Food

Food from the Shakespeare Era By: Michael Barth In Shakespeare’s era there were a variety of foods. The wealthy had more foods to choose from than the poor. The type of food most people ate depended on their religion and whether they lived in the city or in the countryside.

During the Elizabethan era, when Shakespeare’s plays flourished in England’s theatres, various foods were eaten. A person’s income would determine how much and what kind of food they were able to consume. The lower class typically consumed ¼ pound of meat, a ½ pound of bread, dairy products, and some vegetables. Bread was one the most common foods because people were able to make many different kinds of bread using different types of flour. Dairy products were only eaten by the poor because they were considered to be second-rate foods. The dairy products included butter, milk, whey, and many types of cheeses. To drink, they would usually consume a pint of beer. The beer during this time period did not contain a lot of alcohol so it was normal to drink a lot in one day.

The upper class had a much more intricate diet than the lower class. The upper class purchased expensive ingredients in order to make their foods spicy and sweet. They were able to import expensive spices from other countries. Their complex recipes were too expense for the lower class to produce. The wealthy also had a variety of meats to choose from. Some of the meats they consumed were mutton, lamb, rabbit, capon, pig, and deer. The upper class also ate chickens and many types of fish. They ate fish such as salmon eel, cod, pike, trout, and cod. They would also only eat vegetables that did not come from the ground. These vegetables included garlic, onions, and rapes. For dessert, the upper class usually had flan and cheesecake.

At banquets people were served various types of food. For the first round people were often serve pork livers, meats, sausages, golden tortes, muscats, pears, and pies. For the next round, people would be required to wash their hands while the tablecloth was removed. People would then serve themselves from communal trays without using forks. During this round, there was fried dough served in honey and lemons, relishes, lamprey, muttons, pig, and duck. Finger foods including almonds, seeds, and pine nuts were also served.

During Shakespere’s era people consumed a variety of foods depending on where they dwelled, their religion, and their rank in society. The wealthy had a variety of foods to choose from where as the lower class was limited. Food was an important part of life in the Shakespeare era. http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-daily-meals.htm http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq3.html#shakespeare Cheesecake Bread Onions Deer meat