Whey cheeses such as ricotta were popular because they could be made from the by-products of harder cheese. Many types of cheese that we eat today such as Dutch Edam, Northern French Brie and Italian Parmesan were hugely popular such in medieval times. The other main type of milk was almond milk which used more commonly.Cheese was a far more important food to the poor than milk.It has been suggested that during many periods of time, cheese was a chef’s main supplier of animal protein for the lower class. Only on occasions would dairy milk be used in upper-class kitchen, usually made into stews and soups. Milk wasn’t as popular as other dairy products because there wasn’t any technology to keep it from spoiling. Poor adults wouldn’t drink buttermilk, whey, or milk unless it was watered down. This milk was usually reserved for the young and the elderly. Plain fresh milk was not drank by the average adult, unless they were poor or sick. They would sell un-wanted milk on the streets of towns to make a profit off of their goats. Many families raised goats and sheep on home farms and ranches.
Most of the milk came from cows but goats and sheep still provides milk for many families. Milk was a very important source of animal protein for the people who couldn’t afford quality meats. Because of lack of knowledge, people didn’t realize the importance of eating vegetables until later in the 16th century. Dietitians who advised the upper class thought that people should avoid these because they have a tendency to cause flatulence and because they were associated with the diets of the lower class and the foods of peasants. Some of these beans, not including peas, were viewed with some suspicion. Many beans such as chickpeas, fava beans, and peas were very common and very important sources of protein these were valued greatly in the lower class. One of the most common vegetables used in many dishes were carrots. Many lower class citizens grew their fruits and vegetables in home gardens and small orchards. The lack of vegetables in these books was not that they didn’t exist, but because they were so simple that they did not need to be printed and recorded. Recipes in these books only contained a small number of dishes that used vegetables as the main ingredient. After new foods were starting to form, cookbooks were made and were intended to be sold to richer people. Although these were less popular than died meat, rich people still brought garden grown foods from peasants. Many of the vegetables were grown and eaten by workers and servants. Vegetables such as cabbage, beets onions, garlic, and carrots also common sides. Grains were the primary sides of most meal. Some evidence suggests that medieval food had a fairly high content of fat, when fat could be afforded. At the time, this was the most effective use for firewood and did not waste precious juices used to make the potages and stews, the most common dishes in medieval times. For poor people ,along with the majority of the population, most of all cooking was done in simple stewpots. These ovens were very useful but they were also very expensive. Larger ovens were made of iron and were placed on wheels to sell pies in the streets of the towns. The ovens were filled with food and then buried in coals to bake more than one thing at a time.
Also portable ovens were designed which made large scale cooking easy. In small villages or communities it was common for the people to share ownership of a oven to ensure that bread making was kept a communal thing and not a private one. Ovens were used though, but they were very expensive to make/buy and were only used in large house/castles and bakeries. Because stoves weren’t invented yet, a good cook had to master cooking directly on an open flame.
During the medieval times just about all types of cooking was done over a burning fire.