III. The Sad and Regrettable Medieval Recipes

It must be acknowledged that the people of medieval Europe invented cutlery, finally allowing them to eat without using their fingers like the ancient Egyptians. However, modern individuals still find it difficult to accept—goblets inlaid with jewels are quite extravagant, yet a table of people must share them in turn, necessitating the sharing of saliva while drinking; soup spoons are also shared among two or more people, and it is preferable not to bring the spoon directly to one's mouth but to ladle it into one's own bowl. The fork was invented in the Byzantine Empire and was only brought back to Western Europe after the Crusades. Prior to that, Europeans could only tear meat with their fingers, much like the ancient Egyptians and modern Indians. Of course, one could use a knife to cut steak and bread, then directly insert it into the mouth instead of using a fork. However, the issue is that a single knife must be shared among several people, and only those of high status can enjoy a knife exclusively.

Regardless of how gritty and throat-scratching those medieval black breads mixed with sawdust and gravel may be, they were still considered a delicacy by the lower classes of medieval Europe, as their bowls often contained no bread at all—baking bread required a great deal of firewood, and the baking process was quite troublesome

Apart from salt, the condiments on European tables at that time were very few; there was no curry and no salad dressing. Granulated sugar and spices had to be imported through Arab territories, and their prices were exorbitantly high. At that time, granulated sugar was sold in pharmacies, and for Europeans, it was not a daily seasoning but rather a high-end supplement, akin to ginseng in the eyes of the Chinese.

Typical medieval black bread is generally made from a mixture of wheat flour and a large amount of bran, a method that was already considered a fine black bread in the Middle Ages. Moreover, some unscrupulous bakers often deliberately mixed wood chips, small stones, and other impurities into the black bread, which could wear down teeth even more than the sand that the Egyptians added to their bread, and this is even more despicable. The latter at least suffers passively, while the former is outright committing a crime.

Therefore, the vast majority of Europeans in the Middle Ages probably did not have the opportunity to taste the deliciousness of pasta

Due to the absence of modern disinfection and sterilization methods at that time, these medieval cheeses generally lacked the aroma characteristic of modern cheeses, and could even carry a strong odor of decay, which would be off-putting to many. Although Chinese people do consume stinky tofu, it seems that very few would eat it raw

In summary, before the invention of bottling technology and cork stoppers in the sixteenth century, Europeans did not have a method for the long-term preservation of wine. Therefore, the wine consumed by the medieval European nobility at banquets was likely "as sour as a spear thrust, as sharp as a blade, and as piercing as a needle." Only by adding a large amount of spices or sugar could the sour and spoiled taste of the "off-flavored" wine be somewhat alleviated, making the "horribly poorly brewed wine" more palatable.

Finally, if medieval beer is distilled, it becomes whiskey. If wine is distilled, it results in brandy

From the perspective of modern Eastern people, the methods by which medieval Europeans consumed fruits are indeed quite strange: roasting apples and pears over a fire, stewing plums in a pot, and adding salt and pepper... However, eating fruits raw was regarded as the practice of the lower class

Thus, the poor simply take some coarsely processed wheat flour (which, although made from wheat, cannot be considered flour by any standard) and put it in a bowl, adding some hot water to make a wheat paste, which they consume daily to get by. If they have the means to obtain some wild vegetables, salted fish, and meat, they will throw all these ingredients into a pot to stew together with the wheat paste. In short, it looks very unappetizing, resembling what we Chinese use to feed pigs, and somewhat akin to vomit, evoking a sense of disgust. If they have the means to obtain some wild vegetables, salted fish, and meat, they will throw all these ingredients into a pot to stew together with the wheat paste. In short, it looks very unappetizing, resembling what we Chinese use to feed pigs, and somewhat akin to vomit, evoking a sense of disgust

However, the aforementioned issues are not the most critical. Chinese people are not unable to eat vegetable salads, and if cooked fruits with salt do not suit their taste, they can simply be removed from the recipes. Yet, the bread that serves as a staple food can make one feel at a loss for how to eat it— the bread consumed by medieval Europeans is fundamentally different from the soft, fermented bread that modern people enjoy, which is often enriched with sugar and cream. Instead, it resembles a type of unleavened bread akin to compressed biscuits, being dry, hard, and difficult to chew. Furthermore, while the bread of ancient Egyptians typically did not contain cream, it was generally fermented.

