Foodstuffs

The variety of raw ingredients available to the medieval cook was largely similar to the selection we are presented with today. With the exception of items later brought over from the Americas (maize, chocolate, turkey), and some which were known but considered suspicious or downright poisonous (potato, tomato, banana), and a few which for other reasons reached Europe in later ages (coffee, tea, vanilla, broccoli), most the selection available to the medieval cook was largely similar to today's palette. The most important limitation on variety was imposed by what could be produced locally; through the medieval and renaissance period, import was a costly and time-consuming business, and so often priced its bounty out of reach for common folk.

The staples

Bread was the staple of everyone's diet, though the grain it was made from varied locally, and also according to wealth. The finest white bread was made from wheat flour siftet two or three times; this was found mainly at the tables of the aristocracy. The bread of common people was made with what ever grain was available locally; this could be a combination of wheat and rye flour, which produces a popular bread called maslin, or barley and oats in the colder and wetter north. Weed seeds frequently found their way into the flour, and in years when the harvest had been poor, peas, beans or acorns might be added to the cheapest bread to conserve precious flour. Large households baked their own bread; in villages this was usually done in a communal oven or left to a professional baker.

Another dietary cornerstone was formed by pottages. A typical pottage consisted of a broth or stock to which vegetables (most commonly cabbage, leeks onions and garlic), cereals or meat might be added; eggs might also go into the pot to thicken the brew and make a richer base. Practically every household had a kitchen garden, which produced not only herbs for spicing, but also peas, beans, leeks, onions, and various roots such as carrots and turnips. However, in spite of the ready availability of fresh fruit and vegetables, with the exception of grapes, cherries and wild berries, garden products were rarely eaten uncooked, as they were believed unhealthy in an unprocessed state. Interestingly, on the rare occasions that salad was made, flowers such as lilacs and primroses were often added to it.

Livestock was kept by all who could afford to; not only for meat, but also for milk, eggs and wool. Sheep were the most common of English livestock, due to their versatility and low demands regarding grazing; cattle, on the other hand, held the advantage of producing both meat and milk in quantities significantly larger than sheep or goats. Due to the problems of supplying sufficient winter feed, most livestock (with the exception of breeding animals) tended to be slaughtered at intervals over the winter. Pigs, however, were less fussy eaters and could also forage for food in winter. This made pork the meat of choice for the poor. Commoners ate bacon and salted joints, while Norman lords favoured mutton and beef for their roasts. Game animals provided the most prized meat, but they were reserved almost exclusively for lords and the king. Hares and rabbits, however, became lawful prey for the commoner in the early 13th century (Black 98-106).

Fish was necessarily involved in the medieval diet, because the church roundly banned the eating of meat on fast days. This same ban also forbid animal milk and products made from it. To avoid this handicap, medieval cooks came up with alternatives; pea-paste and almond milk appear to have been so commonly used, that hardly any of the known recipe collections relates how they were made. (Scully 15)

The luxuries

While medieval cooks relied on local produce for the bulk of their meals, they were in no way above using imported luxuries. Almonds were the most common of these, and use in large quantities to make up for the prohibition on milk on fast days; almond milk could also be made into butter, which was much easier to preserve than the ordinary cow's milk variety. Almost as popular was sugar, first encountered by Crusaders in the East and imported in the form of loaves. In the kitchen, the loaf was broken up as needed and ground into grains or even powder; combined with almonds, powdered sugar produced a popular ingredient for deserts. Medieval cooks had no scruples about using and overusing sugar; to the contrary, medical thinking of the time actually considered it healthy. In England, though, honey remained the sweetener of choice well into the renaissance, and sugar settled into the same quasimedicinal status as spices.

Salt was produced natively in mines or less prestigiously from evaporated sea water; in addition to home-grown herbs -parsley, sage, bay, sorrel, basil, cress, dill, mint and hyssop, to name a few - it was among the most common of spices, and in high demand as a preservative. Medieval tastes, however, demanded much more variety than that. The overwhelming presence of non-native spices in the recipes we have is a testimony to the success of contemporary spice merchants; cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, cardamoms, cloves, grains of paradise and saffron feature prominently in a vast majority of dishes. (Scully 30-31)

In addition to spices and almonds, luxury imports included citrus fruits - mainly oranges and lemons - in both fresh and pickled form. Also available were currants, figs, raisins, dates and prunes. Due to shipping costs, these were priced out of reach for everyone but the rich; in privileged circles, however, dried fruits were in great demand and indeed a typical feast food. (Black 107-108)