Food of the Middle

Ages
By: Erin Sheahan
Methods of Food
Preservation
 Food Preservation

During the Middle Ages, there was not a great extent of

knowledge on the topic of preserving food. Although this is true,
they had very effective methods of preserving their food.
The purpose of food preservation is to treat the food so that it
would slow down or safely stop the process of spoiling.
Some of these methods would include:
-Salting
-Smoking
-Pickling
-Drying
-Sweet Preserves
-Fermentation
-Confits
-Freezing
 Salting

This was the most common method for preserving meat and fish,
since it could make it last much longer.

Although it was very effective on meat and fish it was not very
effective on vegetables and fruits and they would spoil very fast.

There are two methods of preservation when using salt.

-Dry Salting: when the meat or fish were buried in salt.
-Brine Curing: this is when the meat is soaked in salt water.

When using salt as a preservation method, a permeant salt taste

was left on the meat. To disguise this, the meat was washed off and
mixed with spices to mask the pungent taste.
 Smoking

Smoking was another commonly used

method of preservation for pork and
meat. Meat was cut into small strips
and soaked in a salt solution.While it is
drying it is hung over a fire, it will thus
absorb the smoke flavor. The salt
solution is not necessary, but it aids in
the removal of moisture and
discourages bacteria growth and flies.
 Pickling
 Another commonly used practice of preservation
is pickling. This is the practice of immersing food
(commonly fresh vegetables) into a liquid
solution.
 The simplest form of pickling was by using a
solution consisting of water, salt, and herbs.
Herbs and spices were added to the mixture for
flavoring.
 The pickling could be done by either boiling the
food in the mixture, or simply leaving the food in
the mixture for long periods of time. After food is
pickled, it is placed in a sealed jar, often with the
juice it was marinated with.
 Drying

• Drying is one of the most versatile

methods of preservation. Grains could
be dried by sunlight or air before storing
in a dry place. Fruits could be sundried
or oven dried depending on weather
and climate. Meat could be sun and/or
air dried, either outdoors or under a
shelter to keep from flies and elements.
 Sweet Preserves

 Although fruits were normally dried,

they could also be sealed into honey.
Honey was not only limited to fruit, it
could also be used to preserve meat.
Occasionally fruit might be boiled in a
sugar mixture, but this was a rare event
because only the wealthiest families
could afford an expensive import such
as sugar.
 Fermentation

• Most methods of preservation slow down or

stop decay, fermentation actually does the
opposite. It accelerates the decay of foods.
• The most common ingredient of fermentation
was alcohol.
• Common products made from fermentation:
wine, beer, mead, cheese, and cider.
 Confits

• In the modern day times, confit refers to any type

of food that is immersed in a substance for
preservation. As we all know, the Middle Ages
were a very different time. During the Middle ages
a confit referred to potted meat, such as fowl or
pork.
• The meat was salted and then cooked for an
extended period of time in its own fat, it then
cools, causing sealing. When stored in a cool
place it would last for months.
 Freezing

• Freezing was a very rare method of

preservation, but it was not unheard of. In
castles and large homes equipped with
cellars, an underground room packed with
winter ice could keep foods cool for
months.
• An ice-room was labor intensive and was
very uncommon, but on rare occasions
they were present.
Food of the Dark
Ages
 Banquets

• A banquet in this time consisted of 6 courses.

• There were strict rules of table manners, how
people ate, and where they sat.
• They used spoons and knifes for eating, forks
were considered scandalous at the time.
Instead of plates, they used hard pieces of
bread called trenchers. These soaked up
blood and liquids from food.
Upper Class vs. Lower Class

• There was a vast difference in the daily meals

between the Upper Class and the Lower Class.
• Many of the ingredients used for the meals of the
Upper Class were extremely expensive and could
not be afforded by the commoners.
• Travel by the Crusaders prompted a new interest
in beautiful objects and elegant manners.
 Daily Meals

• Both the upper and lower class had on average 3 meals a day.
• The upper class would always eat food with silverware, sometimes
even gold dishes.
• Lower class would eat from wooden or horn dishes. Every person
had their own knife, spoons were rarely used because most liquids
were drunk from a cup.
• Meal times (for upper class):
-Breakfast: Food and drink served between 6-7 o’clock in the
morning.
-Dinner: Food and drink served between 12-2 o’clock during the day.
-Supper: Substainstial meal with food and drink and entertainment
served between 6-7 o’clock at night.
 Meals for the Upper Class

• The daily meals for the upper class consisted of a

huge variety of food. Vegetables were limited,
this was because the food grown on the grounds
were ‘peasant food’ and were not fit for the
nobility. Only a few vegetables were fit to grace
the table of the nobles.
• Only the nobles could hunt boar, deer, and
rabbits and hares. These were used often in the
meals.
• Their food was highly flavored with expensive
spices.
 Meals for the Lower Class

• The usual diet of the lower class would

include pottage, bread, milk, cheese, beef,
pork, and lamb.
• Since only the nobles could hunt certain
animals the punishment for poaching was
very serious. If caught poaching, it could
result in having your hands cut off or even
death.
• The poor could not afford the spices enjoyed
by the upper class, so usually their food was
very bland.
 Fasting

• The people of the Middle Ages were

very religious, and in their religion they
were sometimes banned from eating
meat.
• Certain religions banned eating meat
on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays,
lent, advent, and on the eves of many
religious holidays.
 Drink

• The people of the dark ages loved to

drink, and seeing that the water was
often unclean it was a necessity.
• The lower class drank ale, mead, and
cider while the upper class drank many
different types of wine.
 Unhealthy Diet

• The diet of the people of the middle ages

was very unhealthy, especially the nobles.
They ate very little fruits and vegetables
because they were wary of foods that were
not prepared. Usually vegetables would only
be found in stews, while fruits would only be
found in pies and other deserts. Dairy
products were also considered a commoners
food. Little was known about nutrition and
Staple Diets of the Classes

Lower Class: Upper Class:

• Rye or barley bread

• Manchet bread

• Pottage
• Variety of meats

• Milk
• Variety of fish

• Cheese
• Shell fish

• Beef, pork, and lamb

• Spices

• Fish (if they had access to river)

• Cheese

• Homegrown vegetables and fuits

• Limited fruits and vegetables.

• Nuts

• Honey
 Cooking

• If you were apart of the upper class then your

castle would have a great kitchen with many
serfs and servents. The poor had to cook in
their smalls huts over an open fire.
• Methods of cooking:
-Spit roasting
-Baking
-Boiling
-Smoking
-Salting
-Frying
 Work Cited

Jon. "Food in the Middle Ages." Kyrene School

District - Redirect. Web. 12 May 2010.
<http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/su
nda/ma/1jon.htm>.
"Middle Ages Food." Middle Ages Food. Web. 9
May 2010. <http://www.middle-
ages.org.uk/middle-ages-food.htm>.
Snell, Melissa. "Medieval Food Preservation."
About. Web. 7 May 2010.
<http://historymedren.about.com/od/foodandfa
mine/a/food_preservation.htm>.