During the Weekend of the Night of the Castles 2021, we decided to show what people ate in the Middle Ages and how they cooked.
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Wheat and flour are the basis of the diet. Bread is present on every table, morning, noon and night. It was even used as a slicer: a large slice of bread was used as a plate. White bread was reserved for the wealthy classes.
Sugar is not as successful as it is today. Palates were fond of spicy, sweet and sour flavours, and honey was preferred to sugar because it was much more accessible. However, we still enjoy "sweets", small pastries flavoured with orange blossom, rose or cinnamon.
And the drinks?
Of course, wine! Beer or cider, the latter two being served to young and old alike. Water is reserved for washing up and washing clothes. The quality of the water is more than questionable, so it is best to avoid drinking it.
The traditional French recipes we know today often originate from the Middle Ages: stews, casseroles, roasts and, of course, the inevitable soup. And what about desserts? French toast, waffles, fruit jellies and compotes.
Some recipe books of the time, the "viandiers", have come down to us, but they don't just talk about meat. The most famous of them would have been written by Guillaume Tirel, known as Taillevent, cook to kings Charles V and Charles VI, it is simply the Viandier de Taillevent !
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