The Medieval Kitchen Witch

Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Eye of newt and toe of frog..... A few lines from a piece of literature that most people are familiar with, good old Shakespeare helps conjure up an image of witches gathered around a cauldron cooking up a storm, in that scene from Macbeth.

Have you ever wondered what the Kitchen Witches of yester year served up for their kin to eat? There are many era's that I could cover and maybe I'll cover some more in the future! But for now I'm going to focus on the late medieval period. Most late medieval food was remarkably similar to the food we eat today. Certain food items that we take for granted, such as potatoes and tomatoes, were not available to medieval Kitchen Witches, there were no freezers either, so the medieval kitchen witch had to use fresh or preserved foods out of season.

There is a false perception, endorsed by badly researched films and TV programmes, that early cookery concentrated almost solely on meat. Medieval banquets are often portrayed as fiercely carnivorous events with fur-clad guests tearing red meat apart with their teeth and hurling the bones to dogs. The truth is that a wide variety of fruit and vegetables were commonly used in early cookery. Fresh and salt water fish provided useful protein, while medieval people derived much of their carbohydrate from various kinds of grain based "porridge" served as a staple accompaniment to both meat and fish dishes.

Another early cookery myth is that powerful spices were used to disguise the taste of putrid meat rather than as flavour enhancers. This is not true as a wide variety of fresh meat and fish was available both in urban areas and the countryside. Animals such as cows, pigs and sheep were driven into town and slaughtered as required. Almost every large house had a collection of fowl providing fresh eggs and birds for roasting. Fish were plentiful in streams ponds and rivers, while fish farming was popular on some large estates.

Saffron was extremely popular because it allowed the cook to colour dull looking food to a brilliant yellow, making it more exciting to the eye. Food colour was very important to medieval people who used all kinds of colourants, including red berries, ground parsley and egg yolks, to make their food look more interesting. Sugar was another common addition to medieval dishes, particularly for invalids and children. It was first obtained from the East, then grown as cane on Mediterranean islands and brought to Britain by traders.

Medieval Seasoning 'Take of nutmegs and mace one ounce each, of cloves and peppercorns two ounces of each, one ounce of dried bay-leaves, three ounces of basil, the same of marjoram, two ounces of winter savory, and three ounces of thyme, half an ounce of cayenne-pepper, the same of grated lemon-peel, and two cloves of garlic; all these ingredients must be well pulverized in a mortar and sifted through a fine wire sieve, and put away in dry corked bottles for use.'

Herbs & Spices found in medieval kitchens:- Ginger Cinnamon Cloves Grains of Paradise Long pepper Mace Spikenard Black and White Pepper Saffron Galingale Nutmeg Cumin Dried Sage leaves Dried Bay leaves Ramsons (Wild Garlic) Hyssop Borage Orache Herbs & spices were very important to the medieval cook because they could add a great deal of flavour to otherwise bland oat, wheat and corn based dishes. Most of the herbs and spices in the list given are still around today, some you may not have heard of, these are what they are....

Galingale - Cyperus longus: Native of Britain, it grows in ditches and marshy soils. an aromatic root; the main ingredient of galyntyne, a pungent medieval sauce. Long Pepper- Piper longum L: looks like a short rat’s tail about 3cm long. It grows on a small vine related to true pepper and cubeb pepper. The aroma is sweet, fragrant and musk-like and the flavour is similarly musky and peppery. The use of Long Pepper in Europe predates black Pepper by several centuries, originaly being introduced by the Romans. During the middle ages it was often used in sauces to add a piquant, pepper taste to sauces and meats. Spikenard - Nardostachys Jatamansi: This root (or more properly rhizome) has a heavy and peculiar odour, like a mixture of valerian and patchouli. The taste is bitter and aromatic. Used in India from early times in perfume and medicine.The Roman cookbook of Apicius calls for it in sauces for meat, seafood, and fowl.