Social norms also dictated that the food of the working class be less refined, since it was believed there was a natural resemblance between one's labor and one's food manual labor required coarser, cheaper food.Ī type of refined cooking developed in the late Middle Ages that set the standard among the nobility all over Europe. Aside from economic unavailability of luxuries such as spices, decrees outlawed consumption of certain foods among certain social classes and sumptuary laws limited conspicuous consumption among the nouveau riche. As each level of society imitated the one above it, innovations from international trade and foreign wars from the 12th century onwards gradually disseminated through the upper middle class of medieval cities. Because of this, the food of the nobility was more prone to foreign influence than the cuisine of the poor it was dependent on exotic spices and expensive imports. Slow transportation and food preservation techniques (based exclusively on drying, salting, smoking and pickling) made long-distance trade of many foods very expensive. Cod and herring were mainstays among the northern populations dried, smoked or salted they made their way far inland, but a wide variety of other saltwater and freshwater fish was also eaten. The most prevalent butcher's meats were pork, chicken and other domestic fowl beef, which required greater investment in land, was less common. Meat was more expensive and therefore more prestigious and in the form of game was common only on the tables of the nobility. (Phaseolus beans, today the "common bean," were of New World origin and were introduced after the Columbian Exchange in the 16th century.) Fava beans and vegetables were important supplements to the cereal-based diet of the lower orders. Barley, oat and rye among the poor, and wheat for the governing classes, were eaten as bread, porridge, gruel and pasta by all members of society. Cereals remained the most important staples during the early Middle Ages as rice was a late introduction to Europe and the potato was only introduced in 1536, with a much later date for widespread usage. During this period, diets and cooking changed less across Europe than they did in the briefer early modern period that followed, when those changes helped lay the foundations for modern European cuisine. "Medieval cuisine includes the foods, eating habits, and cooking methods of various European cultures during the Middle Ages, a period roughly dating from the 5th to the 15th century. Normans were also known to document their recipes and hand them down to their apprentices, passed on from generation to generation.This is a thread to discuss and add books, etc. They were highly influenced by Scandinavian and French food. The Normans had the biggest influence on medieval food. There was widespread use of sugar and honey as a flavoring for dishes during this time.ĭuring the 13th century, flavoring with spices became a trend, especially when preparing food during fasting.The wine was flavored with spices and new flavors were introduced within the process of preserving food, apart from the conventional salting method. It was only during the late medieval period that refined cooking became a trend. It was believed by historians that there was a good amount of spices and flavorings during medieval times, however, the demand for food flavoring was not equally high. The lower class and peasants cooked their food on an open fire. People who belong to the upper class cooked their food in kitchens serviced by servants. However, these methods were highly Dependant on class. Several cooking methods were employed during the medieval period.
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