think your grocery bill is high medieval peasants had it worse they had to stay alive on whatever they could find or grow these 15 cheap meals weren't fancy but they kept Generations fed through plague famine and endless hard work and at the top of that list pottage ever had a house guest who just wouldn't leave that's basically what pottage was to Medieval peasants except they actually wanted it to stick around this legendary soup was the ultimate waste not want not dish of the Middle Ages simmering endlessly over the fire like the world's most patient dinner pottage wasn't just any soup it was the soup the Cornerstone of medieval peasant nutrition and the original set it and forget it meal unlike our modern quick dinners that disappear after one sitting pottage was a deliberate lifestyle a practical solution to the harsh realities of medieval life at its core pottage was simply a thick hearty stew that stayed alive for days or even weeks the cooking pot rarely left the Hearth with new ingredients tossed in as others were eaten the medieval version of a never ending Buffet but with considerably fewer options and much less variety what went into pottage the better question is what didn't the base typically consisted of whatever grain was cheapest and most available bar oats or rye boiled until it broke down into a thick porridge like consistency from there peasants added whatever vegetables they could get their hands on turnips onions leaks cabbage and if they were lucky carrots or peas one study of medieval food remains found that the average peasant household kept their pottage going for at least 4 days before starting fresh though many families maintain their pot for much longer during lean winter months archaeological evidence from medieval village sites shows that pottage ingredients became increasingly limited often reduced to Just Grains and root vegetables while all social classes ate some version of pottage there was a world of difference between peasant pottage and what bubbled in Noble kitchens wealthy households enhanced their pottage with expensive imported spices bits of meat and even wine meanwhile peasant pottage relied on local herbs for flavor garlic Parsley Sage or whatever grew nearby on special occasions or after a successful hunt a peasant family might drop a small piece of salt pork or bacon into their pottage pot not enough to make a meal of meat but just enough to infuse the entire pot with flavor the fat would rise to the top providing precious calories during hard times some historians believe medieval peasants consumed as much as two to three pints of pottage daily making it the true fuel of the feudal system not exactly a meal worth posting on social media but it kept countless Generations alive through centuries of hardship pottage may have been the never-ending soup of medieval times but it wasn't the only thing that kept peasants on their feet bread connects us all from ancient times to Modern kitchens it Remains the world's most universal food but the loaves that graced medieval peasant tables would make most of us today turn up our noses forget fluffy white bread or artisanal sourdough medieval peasant bread was dark dense and often as hard as the lives of those who ate it made primarily from Rye or barley grains that grew in poor soil where wheat struggled these loaves bore little resemblance to what we call bread today the grain for peasant bread wasn't just different the entire process was first the grain was often of poor quality the best wheat went to Nobles and clergy who could afford it second peasants paid Hefty fees to have their grain ground at the Lord's Mill to save on these costs many would mix in fillers ground peas beans acorns chestnuts and in Desperate Times ground tree bark or straw how much bread did the average peasant eat the numbers are staggering records from medieval England show that a working man might consume two or three pounds of bread daily providing over 60% of their total calories women and children ate proportionally similar amounts this wasn't gluttony heavy labor in the fields required massive caloric intake and bread delivered those calories cheaply the baking process itself self revealed the Stark class divisions of medieval Society wealthy households enjoyed fresh bread daily peasants lacking private ovens typically baked just once a week in communal Village ovens or fashioned flat breads that could cook on simple hearth stones these weekly loaves grew progressively harder and molder as the days passed requiring a dunk in pottage or ale to become edible Again by Weeks end perhaps the most unsettling aspect of medieval bread was the potential for poison Rye the peasant grain of choice in many regions was susceptible to Urgot fungus a naturally occurring hallucinogen containing compounds similar to LSD entire Villages sometimes experienced Mass hallucinations convulsions and even death from what was called St Anthony's fire what they couldn't know was that their daily bread was to blame yet for all its dangers and deficiencies bread was sacred in medieval culture stealing bread was punished severely wasting it considered sinful the medieval table began with bread and ended with bread when famine struck as it regularly did families might survive for weeks on bread alone