However, it should be noted that the wine-making and storage techniques in medieval Europe were still quite inadequate. As a result, the newly produced wine of that year typically had a market value ten times greater than that of the vintage wine left over from the previous year: the latter often turned sour and became undrinkable, and at most could only be filtered and sold as vinegar—note that European vinegar is also made from grapes, which is different from the way it is made in China.

According to a certain epic from the Middle Ages, a king, after achieving victory in a battle, rewarded his entire army with plenty of roasted meat and wine, which was a customary practice. ... Then he granted each of the bravest soldiers a piece of "Queen's bread," which made the others envious to the point of despair ...

On the contrary, for most vegetables, such as carrots, turnips, cabbages, and so on, medieval Europeans were accustomed to eating them raw, even pungent onions were included—of course, there were also roasted onions soaked in gravy, but that belonged to high-end cuisine

As for spices, taking pepper as an example, pepper in medieval Europe was always sold by the grain. If it were pepper powder, the situation would be even worse; when weighing, not only must the doors and windows be tightly shut and one's breath held, but the buyer also has to repeatedly check whether the scale has been tampered with. Historically, there have even been instances of "dishonest merchants mixing silver dust into white pepper for sale," a practice that is hard to imagine today

Therefore, according to the classical classification method of Europeans, our Chinese yellow wine and sweet rice wine, as well as Japanese sake, can also be considered as beer

Initially, white bread was a privilege exclusively enjoyed by the clergy, but it was soon transcended by others and became a high-quality dish served to guests by wealthy families in the Middle Ages. However, during the daily meals of the medieval nobility, there was often no very clear distinction between white bread and black bread—under normal circumstances, the kitchens of nobles and the wealthy would not store large quantities of bread directly, but rather keep coarse flour or wheat flour mixed with a significant amount of bran. When it came time to eat, the coarse flour would be baked into bread.

Having discussed the living conditions, we shall now turn our attention to the topic of diet

In addition to black bread and white bread, Italians in the late Middle Ages occasionally consumed noodles (Italian pasta), but this was considered an absolute delicacy for the nobility, priced even higher than white bread. Before the advent of water-powered mills, processing wheat into the fine flour required for making noodles was an arduous task. Moreover, pasta in the modern sense was originally born on the island of Sicily during the Arab occupation and only spread throughout Italy in the 13th to 14th centuries. As for its dissemination to other parts of Europe, that occurred after the Renaissance.

At that time, even noble lords consumed long loaves of black bread weighing an average of 4.5 kg / 10 pounds in their daily lives

Therefore, those time travelers heading to medieval Europe should absolutely avoid making this common mistake of proudly presenting a certain vintage of "fine red wine" to entertain their esteemed guests at a banquet... It is likely that the guests would only curse you in their hearts for being so stingy as to make them drink vinegar, or even aged vinegar

In addition to sugar and spices, the more affordable seasonings in medieval Europe were primarily lemon juice, which is also commonly found in modern Western cuisine. The people of Northern Europe typically spread butter on their bread, while those in Southern Europe preferred olive oil. Additionally, there was a more expensive option: honey

It is important to note that medieval black bread and modern black bread are entirely different. The so-called black bread today, aside from its color, is actually quite similar in texture and ingredients to the white bread of the medieval period.

Overall, in the ancient European conception, beer was synonymous with a grain-based alcoholic beverage. Any fermented drink made from grains rather than fruits (such as grapes or apples) and not subjected to distillation was referred to as beer

However, people in medieval Europe did not have refrigeration, making it easy for meat to spoil. Even noble lords could not enjoy fresh fish and meat at every meal. In ancient China, many cities had strong purchasing power, and fresh pigs were always available for sale in the markets every day. In contrast, medieval Europe was sparsely populated; a medium-sized castle typically housed only forty to fifty people, making it wasteful to slaughter a pig or a sheep every day. Moreover, the slaughtering of livestock was also seasonal; animals that had just survived the winter were generally very lean, and it would be unwise to slaughter them without fattening them first.

