Food in the Middle Ages

1. Food in the Middle Ages By Class

2. The Scope of the Middle Ages • The term “Middle Ages” encompasses not only a lot of time but a lot of land too. In an era when travel was difficult and preservation was hardly existent. Therefore the food and norms vary greatly from region to region • This presentation will cover universal generalizations • Therefore, not everything in this presentation will be 100% true and there are surely many to counter-examples to almost every statement

3. The Classes • There were three classes of people in the Middle Ages • The land owning nobility • The Clergy • And the dirt under their feet--serfs

4. Generalizations • Bread was very important to every class • Wine was the beverage of choice, beer was considered uncouth and was only drunk by the northern serfs • There were many limitations by the church on eating. For instance, meat was forbidden for a third of the year

5. The Serfs • The Serfs worked for the nobles on the condition that they would not be killed • Their diets were very basic, not only because they were dirt poor, but also because it was believed that coarser, cheaper food was healthier for people who did a lot of manual labor • Their bread was made out barley. In fact their most of their food was made out of barley. • Their wine was usually second or third pressing wine or rose wine • Pork and chicken were the most common meats • Soup was the most common meal • They supplemented their diet with vegetables whenever they could.

6. The Nobles • The Nobles ate bread made from wheat • And they had first pressing red wine • Nobles liked to have feast to flaunt their importance • The spectacle was often more important than the cooking, for instance flaming fowl and live goose.