though the definition of bread became increasingly creative the dark dense loaves that fueled medieval labor rarely came with a compents but when peasants were lucky enough to have something to put on their bread it was often something simple that required little preparation after a long day working the fields in medieval Cuisine the answer was gruul essentially One Step Above consuming being boiled water with a spoon when bread became scarce and pottage ingredients ran low GRL stepped in as the final defense against an empty stomach please sir I want some more might be the famous literary line associated with GRL but medieval peasants rarely had the luxury of seconds GRL was survival food plain and simple made by boiling a small amount of grain and a large amount of water it stretched minimal ingredients to their absolute limit the recipe if you could call it that couldn't be simpler take oats barley or whatever grain scraps remained in the bottom of the storage bin add water until the mixture looked desperately thin then cook until it resembled something edible if you were particularly fortunate you might have a pinch of salt to add the result a watery Bland substance that filled the belly without satisfying any other human desire grul differed from pottage in its deliberate thinness and from porridge in its sad lack of substance medieval records indicate that during the harshest famines monasteries feeding the poor would stretch a single cup of oats into grul that served 10 people the mathematician in the room might observe that this works out to less than two tablespoons of grain per person hardly a meal by any standard interestingly grul wasn't just for the desperately poor monks across Medieval Europe regularly consumed grul as part of their religious practice Monastery kitchen records from the 12th century show that monks ate GRL during fasting periods with one Abbey documenting consumption of GRL twice daily during Lent their bowls might occasionally include honey or dried fruit luxuries ordinary peasants could only dream about for the sick and elderly GRL became medieval Healthcare those too ill to chew bread or too weak to digest heartier foods were fed GRL until they recovered or didn't medieval medical texts recommend GRL for ailments ranging from fever to toothache suggesting additions like herbs or wine for medicinal purposes of course peasants rarely had access to such fancy versions children weaning from breast milk often transition directly to gruul creating generations of Europeans who never knew the concept of baby food court records from medieval England occasionally mentioned children who died of malnutrition despite being fed GRL regularly a grim reminder of its nutritional inadequacy the taste about what you'd expect contemporary accounts describe it as thin watery and occasionally slimy hardly a ringing endorsement one medieval writer noted that even the dogs turn from it unless truly starving which tells you everything you need to know when even GRL became too luxurious due to grain shortages medieval peasants turned to another reliable crop that thrived in poor soil and stored through winter turnips the Forgotten vegetable of modern Cuisine once reigned Supreme in medieval kitchens while today's Shoppers might pass them by without a Second Glance the these humble roots kept countless peasants alive through centuries of hardship what made turnips so essential to Medieval survival first they grew almost anywhere poor soil turnips thrived short growing season turnips managed little attention from busy Farmers turnips forgave the neglect a single turnip seed could yield up to 15 pounds of food making them among the most efficient crops a peasant could plant turnip stew became the medieval equivalent of fast food quick filling and available year round the basic recipe required minimal effort chop turnips add water boil until soft season with salt if available that's it no fancy techniques no rare ingredients just pure sustenance storage was another turnup superpower long before Refrigeration medieval peasants stored turnips in cool dry sellers where they remained edible for months some Villages dug specialized turnip pits essentially underground storage chamber lined with straw or turnips kept fresh from Harvest until late spring records from one English manor in 1286 noted that turnips stored this way fed Village families for 7 months after harvest unlike many vegetables the entire turnip was edible roots went into stews leaves were added to pottage and even the flowers could be eaten in Spring nothing went to waste medieval field records suggest that a family of four needed to grow about 200 pounds of turnips to survive winter a goal achievable in a surprisingly small garden plot The Humble turnup even played a role in medieval medicine folk healers prescribe turnip juice for coughs and turnup puses for skin ailments one Monastery medical text claims turnips Drive Away winter Melancholy perhaps an early recognition of the nutritional benefits of fresh vegetables during vitamin scarce winter months of course eating turnips day after day had its downsides medieval writers occasionally complained about the sameness of peasant meals with one noting that the poor eat turnips until their skin takes on the power of the