Life in Elizabethan Times
Life in Elizabethan Times: Food During the Elizabethan times there were many different types of food that were being discovered and also evolving. What you ate was based on your social class. If you were poor you ate the simple foods and when you were rich you ate luxury items. Feasts were held during these times to celebrate and to drink or eat as much as they could. The common foods that people ate were bread, meat, seafood, and fruit. All of these foods had different types of specifics about them. These people had to learn how to find the food, make the food, and eat the food. We now know they played an important role in the food world of today.
I. Social Classes. A. Diet of a Peasant. 1. Peasants ate small portions of milk, whey, cheese, bacon, bread and peas. 2. The poor ate whatever they could grow or raise that they owned. a. The poorer peasants were going hungry because the prices of food kept getting higher. b. Poor people were allowed to raise their animals on common land. B. Diet of the Rich. 1. The rich ate varieties of the best bread, meat, and fish. 2. They ate 2-3 meals a day. a. At feasts they would try to impress by ordering the best foods. b. Wine was reserved for the rich/nobles to drink.
II. Royal Feasts. A. Food and Drink. 1. At feasts people would drink ale and wine heavily. 2. Delicate meats were served along with florentiens, jellies, and tarts. a. Swans and peacocks were served whole and their beaks were painted gold. B. Layout of Feasts. 1. Feasts were served as buffets or in a messe (meal for 2-4 people). 2. There would be music, dancing, bullbaiting, bearbaiting, and cockfights. a. Everyone would eat together. b. Children and women ate less than men.
III. Daily foods. A. Bread/Meats.
I. Social Classes. A. Diet of a Peasant. 1. Peasants ate small portions of milk, whey, cheese, bacon, bread and peas. 2. The poor ate whatever they could grow or raise that they owned. a. The poorer peasants were going hungry because the prices of food kept getting higher. b. Poor people were allowed to raise their animals on common land. B. Diet of the Rich. 1. The rich ate varieties of the best bread, meat, and fish. 2. They ate 2-3 meals a day. a. At feasts they would try to impress by ordering the best foods. b. Wine was reserved for the rich/nobles to drink.
II. Royal Feasts. A. Food and Drink. 1. At feasts people would drink ale and wine heavily. 2. Delicate meats were served along with florentiens, jellies, and tarts. a. Swans and peacocks were served whole and their beaks were painted gold. B. Layout of Feasts. 1. Feasts were served as buffets or in a messe (meal for 2-4 people). 2. There would be music, dancing, bullbaiting, bearbaiting, and cockfights. a. Everyone would eat together. b. Children and women ate less than men.
III. Daily foods. A. Bread/Meats.