Medieval Diet was Predominantly Plant Based

[LoreD]

(CNN)Meat-heavy banquets have long been thought to be a common feature of early medieval life for England's kings and nobles, who are often depicted feasting on legs of animal flesh and knocking back goblets of ale in the great halls of their realm.

However, a new study that examined the dietary signatures contained in bones of more than 2,000 skeletons has cast doubt on this assumption, finding that most Anglo-Saxons ate a diet rich in cereals and vegetables and low in animal protein -- no matter what their social status.


The majority of what these people were eating had to be mostly plant based with a small amount of animal protein. There were some people who fell in the zone of a modern vegan," she said, adding that most of the people studied would have been equivalent in today's terms to vegetarians, who eat eggs and dairy.

Medieval feasts looked very different from what pop culture might suggest, study says | CNN

Meat-heavy banquets have long been thought to be a common feature of early medieval life for England's kings and nobles, who feasted on legs of animal flesh and knocked back goblets of ale in the great halls of their realm.

www.cnn.com

 

[shyvas]

Yes, it was only the nobles and the very rich that consumed lots of meat. Almond milk was also popular as they had
no means of cooling food.

People Went Crazy for Almond Milk in the Middle Ages

Almond milk was a staple in medieval European cooking, especially during Lent. The ingredient appears in cookbooks starting in the 1200s. Going back even earlier, almond milk was listed as a cough remedy in an 8th century Islamic medical text.

www.discovermagazine.com

When we say a recipe or dish is 'peasant style' it often refers to what poor people used to eat ; stews, soups made with oat and barley:

Medieval Food! Who else is hungry? - Abbey Medieval Festival

To celebrate the up and coming Medieval Jousting Spectacular, this blog post is all about food and drink in the Middle Ages! We love Medieval Food and it is always a big drawcard for visitors to our events. As with any historical period, what a person ate and drank depended on how rich they …

abbeymedievalfestival.com

 

[LoreD]

I purchased a cookbook, about 40 years ago, written by a French monk. It had a few fish and egg recipes, but was almost completely meat and dairy free.

Apparently, the traditional diet in monasteries was mostly vegan, with a few vegetarian recipes.

 

[Stardust1986]

(CNN)Meat-heavy banquets have long been thought to be a common feature of early medieval life for England's kings and nobles, who are often depicted feasting on legs of animal flesh and knocking back goblets of ale in the great halls of their realm.

However, a new study that examined the dietary signatures contained in bones of more than 2,000 skeletons has cast doubt on this assumption, finding that most Anglo-Saxons ate a diet rich in cereals and vegetables and low in animal protein -- no matter what their social status.


The majority of what these people were eating had to be mostly plant based with a small amount of animal protein. There were some people who fell in the zone of a modern vegan," she said, adding that most of the people studied would have been equivalent in today's terms to vegetarians, who eat eggs and dairy.

Medieval feasts looked very different from what pop culture might suggest, study says | CNN

Meat-heavy banquets have long been thought to be a common feature of early medieval life for England's kings and nobles, who feasted on legs of animal flesh and knocked back goblets of ale in the great halls of their realm.

www.cnn.com

Only the rich could afford meat, so it was considered very prestigious during those times. Now, meat is affordable to everyone, but still carrie's this sense of prestige from times when it wasn't. However, peasants did much better in terms of health than the rich nobles /kings etc did. Everyone practised lent during that time period, abstaining from meat and dairy products, and so everyone was healthier. We have better nutrition now, they went getting everything they needed back then

 

[Lou]

(CNN)Meat-heavy banquets have long been thought to be a common feature of early medieval life for England's kings and nobles, who are often depicted feasting on legs of animal flesh and knocking back goblets of ale in the great halls of their realm.

However, a new study that examined the dietary signatures contained in bones of more than 2,000 skeletons has cast doubt on this assumption, finding that most Anglo-Saxons ate a diet rich in cereals and vegetables and low in animal protein -- no matter what their social status.


The majority of what these people were eating had to be mostly plant based with a small amount of animal protein. There were some people who fell in the zone of a modern vegan," she said, adding that most of the people studied would have been equivalent in today's terms to vegetarians, who eat eggs and dairy.

Medieval feasts looked very different from what pop culture might suggest, study says | CNN

Meat-heavy banquets have long been thought to be a common feature of early medieval life for England's kings and nobles, who feasted on legs of animal flesh and knocked back goblets of ale in the great halls of their realm.

www.cnn.com

Yeah I saw this article this morning.

