Food During The Medieval Ages Essay

Food during the medieval times was very different from the modern-day food that most people are accustomed to today. For example, drinking alcoholic beverages was as routine as drinking water today. Also, food was not only used to nourish yourself, food served as a measure of wealth and social status. Food with lots of herbs and spices was an indicator of affluence serving as a symbol, because the rich could afford herbs and spices. However, herbs and spices were not only used to determine social status, they had another very important use. Medicine during the medieval ages relied heavily on various types of foods such as but not limited to herbs and spices. These three aspects of food during the medieval ages exemplify the major aspects which

According to an article by Johnston (2015a), Ale was the common and most popular drink of the Germanic regions, because ale was very simple to make, ingredients included: yeast, barely malt, water, and herbal additives were determined by the specific region they lived in. Beer, however was very similar in production and brewing compared to ales, but beer used hops for flavor and preservation (Johnston, 2015a). Hops are dried flower of perennial vines called Humulus Lupulus they provide both tangy and bitter flavor and preserve beer by warding off bacteria (Spiegel, 2014). Another primary difference between ale and beer is that ale is limited to local area, while beer on the other hand could be distributed at much greater distances because the hops allowed the beer to last longer without spoiling (Johnston, 2015a). Alcohol content in beer also shows contrast to ale, beer had lower amounts of alcohol, which made beer cheaper and more accessible to the general population. Wine was very different to what most people are accustomed to today. Unlike modern-day wine, medieval wine could only ferment for about six months until it