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Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Historical Tidbit Thursdays - Vikings - Food and Diet - #TidbitThursday

Howdy! This week join me as we explore the typical Viking diet.


Farmers raised beef and milk cows. A farmstead with a lot of cattle was considered wealthy and, interestingly, the word fe' means both cattle and money showing how closely they were linked. The cattle breeds were a bit hardier so they could endure the cold winters. This breed shown, the Fjall, was a hornless all-white cow used for both meat and milk.


Farmers raised goats for meat and milk, pigs for meat, and sheep for wool, meat and milk. These sheep had thick coats that shed naturally. They might hunt bears, red deer or elk.

Fish, such as herring or salmon, was a common source of food and could be preseved by air drying, pickling, salting or smoking over a fire pit.


Food was typically boiled in a cauldron and Vikings made a stew called skause which might contain any number of ingredients tossed in. Stew would be eaten with bread (which was unleavened) made from whatever grew nearby (rye, barley, oats, or even peas).

Other crops the farmers raised included corn, peas, beans, cabbages, apples, berries, hazelnuts and walnuts.

Honey was used as a sweetener. They also extracted salt from the salt water. Spices could be found locally or through trade.

Picture References:
Fjall Cattle - http://www.livestockoftheworld.com/cattle/Breeds.asp?BreedLookupID=1036&SpeciesID=8&Screenwidth=479
Sheep - https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22051619
Feast - http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/food_01.shtml

References:
History.com - https://www.history.com/news/the-surprisingly-sufficient-viking-diet
Viking Food - http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/food_01.shtml
"Everyday Life in Viking Times" by Michael Gibson, ISBN#0-7500-1472-5

Western Word of the Week - Bug Juice - #WesternWordoftheWeek

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...

Bug Juice - a colloquial term for whiskey

There are plenty of colorful, off-the-wall terms for whiskey including "base burner", "brave maker", "coffin varnish", "deadshot", "firewater", and more.

Source:
The Cowboy Encyclopedia by Richard W Slatta; ISBN#0-87436-738-7

Western Word of the Week - Axle Grease - #WesternWordoftheWeek

Howdy!

Welcome to our Weekly Western Word of the Day...

Axle Grease - a humorous term for butter

Source:
The Cowboy Encyclopedia by Richard W Slatta; ISBN#0-87436-738-7

Review - TV Show - The Supersizers Go - Roman

One of my new favorite food shows is "The Supersizers Go" on the Cooking Channel. It stars Giles Coren (a British restaurant critic) and Sue Perkins (comedienne) who dress in period costumes, act as particular and somewhat amusing characters, and experiment with the eating habits and dishes of different periods in British history. The episodes are comical and light-hearted even when the food they try looks extremely unappealing. And they sprinkle in some historical tidbits.

In this particular episode, Giles plays the part of a Senator while Sue plays a Vestal Virgin.

Some of the foods they try:
Garum - fermented fish sauce that is used like ketchup on most dishes
Duck tongue
Poached eggs
Spelt (a kind of wheat bread)
Boiled goat, roasted mutton
Jellyfish, moran eels
***Meat and fish were generally enjoyed by the wealthier citizens. Red mullet was incredibly expensive.


Interesting historic tidbits:
Romans ate with knives, spoons and their fingers.

Romans invented the first salad, called herba salata. It was eaten with vinegar, oil and salt. When it was introduced to Europeans, they called it "Roman" and eventually the name evolved into "Romaine".

They used a mortarum (pestle and mortar).



Catch part of the show HERE.



References:
Cooking Channel

BBC

Apicius - a collection of recipes

Garde Manger - the first salads

Research - Medieval Cooking - Vegetables

Just like fruits available at this time, vegetables were often divided between upper and lower classes.
Vegetables favored by the upper classes include onions, garlic and leeks - the more flavorful, less hearty types. While the lower classes ate more lettuce, cabbage, and carrots.
Also, during this time, vegetables were sometimes called "herbs" or "potherbs" and were grouped together with herbs such as fennel and parsley and edible flowers such as violets. Leafy plants were often called wortes.
Tomatoes, yams, artichokes, green beans, corn, and colored peppers were not yet available.

Some of the other vegetables that were eaten in this period:
  • Celery
  • Spinach
  • Beets
  • Radishes
  • Turnips
  • Parsnips
  • Shallot
  • Watercress
  • Endive
  • Beetroot
  • Artichokes
  • Long-Beans
  • Broad-Beans
  • Peas
  • Lentils
  • Asparagus
  • Squashes
  • Sprouts

Resources:
Middles-Ages.org
GodeCookery
Medieval Cookery Blog






Research - Medieval Cooking - Fruits

Now we will look at the fruits that were available.

Interestingly enough, nobles did not eat a lot of fruit as evidenced by their poor teeth/bone health. They thought fruit was for the poorer classes. It is known they did eat dates, an expensive and exotic import from Northern Africa.

According to the website Middle Life and Times - the following fruits were imported into Europe:
  • Apricot - from Armenia
  • Plums - from Syria
  • Peach - from Persia
  • Cherry from Cerasus
  • Lemon - from Media
  • Pomegranate and Quince - from Crete
  • Pear and Apple - from Greece
  • Oranges - from China
Wild cherries, raspberries, red currants, and strawberries grew locally. Quince was used as a dried perserve and to season meat. Eventually melons were introduced into gardens.

Fruits that have disappeared include sarb and carob.
Romans used a citrus fruit called a citron which no doubt made it to European hands.

Medieval Cookery has a wonderful, detailed listing by date of fruits and their varieties.

Old Cook has some interesting information about the different fruits and origins. For example, the orange. During the early middle ages, only the bitter orange was known (which was too bitter to eat outright) and the sweet orange (that is edible without cooking) wasn't known until the 15th century. Other fruits include blackberry, figs, and apricots. The site even includes a few recipes.








Research - Medieval Foods - Spices

To understand cooking in historic periods, you have to learn what fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices were available either in the gardens/fields or by trade. After the Crusades, trade had spread throughout Europe, the Middle East and even to Asia and India, so exotic spices were available - to the rich, of course.

According to Middle-Ages.Org.Uk Website, the following spices and enhancers were known:
  • Pepper
  • Cinnamon
  • Cloves
  • Nutmeg
  • Ginger
  • Saffron
  • Cardamon/Cardamom
  • Coriander
  • Cumin
  • Garlic
  • Turmeric
  • Mace
  • Anise
  • Caraway
  • Mustard
  • Salt
For an excellent listing of spices used and currently available, check out the Medieval Cookery site which even includes pictures and photographs!








Research - Medieval Foods - Cooking and Dining - Intro

On my never-ending quest to learn more about the Medieval period, I have stumbled on several really great books and websites about Medieval cooking and dining.

Of course, the types of food varied with region (although traders brought "exotic" food from other areas/countries) and the wealth of the diner. The wealthier nobles ate richer, more varied foods than peasants and they could afford spices and better ingredients.

Spices also had another function - to preserve foods since they lacked sophisticated storage methods. And since spices were so valuable, they had to be locked up. Along the line of spices, royal establishments had a "spicery" who oversaw the quantity of spices used in cooking (to be sure people weren't overusing or stealing). Spices of this period included cinnamon, mace, cloves, pepper, ginger, nutmegs, and caraways.

Books of interest: