Does Class Contributed To Medieval People's Relationship With Food In The Middle Ages

I was surprised to learn about how much class contributed to medieval peoples’ relationship with food in the Middle Ages. For peasants, the primary purpose of food was to simply have enough calories in their system in order to complete the laborious work that was required of them. They were tied to their land, and what as available locally. This could be clearly seen in the pottage stew recipe as peasants created it with whatever vegetables, broth, cereals, herbs and spices they had available. Pottage stews were cheap and simple to produce, and rich in calories. In comparison, wealthy people in the Middle Ages had access to a wider variety of foods, especially meats, herbs, spices, and specialty items that had to be imported from Asia and other

Overall, our relationship with food in modern times is associated more so with our free access to it and connection to one’s individual culture, and openness to others. The availability of food today has grown significantly as a result of the new foods discovered in the Old World, the increased cultivation and improved qualities of the fruits, vegetables and meats due to new technologies and better understandings in agriculture, increased international trade and improved technologies in preserving foods. In addition, food is generally purchased with currency today rather than being grown by large portions of the population. People are no longer tied to what they create, and are able to with a larger extent purchase food and items created by others. In modern times, location plays a smaller role in what types of foods that would be available to people as food grown locally and in other locations is accessible to the international stage. Furthermore, individual food cultures from different nationalities are accessible globally, and are accepted in different cultures and places (e.x. Eating at a Italian restaurant or getting bubble tea in Ottawa), rather than being limited in availability to their place of origin. Additionally, class has a smaller role in people’s relationship with food as it is more accessible to people today and generally more affordable. For example, meats, dairy, sugar and spices are available to the international stage and are accessible to larger portions of the