Medieval Period Food: Different Types of Medieval Food & Other Interesting Facts About the Average Diet in the Middle Ages

Medieval Period Food: Different Types of Medieval Food & Other Interesting Facts About the Average Diet in the Middle Ages
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History of Medieval Food

The Medieval period reminds us of banquets, kings, Queens and bloody battles. When we think of medieval foods, a picture of an aristocrat gnawing a chicken leg or slurping bowls of soup certainly emerges on our minds. Foods in the middle ages were mainly bakery items, different types of meat dishes and spicy delicacies for the rich, whereas the poor had to gratify their hunger with barley, easily available vegetables like onion, garlic and cabbages and few herbs.

Medieval foods were prepared and preserved in different interesting ways. Since there were no methods to freeze foods, the meat from animals was preserved in salt and spices were added to hide the high salty taste. According to some historians, pepper was also used in preserving meat and other foodstuffs. Different techniques were also used to preserve food including pickling, drying, and smoking. Gelatin was also used to preserve fresh fish or cooked meat.

In the medieval period, proper etiquette was maintained while consuming food. Behaviors such as smacking lips, slurping or gobbling foods were avoided. Pamphlets with etiquette manners were written to maintain proper table manners.

The history of medieval food is very deep; however there are many medieval food facts and trivia that are fun, entertaining and amusing.

(image, left: picture of a medieval banquet, credit: wikipedia)

Fascinating Facts About Medieval Foods

Centuries ago, people ate different types of food than what we normally eat today. Common foods to us were unknown, very expensive, or simply hard to get. People had to preserve what food they had to last until they could find more food and could only eat what was available to them - some of which were quite unappetizing. Here’s a list of five facts about food during the medieval period that you probably didn’t know.

1. An Average Peasant’s Diet Was Very Unhealthy

According to “Medieval Europe: A Short History” (C. Warren Hollister), the average peasant’s morning breakfast consisted of burned black bread and ale. The same black bread/ale combination was consumed with cheese after 12 hours of hard work. If luck favored the peasant, he would eat an egg or a thin vegetable soup to satisfy his hunger. Later, the diet was more iron-rich in the late middle ages. Peasants could afford meat through their hard earned savings, but still the foods were very unhealthy and unappetizing.

2. First Recipe Book of the Middle Ages

The first cookery book was written by the French in 1306. The English were the second to produce a recipe book. The book was written in 1390 and consisted of more than 200 recipes. The cookery book called “The Forme of Cury” had contributions made by the royal cooks.

3. Methods of Cooking Were Limited During the Medieval Period

A Medieval Kitchen

In the early medieval period, there were very few methods available to cook foods. They were cooked by adding many ingredients together into pots. The most common forms of foods were soups and stews. There were simple bread ovens and meats were mainly boiled.

(image: left: A Medieval Kitchen, Credit: Wikipedia)

4. Salt was Very Expensive During the Middle Ages

Banquets and feasts were held frequently in the medieval period. In a feast or banquet, only the rich was seated at the high table. An exquisitely designed container with salt was placed at the high table. Only the rich had access to the salt as it was very expensive.

5. The Different Preservation Techniques of Medieval Foods

Foods were softened and preserved through a very unique process. The method consisted of soaking different types of nuts, berries, leaves, seeds and roots in cold water for many hours. This process made the foods softer and easier to digest. In the Elizabethan period, fresh herbs and flowers were preserved in a special stillroom to flavor dishes prepared in the winter season. There are various methods used including distillation to prepare herbal potions. Incidentally, stillrooms were also notorious for producing alcoholic beverages.

These were some of the best medieval food facts. For more such facts you can visit middle-ages-org.UK

References

https://www.medieval-renaissance.com/content/view/636/9/

https://cookit.e2bn.org/historycookbook/27-315-normans-medieval-Food-facts.html