How To Prepare A Traditional Medieval Feast | Let's Cook History | Chronicle

[Music] [Music] many of us believe that the middle ages was a period of violence misery and obscurantism of poverty and squalor an age where mercy was meager an age where poor people had no more than a morsel of bread to eat if they were lucky while nobles and their fair women would be feasting to excess in fact the period was not so bleak in europe the middle ages brought the development of medicine architecture masonry algebra and love of cooking between the 10th and the 15th centuries our ancestors became enlightened consumers they invented disassociated or combined diets regional recipes and even printed cookbooks and they handed down these skills and knowledge to us [Music] this is the year of our lord 1427 squire martin observed his fatten geese very carefully in the middle ages master cooks were called squire [Music] the local lord or knight trusted them totally what's more the title of squire held prestige after years of loyal service only squires could hope to be ennobled [Music] squire martin knows that the road to nobility will be a long one meanwhile awaiting the moment to prepare a succulent dish of goose for his lord squire martin commands a small troupe of grill chefs bellows workers vegetable growers and wine specialists [Music] he has to pay great care to his lord's health and appetite and that of his guests he also needs to have diplomatic qualities he knows the delicacies of successful feasts can influence political decisions and create alliances there is indeed an art to becoming a squire [Music] well a good trencher and here we're really talking about somebody who in the town would be called a scout or french and a create was a very important person for any kind of banquet because he had to supervise the whole proceedings and also to respect a series of of symbolical steps in in this therefore for example the right hand side of an animal was important more important than the left hand side front part was better considered better than the back part and therefore in cutting the animal up and then serving it this was a way of then respecting also the hierarchies to be a master cook one also had to be an excellent organizer and historian of cookery above all you had to have a gift for improvisation you had to make do with day-to-day availability this morning the catch was excellent these fillets of salmon will be perfect for the best of salmon recipe this was a luxury dish reserved for the privileged only freshwater cats were extremely precious poor could not fish in the rivers because the rivers didn't belong to them i mean there's a problem there also that a lot of the fish didn't necessarily come from what we would consider today wild sources but rather from lakes artificial lakes and cisterns in any case what is certain is that the price was always extremely high and therefore it was a consumption model that was really aimed at the upper classes the poor did not eat fish or in any case ate very very little fish squire martin's secret to making this baste of salmon worthy of his lord's table and appeal to his host the duke of rhodes is using lemon juice absorbed by the still rosy fillets the zest of lemon will give the dish a slightly sweet note [Music] the bellows workers the first link in the cooking chain had to have strong arms and be able to put up with intense heat while handling frying pans of this size and weight [Music] this method was still better than using an oven it took much less time and the result was astounding the fillets are glazed to perfection in less than five minutes in the middle ages sophisticated cooking was not within everyone's reach the immense majority of the population had to be satisfied with little [Music] around the year 1000 a.d dwellings of the common folk were built in the shadow of the wooden fortifications of the local castle stone castles had not yet been conceived nor had the notion of building a kitchen area to avoid perishing from suffocation cooking was done in the open air in a hull a clay pot which was ideal for stewing then reheating very rudimentary dishes we can only imagine the food of the common people of this period yet they made up 90 of the population we do know that daily meals were based largely on cereals the population had to manage a very fragile balance in terms of nutrition with a bad harvest their food consumption took a blow during the 10th and 11th centuries famines were still common [Music] rural life for medieval peasants was that of serfs quasi slaves totally dependent on their lord possessing no land then committing the greater part of their harvest to their masters who became increasingly demanding as their warring practices dragged on indebting them the only solution to improving daily meals was to poach to venture into the forests and lands of the local lord often adding a morsel of meat to one stew ran the risk of going to the gallows [Music] between the year 100 and 1400 obtaining one's pittance was a daily concern for peasants for beggars and even traveling entertainers like the great medieval french poet francois vino we can imagine him here in a village neighboring orleans on an evening in 1460 earning his crust by chanting to his public meet on a spit ago gourd broth grilled pike but for the poorer like me who get a nothing for the grace of god grant us our