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

made food during this era so distinct.
Alcohol was a primary consumption of fluids during the Middle Ages due to the lack of water because most of the water supply that people had access to was contaminated and rendered undrinkable, however not everyone could afford ales and other alcoholic beverages, therefore monks and the poor often had to drink the contaminated water (Johnston, 2015a).

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

soured into vinegar because medieval brewers used sugar as their primary preservative, as a result, there was a thicker consistency and sweeter wine, could only ferment for about six months until it soured into vinegar (Diehl & Donnelly, 2001). Even so, wine was enjoyed by the rich, the middle class on special occasions, and rations given out to exceptional Roman soldiers, again because clean water was so scarce during the Middle Ages, Roman soldiers were rationed out one liter of wine as their source of fluids to keep them strong and healthy (Fossier, 1986). Wine was not enjoyed by peasants and the middle class regularly because wine was very expensive to make, such as spiced wine; wine that has been supplemented with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and other spices because of such spices.
Herbs and spices were not only used as a food supply, though, they were also used as an indicator of wealth and social class (Middle Ages Food, n.d.). The food people ate was not often decided by their palate preference. During the Middle Ages, social level and amount of wealth determined the type, amount, and quality of food people ate (Johnston, 2015b). For example, lower class people often could not store their food with preservatives because most methods of preservation needed herbs or spices. At the time, transportation and shipping was extremely expensive and practically out of reach for most people except those with lots of money, unquestionably higher quality foods were out of reach for the lower classes (Spice in Medieval Europe, n.d.). Herbs and spices, however, are not the only measure of wealth and social class. The highest quality food such as grains, wines, fruits and vegetables, and meats were all types of foods that defined higher quality standards of living. Rice was an example of grain that only the wealthy had access to since it had to be imported from Muslim Spain and Northern Africa, again, since transportation and shipping costs were so high that made whatever was shipped very expensive as well (Johnston, 2015c). Wines coming from France and Italy were also very prestigious and well-regarded wines, these wines were so exceptional because of the excellent grapes grown both in France and Italy therefore creating the best wine (Fossier, 1986). On the other hand, lower class citizens did have access to fruits and vegetables, however the quality of food they had access to was not too great, they often relied on the lower quality food that higher class citizens did not want. Since many lower class citizens during the Middle Ages could not afford animal products other than pig, their diets largely consisted of low quality grain, fruits, and vegetables (Johnston, 2015d). Food also had several uses besides keeping people besides consumption.
Medicine during the medieval period was not nearly as advanced as modern-day medicines and treatments, but although limited they did use different types of food to treat several illnesses. Since medicine mostly consisted of herbs, spices, and other types of food most methods of application of medieval medicines included: baths, ointments, rubs, drinks, and pills (Medicine in the Middle Ages, n.d.).