root itself another drawback was less aesthetic and more aromatic turnips especially when reheated repeatedly developed a distinctive smell that permeated medieval homes for all their benefits turnips weren't exactly celebration food when asked what Feast he would prepare if suddenly wealthy a medieval peasant reportedly answered the same turnips but with meat this humble aspiration speaks volumes about medieval culinary reality while turnips may have dominated the medieval table they rarely appeared alone another vegetable Duo frequently joined them creating a trio of flavors that while simple offered both nutrition and a welcome break from turnip monotony could two vegetables clear a medieval peasant Hut faster than the plague cabbage and onions certainly tried their best this odorous Duo form formed the backbone of peasant cooking across Europe adding much needed flavor to otherwise Bland meals while simultaneously testing the limits of medieval ventilation cabbage earned its spot in peasant Gardens by being super useful a single cabbage plant could grow very big with heads weighing up to 15 lbs Old Farm records showed that 10 cabbage plants could feed a family for months taking up very little garden space the outer leaves could be picked throughout the growing season while the middle kept growing like food that replaced itself as you ate it saving cabbage made it truly valuable fresh cabbage lasted weeks in Cool Storage but soured cabbage what we now call sauerkraut kept for months diggers found old cabbage pits in medieval Villages where people let cabbage sour one dug up pit from a 1300's village had leftover bits from over 100 cabbages saved together enough to feed several families all winter onions work perfectly with cabbage in oldtime cooking tough and hard to kill they grew in the worst dirt and stored without any special tools old Garden books told people to plant onions around other crops to keep bugs away making them twice as useful in small peasant Gardens where every bit of space mattered together these veggies turned plain food into something with real taste boiled together they made a simple side dish added to soup they gave more flavor mixed with tiny bits of meat they became a feast old tax records sometimes list cabbage and onions as okay payment for small debts showing how much people valued them every day the belly troubles from these veggies were well known back then old court records from many villages talk about problems caused by the too much gas after cabbage Meals one rule in a monastery banned cabbage on days when monks had important visitors hinting that the farts afterward weren't good for polite company oddly enough oldtime doctors didn't trust veggies rich people's doctors often warn Nobles not to eat poor people plants like cabbage saying they made you sad and slowth thinking meanwhile the poor folks eating these veggies every day lived on much less food than the rich and probably had fewer of the food related illnesses that rich people often got for all their benefits cabbage and onions couldn't Supply everything a hardworking peasant needed a diet with only these vegetables even with bread and pottage didn't have enough protein medieval peasants knew this by Instinct if not by science which led them to seek protein wherever they could find it medieval folks didn't have protein shakes but they did have mushy peas and beans these humble crops were the everyday Heroes of the peasant diet providing the strength needed for long days of hard work in the fields peas and beans offered what bread and cabbage couldn't real protein dried peas contained about 25% protein by weight making them worth their weight in gold during winter months when meat was scarce or gone completely a small patch of peas could yield up to 60 lbs of dried peas enough to help a family through the leanest months growing these protein packed Foods was simple enough even for the worst Farmers peas and beans fixed nitrogen in the soil which meant they could grow in fields where other crops had used up all the good stuff smart peasants planted peas and beans between rows of other veggies or after harvesting grain getting extra food from the same patch of land the most common way to eat peas and beans was mashed after soaking dried peas or beans overnight peasants boiled them until soft then mashed them into a thick paste salt was added if available and maybe wild herbs if they were lucky the result looked a bit like baby food but packed a nutritional punch that kept workers going through 12-hour workdays during the harshest times pee and bean Mash became the main meal rather than a side dish old records from one English Village during the Famine of 1315 note that family survived for weeks on nothing but te mash and small beer with bread becoming a luxury monks across Europe relied heavily on these humble Foods Church rules banned meat on many days of the year sometimes more than half the calendar making peas and beans vital to Monastery kitchens count books from a large Abbey show they stocked over 3,000 lbs of dried peas yearly for just 40 monkss that's 75 pounds per monk storage was another big plus while fresh peas and beans lasted only days the dried vers versions kept for years if stored right peasant homes often had clay pots or