Food And Drinks In The Elizabethan Era

During the Elizabethan Era, ranging from the 1558-1603, a plethora of things was established and one of them included foods and drinks. Foods and drinks were a major part of life for any person. There were many different types of foods and drinks developed around this time period. The types foods and drinks were consumed depending on which class the people were in, the upper or lower class. The upper class received and enjoyed various spices imported from abroad. On the other hand, both classes consisted of three main meals which were breakfast, dinner, and supper. Although, the timing of their meals was different from each other. Out of all the meals, breakfast was considered the most important meal of the day. Foods and drinks played an important

The foods were often served on sugar plates with decorations on it. It was what rich people would use to place their food on. Speaking of the decorations, the people in England do not eat swans or peacocks, but instead they use them as decorations among royalty. The most well-known bread they ate was called a manchet. A manchet is a round loaf of bread that weighs around 6 pounds after it is cooked. It was known as the finest bread. It has a browner shade compared to any other normal bread. The people favored the manchet with butter to give it a better taste. They usually eat it for breakfast. The upper class were the only ones allowed to eat manchet. The lower class would eat bread consisted of barley and rye. Other foods they ate were eggs and pancakes. The people at this time ate their eggs either scrambled or sunny side up. Pancakes were generally eaten as a treat on Sunday mornings. The people like to put jams like grape, strawberry, and sometimes powdered sugar on them for a better and sweeter taste. The types of meat eaten during the Elizabethan Era were lamb, beef, mutton, pork, goat, bacon, veal, rabbit, herons, and goose. The “Nobles, gentlemen and merchants sat down to dinner between eleven o’clock and noon, and supped about six in the evening” (Picard 159). Nobles were placed in the upper class which meant they were able to eat luxurious foods like herring, salmon, eel, whiting, cod, trout, and pike. Those are the different kinds of freshwater ocean fish that people ate. The nobles, gentlemen, and the merchants dine around the same time as the upper class did. Some of the desserts they ate were cream and custards, tarts cakes, and pastries. The people strongly enjoyed eating these types of foods and were considered a snack to munch on during the