Food of the Medieval Times
By-tay
The people of the Medieval times from 500 to 1475 CE had a variety of foods, all different because of money, power, area, ingredients, and Feudalism. During the medieval period, food was something that everyone had, they were just different. Feudalism influenced how and what people ate for their meals every day.
Kings, Queens, and others of high power often ate foods only for the rich. Meats and fish were often the foods that the people of the rich’s food circled around. Foods such as rice, almond milk, sugar, purest wheat, raisins, dates, exotic meats, and especially spices were some of the foods specifically for the rich. Foods were dipped into exotic sauces with spices in them to add flavor. Sauces had a lot of vinegar in them with bread crumbs for texture and flavor. Foods could also be chopped up and molded and even artificially flavored and colored with other foods. They did this to make guests surprised and not recognize what they were eating as if it was a rare food. The wealthy ate exotic foods while the commoners had a very different meal plan.
Commoners' foods were more basic in flavor, ingredients, and taste in their food. They rarely ate animal products. A food that peasants ate with meat in them was called brewet. They only were able to feed people with meat because when cooking it, the meat stretched, able to feed a family. Most of their food was boiled. An example of some of these foods are porridge, stew, and soup. Other foods they ate were a variety of cheeses, curds, oat cakes, bread made of beans and bran, peas, apples and cherries. Foods varied depending on wealth and class, but they can also differ depending on what region the people lived in.
Europe’s Medieval Cuisine was very different depending on where they lived. Italian food didn’t have tomatoes yet, but included more vegetables, more bread, but less porridge. Pasta was a main food in Italy, with it simply being dry, unleavened dough. French cuisine was divided into the north and the ingredients that separated them were butter and oil. Northern France circles around dairy and the use of butter while Southern France uses oil dominated by the Mediterranean. English cuisine was a little bit different and had its own foods. They used nearby flavors and flowers for foods, and used wheat flour as a thickener with sauces, often using the cheaper spices such as pepper, cinnamon, and ginger. Even though these cuisines come from their own cultures, areas, and people, they were very similar to each other.
Food in the Medieval Era was different because of their regions, people, and Feudalism. With different foods from each region, power, and class, the Medieval Era had a variety of foods. This will later influence the modern countries in Europe including Italy, France, and England. This makes Medieval Cuisine an important part of daily life in medieval times.
MLA Citation
Johnston, Ruth A. "Medieval Cooking and Cuisine." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras, ABC-CLIO, 2021, ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1692875. Accessed 28 Oct. 2021.