*Pottage- which is a kind of soup. It was made with some kind of grain, barley, oats or rye with some vegetables throw in. It was boiled in a large pot on the hearth for up to 4 days until eaten up, before it was started over again new. This is usually what they ate.
*Bread- not like today's bread. It was made with rye or barley. It was dark and dense and peasants ate a lot of it if they had it because that is where they got most of their calories and energy to work in the fields.
*Gruel- this was some kind of grain and water. That's it. It was thinner than pottage and was quite tasteless. If you had any vegetables you threw them in but mostly it was just grain and water.
*Turnips- if you were lucky you had a garden and some vegetables to put into your pottage.
*Cabbage- Some of their vegetables could be saved and used over winter.
*Onions- They could add some needed flavor to a meal.
*Peas and Beans- Peasants had a lot of flatulence and gas. Seriously, from historical records that talked about peasants having gas and others complaining about it during church services, gatherings, etc.
*Meat- that no one else wanted like the heads, organs, brains, lungs, blood and anything the elites didn't want. They also ate game if they could catch it.
Herring- They ate a lot of fish if they lived near the water and they either smoked it or salted it.
*Ale- It wasn't as strong as our ale today and everyone drank it, men, women and children.
*Cider and Mead- Mead was just honey and water. It was more for special occasions.
*Wild berries
*Honey
*Acorns, Chestnuts
*Mushrooms
*Ash cakes- This is what they ate when there was nothing else. It was just flour (any grain) and water kneaded into a dough, flattened and thrown on the ashes of a fire, hearth or a hot flat stone.
Sounds like we have it pretty good today.
Message Thread
« Back to index