a Cake. Take halfe a peck of flower, two pound of Butter, mingle it with the flower, three Nutmegs, & a little Mace, Cinamon, Ginger, halfe a pound of Sugar, leave some out to strew on the top, mingle these well with the flower and Butter, five pound of Currans well washed, and pickt, and dryed in a warm Cloth, a wine pint of Ale yeast, six Eggs, leave out the whites, a quart of Cream boyled and almost cold againe: work it well together and let it be very lith, lay it in a warm Cloth, and let it lye half an hour against the fire. Then make it up with the white of an Egg, a little Butter, Rosewater and Sugar; Ice it over and put it into the Oven, and let it stand one whole hour and a half.
Medieval Feast
We have all heard about the extravagant feasts of the Medieval era. A menu for a feast of the wealthy was extensive, but only small portions were taken. Social etiquette dictated that an extensive choice of foods should be made available at a Medieval feast. A change in society had emerged during the Medieval era when travel, prompted by the Crusades, led to a new and unprecedented interest in beautiful objects and elegant manners. This cultural change extended to food preparation and presentation resulting in fabulous food arrangements with exotic colors and flavorings - especially when preparing a Medieval feast which was fit for a king.
Serving the Medieval Feast
Serving the Medieval Feast took careful planning, hard work and organisation:
The different foods required for the Medieval feast were usually entrusted to the squires of the kitchen, and were chosen, purchased, and paid for by one or more of these officials, assisted by the cooks.
The dishes for the feast were prepared by the cooks and were placed by the esquires on dressers in the kitchen
At the start of the Medieval feast the food was carried to the tables in the Great Hall of the castle
The Great Table was set on a dais which was strictly reserved for the persons of distinction
Guests were shown to their seats after washing their hands at the entrance of the Great Hall
Buffets - these were a series of wooden planks with a number of stepped shelves. The number of shelves indicated rank - the more shelves the higher the rank
'Stepped Buffets' were covered with rich drapes and assembled for use at the Medieval Feast
The finest plates of gold or silver were displayed on the 'Buffet' and servants served from them
The Medieval feast consisted of three, four, five, and even six courses
The main courses were sometimes made to imitate a sort of theatrical representation
Coloured jellies of swans, of peacocks, or of pheasants adorned with their feathers, having the beak and feet gilt, were served as a speciality and placed on the middle of the table on a sort of pedestal
French Medieval Feast
The historian of French cookery, Legrand d'Aussy, describes a great feast given in 1455 by the Count of Anjou, the third son of King Louis II of Sicily. This description illustrates the theatrical representation of the Medieval feast:
On the table was placed a centre-piece, which represented a green lawn, surrounded with large peacocks' feathers and green branches, to which were tied violets and other sweet-smelling flowers
In the middle of this lawn a fortress was placed, covered with silver
The fortress was hollow, and formed a sort of cage, in which several live birds were shut up, their tufts and feet being gilt
On its tower, which was gilt, three banners were placed
The first course consisted of a civet of hare, a quarter of stag which had been a night in salt, a stuffed chicken, and a loin of veal
The two last dishes were covered with a German sauce, with gilt sugar-plums, and pomegranate seeds
At each end, outside the green lawn, was an enormous pie, surmounted with smaller pies, which formed a crown. The crust of the large pies were silvered all round and gilt at the top. Each pie contained a whole roe-deer, a gosling, three capons, six chickens, ten pigeons, one young rabbit, and, no doubt to serve as seasoning or stuffing, a minced loin of veal, two pounds of fat, and twenty-six hard-boiled eggs, covered with saffron and flavoured with cloves
For the three following courses of the feast there was a roe-deer, a pig, a sturgeon cooked in parsley and vinegar, and covered with powdered ginger
A kid goat, two goslings, twelve chickens, as many pigeons, six young rabbits, two herons, a leveret, a fat capon stuffed, four chickens covered with yolks of eggs and sprinkled with spice, a wild boar, some wafers and stars
A jelly, part white and part red, representing the crests of the honored guests
Cream covered with fennel seeds and preserved in sugar
A white cream, cheese in slices, and strawberries
And, lastly, plums stewed in rose-water
Besides these four courses, there was a fifth, entirely composed of the prepared wines then in vogue, and of preserves. These consisted of fruits and various sweet pastries
It was indeed a Medieval feast which was fit for a king
Medieval Fruit
The wealthy nobles of the Middle Ages ate little fresh fruit - unprepared food of this variety was viewed with some suspicion. Fruit was usually served in pies or was preserved in honey. Fresh fruit was traditionally eaten by the poor. Little was known about nutrition and the Medieval diet of the rich Nobles lacked Vitamin C and fibre. This led to an assortment of health problems including bad teeth, skin diseases, scurvy and rickets!
