Renaissance Essay: Eating During The Renaissance

Eating During the Renaissance Era Food of the Renaissance was not distributed equally; the wealthy indulged in many feasts, serving a variety of dishes. However, the people who were not wealthy or noblemen did not get the same level of nutrition or enjoy the same foods. Being wealthy has always had some sort of benefits no matter what time period it was. During the renaissance however, the wealthy are better than anyone else. In a crowd you could tell who was rich and who was not, from their extravagant feasts that were thrown for a number of reasons, to their big and frilly clothing, the wealthy in this time period was not hard to miss whatsoever. The feasts they threw were thrown for many reasons, any excuse to throw a feast was utilized. Food eaten during these feasts included many types of large birds, such as peacocks, cranes, and or swans. The

For almost every meal, if they even got one that day, they would eat soup or mush. Very seldomly did they get to enjoy anything good tasting or nutritious. Soup was made from vegetable scraps, various food scraps, and eggs. Mush was just oats or wheat soaked in water. Much like oatmeal today, but with no flavor and little to no nutritional value. But pastries were made and enjoyed by everyone, rich or poor. The pastries made ranged from pies to tarts,. Sweet or savory. Peasants would deliver fresh made cheese to Paris as a way to get a meal for the day. Cheese was made from fresh cream and eaten with sugar on it. A Greek physician named Galen came up with the Humoral Theory. The Humoral Theory is the theory that good health relies on a balance of your blood, bile, phlegm, and black bile. Humors are influenced by what they eat or drink. Drinks reflect a combination of moisture, cold, hot, and heat. Food also has these qualities. With the coming up of the scientific revolution the humoral diet lost its flavor in Europe. ( See figure 1 on page