Medieval Cooking Challenge
Have you ever given much thought to what people ate during the Middle Ages?
Chances are good you’ve heard from someone, somewhere, that Medieval food was either spiced to the hilt to cover up rotten meat or bland and boring, consisting only of bread, roasted meat and wine.
Neither, I’m here to tell you, are true.
First, spices were available but they were incredibly expensive, not worth wasting on spoiled anything. Second, the fact that meat was usually butchered only when it was needed means there was less opportunity for spoilage, and the preservation methods of salting and smoking were well-known. Finally, they did have spices available and used them well, along with the flavors of the ingredients at hand, to create tasty dishes of both meat and vegetables.
It is true, though, that Medieval food–at least what we have records of, today–was generously spiced compared to modern preparations. This was mainly showing off by the upper class (remember, spices were expensive) and since the upper classes were the ones most likely to write such things down (illiteracy was not merely a rumor among the poor), that’s what we have to go on. Once trade routes were stabilized in the 17th century and spices were more plentiful, things calmed down in the kitchen as it wasn’t as much a mark of standing to have well-spiced dishes.
But, oh, the dishes that were made back then! During the time I spent active with the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), I used my modern culinary training to delve into medieval food and was surprised at how delectable (and diverse!) the food was. Things like adding traditionally “sweet” spices like nutmeg to beef and lamb were flavorful revelations.
They’re revelations I’d like to share.
So I propose a challenge to those who would like to see what it was really like to sit at a Medieval banquet table. You don’t have to hide your forks and eat with your hands (though you can if you want to), serve meals on trenchers of bread or build a brick oven or cook on a spit. No, let’s just dip our fingers in and play with one what’s-old-is-new-to-you recipe a month and expand our culinary horizons in the process.
I’ll send out one authentic recipe at the beginning of each month, complete with whatever translations are helpful in making it in our modern kitchens and then we’ll link up our results on the last Thursday of the month. Just fill out the sign-up form, below, to join the fun!
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