Medieval Fruit availability
Western Europe was originally very poor in fruits, and it only improved by foreign importations, mostly from Asia by the Romans. The apricot came from Armenia, the pistachio-nuts and plums from Syria, the peach from Persia, the cherry from Cerasus, the lemon from Media, the pomegranate, the quince from Cydon in Crete; the olive, fig, pear, and apple, from Greece. The quince, which was so generally cultivated in Medieval Times, was looked upon as the most useful of all fruits. Not only did it form the basis of the farmers' dried preserves to make a sort of marmalade, but it was also used for seasoning meat.
Several sorts of cherries were known, but these did not prevent the small wild or wood cherry from being appreciated at the tables of the peasants.
Wild and Exotic Medieval Fruit
The Portuguese claim the honour of having introduced oranges from China. Raspberries were still completely wild and wood strawberries had only just at that time been introduced into gardens. Apples were the only cultivated fruit, but others grew wild. Wild fruits like pears, quinces, and even peaches were served on some medieval tables. Strawberries raspberries, red currants could be found in the woods. Only the Nobility could afford exotic fruits such as dates. About the same date melons begin to appear and were watered them with honeyed or sweetened water.
Medieval Fruit List
The following fruits were available during the Medieval era, even though many were looked upon with sheer distain, especially by the Upper Classes. The following list of fruits were available during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages:
Apples
Oranges
Lemons
Apricot
Quince
Peaches
Cherries
Strawberries
Raspberries
Red currants
Melons
Pomegranate
Medieval Vegetables
The term "vegetable" was used only rarely during the era of the Middle Ages. Instead the term "herb" covered all green plants, roots and herbs. Food items which came from the ground were only are considered fit for the poor. Only vegetables such as rape, onions, garlic and leeks would have graced a Noble's table. Fresh and dried vegetables were the ordinary food of the population. Vegetables were never considered as being capable of forming solid nutriment, since they were almost exclusively used by monastic communities when under vows of extreme abstinence.
Medieval Vegetables
The following vegetables were available during the Medieval era, even though many were looked upon with sheer distain, especially by the Upper Classes. The following list of vegetables were available during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages:
Onions
Parsnips
Fennel
Garlic
Parsley
Shallot
Onions
Watercress
Endive
Lettuce
Beetroot
Cabbage
Leeks
Carrots
Artichokes
Long-Beans
Broad-Beans
Peas
Lentils
Asparagus
It is also interesting to note that the thistle was placed amongst choice dishes; though it cannot be the common thistle that is meant, but probably refers to the vegetable-marrow, which is still found on the tables of the higher classes, or perhaps the artichoke, which we know to be only a kind of thistle developed by cultivation.
Medieval Cabbages
Cabbages date from the remotest times. There were several types of cabbage available during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages called the apple-headed, the Roman, the white, the common white head and the Easter cabbage. The cabbage held in the highest estimation was the famous cabbage of Senlis, whose leaves, says an ancient author, when opened, exhaled a smell more agreeable than musk or amber. This species no doubt fell into disuse when aromatic herbs started to be used in cooking and was abandoned.
Medieval Cucumber
Cucumber, though rather in request, was supposed to be an unwholesome vegetable, because it was said that the inhabitants of France, who ate much of it, were subject to periodical fevers, which might really have been caused by noxious emanation from the ponds with which that country abounded.
Medieval Lentils
Lentils, now considered so wholesome, were also long looked upon as a doubtful vegetable and it was believed that they were difficult to digest, inflamed the inside, affected the sight, and brought on nightmares!
Medieval Salads
A feast during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages often included a "Sallat" ( the word used for a salad ) Salads were made with a variety of the vegetables that were available could have been made with lettuce, carrots, and turnips. Herbs, nuts, olives, vinegar and oil, even sugar could have been included in a Medieval sallat.
The staple diet in Medieval Times was bread, meat and fish. Bread was the most important component of the diet during the Medieval era. The Upper Classes ate a type of bread called Manchet which was a bread loaf made of wheat flour. The Lower Classes ate rye and barley bread. Different types of bread made from wheat were as follows:
Manchet - Fine White Bread
Cheat or wheaten bread - Coarse texture, grey in color
Ravelled Bread - containing less of the pure substance of the wheat
Brown or Black bread
Medieval Bread cooked in embers
In the earliest times bread was cooked under the embers. The use of ovens was introduced into Europe by the Romans, who had found them in Egypt but embers were still being used in the 11th century By feudal law the lord was bound to bake the bread of his vassals, for which they were taxed, but the latter often preferred to cook their flour at home in the embers of their own hearths, rather than to carry it to the public oven.
