Lesson 2: Ingredients and techniques
Ingredients
We know people grew and ate vegetables in the Middle Ages. This is an area that needs a lot more study, however, as we don’t know enough about how vegetables were eaten, except as an ingredient in meat or egg dishes. We know that salads were more popular in the south of Europe than in the north, but we also know that a good garden even in a place like Paris, would include a wide variety of green vegetables and herbs.
We know much more about meat. It is much better studied. Meat was often eaten as a roast with a side sauce, though it could also appear in pottages and stews, or cooked in a pan. Collops (bacon and eggs) were popular in England, for instance.
Brine and vinegar were used for short term (summer) meat preservation – when the stronger preservation methods were used for winter, the meat would have had to be simmered for a long time prior to cooking to make it edible. The chief of these preservative methods was, of course, salting, which could be used alone, in brine, or with smoking.
Other meats, such as rabbit and game, depended on availability and how legal it was to eat. Poaching was a serious offence in many areas. And in England, until late the Middle Ages, rabbit was cultivated by the wealthy – it was not often a wild meat.
Fowl was probably easier to obtain on a regular basis than most meat, for much of the population. The aristocracy caught birds for sport as well as for the table – but the peasants would have caught it for fresh eating. They were a popular gift for celebrations such as the New Year.
In London, Paris and possibly in other large centres, they could be fast food – since you could buy them precooked. The cheapest birds were sparrows – and many people would have kept their own hens and geese and ducks.
Not all birds were equal – the most expensive was the swan. It had tough meat, so it was served as a delicacy at great feasts – more to demonstrate wealth than to give people a gourmet treat, however. Cranes and herons were also showpieces. Pheasants could be – depending on the time of year – their price fluctuated somewhat.
Fish was important – not just on fast days. Herring was eaten all year round, usually salted. White fish were more expensive and usually eaten on fast days or during Lent. Eels were cheaper than fish, and therefore very popular. Shellfish were mainly eaten by the poor. Other sea animals such as seals and porpoises, were eaten on fast days. Some fish (whales, porpoises and sturgeons) were generally regarded a royal fish – and most people did not have access to them without permission. In the case of whale meat, this did not stop the meat from arriving on market whenever a whale was beached.
Favourite ways of cooking fish included frying, grilling, poaching and roasting.
Milk was most likely to be cow’s milk from the late thirteenth century, but could also be goat’s or ewe’s. Popular milk dishes included frumenty and sweet curds and cheeses. Most milk that was drunk was partly skimmed, so that the cream could be used in cooking. Buttermilk, whey and watered milk were also drunk.
Cheeses were classified by texture. New or green cheese was a curd cheese and was made for quick eating, while soft cheese had undergone some maturation. Hard cheese was made with skim milk and had a longer maturation. The actual style of cheeses varied considerably, according to the cheesemaker. Some were flavoured, some used different types of milk or different ingredients to set the cheese. Brie was known for its soft cheeses, and Normandy for its green cheese known as “junket”, made of pure cream and rennet.
Eggs were also commonly eaten – boiled, fried, baked or cooked with other ingredients to make a dish.