wooden barrels of dried legumes tucked away as insurance against bad harvests one dig at a peasant home found Peas still in storage pots from 10 years earlier still edible if not exactly tasty the downside same as cabbage these foods cause gas medieval Health guides warned against eating too many beans before church services or Court appearances one old joke told of a bean farmer who couldn't sell his crop because he' tested too much of his product on the way to Market while peas and beans kept peasants alive and healthy enough to work they weren't exactly exciting to eat day after day medieval peasants still crave Variety in their meals whenever they had the chance to add something different to their cooking pots they jumped at the opportunity and sometimes that opportunity came from surprising sources eat what you can get this was the golden rule of medieval meat eating for the poor while Nobles dined on roasted Venison and fat capons peasants may do with the bits nobody else wanted the organs feet heads and odd scraps that today we call awful animal butchering in medieval times followed strict rules about who got what parts the Lord of The Manor claimed the best cuts The Tenderloins plump breasts and Meaty haunches Town folks with money bought the decent middle-grade pieces what remained for peasants everything else but medieval peasants were Masters at turning these scraps into food worth eating take the Humble Pig head after a pig slaughter peasant families often receiv received the head as partial payment for their work nothing went unused the cheeks provided small but tender meat portions the ears were clean sliced and fried crisp the snout and lips went into jelly dishes even the brain was scooped out and scrambled like eggs larger animals provided even more awful options cow stomachs cleaned and boiled became the container for haggus likee mixtures of grain and bits of heart or liver sheep lungs sliced thin and fried with onions offered a quick meal after butchering day blood from any animal became blood pudding when mixed with grain and cooked in a cleaned intestine casing game animals too small for the Lord's table often ended up in peasant cooking pots whole squirrels hedgehogs and even rats in Desperate Times provided tiny portions of meat that flavored otherwise plain vegetable dishes records from one medieval village during a harsh winter mention peasants trapping and eating Badgers foxes and other animals typically considered inedible the unwritten rule was simple if it couldn't kill you it was food this waste nothing approach stretched tiny amounts of animal protein to feed many mouths a single cow's organs could provide meals for several families while the Prime Cuts fed just one Noble household for a day or two court records reveal how valuable these scraps were theft of awful was punished severely sometimes with the same penalties as stealing more valuable Cuts one medieval English town recorded finding a man for stealing a sheep's pluck the heart liver and lungs equal to two weeks wages preservation techniques for awful were necessarily quick without Refrigeration organs spoiled rapidly smoking salting and immediate cooking were the only options many awful dishes became linked to butchering days eaten within hours of the animal Slaughter in an almost ceremonial Feast for people living near coasts or Rivers another source of protein swam Within Reach medieval folks didn't have drive-throughs but they did have salted Herring the original grab and go meal these preserved fish were the fast food of the Middle Ages ready to eat without cooking and packed with enough salt to make you thirsty for days Herring became the fish of choice for medieval peasants for three simple reasons they swam in huge groups were easy to catch and could be preserved with simple salt fishing records from medieval times show just how massive the Herring industry was during peak season a single fishing fleet from Great Yarmouth in England could haul in more than 40 million herring in just a few weeks that's enough fish to give every person in medieval England seven fish each the salt preservation process was quick but smelly work fresh Herring spoiled within a day so fishing boats often carried salt on board workers gutted the fish packed them in heavy salt and stored them in wooden barrels right on the deck the smell was so strong that har in processing areas of medieval towns had their own districts safely downwind from where most people lived for peasants salted Herring became the answer to many food problems first it solved the meat ban during religious fasting days the church ban meet on Fridays during Lent and on many other holy days sometimes totaling more than half the year fish remained allowed making Herring a crucial protein source for those times second Herring could travel far from the coast without spoiling packed and barrels these fish reach deep Inland where fresh fish never could trade records show barrels of Herring moving hundreds of miles from the sea reaching Mountain Villages and remote Farms third no cooking needed while fresh Herring required cooking the heavily salted version could be eaten Asis a medieval version of ready to eat food for busy peasants working from dawn to dusk a quick meal of Herring and bread save precious