(#11) Desserts Were Interspersed Throughout the Meal
If you were lucky enough to get sweets in the Middle Ages, then you were likely enjoying them at a feast for the "middle class" and nobility. Unlike modern meals where dishes come in courses with one "main" dish (a 19th-century concept called service à la russe), medieval feasts featured many dishes served simultaneously with every course, with desserts interspersed throughout as a way to "pause and refresh the palate" between them. One such dessert was known as a "sotelty" (subtlety), which was an elaborate "ornamental offering" made from dough or marzipan, often depicting a thematically appropriate scene of some sort (think medieval Cake Boss, if you dare).
(#6) Eating Breakfast Was for Gluttons and Laborers
You might think that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but according to medieval brainiac priest Thomas Aquinas, you're wrong and you're a big ol' glutton. Aquinas thought praepropere (eating too soon in the day) was one way to commit the deadly sin of gluttony. Breakfast, basically, was an "affront against God and the self."
The ideal meal plan in the Middle Ages was to not "break the fast," but instead skip breakfast, have a light midday dinner, and have a hearty evening supper. Some rebels had a sneaky Taco Bell-like "Third Meal" called reresoper ("rear supper") with wine and ale, too, but that was frowned upon. Laborers, apparently, ate something like breakfast, but it was literally just a small chunk of something to put in their stomachs so they didn't pass out in the fields. It wasn't exactly a full "English Breakfast."
(#13) Medieval Diets Were 'Heart-Healthier' Than Modern Diets
Sure, they didn't have modern medicine on their side and they had that whole "Black Death" thing to contend with, but otherwise medieval folk had a diet that was actually better for the human heart than what most people eat today. Dr. Roger Henderson told the BBC that his research indicates that the "medieval man was at much less risk of coronary heart disease and diabetes than we are today." It's mainly due to the lack of refined sugar in the medieval diet and the heart-healthy "exercise" most people got just through their daily laboring. Dr. Henderson even says that the medieval diet is maybe a better model for modern folk than the much-celebrated "Mediterranean" diet of the Romans.
(#10) Baking Guilds Were Serious Business
Bread was so important to the medieval diet that commercial bakers formed powerful "guilds" that sort of functioned like a cross between a union and the mafia. Bakers that joined a guild paid dues that made them members of the exclusive club of bakers that worked in a given region (no rogue bakers allowed!). Those dues could pay off down the road if anything ever happened to your business or your family (like insurance, basically). These guilds also fiercely protected the family recipes of "master bakers" and made sure that no one was opening up bakeries using stolen secrets.
(#9) Beans Changed Everything
Umberto Eco argues that when the "cultivation of legumes began to spread" in the 10th century, it was such a game-changer for Europe that the humble bean is basically to thank for Western civilization surviving and prospering throughout the Middle Ages and into today.
It's a bold statement, but Eco makes a strong case: "Working people were able to eat more protein; as a result, they became more robust, lived longer, created more children and repopulated a continent." The European population did double within a few hundred years after beans hit the scene, and Eco thinks it's because poor people were finally able to tend the fields properly.
Prior to the widespread cultivation of beans, laborers were struggling to get their protein: "...the poor, in those remote Middle Ages, did not eat meat, unless they managed to raise a few chickens or engaged in poaching (the game of the forest was the property of the lords)."
(#4) Raw Fruit and Vegetables Were Not to Be Trusted
Eating exclusively raw food is a modern trend that would have confounded medieval folks. Researchers from The British Library Board say, in fact, "All fruit and vegetables were cooked - it was believed that raw fruit and vegetables caused disease." The Boke of Kervynge ("The Book of Carving") from 1500, for example, warned against salads and raw fruit in particular: "Beware of green sallettes and rawe fruytes for they wyll make your soverayne seke." ("Beware of green salads and raw fruits, for they will make your master sick.") Fresh herbs were fair game for medicine and cooking, but all other greenery needed the disease cooked out of it.
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About This Tool
Since the Medieval Times, people's diet has undergone tremendous changes. Looking back at the history of Europe, people in the Mediterranean region mainly relied on plant food, while in northern and central Europe, animal food was dominant. From the 5th century to the 16th century, the eating habits, cooking methods, and table manners in different regions were different, but they influenced each other.
This is a great chance to learn more about the average diet in Medieval times, the random tool displays 13 information here. If you are lucky enough to have a meal in a medieval restaurant or a Renaissance restaurant, you can discover more historical and cultural differences.
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