The Role Of Food In The Renaissance Era

While the majority of foods and drinks that existed during the Renaissance period are similar to what we find in our times, people of that era had significantly different beliefs about food and nutrition compared to today’s thinking. A lot of evidence points toward that fact with regards to social class distinctions and medical beliefs.

Some students of that era hold the view that Renaissance meals and the way they were cooked resemble modern cooking styles and ingredients.“Renaissance cooks employed many of the same type of foodstuffs that are in use today, in addition to forms of food preparation familiar to any of us.” (Matterer). They maintain that the dishes these cooks prepared were very appetizing and succulent, as they used the finest

In the past, peasants had a really poor diet and very little access to any kind of luxurious meal because of their miserable situation. They would eat soup or mush which is a thick porridge made with cornmeal boiled in water or milk, for food just about every meal. Generally, they would also have some black bread. The soup would be made of scraps of food, usually vegetables such as carrots, or eggs. Mush was made from grain like oats or wheat and then boiled in water. Also, peasants did not consume a lot of meat since it was rare and expensive. In order to preserve it, you needed salt which cost a lot at the time. “On the other hand, the rich and noblemen ate much better than peasants during this era”(Ducksters). Like the Greeks and the Romans they studied, they enjoyed having huge feasts with lots of fancy dishes. Similar to the peasants, they ate soups and broths, but these soups were spiced with exotic spices like ginger, cinnamon, and black pepper and often sweetened with sugar. Also, meat was much more present in their menu in consideration of the fact they were much more wealthy. They would have large roasts of beef, stag, or pig. At wedding, festivals, and elegant banquets, the upper class feasted upon game birds such as swans, peacocks, or cranes. Furthermore, wealthy people focused more on the appearance of their food and its symbolic value rather than its actual taste. “Starting with the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century, and up until our current times, food industrialization became a well-developed business”(Montignac). The production of the traditional food items such as flours, oils, jams, butter, and cheese has evolved remarkably and the quantity made grew a lot from when it was first manufactured, at a lower cost. The most important factor that allowed the gross production of these nutrients is the techniques of