time and fuel the cheapest Herring came white simp gutted and salted those with a bit more money might buy red herring which were salted and then smoked for days until they turned a reddish brown color and lasted even longer the smoking process made them less salty and gave them a stronger flavor that some preferred just how many Herring did Medieval Europeans eat tax records tell an amazing Story the small Baltic island of Scania processed more than 300 million Herring annually in Peak years a single Monastery in York bought 15,000 Herring yearly to feed just 30 monks that's 500 fish per monk per year or more than one Herring every single day of course eating fish day after day got boring fast medieval Cooks found ways to make Herring more interesting chopping them into spreads adding them to pies or soaking them to remove salt before cooking but no matter how they prepared it Herring breath remained an occupational hazard of being medieval after a salty meal medieval peasants needed something to wash it down with and their drink of choice wasn't water water in medieval times could be deadly Wells were often dug too close to ouses Rivers caught sewage from Upstream towns and most people had no idea that dirty water could make you sick they just knew that people who drank from certain water sources often fell ill while those who stuck to Ale stayed healthy the Brewing process accidentally solved this problem boiling the water for Brewing killed harmful germs and the alcohol helped prevent new ones from growing medieval people didn't understand the science but they saw the results clearly enough a drinkers were healthier than water drinkers Ale in medieval times wasn't the strong stuff we think of today small ale or small beer contained just enough alcohol to preserve it about 1 to 3% similar to Modern light beer this weak Brew was an everyday drink for everyone including children yes medieval kids drank ale with breakfast lunch and dinner but they weren't stumbling around drunk it was more like drinking very flavorful water how much ale did the average person drink medieval records tell an amazing story many adult workers received a allowances of a gallon per day that's eight pints Manor records show that during Harvest Time when work was hardest this might increase to a gallon and a half no wonder medieval workers took so many breaks during the day they had a lot of liquid to process Brewing was usually women's work done right at home the basic recipe was simple heat water add malted grain strain out the grain add flavor with herbs then let it foret most women brood once or twice a week making the family's Supply in wooden tubs before storing it in Pottery jugs or wooden barrels Al spoiled quickly without Refrigeration usually within a week this meant it was truly a local food made and consumed within the same Community it also meant Brewing was a constant chore for medieval households as necessary and regular as making bread speaking of bread ale and bread were intimate Partners in medieval kitchens both needed grain both used yeast for fermentation and many households made them together on Brewing day leftover ale could be used in bread dough while bits of bread could start the fermentation for the next ale batch nothing went to waste ale even served as payment medieval work records show that many tasks were rewarded with both money and Ale building a section of Village wall might earn you 3 p plus 2 gallons of Ale church bell ringers often receive payment in ale rather than coins one English Village paid its rat catcher with a weekly jug perhaps to help him forget what he did all day for special occasions and celebrations peasants might enjoy stronger drinks with more flavor and kick the contrast between medieval peasants sipping cider and today's folks buying expensive drinks couldn't be more striking while cider and Meade were treats for the poor they weren't luxury items but practical solutions to food storage problems and rare sources of Sweetness in an otherwise bland diet cider became the drink of choice in areas where apples grew well apple trees had major advantages for peasant Farmers once planted they produced fruit for decades with minimal care even better they could grow on hillsides too steep for regular crops making use of otherwise wasted land in parts of England France and Spain almost every peasant household had rights to at least a few apple trees making cider involved simple tools and basic steps peasants collected apples crushed them in wooden presses collected the juice and left it to ferment naturally the wild yeasts on Apple skins started fermentation without any extra help after a few weeks the sweet juice transformed into a mildly alcoholic drink that could keep for months much longer than the apples themselves would have lasted strong cider contained about 4 to 8% alcohol enough to feel good after a few cups but not so strong that workers couldn't function the next day weaker versions were everyday drinks while the stronger batches were saved for special occasions like weddings and harvest festivals me offered an even sweeter escape from daily troubles made by fermenting honey with water me was the oldest known alcoholic drink in Europe however honey was expensive and hard to get making Meade much rarer