Food in the Renaissance

Food in the Renaissance

Learn about food and cooking during the Renaissance. What did they eat?

What food was consumed in the Renaissance?

The type of food people consumed throughout the Renaissance varied according on their socioeconomic status and place of residence.

Peasant Food
Peasants made up the bulk of society during the Renaissance. Almost every meal for peasants consisted of soup or mush. Typically, they would also eat some black bread. The soup would be created from leftover food, typically from eggs or veggies like carrots. A type of grain, such as oats or wheat, was used to make mush, which was then boiled in water. similar to oatmeal today

Meat was scarce for peasants to consume. it was costly and scarce. Meat was difficult to come by since it needed salt to be preserved. The Renaissance era saw a spike in the price of salt. Fish was more readily available to consume for those who lived near the coast.

Medieval Baker by Maggie Black

Foods of the Merchants and Nobles

Throughout the Renaissance, the rich lived far better than the poor did in terms of food. Like to the Greeks and Romans they studied, they cherished hosting lavish feasts with a variety of elaborate foods. They consumed soups and broths, just like the peasants, but these soups were flavored with unusual spices and frequently sweetened with sugar. The wealthy consumed more meat. Large roasts of beef, stag, or pig would be served. In order to add flavor, roasts were first cooked in a huge vat and then basted with juices and rose water.

Food at the Feasts

The food during weddings, festivals, and big feasts might be interesting. They frequently consumed large game birds like cranes, peacocks, and swans. They frequently reattached the feathers to the birds after cleaning and frying them for adornment. Moreover, a lot of meat was consumed at this time, including mutton, chicken, pheasant, venison, rabbit, turkey, and ham. Dessert, often known as the “Fruit course,” typically included fruit, jams, nuts, and cheese.

What did they drink?

Like us today, people didn’t traditionally drink water with meals. Especially in larger places, the water during this time would have been contaminated and not very good to drink. People typically drank wine or beer (also called ale). In northern countries like Germany and England, ale was very popular, whereas wine was most popular in Italy and France.

What did they eat with?

Most individuals used their hands to eat, occasionally a knife. By this time, forks did start to gain popularity among the affluent. Typically, skewering meat portions requires the use of a fork with only two prongs.

Read also : Architecture in the Renaissance