In "Spice and Wolf," Lawrence nearly goes bankrupt to buy a honeyed peach for the female protagonist, Holo, which illustrates just how valuable honey was in the Middle Ages. It was not uncommon for two lords to go to war over a few boxes of honey during that time.

Cooked fruits and raw vegetables ... It seems to be exactly the opposite of the habits of Chinese people, which is bound to cause gastrointestinal discomfort

The habits of drinking tea and coffee only began to gradually enter Europe through Arab territories after the Crusades (coffee originated in Ethiopia). Moreover, after a long journey across the entire Eurasian continent and numerous transfers, the price of tea that reached Europe had become more expensive than gold, making it difficult for even the great nobility to indulge in it frequently. In this context, one could only rely on drinking beer or wine for leisure.

Therefore, medieval Europeans mostly consumed dried meat, which was made by placing meat in the cold wind until it dried out like a mummy. Dried meat has a long shelf life, with some being edible even after decades (at that time, Europeans were not concerned about dioxins and similar substances). Before consuming this dried meat, one must first scrape off the surface grease and oxidation with a knife. Then, it should be soaked in river water for one or two days before it can finally be cooked and eaten. As for the taste, it can only be said that it is not deadly—ancient Europeans preferred to eat bread rather than dried meat when traveling, and this is the reason.

Even if you are lucky enough to obtain some fresh meat, the people of medieval Europe were, in many respects, quite unrefined. In many places, they were even unaware that meat from male livestock should be castrated at a young age. The pork that was ultimately produced was older than that from sows and carried an indescribable odor. For those time travelers accustomed to modern cuisine, consuming this "stinky meat" would undoubtedly be as uncomfortable as enduring a punishment.

Thus, both black bread and white bread can be baked from the same bag of flour, with the only difference being the manual labor involved. The bread consumed by noble knights is actually a type that lies between black and white bread—wealthier families could afford to employ several servants who would sift the flour from morning till night. In less affluent households, in order to lighten the workload of the servants and prevent them from becoming exhausted, as well as to avoid wasting the bran that can also satisfy hunger, the frequency of sifting the flour had to be reduced. As for whether the final baked bread is classified as black or white, that is a matter of personal interpretation and wisdom.

In medieval Europe, the medical community generally believed that all fruits were cooling foods, and if one were to consume them, they should be cooked using a hot method or combined with warming spices (such as pepper)...! ... This is truly unscientific

Conversely, unless it is for making cheese pastries, it is quite rare to see anyone heat cheese before consuming it.

When hosting guests or celebrating a joyous occasion, one would instruct the cooks and maids to sift the coarse flour. The more distinguished the guests, the more thoroughly the bran in the coarse flour must be sifted, resulting in bread that is naturally whiter and more refined, though the effort expended is correspondingly greater

Moreover, just as the beer of ancient Egypt is entirely different from modern beer, the concept of beer among medieval Europeans also differs significantly from that of contemporary beer. If the beer of ancient Egypt resembles a sweet wine without added sugar, then medieval European beer is more akin to Chinese yellow wine—lacking foam, with a brewing method similar to that of yellow wine, but using barley and oats instead of the rice used by the Chinese to brew yellow wine.

In "Spice and Wolf," the protagonist Lawrence exchanged a large bag of coins for a small bag of pepper, considering it a very cheap and favorable price

After reluctantly finishing the unpalatable medieval meal, you might wish to relax; however, medieval Europe had neither coffee nor tea, nor hot cocoa, and certainly no cigarettes to smoke—both cocoa and tobacco were still lying in the jungles of the Americas across the Atlantic.

