Random Dinner At A Glorious Medieval Feast (14 items)

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  (#9) Their Plates Were Literally Bread

  Two imperative modern pieces of tableware might not be present at a medieval foodie's table: the fork and the plate. Anything not edible with a spoon would be placed upon a piece of dry, coarse bread called a "trencher" and eaten by hand. They were generally about three days old and very hard and stale.

  In lower-class households, folks might not have had trenchers at all; they would simply eat their food straight off of the table itself. For the upper crust, however, the various sauces and juices of the meats would soak into the hollowed-out bread throughout the meal. While it was acceptable to eat the trencher after the meal had come to a close, most chose to give their soggy leftovers to the servants or the poor as alms.
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  (#14) They Were Surprisingly Health-Conscious

  Even though most of what folks in the Middle Ages believed about wellness was false, that didn't stop the elite from being obsessed with their health and diet. It was believed that the human body contained four "humors" (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) that needed to be kept in balance through proper behavior and eating practices.

  A huge part of keeping the balance between these fluids would be to consume the right foods in the right order - a practice to which nobles adhered religiously. All foods were categorized as having a certain level of heat or moistness. In the Middle Ages, physicians believed the process of digestion was similar to that of cooking.

  Because of this, foods were meant to be consumed in a particular order so that they could be absorbed "correctly." Banquets began with a food that would "open" the stomach - one that was hot and dry in nature, something spicy or sweet. Lighter foods, such as porridges and lettuce, were eaten next in order to create a buffer for the heavier meats and fruits like pork, beef, pears, and nuts. If the heavier foods were consumed prior to the lighter ones, it was feared they may block up the digestive tract and throw the humors out of balance. Lastly, a food like goat cheese, hippocras, or lumps of spiced sugar would "close" the stomach and finish off the meal.
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  (#1) Elaborate Sculptures 'Warned' Guests Between Courses

  Before the meal, guests could expect a dazzling array of (usually) edible sculptures crafted from sugar and other delicate materials like marzipan or pastry. These were referred to as "warners," because their arrival would warn diners that their feast was soon to arrive. These magnificent displays, or "subtleties" as they were called, were meant to be more of an entertainment than anything else. Often, servants paraded a new subtlety out at the end of each course to signify its completion. They came in the form of rare birds, exotic animals, coats of arms, or even famous people, and were usually accompanied by a poem, song, brief play, or recitation.

  During Henry V's coronation feast, the subtleties included more than 20 swans clasping lines of a poem in their bills. Other wild examples included scenes of pilgrims and knights - the "pilgrim" made from pike meat with a lamprey staff, the "knight" a rooster decorated with a paper helmet and placed atop a cooked piglet as its steed.
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  (#6) Fruits And Veggies Had To Be Cooked

  Life in the Middle Ages was really filthy. As such, raw fruits and vegetables could easily make a person terribly ill - if not worse. The Boke of Kervynge cautions chefs: "Beware of green sallettes and rawe fruytes for they wyll make your soverayne seke," meaning green salads could even take the life of the master of the house. Any noble's garden was stocked with a variety of fresh vegetables and herbs that were used both for cooking and curing ailments.

  It was not uncommon at all to cook fruits together with fish, eggs, and meat, but vegetables were sometimes passed over by the elite of the Middle Ages. They were commonly consumed by, and thus associated with, the lower classes. The dietitians of nobility regarded legumes, particularly, with some disdain because they are liable to cause flatulence.
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  (#3) Feasts Included Meat, Meat, And More Meat

  Medieval gourmets ate a lot of different animals - rabbits, cows, pigs, goats, fowls, sheep, deer, and boars, just to name a few. Even hedgehogs and porcupines sometimes ended up on plates. A single banquet menu once consisted of a veritable zoo of creatures, with 12 pigeons, 12 chickens, six rabbits, two herons, a whole deer, a sturgeon, a pig, and a kid goat appearing in just three of the massive six courses. Some feasts may have included a roast boar stuffed with sausages that would pour out of its belly when the beast was carved.

  Pies were often seen on the table among other roasted and stewed meats, containing layer upon layer of pigeon, rabbit, or pork. The sometimes intricately decorated crust on the outside was usually not intended to be eaten and existed to keep the meaty insides fresh and protected. The truly discerning palate would prefer only fresh meat as opposed to salted, preserved cuts. However, no animal parts went to waste, including the bladder, stomach, and womb of the pig, which were often used as sausage casing.
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  (#13) Chefs Got Creative With 'Fish' For Fast Days

  Life in the Middle Ages came with a great deal of fasting. This meant most folks could not eat meat, eggs, or dairy on Fridays and Saturdays, nor for the duration of Lent. Fish, however, could be freely consumed during these periods; one might be surprised by what the nobility thought of as “fish.” Along with pike, cod, and trout, nobles dined on porpoise, whale meat, beaver tail (considered a fish due to its scaly texture) and the barnacle goose - which is, in fact, a bird. It was thought that this goose legitimately hatched from barnacles, and was thus a fish.

  Those used to fine fare sought delicious ways around their dietary restrictions, and all manner of replacement dishes were created for fasting days. Chefs would invent creative ways to make fish appear as roasts of meat or cooked chicken. Another trick was to fill an emptied egg shell with pike roe - just cracking the shell could relieve some of the strain of fasting. Many of the elite took great pains to employ talented chefs who could help make Lent easier to bear.

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