than ale or cider for average peasants most peasants only tasted meat a few few times a year usually at Christmas Easter or when celebrating weddings some clever peasants kept their own beehives providing honey for both sweetening food and making small batches of meat a single Hive could produce 15 to 20 pounds of honey yearly enough for a family to make a few gallons of Meade and still have honey for other uses both cider and Mead served important practical purposes Beyond just tasting good the alcohol helped preserve the natural sugars and apples and honey far longer than they would have lasted otherwise in an age without Refrigeration turning sweet things into alcohol was a smart storage solution medieval kitchen records showed that cider could last 6 months to a year if stored in cool sellers while properly made Mead could last several years these sweet drinks also provided valuable calories during hard times when bread supplies ran low a cup of cider or Mead delivered quick energy records from one English Village during a food shortage mentioned adults drinking cider as a meal replacement when grain supplies dwindled speaking of sweetness while honey made meat possible it also served many other purposes in medieval kitchens joining forces with other rare Sweet Treats sugar wasn't something most medieval peasants ever tasted this expensive import remained firmly in the realm of the wealthy who used it both as food and medicine for the common folk sweetness came directly from nature in the form of honey and wild berries treats that brightened and otherwise dull diet honey stood as the king of sweet ERS in the Medieval World unlike sugar it could be produced locally though not without risk and effort Brave peasants gathered Wild Honey by following bees to their hives smoking them to reduce stinging and cutting out honeycomb chunks this dangerous work often resulted in multiple stings but yielded Liquid Gold that made the pain worthwhile some clever peasants took beekeeping a step further old farming guides describe simple beehives made from Hollow logs straw skeps or clay pots placed in Sunny spots near flowering plants a well-managed hive could produce 15 to 20 pounds of honey yearly an incredible luxury for a peasant Family Village records sometimes list beehives as valuable enough to include in wills and marriage contracts alongside land and livestock honey did much more than sweeten food medieval medical guides recommended it for healing wounds soothing coughs and preserving other medicines as a practical tool honey stickiness made it useful for setting hairstyles and even removing unwanted body hair when mixed with other ingredients these multiple uses made honey all the more precious to those lucky enough to have access to it when a tiny bit of Honey was available peasants used it with Incredible care adding just a drop to morning porridge spreading the thinnest layer on bread or using it to make a special treat for a sick family member court records from one medieval English Village mention a woman accused of stealing a Honeypot her punishment was nearly a severe as if she'd stolen a cow showing how valuable the sweetener was wild berries provided seasonal bursts of sweetness that required only the labor of gathering strawberries blackberries blueberries and raspberries grew wild in forests and field edges free for anyone with time to pick them unlike honey berries couldn't be preserved easily without sugar so they remained strictly seasonal treats berry picking became a community activity with children often sent out in groups to gather these precious fruits medieval Feast records reveal how special these sweet Foods were when a lord wanted to impress guests dishes featuring Honey and berries often appeared at the end of meals for peasants invited to these rare feasts tasting honey sweetened Berry desserts might be a once-in- a-lifetime Experience One old joke told of a peasant who when asked what he'd do if he were King for a Day replied he would eat berries with honey until my belly achd a simple dream that shows how rare this combination was for ordinary people when berries and honey weren't available medieval peasants sometimes found other starchy foods to fill their hungry bellies maybe squirrels were on to something after all medieval peasants often turn to the forest floor for food Gathering nuts that modern folks might walk right past acorns and chestnuts became crucial backup Foods when grain supplies ran low turning forests into emergency pantries chestnuts were the easier of the two to use unlike acorns chestnuts taste sweet naturally and don't require extensive processing in areas with Chestnut forests especially parts of France Italy and Spain chestnuts became known as the bread tree because they provided starchy nutrition similar to grain a good Chestnut Harvest could save a village from Winter hunger how important were chestnuts tax records from some medieval Villages assessed a household's wealth partly by how many Chestnut trees they had access to in parts of France chestnuts made up nearly 20% of the peasant diet during winter months one large chestnut tree could produce up to 200 lbs of nuts in a good year enough to keep a family alive for weeks if grain ran short medieval peasants prepared chestnuts in several