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Striving for Happiness in a chaotic world

 

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Dale T Arthur

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The study of food, and how harvests are processed, is of prime importance to any one trying to understand a culture. As an early period Chef, it is even more relevant to consider not only the foodstuff and cooking techniques available, but to have in mind the availability of the supplies as the seasons turn.

To help understand what and how early Norse cooked we must turn to other cultures and time because early Norse have left no written record.  It is the works of Apicus, and his student Vinidarius, both Roman’s, that must be the starting place for the study of Norse food. The Romans left not only their domestic plants and animals but also a legacy of cooking ideas based on their written recipes. The Roman influence on England is large and I use their ideas a lot. There are numerous later period medieval English cookbooks¹ and by comparing them to the Roman ones I feel that, using my medieval larder, I can create dishes good cooks would have been able to serve.

When the Romans departed, international trade lessened for most things. Any thing wanted from the continent, one can buy but if one can’t find it within 10 or 20 miles of home or buy it from our village traders was not used much.

Sheep, pigs, and goats are the main livestock kept, and cattle are raised mostly as draft beasts. The rabbits that escaped from the Roman leporaria died out in the wild, as did the guinea fowl and the peacocks. Still both chicken and geese are kept for both flesh and eggs, but wild birds are more commonly available and wild eggs in the spring. The use of olive oil disappeared and was replaced with lard and butter, mostly from sheep. Nut and vegetable oils like walnut and flax are in use.

The seasons dramatically influence cooking must be considered,, with the study of cooking equipment and how they used simple pots to create good tasting food, and also the study of the harvest and how it was preserved.

In the spring we have not only the remains of last years harvest, but also the long awaited new growth fresh green herbs and plants.  Each day brings new tastes and flavors half forgotten in the depth of winter. The migratory birds have returned so wild eggs are plentiful plus the trout are running.  Although the domestic animals are freshening, most milk is left to nourish the young animals. Grand spring storms still crash waves against the rocks, but a calm day to go ocean fishing is no longer a long wait and the shellfish are at their best. Some things like nettles and other fresh seasonal herbs need to picked now and dried. This is when we can have veal and lamb but as with most farms, we are more interested in saving new life rather then eating it. We use all the new domestic eggs to raise chicken, geese and ducks.

In the summer time we feast on domestic eggs, fresh milk, soft cheese, fresh berries, garden plants and fish. The outdoor fire pit is put to use cooking and barbecuing meals to spare the smoke & heat indoors.  We now start our harvest with things like the drying of the pea crop and berries and continue to make cheeses and dried fish.

The fall is the time of plenty as we harvest and preserve the last of the garden and field. Our supply of milk, eggs, fresh herbs and vegetables end but the supply of fruit, honey, mushrooms and fall vegetables like cabbage, turnip are much looked forward to. These are either cool stored or dried or in the case of corn, cut, bundled and dried to be separated later in he winter when there is more time. With our larders full, we then cull the animal herds both domestic and wild, so that each herd may have enough fodder for the winterWe preserve our animal croup in many ways. We make sausages and jerky plus smoke whole hams and other parts of many animals. Properly prepared smoked meat can last well over a year if hung in a cool dry spot.  During the butchering time, it is the offal like liver & blood that cannot be preserved and that is eaten fresh.

In the winter we do miss our greens but a full larder of preserves from both the summer and fall harvests more than makes up for this. In wintertime we feast on nuts, smoked meat, dried meat & fish, salted fish, cheese, hams, dried fruit & root vegetables. Our cooking equipment is quite complete although primitive. If we lack anything it would be ovens and yet by the use of over turned pots and clay cooking tiles, we know no style of cooking we cannot recreate at out hearth. In doors we have a fire pit, usually set in the center of the main room and the smoke simply rises out to smoke hole we leave in the center of the roof.  Although we are cooking over fire indoors, and in the summer outdoor fire pits; we have tripods and hangers plus metal gridirons to hold up the fire so we can reach under the fire to remove the ashes. With round bottom and flat bottom, iron or copper kettles, and clay pots we are able to grill, braise, boil, fry and deep-fry our food.  Roasting on a spit may produce even better roasts then an oven and by cooking with covered pots we have the ability to create good tasting food over open wood fires.

We have iron knives and pottery bowls and containers plus the Romans have left some glass behind. Having no table forks, the food is eaten with a spoon and a knife. We use wooden trenchers or glazed clay for plates but if we have many guests we can use disposable bread trenchers to serve our guests on. Using the local clay and other pottery knowledge we can throw and fire glazed earthenware in simple earthen colors. Using a spring lathe we can turn wood into bowls, cups, and goblets. We have iron adzes to plane our tables flat allowing the use of flat dishes and pots.

To help harvest our food, we have many tools and useful ways on how to preserve things. I think the study of our farm tools helps understand how we live. We have smokehouses, drying floors, salt drying equipment and cold cellars plus a flourmill, using granite stones,. We have metal sickles to cut grain and the knowledge to twist twine to make sheafths to stook for the grain to dry. We use flails and winnowing to separate the grains from the chaff and straw. We store things in baskets, wooden bins, clay pots and in small storage granaries.  We know how to pickle, smoke, salt, and dry many things and to us a full larder is richness.

 

 

 

 

The British Museum Cookbook by Michelle Johnson isbn 0-7141-1759-5

The complete book of Spices by Jill Norman isbn  0-88850-300-8

A Taste of History by Maggie Black isbn   0-7141-1788-9

History of Food translated by Anthea Bell  isbn 0-631-17741-8

Apicus (main text & the Brevis pimentorum) isbn 0-486-23363-7

Cooking with the two fat ladies by Jennifer Paterson & Clarissa Dickson isbn 1-55444-1845

I’m just here for the food by Alton Brown isbn 1-58479-083-0

¹ later period cookbooks

 

Taillevent 1312-1395

Martino 1450-1475

BartolomeoScappi 1540-1570

Norse Food

 In 650 England