Meals In The Elizabethans

One of the important things during the time of the Renaissance was food. Food was very important to the people. They cooked and served food in a unique way. Others had ovens and others did not. Others who did not have ovens, they cooked their food over an open flame. In Renaissance times, food relied on what your social class is. There were the upper class people and lower class people. The upper class people had more choices of what they wanted to it and the lower class people didn’t have many choices of what they wanted to eat. Some of the foods were expensive. For them to have food they had farm. The upper class owned farms and they planted crops and harvested the crops for food. They raised animals for them to have meat and milk.

Today world is so different from the Elizabethan Era even though that era has so much impact on the world today. The Elizabethan Era really show the difference between the rich and poor, and because of that many roles that was important in their life during this era is not so important today. This paper contains information about people everyday life in the Elizabethan Era.

Food is an essential need in order to survive. Medieval food took a turn during the Middle Ages. Different foods were put in groups to be consumed according to the social rank of individuals. Noble’s diets would be unquestionably different than the peasants. Religion also played a significant role on food during the Medieval Times. People celebrated large banquets and feasts during this Era.

Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, English Protestants established a group referred to as the Puritans. The Puritans were resistant to bold flavors and intense ingredients, such as garlic, for these had “Catholic Continental political references”. This led to a distinguishable description of English cooking. (Amelia Meyers) Puritan meals and meal times are different from what we know today. Although the English from this time ate most of the same foods that we eat today, their selection was quite divergent from ours. In fact, citizens back then had an abnormal idea of what foods were healthy for them (Plimoth.org). The Puritans had several meal responsibilities; women were in charge of meal planning, and food preservation

Summary: This website tells the history of food at the time of the Elizabethan Era.Poor people had unvaried diets consisting largely of bread, fish, cheese and ale, but the rich of Elizabethan England ate well.All kinds of meats were served to the rich people of Elizabethan England.Vegetables and fruits were regarded with some suspicion and was far more common for roasted and boiled meat to be accompanied with bread.Tudors were fond of desserts.Sometimes wine glasses, dishes, playing cards and trenchers were made out of a crisp modeled sugar called sugar-plate which would be elaborately decorated.

How well do you know about the food you eat? Why is it so hard to choose what to eat and what to buy? Modern people can barely make choices about what is good to eat and buy unless following the expert’s advises. However, there is one man, Michael Pollan, wrote “Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals”, published in 2006, and he wants to persuade general public to rethink their food choices and relation with food, and provoke their awareness of eating. Pollan builds up his credibility by approaching the question through various perspectives, and by critically analyzing the issue of eating disorder. To illustrate his claims, Pollan explains his key words of his work via his narratives. He, however, does not figure out any practicable solutions to deal with the omnivore’s dilemma.

THESIS STATEMENT: During the Elizabethan era various types of foods were eaten and extensive details were added to these foods. Social classes also played a big role in what the rich or poor ate.

During the Elizabethan era various types of foods were eaten and extensive details were added to these foods. Social classes also played a big role in what the rich or poor ate.

The diet between the upper and lower class differed in what they could afford. The upper class citizens of the Elizabethan era ate lavishly and extravagantly. As they could afford the spices from Asia and the freshest meat on the market. While the lower class citizens ate poorly. The lower class diet consisted of many vegetables and fruits with meat as a rare luxury. Vegetables were seen as unfit for the wealthy because they came from the ground. While the diets of the upper classes seem to be very different from those of the lower classes, there are many similarities that can be

Meat: beef, mutton, lamb, veal, kid, port, coney, pig, venison, fish (sometimes salted--pike, salmon, haddock, gurnard, tench, sturgeon, conger-eels, carp, lampreys, chines of salmon, perch, white herring, shrimp, pilchards, mackerel, oysters), sausage, eggs, sheep's feet, meat pies. Due to lack of refrigeration, techniques for preparing spoiled meat--vinegar,

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.

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,

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.

“You have to taste a culture to understand it” - Deborah Carter. There was a lot of disparity between the rich and the poor. The rich ate muffins and sandwiches with flavored butters, while the poor ate whatever was available to them. Food is a very important aspect of a culture. In the Victorian era, the food was very different from what we have now.

Butter was ‘accidently’ invented in Asia ~3500BC, travelled into Europe through invasions and is now a stable trade and substance in European diets; 17th century in Ireland.