ways roasting was the simplest just toss them in hot ashes until the shells cracked open boiling removed more of the tanic acid and made them easier to digest for long-term storage chestnuts were often dried and ground into flour that could be mixed with grain flour to stretch stretch bread supplies this Chestnut flour didn't rise as well as wheat flour but it filled empty stomachs just the same acorns required much more work but could save lives during famine the bitter tannins in raw acorns make them inedible without processing medieval peasants develop methods to remove these bitter compounds usually by repeatedly soaking crushed acorns in water the process took days and used lots of water but the resulting acorn meal could be mixed with grain flour to make barely palatable emergency bread during the great famines that struck Europe every few decades these tree nuts became true Lifesavers court records from the Famine of 1315 to 1317 mention people fighting over access to nut Gathering Grounds showing just how valuable these Forest Foods became when other options disappeared even in normal times clever peasants gathered and stored nuts as insurance against poor harvests dried properly both acorns and chestnuts could last for years years one medieval farming manual recommends storing chestnuts in sand to prevent mold and keep them fresh longer the forest provided these staples but it offered much more to those who knew where to look some medieval Villages had strict rules about who could gather which Forest foods and when showing just how important these wild resources were to Everyday survival when truly desperate times came peasants turned to an even wider range of hunted foods from fields and forests medieval wild food Gathering followed the changing seasons with each month offering different options spring brought tender young greens like dandelions Nettles and Sorel that appeared when food stores were often at their lowest young Nettles despite their sting were among the most valuable spring finds packed with vitamins and minerals after The Long Winter diet of grain and preserved Foods peasants used thick gloves or special picking techniques to harvest them without getting stung then boiled them to remove the thing summer expanded the wild menu dramatically Meadows and woods filled with edible mushrooms though picking them required careful knowledge one medieval village record mentions a family that died after eating poisonous mushrooms during a food shortage a grim reminder of the risks safer options included Wild Garlic chickweed and Lamb's quarters all of which could be added to pottage to stretch meager supplies Wild Onion relatives grew abundantly in many regions records show that during during the famine years of 1310 to 1322 many communities survived partly on wild leaks and ramps dug from forest floors these strong flavored plants provided both nutrition and flavor when little else was available fall brought nuts as we've seen but also rose hips Hawthorne berries and crab apples all rich in vitamin C and natural preservatives these tart fruits rarely made tasty eating on their own but could be stored for winter medicine and flavoring medieval cookbooks times mention these wild fruits as additions to more palatable Foods the Gathering skills of peasant women earn special recognition in medieval documents Manor Court Records occasionally mention women known as particularly skilled finders of foods who could locate edible mushrooms identify useful plants and knew where the best wild fruit grew these women sometimes receive payment for teaching others or leading Gathering groups during hard times just how important were these wild Foods studies of medieval diet suggest that in normal years gathered plants might make up 5 to 10% of peasant nutrition during famines this could jump to 30% or more One account from the Great Famine tells of villages surviving almost entirely on gathered greens and tree bark for weeks medieval law recognized the importance of these Foods too many forests and Woodlands had specific gleaning rights that allowed peasants to collect wild Foods even on lands they didn't own legal disputes over these rights appear repeatedly in court records showing their crucial importance to survival when even wild plants became scarce desperate times called for desperate measures some medieval peasants turn to making bread from unusual ingredients using methods that would make even the toughest stomach turn Ash cakes represented the last line of defense against starvation a type of primitive bread that could be made with minimal ingredients and Zero kitchen tools the concept was brutally simple take whatever ground meal you had mix it with water to form a a thick paste flatten it into a Patty and cook it directly in the hot ashes of a fire no oven no baking stone not even a pot needed just fire Ash and Desperation during normal times Ash cakes rarely appeared on medieval tables they were considered emergency food the kind made only when proper bread wasn't possible but during the frequent famines that struck medieval Europe these humble cakes kept countless people alive what made Ash cakes so important was their flexib ability when wheat and rye ran out any ground grain would work barley oats Millet or even pea flour