Medieval Food

Without the electric and gas ovens, hobs, kettles and fridges, Medieval people had to cook their meals on fires. They also cooked all fruit and vegetables because to eat them raw was considered bad for your health, (to know more click here). Without the trade systems that we now have, there diet Pottage was a dish that everyone ate, no matter what there status. However the rich would add meat (e.g: beef and mutton). Bread was also a staple food in their diets. But the poor would have to endure flour mixed with rye, then was thought to be the flour that was for the poor because it was cheap. White bread (a.k.a manchett) was for the wealthy because to get all the little bits of wheat out, it would take someone a lot of time to sieve them through a muslin cloth. Meat was expensive and so most of it was reserved for the wealthy. They would eat beef, mutton, pork and venison as well as many different varieties of poultry including peacock! If the poor could get their hands on meat, it would most likely be either pork or mutton. Pork is from pigs and pigs were cheap to keep because they foraged for their own food and they were also able to be killed anytime. Mutton was from older sheep, as a result, it was not extremely expensive. Despite what people say, Medieval (and Tudor because they are both similar as they are next to in eras) are not disgusting- nor bland! They content of the pottage gives it flavour as do herbs and salt. The wealthy could afford spices and sugar! Because they had to be imported from the Middle East, spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, were incredibly expensive. Sugar was also expensive because it also had to be imported from abroad, therefore only people who had spare money would use sugar in desserts and spices to add an extra flavour to their dishes. If the poor occasionally wanted something sweet, then they would make it with honey, which is a cheaper natural source of sweetness. Spices were first brought to England when soldiers and knights went to the Crusades in the Middle East, from them on they became a status symbol, used to show off high statuses. Water was dangerous. Water carried many fatal viruses such as cholera, and the physicians and scientists knew this. As a result, the wealthy and the poor drank mostly alcohol and milk, even the children! The brewers would brew different strengths of ale, the weakest was what the children and some women drank, this was called 'small ale'. For those who could afford it, wine was an available option.  Because of religious reasons (England was Catholic until Henry VIII broke from the Rome, then on the country was on and off Catholic and Protestant until a few hundred years ago when the country permanently became Protestant (Church of England) but we do welcome other faiths and religions), everyone had to eat fish on Fridays (hence the term 'fish Fridays'). On Fridays they were not allowed to eat meat.

of fruit and vegetables was limited. Root vegetables, such as cabbage, leeks and onions, were all consumed because they were readily available. Depending on the time of year, would depend on what types of vegetables that were cooked because they could only eat what was in season. For the poor, the majority of their diet was vegetables, as a result their health was slightly better than the rich whose diets were mostly meat and some sugar.

Sources:
~ The British Library: Medieval food
~ The History Learning Site: Food and Drink in Medieval England (I did not find this much of a help, I found that many of the facts were incorrect)
~ Lords and Ladies: Middle Ages Food