Role Of Food In The Elizabethan Era

The biggest change over time in our eating habits has been how involved we are with our food. In the 1700s colonists grew many of their own crops and hunted their own game. Most individual families also had a dairy cow in their backyard, especially in New England. This was a tradition that they brought back with them from England. They would use the milk for cooking steamed puddings, cheeses, and custards. It also provided colonial families with fresh milk in the morning. Preparing meat was very laborious and difficult in the 1700s. Colonists had to prepare a dead animal, not just parts of it. The cookbook we read in class walked us through how to dress a turtle and the entire process of preparing it used to take hours. This shows that food would not have been made every day. Colonists had to grow their fruits seasonally and did not have the opportunities to go out and purchase what they did not have.

In order to not only identify but solve our problems regarding food we must acknowledge the origin of those problems. In this paper I will be examine the S.A.D. (standard American diet) Within the context of history and culture and perhaps determine the causes of our relatively sudden and unhealthy turn in terms of production and consumption. The main reason behind examining the western diet in a historical context is the fact that diet is proven to be a key determinant of chronic disease risk and if we understand the origin of our eating habits, we have the opportunity to correct some of or past mistakes. I will be covering a period of about two centuries, acknowledging anything I

The times that Americans eat meals throughout the day are somewhat different than when the Greeks eat. Americans eat breakfast from anytime between 7-11pm. Breakfast foods can range anywhere from pancakes to omelets, and even sandwiches. Coffee is an essential part to some American’s breakfasts.

The meaning of colors and materials were the main rules set by the Sumptuary laws. Elizabethan England was divided into three social classes. The upper class included the monarch, nobility,

     Breakfast was usually eaten around 10 A.M. It might have consisted of cornbread with butter, cold meat, cider or beer, or maybe coffee or tea. The main meal was eaten around 4:00 P.M. This would be the lavish meal. When it was time to eat the man and his older sons would take their places at the table. The wife would sit next to her husband while the oldest daughter would serve the meal. Any young children would stand, not sit at a separate table and were not allowed to speak. (John F. Warner – pg.50-54)

As suggested earlier, small bodies of water that may have been present provided the tribe a source of drinking water. Since they have terms for cow, pig, calf, and sheep but no terms for beef, pork, veal, leather, or mutton, it is most likely that the tribe did not slaughter these animals for food or clothing. The tribe lived among these animals, and one might assume they valued them as living creatures. Based on the focus on grains, one might also assume that they are vegetarians based on the provided data; however, while they did not eat red meat, the possible presence of rivers and lakes suggests the availability of fresh water fish.

Early people were hunter-gatherers. They ate large and small birds, fish, mice, grasshoppers, crabs, snails, mollusks, fruit, nuts, wild cereals, vegetables, fungi, and other plants.

     Wealthy Romans ate several courses at dinner. Their first course might include eggs, vegetables, and shellfish. The

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

The best place to begin the discussion regarding the family meal and how it has changed is to discuss where the idea of dinner originated. A fairly new concept, dinner came about roughly 150 years ago. While many people consider family mealtime to be a “natural phenomenon; it is a social construction.” (Carroll, xvi) During colonial times the family functioned as one unit, with everyone in the family having a

In the Middle East they ate wild grains with the helps of sickles. In the Amazon they had learned to cut back on some to plants to encourage growth of favored ones. Horticulture varied from each region .

In addition, Romans had amazing food and dining utensils that they used for their dinner parties and elaborate meals. During Ancient Rome, “Romans waited until the main meal of the day, the cena, (Tingay and Marks 38) to truly eat. The cena came in three courses, the appetizers, the main course, and the secundae mensae. When the food was served, it came with plenty of wine. This was because Romans had two hundred varieties or more from all over the empire. In the cena, “Food was served on dishes. Most were made of glass or pottery, but if the family was very rich there would also be ornate platters of gold and silver (Tingay and Marks 39). The Romans had spoons and knives but they preferred eating with their hands and fingers. As the slaves brought the food out on various dishes they would also pour the wine from the amphorae into a jug for easy pouring during meals. At many of the meals the host would normally have three couches, the summus, medius, and imus. (Top, middle, bottom). “The diners were seated according to their social status” (Tingay and Marks 39). When the guest arrived at the host’s house for the dinner party there would be couches surrounding the tables and musicians, jugglers, acrobats, dancers, and conjurers performing. The hosts hired entertainers to the meal to make it more enjoyable and entertaining. The first course was mainly consisting of salads, seafood, eggs, and mulsum. (Wine sweetened with honey). Next, “the main

wood workers ate very little food 10 ounces a day. Next the most common food for them to eat was bread. Then they would try to steal eggs to heat and eat. After they sometimes would get in very big trouble for going to steal chicken from the kings room. Those are the ten ounces of food the would eat.

The main meal is almost always in the evening, because most people do not have time to prepare a midday meal and children normally eat at school. Some families eat together, but television has increasingly replaced conversation at the dinner table. The exception to this rule is Sunday, when tradition

Food and drinks played an essential role in the life of a wealthy Roman citizen. Unlike other periods of time food had an important social impact during Ancient Rome and the daily life of Ceaser. However in many cultures breakfast, lunch and dinner were the three main courses of the day. A wealthy citizens breakfast consisted of bread with olives or cheese and lunch was usually quick with bread, cheese, and fruit (Ermatinger 1). Dinner was their main affair, and the largest meal of the day (Ermatinger 1). It contained bread, vegetables, olive oil, cheese and meat (Ermatinger 1). Banquets and feasts were also another elaborate way people would celebrate and enjoy their food (Moulton 27). How the poor ate was quite unlike the wealthy. They had the duty of finding and preparing their dishes in order for their families to eat. Wine was the favorite drink for both social classes and consumed with most meals. The knowledge and responsibility of women in ancient history pertained mainly to the preparation of food.