Continuing our journey through the eating habits of the different historical periods we are arriving to the Middle Ages, so tonight we’re having dinner at the court of Matilda of Canossa, female character of great prominence in this period, which was full of intrigues and constant battles but our Matilde demonstred to have extraordinary strength and an innate ability to lead.

In this period, there was a freat consume of cereals in  form of bread, oat flour and polenta, vegetables constitute an important supplement in the diet, the meat was always regarded as a prestigious food and was present on the tables of the rich and nobles :chicken , pork was popular while beef was less common.

During the late Middle Ages there was the development of a sort of ” haute cuisine” that rapresented a standard among the nobility European Union. At the table  of the nobles game was topped  was  with many spices extremely expensive since they were imported from the East.

The peasants ate a soup in the middle morning, the bread (which was baked in large loaves every 15 days) cheese and boiled chestnuts during the day and in the evening  … a beautiful soup!

In the Middle Ages were used special combinations like sweet-sour , sweet – salty, sweet – spicy. For some religious days people ate:  lasagna at Christmas … spelled Carnival … eggs and cheese Ascension … goose for All Saints … lamb at Easter , so  tells us a poet of the ’200from Orvieto .

A curiosity …   a decree provided the limit ( mind you !) Of what could commandeer a bishop at every stage of his pastoral visits with all his followers : 50 loaves , 10 chickens, 50 eggs , 5 pigs … ( imagine …people was surely happyfor this  ” holy ” little visits !)

But it’s time to enter to the court of Matilda of Canossa :we can see a table full of silver trays , bowls of gold , there are numerous courses, here comes wild boars roasted whole , omelettes hundreds of eggs , huge jugs of wine , and fruit bowls filled , we do not believe our eyes … there are forks …

Of course, before we dive into this adventure , we  discovered  a whole series of rules to follow :

1 – Do not spit on the dinner table … (thank goodness !)

2 – Keep your nails and always ” net ”

3 – After blowing your nose, wipe his fingers , not on the tablecloth , but … in your robe !

Main dish is a soup container of all the vegetables with bread and bits of meat ,  now comes a nice grilled chicken almond milk and here the meeting between sweet and savory transforms a poor product such as poultry in an exaltation of flavor all its own.

We get to the dessert , this term  comes from the old French desservir which meant clearing the table ” and ” just to close the meal is offered to us as a digestive candy served with ippocrasso ” ” ( the name alone scares me !) Mulled wine spicy with pieces of seasoned cheese , then fresh fruit covered with sugar and honey ( help! ! ), I still syrups are offered with sweets made of cooked fruit but wanting … there is also a variety ‘ wide of pancakes, sugary crepes , puddings, cakes and pastries that contain fruit and pastry … to end (thank God !) marzipan at will ‘ (believed was introduced by the Arabs ) .

It’s time to go…I  thank Matilde (now we are great friends) and I have my usual coffee in my house, in 2013! Bye