Middle Ages Food - Unleaven Bread
The custom of leavening the dough by the addition of a ferment was not universally adopted. For this reason, as the dough without leaven could only produce a heavy and indigestible bread, they made the bread very thin. These loaves served as plates for cutting up the other food upon, and when they became saturated with the sauce and gravy they were eaten as cakes. These were called trenchers. The use of trenchers remained long in fashion even at the most splendid banquets. It would be difficult to point out the exact period at which leavening bread was adopted in Europe, but we can assert that in Medieval Times it was anything but general. Yeast was reserved for pastry, and it was only at the end of the sixteenth century that bakers used it for bread.
At first the trades of miller and baker were carried on by the same person. The man who undertook the grinding of the grain had ovens near his mill, which he let to his lord to bake bread, when he did not confine his business to persons who sent him their corn to grind. Loaves varied in form, quality and consequently in name, there were at least twenty sorts of bread made during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries with names such as the court loaf, the pope's loaf, the knight's loaf, the squire's loaf, the peer's loaf and the varlet's loaf. The "table loaves," were served at the tables of the rich, were of such a convenient size that one of them would suffice for a man of ordinary appetite, even after the crust was cut off, which it was considered polite to offer to the ladies, who soaked it in their soup. For the servants an inferior bread was baked, called "common bread.". In many counties they sprinkled the bread, before putting it into the oven, with powdered linseed.
Medieval Bread for the Poor
Bread made with barley, oats, or millet was always ranked as coarse food, to which the poor only had recourse in years of want. Barley bread was, besides, used as a kind of punishment, and monks who had committed any serious offence against discipline were condemned to live on it for a certain period.
Rye bread was held of very little value, and it was very generally used among the country people. Black wheat, or buck wheat, which was introduced into Europe by the Moors and Saracens when they conquered Spain, quickly spread to northern Europe which helped to ease the problems caused by famine.
Middle Ages Food - Biscuits
The crusaders developed a bread twice baked, or biscuit. This bread was very hard, and easier to keep than any other description. It was brought back to Europe and used for provisioning ships, or towns threatened with a siege, as well as in religious houses. At a later period, delicate biscuits were made of a sort of dry and crumbling pastry which retained the original name.
Middle Ages food included a vast range of different meat, especially for the wealthy royalty and nobles . The meats included venison, beef, pork, veal, goat, lamb, rabbit, hare, mutton, swans, herons and poultry. Chickens were believed to have been introduced to England by the Romans. Only Lords and Nobles were allowed to hunt deer, boar, hares and rabbits. The punishment for poaching could result in death or having hands cut off - these types of meat were therefore not available to the poor. The more exotic game birds including thrushes, starlings, blackbirds, quail, cuckoo, lark. peacocks etc, which were eaten during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages, have been detailed on:
Medieval Pork
Pork made up much of the domestic banquets. There was no great feast at which hams, sausages, and black puddings were not served in profusion on all the tables; and as Easter Day, which brought to a close the prolonged fasting of Lent, was one of the great feasts, this food formed the most important dish on that occasion. The pigs were inspected to ensure that they did not have not white ulcers under the tongue, these being considered the signs that their flesh was in a condition to communicate leprosy to those who ate it.
Medieval Lamb and Veal
Of all butchers' meat, veal was reckoned the best. In fact, calves intended for the tables of the upper classes were fed in a special manner: they were allowed for six months, or even for a year, nothing but milk, which made their flesh most tender and delicate. Contrary to the present taste, kid was more appreciated than lamb, which caused butchers to attach the tail of a kid to a lamb, so as to deceive the customer and sell him a less expensive meat at the higher price. Regulations, sometimes eccentric, but almost always rigidly enforced, to ensure a supply of meat of the best quality and in a healthy state. In England, butchers were only allowed to kill bulls after they had been baited with dogs, no doubt with the view of making the flesh more tender. To the many regulations affecting the interests of the public must be added that forbidding butchers to sell meat on days when abstinence from animal food was ordered by the Church. These regulations applied less to the vendors than to the consumers, who, by disobeying them, were liable to fine or imprisonment, or to severe corporal punishment by the whip or in the pillory.
Medieval Poultry
The established custom of certain parts of Christendom was that poultry and fish were identical in the eyes of the Church, and accordingly continued to eat them indiscriminately. We also see, in the middle of the 13th century, St. Thomas Aquinas, who was considered an authority in questions of dogma and of faith, ranking poultry amongst species of aquatic origin. the Church eventually forbade Christians the use of poultry on fast days, it made an exception, out of consideration for the ancient prejudice, in favour of teal, widgeon, moor-hens, and also two or three kinds of small shell fish. As far back as modern history can be traced, we find that a similar mode of fattening poultry was employed then as now. Chickens were fattened by depriving them of light and liberty, and gorging them with succulent food.
