“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗞𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻: 𝗔 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲𝘀” 𝗯𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗲 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗮.
We don’t usually think of haute cuisine when we think of the Middle Ages. But while the poor did eat a lot of vegetables, porridge, and bread, the medieval palate was far more diverse than commonly assumed.
Meat, including beef, mutton, deer, and rabbit, turned on spits over crackling fires, and the rich showed off their prosperity by serving peacock and wild boar at banquets. Fish was consumed in abundance, especially during religious periods such as Lent, and the air was redolent with exotic spices like cinnamon and pepper that came all the way from the Far East.
In this richly illustrated history, Hannele Klemettilä corrects common misconceptions about the food of the Middle Ages, acquainting the reader not only with the food culture but also the customs and ideologies associated with eating in medieval times.
Fish, meat, fruit, and vegetables traveled great distances to appear on dinner tables across Europe, and Klemettillä takes us into the medieval kitchens of Western Europe and Scandinavia to describe the methods and utensils used to prepare and preserve this well-traveled food.
The Medieval Kitchen also contains more than sixty original recipes for enticing fare like roasted veal paupiettes with bacon and herbs, rose pudding, and spiced wine.
