[Sca-cooks] Period food myths

[Michael Gunter]

A few I've heard, in addition to Master A's. Bread had bits of grit from stone grinding so people's teethwore down over the years. Turkey legs and huge haunches of meat were standard fare. Breakfast consisted of hot beer with grain cooked in it. Beef was basted in red wine. (I always thought that to be true.) People ate off of trencher bread no matter what station they wereand for the entire period from the Fall of Rome to Napoleon. People drank only out of metal, ceramic or wooden mugs unlessyou were nobility then you drank out of metal, ceramic or woodengoblets.  Food was thrown on the floor and hads were wiped on their clothes. Meat was either torn off the carcass or hacked off in long gobbets. Apples are eaten off the point of a large dagger. They didn't have sugar, honey was the only sweetner. Most meals were a combination of bread, cheese and stew unlessyou are feasting and large haunches of meat and turkey legsare provided. Even formal dinners are affairs of debauchery with wine swilling(spilling it on yourself is required), eating with the hands, loudlaughter, wench grabbing, food throwing, turkey leg tossing,haunch gobbetting, acrobats in motley (dwarfs cost extra),and at least one swordfight. All travel food is cheese, bread and jerky. Only wine and ale were drunk.  People wore armor all the time, even at dinner. (Well, with all thedebauchery and swordfights going on, I guess that was wise.) Gunthar 
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