pittancing [Music] fortunately a capitulate dating from the 9th century decreed by charlemagne established as law that travelers must be granted at least shelter fire and some water across europe just as we see here in the historical park of akeon close to alphan in the netherlands where time seems to have stood still since the 14th century musicians and birds performed to satisfy their needs in food and drink here in northern europe this minazenga a name for a troubadour is welcomed with a cup of hippocrates this was the most popular beverage of the time and was made from young red wine sweetened with honey and infused with cinnamon and ginger wine consumption during the middle ages was enormous compared with today's standards historians estimate that two to three liters per person per day was common however wines were always young they seldom exceeded five to six degrees alcohol content so as to ensure their virtue as an antiseptic in the middle ages it was recommended to add wine to one's beverage of water wine enthusiasts are still curious to learn exactly how wine was crushed in those times here in this tapestry in the museum of the middle ages in paris you can see two distinct methods of producing wine firstly crushing grapes with your foot the mergute and most esteemed technique then by mechanical crushing producing an inferior wine since the must was also fermented this produced a more tinted thicker and darker wine which was destined for the lower classes there was clearly a class distinction by the type of wine produced [Music] with or without the mergot method francois villan would have amused his audiences by singing the ballad of times past and his patents would be in the form of a good bowl of soup and a cup of dark wine [Music] to make a good soup you need bread and that is the business of bakers in the middle ages they were mostly women and much sought after especially when the next batch was required [Music] [Music] great gossipers as they needed quantities of dough they invented sayings that we still use today earn your bread what an ordeal like going without bread or you stole the bread from my plate [Music] the staple element of medieval times was bread wheat rye bran were used to make bread from coarse black to refined white depending on one's social position at least in the middle ages that you have three different kinds of bread the most whitest bread is the one that was consumed by the rich people then you had a sort of middle grate bread that was consumed by somewhat less fortunate people where there was mixed in a certain amount of chaff and that made it a somewhat darker bread and then finally you had a third variety that was made for the servants and for the dogs because the dogs too were fed this and that had a lot of chaff and made it into a very very dark bread in kingdoms throughout europe the color and grade of bread was appreciated differently however white bread was universally considered the best bread [Music] it's already precociously true that in 14th century italy most people were eating white bread in fact even during problem years there were all kinds of riots to make sure that people managed to get their white bread while the oven is heating up the bakers finish the preparation they fashion a series of small balls of dough to make round rolls and these are destined for the soup [Applause] whatever the season this small firm roll is placed in the bottom of the bowl broth is poured over the roll making for a thicker and more nutritious soup dinner was served early in the middle ages around 5 pm in relation to the daylight available poorer people could not turn up their noses at this dish of soup the leftovers of which were so often reheated for the next meal only the color of soup changed according to the season at the end of autumn and winter often periods of food shortages soup was brown or dark in color made from peas or beans with the return of spring soup became lighter in color as onions and nettles were used sometimes with a cloud of milk in summer soup could be of a rich green color the ingredients being a range of vegetables in any event be it for soup or to accompany any other dish bread was always present at medieval tables especially when it came to tasting a good chunk of meat [Music] sliced into bread was transformed into a plate then meat was placed on it and there wasn't a crumb wasted and if the calendar permitted quail would be relished [Music] [Applause] [Music] whether one was rich or poor fast days were instituted by the very powerful catholic church and they were very strictly observed days of abstinence when one could not eat meat represented approximately a third of the calendar year totaling 140 150 and even 160 days a year there was no single rule since local churches followed local rules in the middle ages we can say that at least a third of the year was devoted to days of lent or abstinence today dietitians prescribe a similar regime by disassociating fatty foods and carbohydrates our ancestors practice one of the healthiest diets possible and what is more they believe that a healthy life paved the way to salvation they walked a lot every year some 500 000 pilgrims a huge figure for the 13th and 14th century took to the roads of san jac de compostela to traverse the franco-spanish frontier they were obliged to climb on civil pass that cut across a section of the