An Actual Menu

The following is an example of a menu of a medieval feast.  Each course included a soup, followed by a wide range of baked, roasted, and boiled dishes, and finally an elaborate 'sotelty', a lifelike (often edible) scene sculpted in colored marzipan or dough.  The bounty of medieval feasts is legendary.  One early historian noted that in 1398, King Richard II [presided over a feast].  A variety of choice morsels was set out to satisfy a trenchman's every whim ... gilded peacock and festooned boar's head were highlights of the menu."

Oystres en Grauey--oysters steamed in almond milk (15th c.)

Brede--bread flavored with ale (15th c.)

Chawettys--tarts filled with spicy pork or veal & dates (15th c)

Pigge Ffarced--stuffed roast suckling pig (15th c.)

Goos in Sawse Madame--goose in a sauce of grapes and garlic (14th c.)

Caboches in Potage--stewed Cabbage flavored with cinnamon and cloves (14th c.)

Crustade Lombarde--fruited custard in a pie (15th c.)

Hippocras--spicy mulled wine (14th c.)  

Things to include/exclude in a meal:
There are some foods that should not be on a Medieval menu because they were discovered in the New World and European medievals didn't have them.


    To consider:                      To avoid:
Pigeon/squab                 Squash, incl. pumpkins
Fennel                           Potatoes
Leeks, shallots              Tomatoes
Apples, Plums               Chocolate
Parsnips, turnips            Yams, sweet potatoes

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• Kinds of Food
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• Sample Menu
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