Life in the Middle Ages could be tough. But, like
today, if you were rich life was a little easier, especially when it came to food. Imagine
sitting at a table and servers bringing out sculptures made of sugar. Then
a feast of exotic food, spices, and wine are brought out. This may seem like
something from a high end restaurant of today, but in fact, this was how the
wealthy ate during the Middle Ages. It may surprise you just how diverse their
diets were, and what they actually ate. You may even find the food so delicious,
that you switch over to the Middle Ages Diet. Let’s be clear, not everyone ate as good as
the nobles and aristocrats of the Middle Ages. This was a handful of elites who had the
wealth and resources to enjoy fine dining whenever they wanted. The peasants on the
other hand had a much more mediocre diet consisting of low meat content and
high amounts of breads and vegetables. But if you were lucky enough to be
wealthy, you could eat like a king. If you were rich you owned land; most likely a
lot of it. An aristocrat with an estate would have access to domesticated animals that could
be freshly killed, crops that could be harvested, and natural resources from the land, such as
wild game and fish. If you were a peasant you most likely worked on one of these estates,
but the resources were not available to you. It is a misconception that the food in the
Middle Ages was bland and non-diverse. In fact, the wealthy people of the Middle Ages would
rarely eat the same dish twice in one week. The dishes were made with rich spices such as
caraway, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, and pepper. These spices could be mixed and matched with
different meats and vegetables to make a veritable number of dishes. Other commonly used
accoutrements to meals would include cane sugar, almonds, and dried fruits. Many
of these items came from other lands such as North Africa and East
Asia and were extremely expensive. Some rich people in the Middle Ages even had
large stores of spices filling entire rooms. There was even a department of the royal
court that was called the “spicery,” whose sole purpose was to buy, maintain, and store
spices for the food that was prepared for royalty. In fact, the rich and royal loved spicy sauces
so much that entire professional careers could be made out of sauce making. If a saucemaker
could create flavorful sauces, they were sure to find employment in the kitchens of some of the
most wealthy and powerful men in all of Europe. If you were rich in the Middle Ages every
dish you ate would be adorned with spices, but the actual food would vary. A favorite dish
of both rich and poor was called pottage. It was a thick stew that contained meat, vegetables, and
bran. If you were rich this dish often contained cereal and frumentry, which was wheat boiled in
milk and then seasoned with cinnamon and sugar. When prepared this way the dish was
called mortrew. Along with the stew, and almost every meal, the rich would
eat bread. The elite would eat breads made from only the best grains, while
everything else was left for the peasants. Bread also played another important
role in the dining of the rich; it could be used as a plate or bowl. This
was sometimes referred to as a trench. Thick slices of bread were hollowed out and
soup or a meal was served in the bread bowl. This would allow the aristocrat to
have his meal and eat his bowl too. When it came to meat, the more exotic the
better. Peasants rarely had access to meat, and what they did have was normally the worst
cuts of pork. But for the rich in the Middle Ages their choice of meat was only limited by
their imagination. They would eat roast peacock dressed in a cloak made of its own feathers, beef
that required vast amounts of resources to raise, and salted fish from the coastal regions.
Nobles also had access to chickens and pork, which would be prepared in different ways to
ensure that the meals did not become boring. Pies were also consumed often by the
aristocrats in the Middle Ages. However, like all their food, the rich wanted the
presentation to be sublime. The pies would be baked or constructed in different shapes
such as castles, surrounded by a moat of wine. Contrary to popular belief, the rich during
the Middle Ages did not eat with their hands, or throw food over their shoulders when they were
done. There was actually specific eating etiquette that diners, including the rich, were
required to follow. Children were taught to wash their hands before meals, and to
use a spoon and knife while eating. Also, it was important to wipe one's mouth throughout
the meal to make sure that food was not left on the face. The noble class had a plethora of
books just on table manners. The floors were regularly swept after meals to remove any fallen
food, and leftovers were fed to dogs and pigs. No meal would be complete during the Middle
Ages without alcohol. People during this time period drank lots and lots of alcohol.
The rich would have their pick of wines, ales, and liquors. However, these drinks
were very weak by our standards today, so someone would have to consume large
amounts of alcoholic beverages before succumbing to drunkenness. One plus side
of the fermentation process was that it killed many water-borne diseases
and bacteria. This reduced illness, so drinking alcoholic beverages was oftentimes
preferable to drinking water, even for children. Being rich in the Middle Ages meant you had
resources and the ability to throw parties. No wealthy family would go too
long without having a banquet. This is where the most extravagant dishes
were made, and the most spectacular culinary sculptures were built. It was during banquets
the noblemen would show off their wealth, and try to impress everyone who was
present. The more extravagant the banquet, the more people would talk, and the social
status of the party thrower would be elevated. Banquets were slightly different from the
normal meals of the aristocrats during the Middle Ages. For one thing there
were a lot more people in attendance; for another there was a lot more food.
Every table would be covered in jellies, pies, and fritters as soon as guests sat down.
During the Middle Ages meals were not separated into savory courses followed by sweet desserts
like they are today. Almost all dishes were laid out together, so the guests could have
whatever looked most appetizing at the time. Banquets were where the most extravagant food art
was presented as well. Tables would be adorned with fully edible sugar sculptures known as
sotiltees. The works of art would be in the forms of castles, ships, and even famous philosophers.
The sotiltees were also known as “warners,” because they were served at the start of a banquet
to inform guests that dinner was approaching. This would indicate that everyone should take their
seats and prepare for the meal of a lifetime. Main courses at banquets were meant to shock and
awe the guests. The more memorable the banquet, the better for the rich noble who threw it. Main
courses would consist of a plethora of meats and vegetables. Spices would adorn every dish to
make them unique; the hope would be that it was something the guests had never experienced
before. There would also be exotic animals to eat such as seal, porpoise, and even whale
if they could be procured. The more difficult the animal was to obtain, the higher it bolstered
the prestige of the nobleman throwing the feast. One banquet could contain more food than a
peasant family would eat in an entire year. Banquets were classy affairs and the host
would have to put in a large amount of his own resources. Therefore, guests were required
to follow certain etiquette as well. There were a number of special courtesy books written during
the Middle Ages on how guests of a banquet should act. Diners were nor supposed to fart, scratch bug
bites, or pick their nose while at the banquet. If these rules were broken the person could be
escorted out of the hall and may not be invited back to subsequent parties. That was why it was
important to never offend the host of a banquet, and stick to the basic etiquette
of fine dining in the Middle Ages. There were several intricacies and quirks
to food in the Middle Ages. The rich in particular were always on the cutting edge of
fine culinary cuisine of the time. But, there were certain preparations and foods that were
consistent across the aristocrats. For example, all fruit and vegetables were cooked during the
Middle Ages. This was because they believed that raw produce could cause diseases. Warnings in
cookbooks such as The Boke of Kervynge, written around the year 1500, warns that uncooked fruits
and veggies could make the chef’s master sick. Jellies and custards were a favorite for all
peoples during the Middle Ages. The rich would require that they were created in a way that was
more extravagant than the stuff the peasants were consuming. Oftentimes these dishes were dyed with
vivid colors. The cooks would use sandalwood for a deep red, saffron for a radiant yellow, and
boiled blood to make a dish completely black. The coloring of foods did not just
stop at jellies and custards though. Even dishes such as meatballs and deserts
were given vibrant colors to make the simple dishes stand out in a unique way. If
the noble was rich enough they would even procure a flower from the Mediteranian
called turnsole to make the food purple. We know all about food in the Middle Ages because
a number of cookbooks have survived from the time period. Obviously these cookbooks were written
for the creation of meals for the wealthy. The large variety of cookbooks goes to show
how important food was at this time in history. The very first English cookbook ever, The Forme
of Cury, was written in 1390 by the Chief Master Cooks of King Richard II. It is in these cookbooks
that the most extravagant dishes were recorded, and the tricks of the trade were passed down.
It would also seem that during the Middle Ages culinary traditions were important across
other parts of the world. Cookbooks such as the Kitab a-Tabikh was written in Arabia in
the 10th century, Le Viander was written in 12th century France, and Liber de Coquina was
used by cooks in Italy during the 14th century. Food for the rich during the Middle Ages was
so important that it needed to be written down. Not everyone during the Middle Ages ate so well
however. Most peasants and people from lower classes could not read, and therefore, recipes
were passed down by word of mouth. We do know that unless you served a large estate, or someone
who was incredibly rich, that fresh meat was hard to come by for poor people. Most peasants ate
foods that were preserved through pickling or by using salt. Once an animal was slaughtered, or
a crop was harvested, it had to last the peasants a very long time since they wouldn’t know when
their next chance for fresh food would come. This meant everything was preserved so that it could be
eaten at a later date. Bacon, pickled herring, and preserved fruits would be some of the best food
the poor could hope for during the Middle Ages. Just like today life was easier for the rich back
then. They could afford to spend massive amounts of money and resources on the most extravagant of
meals. The chefs of the rich biggest problem was not lack of variety, but in finding ways
to make each dish unique and different. Nobles ate food that was both visually pleasing
and tasteful. Exotic meats and intricate sugar sculptures were served to aristocrats while they
drank wine and ale to their heart's content. It would seem that rich people in the Middle
Ages ate better than many people do today. Now check out “Why You Wouldn't Survive
In Medieval time.” And after that watch “Why Teenage Life In
The Middle Ages Sucked.”
