Medieval Food and Drink!!

Medieval Food and Drink

During the medieval time period, there was a vast difference in the food a very wealthy person ate and the food a peasant ate. The wheat that they both grew had a big role in the types of food each group ate; the rich for example grew wheat, which made white bread. The poor could only afford to grow barley or rye, which turned into a brown bread. This kind of bread wasn’t as appetizing, especially during a farmer’s bad harvest where they would have to add acorns, beans, or peas into the bread.

Most all of the people in the middle ages relied on pigs as a major source of red meat. This was because the pigs were able to find their own food during the summer and winter seasons. Pigs were not as high maintenance as other animals such as cows that would need to be milked and feed. As for their protein, the rich were the only ones who were allowed to eat salmon and trout. If a lower class person were caught eating any kind of fish, they would be harshly punished. Another popular dish was Pottage. This was a soup stew made from oats, vegetables, and beans or peas. The things that went into Pottage varied depending what types of things the peasant grew.

The three most popular drinks were, water milk and ale. The middle and lower class people often drank the water and milk and the higher-class group drank the ale. They water was incredibly risky to drink because it came straight from the river and often wasn’t very clean. The milk only lasted for a short amount of time. However, the ale was hard to make and it took many days. It was made from barley, and you needed permission from your master in order to sell it.

The people usually ate breakfast between six and seven and usually consisted of bread, ale or wine. Dinner would be eaten at around eleven until about two. Dinner was the biggest meal of the day and usually had three courses, not all that was served to the kings would be eaten and if he wasn’t looking the servants could possibly get to eat the rest of it. As for a peasant, they would eat their dinner in the fields where he was working. Lastly was supper at six or seven and was similar to dinner. The higher up people would eat off silverware, and the others ate from wooded bowls.

LINKS:

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/food_and_drink_in_medieval_engla.htm

http://www.castles.me.uk/medieval-food-drink.htm

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/food/index.htm