People during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages also ate fattened geese. For some time geese were more highly prized than any other description of poultry, and flocks of geese, which were driven to feed in the fields, like flocks of sheep. This bird was considered a great delicacy by the working classes, as were ducks. The pea-fowl ( peacocks and peahens) played an important part in the chivalric banquets of the Middle Ages. According to old poets the flesh of this noble bird is "food for the brave." A poet of the 13th century said, "that thieves have as much taste for falsehood as a hungry man has for the flesh of the peacock". As time passed the turkey and the pheasant gradually replaced them, as their flesh was considered somewhat hard and stringy.
Medieval Venison, Beef, Hedgehog and Squirrel
The hedgehog and squirrel were also eaten. Roe and red deer (venison) were seen as food fit for kings and rich people The "fried slices of the young horn of the stag" was referred to as the daintiest of food. In France in the 14th century, beef was dished up like bear's-flesh venison, for the use of kitchens in countries where the black bear did not exist. This proves that bear's flesh was in those days considered good food.
Medieval Meat
The following meats were available during the Medieval era, some of which were reserved for the Upper Classes. The following list of meats were available during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages:
Pork
Lamb
Veal
Venison
Poultry and Game
Bear
Hedgehog
Hare and Rabbit
Middle Ages food included a vast range of different fish. The range of fish included herring, salmon, eel, whiting, plaice, cod, trout and pike. Shell fish also featured in Medieval food which included crab, oysters, mussels and cockles.
Medieval Fish and Shellfish
Freshwater fish, which was much more abundant in former days than now, was the ordinary food of those who lived on the borders of lakes, ponds, or rivers. The perch, pike, and tench were often eaten by the lower classes. Trout was held in great estimation. Mention has also been made of the blay, shad, roach, and gudgeon, but, above all, the carp, which was supposed to be a native of Southern Europe, and which must have been naturalised at a much later period in the northern waters.
Medieval Sea Fish
The most ancient documents bear witness that the natives of the sea-coasts of Europe, and particularly of the Mediterranean, fed on the same fish as at present: there were, however, a few other sea-fish, which were also used for food, but which have since been abandoned. The porpoise, and even the whale, which was salted, was believed to have furnished all the markets of Europe. The whale, which was sent from the northern seas in enormous slices, was only eaten by the lower orders, for, according to a writer of the sixteenth century, "were it cooked even for twenty-four hours it would still be very hard and indigestible."
Medieval Fish Trade
The trade in salted sea-fish only began in the 12th century. Herrings became a necessary food during Lent.
All sea-fish were comprised under three names, the fresh, the salted, and the smoked. Besides salt and fresh herrings, an enormous amount of salted mackerel were eaten. Other sea fish included flat-fish, gurnets, skate, fresh and salted whiting and codfish.
Medieval Fish
Conger eels were eaten but at a later period the conger was not eaten from its being supposed to produce the plague. The turbot, John-dory, skate and sole, which were very dear, were reserved for the rich. A great quantity of the small sea crayfish were brought into market. Freshwater crayfish were not much esteemed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, excepting for their eggs, which were prepared with spice. The inhabitants of the coast ate various kinds of shell-fish, including oysters, crab, cockles and mussels.
Middle Ages Food - Fish
The following fish were available during the Medieval era, even though many were looked upon with sheer distain, especially by the Upper Classes. The following list of fish were available during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages:
Herring
Salmon
Eel
Whiting
Turbot
Plaice
Cod
Trout
Pike
Skate
Oysters
Crab
Cockles
Mussels
Medieval Game Birds
The people of the Middle Ages consumed some exotic and unusual game birds. The types of game birds included the heron, the crane, the crow, the swan, the stork, the cormorant, and the bittern. These supplied the best tables, especially the first three, which were looked upon as exquisite food, fit for royalty, and were viewed as delicacies. People also ate birds of prey, and only rejected those which fed on carrion. Swans were also much appreciated and viewed as a delicacy.
Young game was avoided owing to the little nourishment it contained and its indigestibility with the exception of young partridges and leverets which appeared at the most sumptuous banquets.
There was a time when they fattened pheasants as they did capons. Plovers were much enjoyed and they were roasted without being drawn, as also were turtle-doves and larks; "for," says an ancient author, "larks only eat small pebbles and sand, doves grains of juniper and scented herbs, and plovers feed on air." At a later period the same honour was conferred on woodcocks.
Thrushes, starlings, blackbirds, quail, and partridges were in equal repute according to the season. Of all the birds used for the table none could be compared to the young cuckoo taken just as it was full fledged.
Middle Ages Food - Game Birds
The following birds were available during the Medieval era, even though many were looked upon with sheer distain, especially by the Upper Classes. The following list of birds were available during the Medieval times of the Middle Ages:
Peacock
Heron
Crane
Crow
Swan
Stork
Cormorant
Thrushes
Starlings
Blackbirds
Quail
Cuckoo
Lark
Pheasants
Partridges
Available in http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-food/.Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.
0 Comments