The peasants' main food was a dark bread made out of rye grain. They ate a kind of stew called pottage made from the peas, beans and onions that they grew in their gardens. Their only sweet food was the berries, nuts and honey that they collected from the woods. Peasants did not eat much meat.
The findings demonstrated that stews (or pottages) of meat (beef and mutton) and vegetables such as cabbage and leek, were the mainstay of the medieval peasant diet. The research also showed that dairy products, likely the 'green cheeses' known to be eaten by the peasantry, also played an important role in their diet.
Peasants tended to keep cows, so their diets consisted largely of dairy produce such as buttermilk, cheese, or curds and whey. Rich and poor alike ate a dish called pottage, a thick soup containing meat, vegetables, or bran.
Peasants worked the land to yield food, fuel, wool and other resources. The countryside was divided into estates, run by a lord or an institution, such as a monastery or college. A social hierarchy divided the peasantry: at the bottom of the structure were the serfs, who were legally tied to the land they worked.
Meal Times for a Medieval Peasant
Breakfast: eaten at sunrise; usually consisted of dark bread and ale. Midday Meal: eaten between 11 am and 12 pm. This was the main meal of the day for peasants, who needed the energy so they could continue with their backbreaking labour in the fields.
What would peasants eat? Focusing on 'living only off what you can grow', the traditional peasant diet was therefore predominantly plant-based, with wholegrains (rice, barley, oats, rye) and vegetables such as potatoes being the main source of nutrition, and legumes providing the primary source of protein.
According to new research, medieval English peasants ate a lot of meat stews, leafy greens and cheese – and their diet was healthier than the modern one. “The medieval peasant had a healthy diet and wasn't lacking in anything major!” Dr. Julie Dunne of the University of Bristol told the Daily Mail.
How did medieval people brush their teeth? They would rub their teeth and gums with a rough linen. Recipes have been discovered for pastes and powders they might have applied to the cloth to clean and whiten teeth, as well as to freshen breath. Some pastes were made from ground sage mixed with salt crystals.
Originally, pizza was considered peasant food and was only topped with cheese and basil. Over time, pizza became very popular in the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
Gruel is a food consisting of some type of cereal—such as ground oats, wheat, rye, or rice—heated or boiled in water or milk. It is a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk rather than eaten. Historically, gruel has been a staple of the Western diet, especially for peasants.
The peasants' main food was a dark bread made out of rye grain. They ate a kind of stew called pottage made from the peas, beans and onions that they grew in their gardens. Their only sweet food was the berries, nuts and honey that they collected from the woods. Peasants did not eat much meat.
People invented endless ways to make pasta, relying on what was at hand or in season. A firmly rooted peasant cooking tradition developed, based on local customs, geography and resources.
The diet of the earliest hominins was probably somewhat similar to the diet of modern chimpanzees: omnivorous, including large quantities of fruit, leaves, flowers, bark, insects and meat (e.g., Andrews & Martin 1991; Milton 1999; Watts 2008).
Barley, oats, and rye were eaten by the poor while wheat was generally more expensive. These were consumed as bread, porridge, gruel, and pasta by people of all classes. Cheese, fruits, and vegetables were important supplements for the lower orders while meat was more expensive and generally more prestigious.
Peasants during the Middle Ages had a pretty simple diet. It generally consisted of rye bread with butter and cheese, weak ale or red wine, fish and rabbits caught locally, garden-grown vegetables, and berries, nuts, and honey foraged from the woods.
Studies show that the city dwellers ate a variety of meats, dairy, grains and other plants. The shards yielded traces of proteins found in barley, wheat and peas, along with several animal meats and milks.
After a poor harvest, when grain was in short supply, people were forced to include beans, peas and even acorns in their bread. Lords of the manor, did not allow peasants on his land to bake their bread in their own homes. All peasants had to pay to use the lord's oven.
Some meals even used both. One of these meals was called the Poor Man's Meal. It combined potatoes, onions, and hot dogs into one hearty, inexpensive dish, which was perfect for the hard times people had fallen on.
The Lower Class: Peasants (Serfs)
The largest class of the medieval caste system was the lower class, which consisted of peasants or serfs. These serfs were at the bottom of feudal society, working on the manor of whatever king or noble they served.
A peasant is a name for a person that worked for others on a farm and never had much money. They usually wore rough clothes and lived in small houses. The word peasant came from the French word for "country" in the medieval era (15th century).
The rich peasants were called as 'Gahapati' whereas the hired agricultural labourers were known as 'Dasa-Kammakara'.