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Turns Out That I Do a Lot of Medieval Style Cooking in My Kitchen

Open flames, stew pots, and bread — food at its basic best

By Lynda CokerPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Image by Cristian Rico from Pixabay

“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” ~Luciano Pavarotti

I’ve often wondered where the food traditions in my family originated. I learned a lot of my cooking skills from my grandmother and mother, two generations before me, and they would have done the same. As best as I can ascertain, my maternal heritage is English/Scottish, so I started looking in that direction.

When I got to the history of Medieval cooking, I began to see the similarities. I call myself a Southern cook because I was born and raised in the southern part of the USA. It turns out that I’m a Southern cook with a Medieval flair!

That Medieval flair is not exclusive to southern cuisine. In fact, you may be enjoying many of its finer points in your kitchen and around your dinner table.

Just for fun, I made a comparative list highlighting the Medieval flair in my own life. Check them out and see if you recognize any of these ancient food traditions.

A Medieval flair in my kitchen

  • Ovens were rare in Medieval times. Some businesses and wealthy homes or castles had them, but they were not in common homes. Therefore, cooking over an open flame fueled by wood would have been the norm.

I don’t cook over wood but I do prefer cooking over a gas flame. In fact, I detest an electric burner. Medieval cooks would have become efficient at roasting meat over an open fire, getting it just right, and sealing in the natural juices. The same principle is true when cooking over a gas flame. A cook becomes proficient at judging the exact flame they need for each cooking purpose.

  • In the Middle Ages, bread was the most basic food and would be present at every meal.

This seems to be the same at my table. Bread in some form is always on the table. It might be white bread, cornbread, biscuits, crackers, tortillas, yeast rolls, etc. The point is, the table is not fully set until the bread is present. It isn’t a necessity as it would have been in the Middle Ages but it does seem to be traditional.

  • Pork and fowl were the most common meats. Beef, venison, and other wild game were mostly seen only in more wealthy kitchens. Mainly because it took a lot of land to raise cattle and sheep. Most of the forest areas were owned by landed gentry who didn’t allow the common people to hunt on their lands.

Pork and fowl are still the most common meats in my kitchen. I learned early that no Southern cook can survive without ham and bacon drippings. And you just can’t have chicken and dumplings without the chicken.

  • Bread was used as bowls and plates in Medieval Times. Bread bowls would absorb the juices and thickened gravy of soups and stews and then be eaten last. The same would be true of thick slabs of bread with the stew on top.

This tradition is alive and well around my table. Creamed chicken is served over hot biscuits as is sausage grave. Pinto, Navy, and Great Northern beans are served over slices of cornbread. Creamed beef is served over toast. This must be one of my favorite Medieval food traditions.

  • Stews were the most common way of serving a meal for the common people.

This seems to still hold true for middle-income families. Soups, stews, and casseroles are the most budget-friendly recipes with the most servings. These type of dishes find their way onto my table every week in the form of vegetable soup, potatoes soup, chili, gumbo, etc.

  • Local herbs were used for flavoring. Spices were mostly imported and would not have been available to common households. Salt was costly but considered a necessary expense. Mustard was used extensively as was vinegar.

I still like to use local herbs or herbs I grow in my own garden. And mustard is an important ingredient in my barbecue sauce, potato salad, baked beans, and several other sauces and dressings. Balsamic vinegar is also a staple.

  • Cheese was readily found in the kitchens of common people. Because of the lack of technology to keep milk fresh, cheese making was prevalent. Cheese often accounted for the main source of protein for many poor families.

I use cheese in a wide variety of dishes and also as a protein substitute. I also use a vast amount of another substance common on the table in Medieval Times — butter.

Takeaway

Finding the connection between our present lifestyle and those of the past is enriching and enlightening. We come to understand ourselves better and appreciate the family traditions that we all have embedded in our lives.

No matter where you are in the world, the common experience that brings us together is food.

Do you have some Medieval cooking flair in your home? If so, drop a comment. I’d love to hear about them.

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About the Creator

Lynda Coker

Grab a chair, turn a page, and read a while with me. I promise to tap lightly on my keyboard so we both can stay immersed in our world of words.

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