pyrenees mountains when these pious pilgrims men women and children found themselves climbing such arduous slopes all the while observing abstinence refusing to eat meat they believed they were truly on the path to redemption [Music] for these pilgrims as for all good christians such conditions deemed by the church were accepted alternating between days with the meal of fatty food animal protein and days of abstinence such as lent was common practice [Music] i believe it was quite natural to tune the mind and the spirit to such alternations in food during the middle ages [Music] the collective medieval mindset was conditioned by down-to-earth habits for example in certain medieval cities during lent the corporation of butchers the bekae simply stopped selling meat and offered fish i don't believe that medieval society minded switching between fasting and meat eating days on foot for several months pilgrims needed nutrition rich in calories bread cheese and especially almonds became the staple food for them dried fruits were for young children they were candies or sweets of the time for adolescents they were fashioned into a paste with or without milk these sweets became one of the most appreciated snacks of medieval meals butter had yet to be invented to disguise the taste of bread gone stale lard or animal fat was used as a spread such treats were subject to self-denial on fridays prior to easter or religious interdictions these excesses were of course curtailed on fridays during the 40-day fasting period prior to easter in observance of the crucifixion of christ or when the church authorities obtained penitence and regulations to get around such obligations good christians needed an exemption the church distributed exemptions with parsimony only pregnant women children the sick and members of the clergy benefited [Music] clearly there is a problem about the consumption of of monks in the middle ages because the records that we have seem to show that many of them did not follow the prescriptions that they were supposedly meant to follow and so when the monk tried to escape from the way that he was supposed to eat he was actually ending up consuming a kind of forbidden fruit but certainly also very prestigious kind of food this he managed to do either by declaring that he was sick or being considered sick or because he had some kind of prestigious role in the combat that made him into a consumer of meat to continue enjoying god's good produce monks used to cheat a little when they were not committed to lent they deemed they needed hearty meals to be able to do their job well [Music] results from studies on some cistercian monastery registries dating from the 14th century confirmed that the regime of monks comprise 3 500 to 4 000 calorie intakes a day more than twice the amount that common people consumed [Music] in the middle ages monasteries and convents house small farms and fabulous gardens production vastly exceeded daily needs [Music] some laypeople starting with pilgrims were allowed to share a portion of the crop the reputation of the monks grew after such benevolent acts food production of monasteries varied greatly according to the region vegetables fruits beer in northern europe wines and cheeses in the south each congregation had its preferred dishes here in ransomware abbey on the franco-spanish border a key stopover for pilgrims along the pyrenees passage a tasty used cheese became the hallmark of the religious order the cheese was believed to give pilgrims the strength needed to reach sanjac de compostela more than two weeks distant on foot [Music] contrary to what we learn our ancestors were very aware of a balanced diet they love dining and feasting but rarely to excess [Music] life was short at the time for men around 40 years on average hygiene and a sound diet did more than candles and prayers in a church to allow people to live at least that long the belief that a good diet ensured good health was widespread good food had the virtue of developing our natural defenses to fight diseases we think much like today certain foods were also believed to be cures a tradition that has lapsed today [Music] in the middle ages regiments like the tequinum sanitatis prescribed all foods as being medicine herbs spices vegetables certain meats were seriously taken as cures just as our pharmaceutical treatments are today [Music] this medical theory was inherited from practices in ancient greece later adopted by islamic doctors all diseases were believed to erupt from imbalances of bodily humors [Music] cures could be prescribed by activating or reducing the state of these humors by an appropriate regimen of foods corresponding with hot cold dry and wet types [Music] suffering from pathologies like malaria common in the mediterranean areas were treated with a salad regimen as salads were cold for an everyday diet salads were strictly proscribed they were considered too cold dangerous for the health too long to digest for fevers however salads were the cure medical precepts developed by the salerno school of medicine then by medical faculties in bologna montpellier and cambridge were translated into popular jargon using rhymes saying such as milk after wine is venom wine after milk is welcome after fresh fruit good wine is to boot or even uncooked veal and raw poultry make for many death a reality [Music] the search for balanced