when all grain was gone creative substitutes took their place ground acorns dried and ground tree bark crushed roots or even ground hay records from the Famine of 1315 to 1317 describe desperate peasants making Ash cakes from dust swept from the floor of the Grainery literally the dirt and leftover grain bits from empty storehouses the cooking method itself dated back to ancient times without ovens in their homes many peasants already cooked flat breads on heated Stones Ash cakes took this idea one step further eliminating even the need for the stone medieval writings describe how to brush the worst of the ashes off before eating though gritty teeth were still an occupational hazard of eating this survival food one surprising advantage of Ash cakes was their quick cooking time traditional bread required hours of rising kneading and baking Ash cakes could be ready in minutes a crucial benefit when hunger GW and energy for cooking was limited medieval work songs sometimes mention Ash cakes as field food made quickly during brief breaks from labor when workers couldn't return home for meals the taste about what you'd expect from bread baked in ashes Smoky often bitter and frequently mixed with actual Ash these cakes weren't winning any medieval baking contests one old joke claimed that Ash cakes are the only food that tastes better if you drop them in the mud first the mud presumably covering the ashy flavor despite their unpleasant taste Ash cakes provided the calories needed to survive during the worst recorded medieval famine an estimated 15% of Europe's population died of starvation or related illness those who survived often did so by eating foods like Ash cakes that would normally be considered inedible a 16th century farming manual includes a grim but practical piece of advice when grain fails and bread cannot be made in the usual way the wise peasant remembers the ways of cooking an ash for it has saved our people since time Beyond memory in the harshest times even Ash cakes might not be possible if ingredients ran too low that's when medieval peasants turned to True improvisation the best medieval dish wasn't actually a dish at all it was simply whatever bits and pieces happen to be around thrown together in a pot and called dinner medieval peasants were masters of kitchen improv centuries before it became trendy to clean out your fridge and make a meal from the random leftovers this whatever we have approach wasn't just common it was daily life for most families old records from Manor kitchens show carefully plan meals with specific ingredients but peasant cooking rarely followed recipes instead it followed a simple rule use what's available waste nothing and make it filling enough to work another day what might a typical whatever we have Meal look like in Spring it could be a handful of wild greens tossed with the last winter turnips and a few dried peas summer might bring a mix of garden vegetables with a tiny bit of bacon fat for flavor fall could mean mushrooms and nuts added to Cabbage winter often meant scraping by with whatever preserved Foods remained in storage the cooking method was equally flexible got a fire going all day throw everything in a pot and make soup need to work in the fields Until Dark leave ingredients simmering all day in a covered pot buried in hot ashes no time to cook at all cold leftovers mixed with a chunk of bread would do this flexible eating style developed out of necessity unlike modern times where most people eat three separate meals daily medieval peasants often ate just once or twice records from farming Community show that during busy Seasons like Harvest workers might eat a small morning meal then a single large meal after the day's work ended this pattern made the what whatever we have approach even more practical one cooking session using whatever was available the mixing of odd ingredients sometimes created surprisingly good results several dishes that later became Regional Specialties started as peasant whatever we have meals the Italian rolita began as reheated leftover bread and vegetables French Ratatouille originated as a summer clean out the garden dish many stews casseroles and one pot meals across Europe began as peasant improvisation rather than planned recipes medieval tax records give us hints about these mixed meals when paying taxes in food peasants often delivered oddly specific combinations three turnips half a cabbage and a handful of dried peas for example these random groupings likely represented whatever was actually available that day not planned combinations during holidays and celebrations even the whatever we have meals got an upgrade saved bits of special ingredients might appear a precious pinch of salt a rare spice traded from a passing Merchant or the first fresh vegetables of spring these small luxuries transformed ordinary mixed meals into feasts by peasant standards a medieval French saying claimed that the best sauce is hunger meaning that any food tastes good when you're truly hungry peasants living through the hardships of medieval life understood this better than anyone their creative approach to cooking with limited resources wasn't just about survival it was the original farmtable Cuisine shaped by Seasons necessity and remarkable human adaptability