8-2Food

// ** What were popular types of banquets, feasts, food, and drink in Elizabethan England? ** ** Answered by Nishad A.  **//

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During Queen Elizabeth’s rule most of Britain was kept well fed, compared to the rest of the world. There was, however, a difference between wealthy man’s and a commoner’s dinner table, but they both still received most of their calories from these three food groups: meat, bread, and beer. They all still enjoyed sweet food, so much so that how they used it showed what social class they belonged to. The poor got sugar from honey and fruits; the middle class bought it only for special occasions, and the rich even used it to sculpt decorations. Fish was also eaten because there were laws requiring it, and when King Henry VIII replaced Catholicism with the Protestant Church of England, meatless Fridays were no longer mandatory, so a political law was set in place to keep the fishing market alive. Breakfast was usually eaten with a fine diet, so a manchet, a browner, six-pound loaf of bread, was eaten instead of plain bread, and it was usually with butter. Also eaten for breakfast were eggs served either “sunny side up” or scrambled otherwise there were pancakes which were served with a variety of jams. Dinner was eaten between 10 A.M. and noon but sometimes ran until 2 or 3 P.M, taking into account that it was the most important meal of the day. The wealthy feasted on the various game that was hunted in England. It was prepared by French chefs who had been hired, however the common man was less fortunate and usually ate sausage and badly-cooked cabbage with porridge for the kids. Elizabethan England had many delicious meals and dishes but the technology of the time limited the cooking, so today they would be much more elegant.======

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There were very few options for drinks in Elizabethan England, and water was rarely even looked clean enough to drink, so the main drinks of the time were ale and beer. Ale was stronger than beer and was cheaper, but it did not stay good in warm weather, so many Elizabethans drank beer because it was cheap, it could be stored in large amounts, and it did not spoil as easily. Milk was not popular because the cows then did not produce as much as they do today and most of the milk was used for butter and cheese, which was thought to be more important. Coffee was not drunk, and England only became a nation of tea in the mid-1600’s; wine was drunk but it was expensive because it was imported, therefore reducing its popularity. The wine, when served, was kept cool in a copper tub of water. Each time a guest handed back an empty glass or goblet, it was rinsed in a wooden tub before being refilled. Other drinks also included cider, perry, red wine, white wine, and metheglin, which were mainly reserved for the rich and royal. Drink was not considered as important as food, so much interest was not put into creating new drinks or attempting to purify the water.======

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Banquets are still held today just as they were in Elizabethan England. Though the menus have changed, the idea of social gathering with food is just about the same. An important difference between the rich and poor were for banquets, because only the royalty and the wealthy in those days, could afford to have such a feast because a peasant obviously could not afford all of the exquisite game caught by hunters throughout Europe. According to “Elizabethan Banquets and Feasts” by Sabina Pellizzari, “Now all a person needs is $8.14 to stuff him or herself silly.” so life was obviously different from now and back then. Banquet hosts were required to employ servants for the oddest job tasks due to the size of these feasts. One example would be the bread trencher; his job was to get fresh bread and replace it with the old bread that had gotten stale during the meal, and that would be all that he did the entire time. People did not use utensils during the Elizabethan Period, because they felt that it was much easier to eat with your hands. Several table manner books came out at this time, because it was obvious that one did not want to eat after his or her neighbor scratched himself, and then scooped food out with the same hand. Banquets were held back then just like now only with a few differences.======