Food During The Renaissance

The common person usually ate “white meat” that contained precious little meat, made of things like, milk cheese, butter, eggs, bread, and pottages. These were sometimes derivative of fish, rabbit, or bird. Killing larger game in the forest was considered poaching and was very dangerous. Gentry and rich folks ate “brown meats” like: beef, venison, mutton, and pork. The poor also ate a lot more vegetables than the rich that insisted on eating only greens that were fancily prepared. Peasants had easy access to beef, pork, and other high-end meats, but they couldn’t afford to keep a lot of it for their personal meals. They could make it just fine without fancy dishes eaten by their richer social class. Nutritionists today would appreciate the peasant’s simple

In document 3 it says, “Instead of being stuck as a peasant on a manor, people moved to cities and learned to become skilled workers for guilds.” This shows one of the effects that education had on the Renaissance which allowed people to do something else in their lives other than being stuck inside a manor. Yet another change during the Renaissance is the increased interest in Medicine and Science. This was important not only for understanding the body but also to understand diseases. In document 5 it says, “In the Renaissance, people started to learn where the plague came from and how the human body worked.”

During the Renaissance, people began to appreciate art and learn further about science, become higher knowledgeable about the human body, and started to consider differently about themselves. People started to become further advanced in art and learn

Like the Romans the Normans introduced many new culinary skills to the British Isles but with the growth of the feudal system. It was mainly the aristocracy who enjoyed the new culinary innovations, while the staple diet of the peasantry remained to be then gruel accompanied by milk, cheese, butter, cream and eggs known collectively as white meats. Fresh meats and spices were the true mark of the rich man’s diet. After the Norman Conquest, beef again became the most popular form of meat and the number of cattle on the manor rose considerably in the decades following the Norman Conquest. It was the custom among the rich during the medieval times to host huge banquets in the manor house.

The Renaissance was a time of change. It began in Italy during the 14th century, and spread throughout the North. People all over Europe were affected, for the better and for the worse. Some people finally had a chance to

Some of the foods they ate in the Renaissance we still eat today. They ate soups, roasts, salads, pastas, bread, desserts, fruits and pastries. Majority of the people in the Renaissance ate bread. They ate bread with everything. It didn’t really matter of what they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. People in the Renaissance loved eating food and they really enjoyed it.

In 1550-1600, the food that the rich ate was bad for them. In the early 16th century 50 guests at a feast held by the London guild consumed 36 chickens, one swan, four geese, and two rumps of beef, and that was just meat only the rich can afford all the meat. The rich, who could afford to buy sugar, were very fond of sugary desserts, so much so that their teeth turned black. In fact, having black teeth became such a status symbol that people would deliberately blacken their teeth so it looked like they were rich enough to buy sugar. Little was known about nutrition and the Elizabethan diet of the rich Nobles lacked Vitamin C, calcium and fibre. Because of the lack of fruits and vegetables, the wealthy didn't get any vitamins or crucial nutrients, instead they ate lots of sugar, which led to an assortment of health problems, including bad teeth,

The average person during the Renaissance was a peasant. Peasants would eat soup or mush for food just about every meal. They would also generally have some black bread. The soup would be made of scraps of food, usually vegetables such as carrots or eggs. Mush was made from some kind of grain like oats or wheat and then cooked in water. Sort of like oatmeal today.

Their final meal of the day was dinner, which was at any time between five or eight (Nelson 1). At a meal there is of course food; however, during the Elizabethan era, food showed the differentiation in social classes (Prasad 1). In fact, Linda Alchin, author of Elizabethan Food, supports this fact and states “Elizabethan Food and Drink varied according to status and wealth... meat was a sign of wealth” (1). The largest difference in the food between the rich and the poor of the Elizabethan era was meats and vegetables.

Food is a staple in life. Everyone needs it, but not everyone gets what they want from it. In England during the Elizabethan Era there was a variety of foods. There were many imported foods and spices but a great deal of people never had the chance to try those amazing foods, except for the rich people. In the Elizabethan time period, the food eaten by the different classes, at feasts, and the ingredients used, played a major role in the civilization of England.

Food has changed greatly since the dawn of humanity. At the start of the 500s, the beginning of the Middle Ages, it had already greatly evolved. By the end of the Middle Ages, in the 1500s, their cuisine had advanced even more. The food in the Middle Ages was heavily influenced by Roman culture. Different aspects of medieval cuisine in Europe included commoner and peasant food, noble and royal foods, feasting and fasting, herb and spice trade, and food preservation.

Medieval times were very similar to current times. There were the rich and the poor. The poor families (families not related to the lord) would live in the village and work on the farms. The farming land was split into three different fields and then split among the different families in the village. Many of the families owned one ox but that was not enough to pull the plow, so the different families had different jobs for each month of the year. When the farmers came home from long days in the fields, their meals were not very plentiful. To have meat in the house was considered a luxury. The dinner would often consist of bread, cheese, and sometimes pottage. Pottage was a mixture of grain, hot water, and when available meat or fish.

Food of the Elizabethan Time People’s food of the Elizabethan time period depended on their social status and their financial abilities while malnutrition, diseases, and deficiencies made it harder for them to find food. The rich and the poor both had high risks of deficiencies because of the lack of sanitary foods and places and lack of nutrients. The food consumed varied depending on wealth and social class. In the Medieval period meat was a sign of wealth which carried over into the Elizabethan era. New inventions and the rapidly growing industries contributed into the new food of this time.

During the Renaissance time periods, people ate and drank a wide variety of foods and drinks. The food they ate was diverse because of the rich and the poor for example the rich, mostly the nobles or merchants ingested expensive meats that and the peasants ate mush or manchet. The drinks also varied if you were wealthy or poor because the wealthy drank beer, ale, or wine and the poor drank water that was unfiltered and very dirty.

The Italian Renaissance was a time for great cultural change and achievements, which began in Italy approximately during the 13th century and lasted up until the 16th century. It marked the transition between the Dark Ages and Early Modern Europe. The European Renaissance originated in Central Italy, and centered in the city of Florence.i The distinctive characteristics of northern Italian states such as art, literature, philosophy, and culture produced an atmosphere of learning and artistic expression.