Medieval Ideas About Food
a day ago
- Medieval diet was based on Galen's humoral theory, categorizing foods as hot/cold and wet/dry to maintain health.
- Digestion was seen as a three-stage process: stomach to chyle, liver to blood and bile, and blood distribution to the body.
- Staples like bread and pottage varied by social status; the rich ate leavened wheat bread, the poor ate barley or rye.
- Fruits and vegetables were viewed with ambivalence; cooking was often recommended to reduce their perceived dangers.
- Meat hierarchy: chicken was healthiest, beef for laborers, and fish was considered dangerous due to producing phlegm.
- Cooking methods and seasonings were used to alter food properties, such as boiling dry beef or roasting moist pork.
- Meal order mattered: start with easy-to-digest foods, end with heavier ones, and ideally eat two meals a day between midday and nightfall.
- Fasting was common for religious reasons, with exemptions for the sick, elderly, pregnant, and laborers.
- Diet was individualized based on age, complexion, occupation, and native place; doctors advised against sudden dietary changes.
- Wealthy individuals often obtained papal dispensations to avoid fish or fasts, citing medical advice.