I concluded that the reporter did a pretty good job of reporting but not a good job of concluding.
The info in the article seemed to indicate (to me) that medieval feasts (for the wealthy) were exactly like I had imagined.

 

[Stardust1986]

Yeah I saw this article this morning.

I concluded that the reporter did a pretty good job of reporting but not a good job of concluding.
The info in the article seemed to indicate (to me) that medieval feasts (for the wealthy) were exactly like I had imagined.

 

[Lou]

^and do you agree or disagree?

 

[Stardust1986]

We were taught that they covered the taste of rotting meat with spices, but people who could afford spices could certainly afford fresh meat. Spices were a way to show off prestigeousnes at the time, just like meat. The introduction of refined sugar also impacted human health. I heard that we crave sweets because were not eating enough carbohydrates, our vegetables and fruits
I dont know this to be true, but it makes sense

 

[Lou]

I was under the impression that the spices we are talking about is salt and pepper.
And salt mines go way back to biblical times.
I sort of recall that in some areas salt was used as currency (cause everyone needs some). I also sort of remember that the word salary is derived from salt.

Just looked it up and I remember right. Roman soldiers were paid in salt.

A lot of the spice that we find in today's grocery stores were probably not generally known. but I think there were a lot that could be gathered in the woods or grown in a garden.

 

[LoreD]

I think you would have to be pretty far up to have meat on a regular basis. The forests were all royal hunting preserves, and poaching had the death penalty.

I remember reading an article about the early colonists. Many wrote back talking about the amount of fresh game in America. They said "everyone could eat like a King".

Which meant that they hadn't been eating much meat until they got here.

 

[Lou]

I think you would have to be pretty far up to have meat on a regular basis. The forests were all royal hunting preserves, and poaching had the death penalty.

Yes, but the article's title was something like Medieval feasts were different than you thought. but after reading the article, it appears they were exactly what I had thought. and I did and do realize that only a small number of people were nobility. but that distinction was clear in the article as well.
However I do remember learning that the authors don't usually write the headlines - the editors do that.

 

[James03]

The medieval diet is known as the system that was practiced in the middle ages. The diet was a “Your spam removed”, but it was not vegan or vegetarian. People at that time consumed eggs, milk and meat in moderation. Some say that very rich people had maids and chefs who specialized in the cooking and preparation of foods in their mansions.

 

[digitarian]

The medieval diet is known as the system that was practiced in the middle ages. The diet was a “Your spam removed”, but it was not vegan or vegetarian. People at that time consumed eggs, milk and meat in moderation. Some say that very rich people had maids and chefs who specialized in the cooking and preparation of foods in their mansions.

I think I heard a while ago of people who were against eating animals - but just because they ate a plant-heavy diet doesn't mean they were vegan.

 

[digitarian]

Looking at medieval books like Liber de coquina and Anonimo Toscano, Libro della cocina, it seems as though, at least in Italy, they have as many non-vegan recipes for the number of vegan recipes in there. Who ate from these cookbooks, and which recipes they were able to make, I don't know. However, seeing that italians in 2022, even in the countryside - eat and raise animals alongside plants - I would say that these cookbooks could've been used by virtually anyone.

 

[Lou]

Ok, I'm not going to provide sources but I think we can safely assume that 90% of the population of Italy back then were very poor and illiterate. so they probably couldn't read those cookbooks or afford the ingredients.

 

[David3]

Looking at medieval books like Liber de coquina and Anonimo Toscano, Libro della cocina, it seems as though, at least in Italy, they have as many non-vegan recipes for the number of vegan recipes in there. Who ate from these cookbooks, and which recipes they were able to make, I don't know. However, seeing that italians in 2022, even in the countryside - eat and raise animals alongside plants - I would say that these cookbooks could've been used by virtually anyone.

.
Per the Journal of Education and Learning, 71% of the people in late 17th century France were illiterate, and so could not read cookbooks. Please see page 116 of this report: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1290524.pdf

 

[Lou]

.
Per the Journal of Education and Learning, 71% of the people in late 17th century France were illiterate, and so could not read cookbooks. Please see page 116 of this report: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1290524.pdf

The medieval era was already over in the 17th century. 17th century is either late renaissance or early modern.

I wasn't planning on looking this up but the illiteracy rate of the Middle Ages was closer to 80%

States, Institutions, and Literacy Rates in Early-Modern Western Europe | Eskelson | Journal of Education and Learning | CCSE