Elizabethan Era Food

During the Elizabethan era, food was a major importance in England. The type of food that was eaten largely depended on the social class. The poor generally ate less meat, but more vegetables. The rich had a more luxurious way of dining, and ate finer foods and more meat than the poor. However, the idea of meat being only for the rich did not last because population grew, which led to new agricultural techniques. Not surprisingly, the rich had silverware and the poor would have wooden utensils. There were common methods of cooking during these times, such as spit roasting, boiling, and baking. The book Daily Life in 18th-Century England says, “…cookbooks included information on pickling, preserving, brewing beer and cider… and making cheeses, …show more content…
Like today, the Elizabethans had table manners. The discovery of the New World brought many “new” foods to England. The average lower class family class had a mostly vegetarian diet. During this period, vegetables were referred to as herbs. The upper class found “food from the ground” dirty. Meat was too expensive for the lower class. The only source of protein that was cheap for them was fish such as salmon, cod, and flounder. Dairy products such as eggs and cheese were eaten by the poor. Farmers would sell their best crops, which left the decent and cheap crops for themselves. The average lower class diet would have about a half pound of rye, a pint of ale, a pint of porridge, and a quarter pound of meat. Ale has extremely low alcohol content. A Tudor soldier was a part of the lower class and also received very little rations. Vegetables were mixed with soups and porridges. These people had three meals a day which were breakfast, dinner, and supper. As we like to say “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, however this was not true for the Elizabethans. The lower class usually …show more content…
Food for the nobles was meant to look grand. The bread eaten by the high class was a type of bread called manchet. Manchet is a fine, white bread and the poor did not eat this, instead the poor ate rye bread. As for meat, the upper class would eat beef, venison, pork, sausages, and other meats that the lower class could not afford. The nobles also ate fish, but the reason for this was Lent. Lent was a day when Christians or Catholics were forbidden to eat any kinds of meat except for fish. This day was the majority of Elizabethan England, including the lower class. Noblemen were able to cook sweeter and spicy foods because of the ingredients that they can afford. Historians have believed that the diet of a nobleman was less healthy than a person of the lower class. The average nobleman did not eat many vegetables. Of course, the upper class would eat three meals a day, but the servings; as expected, were larger. There would be breakfast, dinner, and supper. Daily Life in Elizabethan England states, “…dinner, served around 11 or noon, and supper in the evening, somewhere from 6 to 9…” (Singman, 132).Unlike to lower class, the nobles would have massive amounts of foods and beverages. All classes drank ale and wine. Water was not drunk much because it was impure. The upper class could afford enough food for many food courses. A meal that would have more than one