Some dishes included pine nuts, almond milk, and wine. Medieval desserts were filled with honey, spices, and fruit. A typical dinner might have meat swimming in a sweet and sour sauce, rabbit with onions and saffron, or beef with cinnamon. The result was rich, strongly seasoned meals that may not appeal to modern tastes. Chefs relied on heavy flavors like vinegar, wine, honey, fruit juices in addition to the expensive imported spices. The goal of the nobleman’s chef was to display his master’s abundant wealth, rather than to please his palate. Returning soldiers brought with them a wealth of costly spices to flavor their meals and impress their social equals. The English fighting in the crusades encountered a world of new flavors: lemon, pepper, sugar, saffron, ginger, cinnamon and clove delighted the English palate. Geese, beaver’s tails, and porpoise were considered part of the fish family for fast days as well, possibly because of their proximity to water.Ī medieval fast day meal might include dishes such as a tart with pickled fish, cod in jelly topped with almonds, oysters in gravy, or eel and salmon fritters. Additionally, faux eggs made from almond milk and almond milk cheeses graced the fast day table. On fast days, which could be up to three days a week, people were instructed to avoid meat, eggs, and dairy, so the nobleman’s cook would serve a variety of fishes like herring, eel, salmon, and cod, or perhaps shellfish like crabs, oysters, and mussels. There was no coffee or tea in Europe at this time, but the occasional cup of warm mulled wine might make an appearance at the table. Meals were washed down with wine, ale, or mead. Medieval nobles had gardens that supplied peas, turnips, parsnips, carrots, cabbage, onions, leeks, squashes, broad beans. White bread was a staple of the medieval nobleman’s diet, unlike the rough brown bread the peasantry consumed, and the more important the household, the better the quality of the bread. He would also have a variety of animals that were raised for the table like hens, pheasants, ducks, geese, and pigs. Since he owned all the hunting lands, meats on a noble’s table might be game meats: venison, wild boar, and wildfowl. The nobility was wealthy enough to dine on a variety of meats, fish, and fowl, except on days declared by the church as fast days, which were up to half the days of the year. Meals were communal and the entire household ate in the same room at different tables, including the servants. Until the late Middle Ages, meals were eaten at midday and dusk: a substantial midday meal and a lighter evening meal. The church was the center of life in the Middle Ages and often dictated what type of foods could be consumed. Medieval society was highly stratified, and the meals of ordinary people-farmers, tradesmen, merchants- were vastly different from the diets of those in the ruling classes. Medieval food was local and seasonal, and what and how you ate depended greatly on your place in society. Here are some key things to consider about medieval food. If you’re a writer of fantasy or historical fiction, or you’re just interested in medieval food, you’ll probably want to describe the actual tastes, smells, and textures of the food you’re describing. (And by the way, if you’re interested in this era, you might also want to check out Bryn’s well-researched lists of medieval English names.) My specialty is research and article writing, with an emphasis on home, food, and gatherings, so I am delighted that Bryn invited me to contribute some background on European medieval cooking and medieval cuisine for you. Hi friends! I’m a longtime writer friend and fan of Bryn’s.
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