diets in the medieval world was not restricted to regimens alone healthy eating meant procuring fresh produce [Music] a food handling hygiene was also strictly observed this market in the town of dino in brittany is a replica of its medieval predecessor it was built by ardent enthusiasts of the middle ages and gives us a clear picture of conditions in those times all kinds of stalls stand side by side an arms manufacturer a seller of herbs of vegetables a butcher and fishmonger all food mongers had to respect precise rules especially for food conservation take herring for example the north sea abounded in herring in europe it was the source of protein during periods of penitence [Music] in 1493 the knight philippe de mesiere on a reconnaissance mission locating english strongholds along the northern coast of france noted in his journal that herring are so plenty that one can get a good catch with one sword as from the 13th century dutch fishermen prepared herring directly on board their boat after mooring the catch was stored in small barrels between compact layers of salt this was known as packed preserved herring [Music] fish together with many other produce could now be preserved for more than a year and be transported across europe towards the end of the middle ages herring was dethroned by cod which also fetched more money at the market [Music] as for butchery all cuts were finished before warm weather bovine was strictly reserved for milk production or plowing only pig young goats lambs sure sources of fresh meat were thought fit for consumption most of us believe that people in the middle ages had to make do with rotting meat and that spices were added to mask the disagreeable taste in fact only fresh meat was sold bills of payments of the time to butchers have been found in northern and mediterranean towns clauses on delivery times are clearly inscribed such meat would seem inedible to our palette we would find it much too fresh not cured enough at the time the habit was to kill the animal at the point of sale before the eyes of all then sell the cuts as quickly as possible by the end of the following day at most once the meat was purchased in cash or by credit using a small mark on a large twig and ancestor of our credit cards the butcher used various methods to preserve his goods the final precaution taken was in the kitchen as soon as the meat was covered by a sticky microbial layer it was judged that conservation could last roasted fried or stir-fried it had to be boiled first and perhaps this cooking process was a precursor to our blanching we plunge meat into boiling water to clean it before proceeding with the recipe [Music] sanitary measures concerning the food trades in the middle ages coincided with the birth of the term consumer [Music] towards the middle of the 13th century towns and cities became increasingly populated citizens no longer knew the source of the produce on sale progressively they became consumers and particularly avid consumers of pig pig on a spit and stuffed piglets became centerpieces on the tables of aristocrats allah is good in pig our ancestors said but not at all moments the christian calendar regulated pig rearing periods slaughtering was allowed between all saints and shrove tuesday simply because the absence of flies during these winter months made conservation surer [Applause] [Music] we return to the kitchen of our castle squire malta forbids his kitchen staff to jest to pilfer morsels as they prepare the dishes he knows he did just this when he was in charge of the bellows studying the art of cookery under his master guillaume de tirel alias tayyivon martin learned that one had to accept the trying conditions of the kitchen if the goal was to earn the blazon of the three pots and become master squire in the kitchens of king charles v and squire mata has yet to follow his master's genial example and compile a book on the art and tradition of cookery from the 13th and the 14th centuries [Music] it was the first time in history that a master chef had put his pen to registering the culinary arts before this stretching back to antiquity only authors of gastronomy had penned the secrets of cooking this innovation of the middle ages became a bestseller throughout western europe the vyondier of taivon cookbook would be published up to the middle of the 17th century initially printed in the early 14th century its popularity would be the envy of many chefs today [Music] okay following his master's example squire martin orders his cooks to use only the best sorrel and extract the juice to make an acidulated condiment this was present in the majority of dishes of the time [Music] prior to preparation delicate hands pick up the lusticum horseradish many of these plants are ignored or considered as weeds today dice crush press for juice squire marta treasures the acidulated flavor of sorrel juice this will give savour to his special dish pig chowder sorrel juice was an essential element of medieval cookery other substitutes were juiced from unripe fruit such as grapes collected a good month before the harvest or even apples pears and prunes [Music] on all tables of medieval europe spices were arrayed they were regarded as a condiment to dishes and as medicine three-quarters of all dishes were sprinkled with them this was a result of the influence of the islamic empire throughout medieval europe [Music] the 200 years of crusades to protect then reclaim jerusalem open multiple roads towards the middle east and to the heart of central asia [Music] passing through constantinople the spice trade route converged with a silk route they led to india and china while valiant knights soldiers of the true faith were being killed in the holy land european merchants peacefully confronted traders from the middle east here over a game of chess hoping to conclude a good trade this christian merchant from venice meets with his counterpart turkmeni in his yurt to discover then negotiate the price of the many treasures laid out on a low table [Music] during the crusades europeans were seduced by spices spices such as cinnamon ginger and cardamom seeds and of course cloves which came from the far east medieval recipes abounded in aromas and spicy tastes the presentation of dishes was extremely important the influence of oriental cuisine and feasting rights not only spread to the consumption of sugarcane bananas and rice a host of new recipes such as puff pastry and crystallized fruit found their way to tables across europe thanks to traders from the islamic world passion for spices reached a high at the eve of the hundred years war which was sparked by rivalry between the english and french royalties army cooks took great care to prepare recipes to stimulate the knights mixtures of spices with honey were believed to give additional strength by activating blood circulation [Music] these enthusiasts of the middle ages and chivalry are reconstituting events of the evening of october 24th 1415 just before the battle of azakur like their ancestors they've taken their vital dose of spicy drugs before the fray having donned the attire of the dukes of bar or alonso these modern day nights sprinkle huge doses of pepper on their food expecting to accrue the strength and courage needed to beat back the english out of france they will respect the fate that the weight of the french knights at azadkor during their enactment they fell under a torrent of arrows and confusion brought by english archers enthusiasts from across europe relived the terrible battle history books tell us that the english heavily outnumbered were perfidious and broke with the code of knighthood and used bowman to counter the french knights instead of using the traditional cavalry and infantry the french knights fell into total confusion in muddy ground and were massacred by the hatchet and bill hookman of henry v who feared a counter-attack [Music] but history books rarely mentioned that the french promptly avenged themselves they in turn surprised then massacred henry v rear guard and seized all their reserves of spices [Music] many citizens died early and violently in the middle ages but people knew how to live to the full combining palatal and bodily pleasures more fortunate citizens in the middle ages enjoyed private steam rooms influenced by oriental hammonds these were particularly sought out by lovers [Music] couples immersed themselves waist deep in a tub of hot water while attendance proud members of a guild bathed them and offered them delicacies and wine [Music] no ordinary wine moreover but possit warm wine mixed with curdled milk famed for its virtues as an aphrodisiac in time positive delicacies was not the only temptation shared by bathers [Music] [Music] fasting during lent meant not only abstinence with regards certain foods but also sexual relationships today most people forget or ignore such precepts in those times all sexual relations were clearly prohibited the link between eating habits and sex became central to medieval society the motivation for this is clear there are two main physical pleasures the middle ages was not a period of prudishness certain miniature paintings prove this we can make out couples embracing giving in to the total pleasure of the senses [Music] such libertine practices became common with the spread of public steam rooms but they soon turned into organized prostitution it was not until the end of the 15th century that such dionysian activities of feasting and orgies were prohibited at least in public [Music] when gormandizing did not rhyme with lovemaking abundance was accepted at the dining table in castles the prestige of the host was measured by the quality variety and quantity of meat served hunting remained the prerogative of the gentry game became a question of personal choice as the middle ages evolved so did the palette of the nobles there was a change from what was standard three or four centuries earlier at the time of charlemagne the eating habits and nobles of that period targeted large animals such as stag wild boar deer and even bears [Music] the fattier the meat the larger the animal was the choice of the nobles at the time of charlemagne the size of victims symbolized the force of the warrior in the man stated that size meant nutritive force foul was eventually regarded as a lighter and more refined in the course of the 13th and 14th centuries fowl became the most coveted meat superseding bear meat or wild boar regimens had changed the gentry sought a different social image we no longer had an ability of warriors but one of courtly love and mores sensitive diplomats and politicians eating habits forged a new identity peacocks pheasants swans or doves almost anything that flew food that was closer to heaven was reserved for truly noble stomachs nobles in florence or siena set the example of cookery and table manners well before their counterparts across europe towards the middle of the 14th century under the influence of art architecture and increasing commerce with the orient tuscany led the way a century before the rest of europe by being home to the renaissance in bovania a town lying between florence and rome enthusiasts reconstitute banquets of the period each year [Music] there are no limits to preparing winged menus [Music] foul is brought to the table sometimes cooked sometimes alive sometimes baked in a souffle magnificent birds emblems of power they offer diners a feast of celestial inspiration [Music] [Applause] [Music] in the kitchens of columbia castle in the aviron department of france in the 14th century the menu for ulmeric de panus banquet is a little less refined than that of his italian neighbors but not necessarily less appetizing minutes before serving begins the announcing bell is wrong everything must be ready at the given time since the customer banqueting was to serve all dishes at the one go the final touch is squire martin's famous dish of pig chowder the bellows worker has already fried a few pounds of sausages in lard they should now be liberally dust with wine 80 centiliters per pound of sausages claret sweet and light blended with honey is used for this the dish is left to simmer for some 20 minutes on a low flame the vegetable cook has crushed two pinches of ginger pepper and saffron and mix them with breadcrumbs this subtle thickener is added at the end of the simmering phase squire marta supervises the exact dosage of his precious juice the key to his secret recipe one minute before serving he must now incorporate two egg yolks while stirring constantly [Music] for the feast this evening squire marta has put all his art into the preparation pig chowder fills the castle with its special aroma marta hopes to be awarded at least the two-cauldron coat of arms on his way to being ennobled seven centuries later the heritage of the squires lives on at the famous grand ve fool restaurant in paris a modern-day masterchef ghee marta confirms his boundless admiration of squire shikha another major chef of the middle ages like martha shikhar was also from the subway region and was in the service of prince amade the eighth squire chica's legacy is reflected by the menu of this coveted parisian restaurant we can find the rosiol of pig prepared in the tradition of the great squire for the recipe you need spare ribs cinnamon figs prunes dates ginger and pine cone seeds the restaurant has been awarded three stars but ghee malta remains modest reverent to his past master squire to the prince of savoy in the early 15th century the innovative genius of was in the dosage you have a recipe and you have an economy of ingredients the technical term 30 grams of this 50 grams of that but beyond dosing he became a reference in his time his principles allow anyone to follow a recipe at home he also believed in divine inspiration to attain beauty a cook uses only pick of the crop ingredients to achieve perfection his cookbook was a sensation inspired me with his notion of divine inspiration of forging beauty out of food he remains a reference for dedicated cooks its legacy brings out the best to me we can explore and experiment with recipes and ingredients we can put philosophy into preparation [Music] master chef maintains that squire shikha author of a cookbook dating from 1420 had understood the secret of odd cuisine [Music] reveals his genius and it's very modern he used fresh regional produce like insisting on chicken from breasts here we are using pork he devised rapid delivery services he surprises our palate with a subtle use of spices his preparation is flawless inspirational his creativity is total an association of ingredients used to making his recipe so special totally to ensure that his rosie olive pig would be fit for a prince gee mao town decorates it with gold leaf just like squier shikar did gold was believed to make women beautiful and it induced longevity it was the produce of the philosopher's stone in the middle ages precious stones were used like ingredients to a recipe in this recipe dating from 1420 we dabbled with a source of culinary alchemy [Applause] [Music] medieval cooking practices evolved under the influence of the renaissance kitchens of the renaissance period would adopt savers from every horizon stretching to the far east cookery books would break free of the ascetic rules of the church sugar would be used abundantly people discovered pasta using small forks of two teeth to eat with [Music] but the legacy of past masters such as taivo squires and many others lived on without such creators our taste sensations would never have been the same [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Chronicle - Medieval History Documentaries

Views: 85,885

Keywords: history documentary, medieval history documentary, middle ages, medieval history, the middle ages, historical cooking, middle ages cooking, what did they eat in the middle ages, what did they eat in medieval times, how to cook like a medieval person, medieval banquets, cooking back in time, history of feast, history of the english roast, chronicle

Id: dkqQ5iGATrk

Length: 52min 23sec (3143 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 14 2021