Food in Medieval Europe⎸History & Cooking a Medieval Meat Pie

we're going back to Medieval Times to learn about what Europeans were eating from the 5th to 15th century I realized the Medieval era or Middle Ages covers the span of a thousand years so it's challenging to pack all the information in one video so I'm going to do my best to give a general picture of food in this time I'm definitely going to do a better job at illustrating food in this era than a certain medieval themed restaurant and tournament you know the one I love anything that gets people excited about history but if you're gonna have a themed restaurant and tell people it's the 11th century according to their website you can't serve Tomatoes corn and potatoes and be accurate not one of those ingredients made its way across the Atlantic from the new world to Europe before 1492 and certainly not in the 11th century even then these ingredients were not eaten by Europeans right away anyway let's jump into the recipe for my medieval meat pie kitchen Gardens were on nearly every property and were an important source of nutrients and flavor medieval cooking used a wide variety of herbs like parsley Rosemary mint basil Thyme and dittany which I honestly thought was something JK Rowling made up for Harry Potter herbs and spices were commonly used in tonics to cure ailments in medieval Europe in the days before medicine we start by chopping the vegetables onions leeks and carrots were eaten by all classes in medieval Europe vegetables were rarely eaten raw although recipes for salad with a tea can be found in medieval cookbooks they were usually used for cooking I'm using beef for this pie there's a common myth that spices were used to mask the flavor of rotten meat but if you could afford spices in most cases you could afford meat from a reputable butcher for spice I'm using black pepper which was worth more than pure gold man I'm fancy cloves and tossing in a whole cinnamon stick to the pot coating the meat with flour will create a thicker sauce for the filling so how was cooking done today I'm using an open fire with a grate for drama and Ambiance typically cooking was done in an indoor Hearth with a cauldron typically with three legs to stand alone or over a hook that can be adjusted over the flame pots were made of cast iron brass or clay Noble and raw oil kitchens had spits to roast meat it was common thinking that people of a higher class needed different means of cooking because their bodies responded differently so snobby roasted Meats were reserved for Royals and Nobles peasants stewed tougher cuts of meat many times Meats were cooked in several different ways like boiling then roasting then pan frying undercooking meat was a common fear and often meat was salted for preservation so it needed to be rinsed and cooked additionally to offset overwhelming salt flavor to the meat and vegetables I'm adding beef stock and Ale to braise this meat into a tender filling for our pie this will cook low and slow peasant style we're going to make this pie dough all by hand Savory pies were originally used as a vessel to cook with thick walls to stand up to hours of cooking in temperamental medieval ovens the outside crust was for cooking and preservation but not usually eaten if I'm going to all this trouble of making this dough I'm eating it the word pie comes from Magpie the bird which collects bits of little things for their nest meat pies could use any bits of meat or vegetables to create a filling butter or animal fats like lard or suet were most commonly used for pie crust at Royal feasts pies were used to entertain there are stories of real live birds being put into pies and when cut they would fly open to the amazement of the feasters one wild story includes an actual living little person being put into a pie he was fine they cooked the pie and then put him inside but just goes to show the level of outrageous entertainment medieval Europeans enjoyed I'm usually a stickler for historical accuracy but I'm using this spring form cake pan for my pie it creates a tall straight sided pie and many people have one at home you divide the dough into thirds using two-thirds for the bottom and the remaining third for the top crust any leftover bits can be used for decoration after a quick egg wash this will bake for an hour at 400 degrees oh and if you're groaning at how long this recipe takes imagine how long it would take to grow and Mill your own flour grow the vegetables Milk The Cow churn the butter raise and Slaughter the cow for meat stoke the fire to cook the filling make your pie crust by hand and somehow bake it evenly without a reliable standard oven sure you could cut a few corners and buy flour butter or meat at the market that is if you trust the seller medieval markets were riddled with food additives and adulterated ingredients it was common for butchers to sow fat on meat or fill kidneys with rags and without Refrigeration Meat and Fish had to pass the sniff test did I mention there weren't standard cooking measurements standard spelling or many written recipes because most people were illiterate so you just had to wing it medieval cooking was wild this is why I have no sympathy for people today who say that cooking is hard with all the knowledge of the internet a recipe for anything for free at your fingertips Refrigeration year-round produce grocery delivery and microwaves so what were they eating obviously there were major differences between peasant diets and that of nobility and royalty in general these were the foods available in Western Europe in the Middle Ages bread the staple food of Europe obviously society's Upper Crust could afford the finest widest most refined loaves of bread called Mansion while the poor ate Brown loaves made with rough unrefined grains called Maslin archaeologists know this by studying peasant and Noble teeth making bread was literally a Daily Grind wheat was ground into flour by Stone Mill or water mill many breads were made with wheat barley and rye and most dough was