In the Middle Ages, the most significant difference between white bread and black bread lay in the considerable time and effort required to sift out the bran during its production. The medieval Catholic Church referred to the soft white bread made through fermentation as "Pandemain," meaning refined and sacred bread. Additionally, the size of white bread in the Middle Ages was generally quite small, with each loaf typically insufficient for a normal person's meal, roughly comparable to modern "breakfast rolls"

Readers who wish to know how terrifying Nordic fermented herring canned food can be may refer to the opening section of the Japanese anime "Moe Bacteria Story"

As for cheese in medieval Europe, it was generally not the neatly packaged blocks produced by modern industrial methods found in supermarkets, but rather a lumpy, greenish, sticky substance that resembled both toothpaste and mustard paste, distinctly different from our contemporary concept of cheese

In medieval Europe, a single peppercorn was essentially equivalent to a florin gold coin, and it was indeed used as currency for a long time, thus earning the beautiful title of "pepper money." If anyone at that time could carry a bag of pepper, they would undoubtedly be a highly sought-after super-rich individual. Each time they made a payment, pulling out one or two peppercorns would be more impressive than a platinum VIP credit card in later times.

Very well, now we even have minerals. If we could mix in some leaves and insects, it would be a complete nutritional food

Certainly, the aforementioned bad habits are trivial matters. As a noble lord, you can certainly create a set of dedicated dining utensils for yourself. However, upon seeing the classic medieval European dishes laid out on the table, you will undoubtedly find your appetite significantly diminished

In the light novel "Spice and Wolf," set against the backdrop of medieval Europe in Japan, the male protagonist, the traveling merchant Lawrence, is reluctant to eat hard black bread directly whenever possible. Instead, he prefers to break it into pieces and cook it into a porridge, simply because it is too hard.

Overall, the serfs in the manors of medieval Europe generally had a poorer diet than the farmers of ancient Egypt along the Nile three thousand years ago

In addition, during the Middle Ages in Europe, there was a type of "Queen's Bread" (which can also be translated as "Royal Bread") made from fine flour mixed with eggs, milk, honey, and vanilla, using beer yeast instead of regular leavening. After careful fermentation, it was baked to perfection. The taste of this small round white bread is quite similar to that of modern high-end cream bread, perhaps even better, and the ingredients used are absolutely green, healthy, and pollution-free—yet this delicacy had become such a high-end luxury that even kings could not afford to have it as a staple food at every meal!

On the other hand, although most countries in Western Europe are adjacent to the sea, the overall high latitude of Europe results in insufficient sunlight, making salt production difficult. This led to the high price of salt in medieval Europe, which in some places was even higher than the salt prices under the state monopoly in ancient China. Essentially, the warmer the region, the lower the salt price; conversely, the colder the region, the higher the salt price. In the coldest Russia, one pound of salt could often be exchanged for two sheep. The notoriously famous Nordic product—Swedish Surströmming—was also invented by impoverished Nordic fishermen who sought to conserve salt. Essentially, the warmer the region, the lower the salt price; conversely, the colder the region, the higher the salt price. In the coldest Russia, one pound of salt could often be exchanged for two sheep. The notoriously famous Nordic product—Swedish Surströmming—was also invented by impoverished Nordic fishermen who sought to conserve salt.

Moreover, rice was introduced to Europe during the Middle Ages. However, due to its high requirements for light and heat, it was only cultivated in small quantities in southern regions such as Italy and Spain, and the yield was relatively low. Additionally, the difficulty of milling rice made it quite expensive. Therefore, rice was generally not regarded as a staple food at that time, but rather used as a side dish sprinkled into soups—this is likely how the Spanish paella originated.

Having discussed vegetables, fruits, and staple foods, it is now time to talk about the meat dishes, specifically those made from fish and meat. Medieval Europe can be considered a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral society, characterized by vast open lands and an abundance of wildlife. As a result, the prices of fish and meat were relatively low, and at times, the price of fish was even cheaper than that of an equal weight of black bread

The world-renowned aspect of this medieval black bread lies in its potential use as a weapon—medieval chronicles frequently record the unfortunate incidents of inept thieves breaking into the homes of impoverished farmers, only to meet their demise beneath the black bread wielded by housewives; moreover, during domestic disputes in the medieval era, countless men fell victim to the assaults of their formidable wives armed with black bread. As for the taste of this item, I shall leave it to everyone's imagination.

By the way, although the dietary conditions in medieval Europe were quite poor, being a noble who could keep a few knights as attendants to feed like dogs seems rather endearing (according to medieval customs, dogs and attendants would wait behind the table for the master's bones during meals...) This should cater to the preferences of some girls with a taste for the unusual