Food and feasting
were a common pastime for those living in medieval times;
however, the extent to which a person could enjoy a variety
food, as with many other aspects of medieval life, depended
on one’s wealth and station in life.
On a daily basis, between the classes, the eating schedule
was similar, typically involving three meals. These included
a small breakfast, a larger meal eaten around mid-day
with a final meal being eaten later in the day or early
evening.
For the wealthy, food was often the focus when it came
to entertaining. It was common to spend huge sums to impress
others at a feast. Sometimes the food quantities were
impressive even by today’s standards. For one feast
in 1467, more than 6,000 guests were fed with thousands
of sheep, birds, fish and other animals being slaughtered
to feed them.
The availability of food depended on the season. In the
summer more was available. Wild meats, livestock, and
seafood were eaten and the medieval palate loved fowl.
One could find chicken, pigeons, sparrows, starlings,
geese, swans, vultures, gulls, cranes, peacocks, herons
and other bizarre fowl on the table, sometimes being served
with the feathers intact. Fruits such as cherries, apples,
pears and plums were popular, though often being cooked
or roasted.
 Around 1300, citrus fruits were imported along
with other fruits such as currants and figs. Vegetables
were also consumed. Roasts, stews and soups were the favored
method of preparing the food with salt pork and bacon
being used for seasoning. Cheese and butter were generally
reserved for the wealthy.
In the winter the supplies of food were scarce. Meat was
dried for storage, but sometimes spoiled. To save supplies,
livestock was eaten in the summer and game was hunted
in the winter to better ensure a steady supply of meat.
An innovative way to proved meat involved raising pigeons
that would be eaten in the winter.
The lower class had a more difficult time with food because
they couldn’t afford much. Even in the summer months
meat was scarce. Vegetables were eaten, though not raw
as that was thought to be unhealthy. Bread and cheese
curd were constants though the bread was a dense, dark
variety as the lower class could not afford the finer,
refined flour of the upper class. Generally the lower
class favored a thick soup called pottage that consisted
of vegetables and coarse grains with beans for protein.
If it was available, the soups would be seasoned with
salted pork or bacon.
The preferred beverages were water sweetened with honey,
honey wine or mead, ale (generally for the lower classes)
and wine (generally for the upper classes). One irony
was that the upper class diet, though high in protein,
lacked vitamins A, C and D. This meant the upper class
often suffered from scurvy, tooth decay and infections
from spoiled meat. The lower class, eating mostly vegetables
and receiving vitamins from the ale, coupled with a low
fat, high fiber diet were in better health; however, were
often hungry.
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