made at home and cooked in community ovens as towns and cities grew more regulations went into place to prevent Sellers from taking advantage of customers like Mr brid who owned a bake house in London for example he swindled customers by using a trap door under the counter to take little bits of each customer's dough as they were chatting with him they were there to use his oven but he was taking bits of dough to make loaves to sell standard loaf weights became enforced and any Baker caught selling light loaves would be dragged through the streets with the bread tied to their neck this was a common theme for sneaky Cellars in the Middle Ages rotten meat to the stocks with him sour wine make him drink it in shame in front of the whole town I guess the modern equivalent would be like annihilating a restaurant with a bad Yelp review bases were incredibly important to Medieval Cuisine but expensive some costing more than pure gold spices made their way through Europe through the Silk Road which is a whole future video in itself or by the Sea through Venetian Traders spices would have changed hands many times accruing a small profit with each Merchant before making its way to Europe black pepper cinnamon saffron cloves Ginger and Nutmeg were among the most popular spices were a way to add flavor Health properties and excitement to dishes and to show others that you could afford the Finer Things in life sugar was actually considered a spice in some cases Traders tricked customers into buying wooden nutmegs or juniper berry peppercorns so buyer beware was the motto of European markets what else could you get at the market all kinds of food and drink of course fur wool cloth cookware even a haircut or a shave from the barber who also performed bloodletting on the side feeling ill get rid of some of that pesky blood that's too much blood salt is vital to survival and flavor Meats were packed in barrels of salt through the winter salt was so expensive that if you were seated near it at a feast you should feel pretty good about yourself and your place in society if you sat closer to the VIPs you were above the salt the best way to preserve meat in medieval times was to cook it salt it dry it or smoke it remember these are deeply religious times so eating meat on the wrong day could get you jailed or worse I read accounts of teeth being pulled as punishment no meat or animal products on Fast days usually Fridays and lent this must have been extremely frustrating because food was hard to preserve and expensive to acquire so what meat was available in Europe nearly all Meats except Turkey were available pork beef venison mutton lamb poultry fish shellfish and rabbit were all eaten peasants ate considerably less meat than Nobles and Royals but plenty of dairy and beans for protein Royals feasted on exotic meats like peacock suckling pig Swan beaver and even porpoise at feasts Carvers would bring cuts of meat to diners in order of importance fanciful Got Served the choice Cuts first we know they did not yet have access to potatoes corn or tomatoes but they did have onions peas cabbage herbs carrots garlic many greens and lettuces although many Fresh Foods weren't eaten raw in this era native fruits included apples pears pomegranate and grapes Citrus was imported and many fruits like dates figs and grapes were dried honey was very popular as a sweetener and for making Mead vinegar was popular for preservation and flavor animal fats like lard Tallow and butter were predominantly used for cooking olive oil was used in the Mediterranean grains like wheat barley oats and Rye were staple European crops butter cheese and milk were vital to Peasant diets mostly cow milk some sheep and goat almond milk we think of almond milk as a modern invention but it was very common in medieval times among all classes especially on Fast days when animal products were prohibited if you've seen any medieval movies you see characters drinking beer ale and wine out of gold goblets and wooden tankards all day long while medieval Europeans did drink beer and wine daily surprisingly they also drank water yes medieval water sources like the Thames were incredibly polluted medieval Europeans needed water for survival for making beer and for cooking yes it's also true that beer and wine were often safer than water because it had been boiled killing bacteria in London for example clean water was supplied through a conduit it was controlled monitored and people were charged for use adults and children were drinking beer for hydration and calories up to a gallon a day for adults children drank small beer which had much lower alcohol content as a mother of a three-year-old I can tell you sober children are hard enough to parent oh in those conduits supplying water to London during coronations or times of Celebration wine flowed through them and citizens could drink as much as they desired see it wasn't all Bleak and miserable let's talk plates and silverware Forks were not used until the Medici family popularized them in the 16th century medieval diners use spoons knives and their hands for eating plates were traditionally pewter or wood even more common was the use of trenchers stale bread that Foods were placed on it was the job of the servers to replace the trenchers throughout the meal discarded trenchers and leftovers were donated to the poor don't forget to have a royal food taster have the first bite can have the queen getting poisoned oh dear which means cheers and I'll see you in another era

Channel: Savor Tooth Tiger Food History

Views: 64,241

Keywords: Medieval cooking, Medieval meat pie recipe, Medieval food, food history, history, education, homeschool, Recipes, medieval, medieval Europe, medieval history, teacher resources, cooking, meat pie, historic cooking, historic recipes, European cuisine, history education, fire cooking, outdoor cooking, kitchen garden, cooking for kids, for students, for teachers

Id: Y1sUjKQLz7I

Length: 12min 50sec (770 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 01 2023