![]() ![]() “Wheat is the most praiseworthy and temperate of all grains,” Africanus writes. Loosely translated, Harpestraeng describes how to combine sour milk and almonds into a paste, how to season chicken with salt, and how to grind cherries into a pulp.Īnother collection, De flore dietarum, attributed to Constantinus Africanus, describes how to prepare bread, beans, millet, onions and more. Written in Latin, it depicts approximately 31 recipes. The oldest known medieval Western recipe collection is said to be written by royal physician Henrik Harpestraeng. They used, instead, individual sharp dinner knives to spear food. The fork was tentatively introduced in the late Middle Ages, as central and western European populations generally didn’t use them. They didn’t even use the same utensils as us. People in the Middle Ages used salt as a condiment, not as an ingredient. “Sauces could be thickened with bread, for example, which makes a kind of grainy, lumpy consistency.”Īdditionally, food then had a lot less salt than what we’re used to today. “Fancy medieval food recipes that survive are not to modern tastes,” she says. In truth, Tuten says our tastes have widely changed over time. While the reason we host fanciful dinners may still be alike to this day, that’s where the similarities end. “Just about every culture has instances in which food is used as a way to make a statement about your money or social position.” “Think of political fundraising dinners,” Tuten says. Just as House of the Dragon’s King Viserys Targaryen throws a feast in honor of his first-born son, true lavish suppers in the Middle Ages were put on to display wealth, influence and power. “They’d be shocked by our habit of always having black pepper on the dinner table.” “Black pepper was a luxury item and was very expensive,” Tuten says. One ingredient considered a delicacy was, if you can believe it, pepper. So it’s safe to say desserts like these were either naturally sweet or, if made with real sugar, eaten only on special occasions. In the show, royals enjoy plums sprinkled with crushed nuts and lemon cake. “Depending on where and when, it was generally cattle, pigs and sheep.”Īs far as delicacies, sugar wasn’t widely available, so sweets with honey or fruit were popular. “Richer folks could afford to have large meat courses,” Tuten says. The more wheat-based, the more expensive the bread. For example, the lower class in the Middle Ages did rely on bread, as shown in the show, from very heavy barley or an oat variety. Tuten says that there is some truth to the cuisine displayed. However, it’s not all based on imagination. No shocker there, as the show boasts of dragons and man-eating crabs. “But the great thing about fantasy fiction is that it’s a collage of stuff that’s both historical and not,” Tuten says. While the characters on-screen bicker over politics, bloody wars and dragons, we wonder, “What kinds of things did people really eat in medieval times?”Ī post shared by House of the Dragon Tuten, an expert who earned her PhD in medieval history from Emory University, says House of the Dragon isn’t particularly accurate in terms of monsters, wars and drama. Commoners, on the other hand, eat strange stews and bread.Įvery episode features some sort of colorful pudding, shiny roasted meat on a stick or platter of fruity pastries. Royals feast on expensive meats and exotic fruit pigeon pie, turnips and butter, horse meat and sweet pumpkin soup. ![]() Martin, author of the books both shows are based on, writes food as a symbol of power. While the show isn’t necessarily set in a real time period, creators of the show allude that it’s meant to mirror the late era of the Middle Ages. The show, a prequel of the hit Game of Thrones series, is set in an imaginary medieval time period, filled with dragons, kings and queens, bloodshed, and lots of feasting. HBO’s House of the Dragon premiere drew 10 million viewers, the largest audience for any new original series in the history of the network. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |