MEDIEVAL EATING

Middle ages food and diet

Did the people of the Middle Ages eat food which constituted a good balanced diet? No! And especially not for the rich! The wealthy nobles ate few fresh vegetables and little fresh fruit - unprepared food of this variety was viewed with some suspicion. Fruit was only usually served in pies or was preserved in honey. Vegetables and fresh fruit were eaten by the poor - vegetables would have been included in some form of stew, soup or pottage. Vegetables which came from the ground were only are considered fit to feed the poor. Only vegetables such as rape, onions, garlic and leeks graced a Noble's table of the Medieval era. Dairy products were also deemed as inferior foods and therefore only usually eaten by the poor. Little was known about nutrition and the Medieval diet of the rich Nobles lacked Vitamin C and fibre. This led to an assortment of health problems including bad teeth, skin diseases, scurvy and rickets.

The staple diet of the lower classes included:
Rye or barley bread bread
Pottage ( a type of stew)
Dairy products such as milk and cheese products
Meat such as beef, pork or lamb
Fish - if they had access to freshwater rivers or the sea
Home grown vegetables and herbs
Fruit from local trees or bushes
Nuts
Honey

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