The Wine and Beverage List
In Spain, Italy, and the South of France, the menu at a medieval banquet was considerably different than those of Northern Europe and the British Isles. These differences are still apparent in the cuisines of the differing regions today. Olive oil, as a cooking fat and a flavoring, was common in the Mediterranean regions, as were olives taken as a fruit at table. Vinegars made from red and white wines were common, as were the wines themselves. Fats from animals were rare. Grapes, figs, and pomegranates would all be expected at the table both as an early course and a digestive. Cheeses made from the milk of goats or water buffalo were common.
In the North, wines were expensive, and the more commonly served beverage was beer. Vinegars made from ciders were far more prevalent than those made from wine. Olive oil was rare and fats made from animals, such as butter and lard, were the most commonly found. Although dried figs were available for the wealthy and would be served at a banquet, apples and pears were the more commonly found fruits on the dining table. Cheeses derived from sheep and cow’s milk, aged in caves and cellars, were used in cooking and served to be eaten at table, nearly always at the end of the meal.
Eggs were eaten everywhere, and in medieval societies, which frowned on the consumption of breakfast, they were prepared in myriad ways. They could be roasted in their shells, boiled in their shells, fried, scrambled, coddled and poached. The earliest custards emerged during the medieval period. It was not only the eggs of the domestic fowl that were served on medieval tables, the eggs of other fowl were prized dishes as were the eggs of fish and sea turtles. The eggs of birds were proscribed during days of fast, but those of the sea were not.
Bread was the common thread in all regions, but even it varied in its appearance and ingredients by area. At a medieval feast bread appeared on the tables in both loaves and to serve as bowls and plates. Ovens were rare and expensive, and throughout Europe bread was prepared directly over fires, or placed in lidded pots to be buried in the coals of a fire. Most bread was prepared, cooked, and eaten within one or two days. In northern Europe bread appeared in the nature of pie crusts, and meats, fish, and vegetables were often prepared in pies. Eel pie was a popular dish at a medieval feast.
In the Mediterranean regions, a beverage made by simmering ground raw almonds, and then straining out the almonds, was highly popular. It was and is called almond milk, and it was an expensive luxury in the North, but would have been present at most feasts during Lent, used as a preparation substitute for animal milk. Almond milk was typically used as an ingredient in cooking rather than as a beverage for drinking, except in those areas where almonds grew in abundant amounts naturally. Bitter almonds as they are found today were then as yet unknown.