1. Dinner
Miss Johnson

2. Dinner the main meal of the day Aristocrats
often a hot meal
meal with the most variety
Aristocrats
traditionally around 10:00 A.M.
more fashionable around 11:00 A.M.
Dinner was served with a lot of ceremony
even non Aristocratic homes like ceremony
generally lasted about an hour

3. In Aristocratic Homes full of Christian symbolism
a table set up on one side of a hall, covered in a white cloth, laid with salt, bread, and wine
all individuals wore their best clothing
how the table was laid was a very strict order
first, all tablecloths, napkins, and bowls of washing water were laid out by the yeoman of the ewery
then, the salt, napkins, and trenchers were laid
then, the gentleman usher, the sewer, and the carver entered the room and took their places
then, the lord and his family entered the room
the lord and his family washed their hands
the food was uncovered and laid upon the table

4. Bread Bread was the staple foodstuff best bread was manchet loaves
people literally ate bread for breakfast, dinner, and supper
best bread was manchet loaves
pure white wheaten bread
closest to the breads we eat now but was still more strongly flavored, heavier, denser, chewier, and more filling
bread has undergone genetic changes over the past 400 years
yeast has changed as well
eaten by the wealthiest individuals
often the lower crust was cut off
why we call social superiors as the upper crust
bread of the people
in the South, East, and Midlands common people ate maslin, mixed-grain, wheat rye
maslin was what farmers planted to feed their own family
in the North and West common people ate dredge (oats and barley) and oats

6. How Bread Was Made
the grain was milled at either a watermill or windmill
then the grain was bolted, separating the bran from the flour, through a cloth
flour was put in a wooden trough and the yeast was poured into it
yeast used to ferment bread was usually taken off a vat of ale
the mixture was kneaded together with as much water as seemed right
bread was cooked in an oven, which was a mass of stone, brick, or clay
a fire was lit inside the oven; then, when the oven reaches the right temperature the fire is removed so food could be cooked
a tell stone could be used (a stone that changes color at certain temperatures)
Bread baked in this order: large loaves of household bread; then pies, pastries, buns, and cakes; and lastly, custards and biscuits

8. Ovens oven in prosperous farmhouses
communal ovens or commercial bakers
Aristocratic homes often had two fireplaces in a kitchen
one for boiling water
one for roasting meat

10. Meat, Fish, and Pottage Aristocracy Commoners
usually ate roasted meats and fish
Commoners
ate pottage: a stew cooked in a pot and thickened with grain
start with some good stock, add meat, then at grains and herbs
allow it to simmer for a long time
throw in more herbs and vegetables at the end
pottage was good for a working family because it could be left alone for most of the day
meat often cooked over wood or peat fires
cooked in front of the fire rather than over it so the fat can drip and be used for basting

12. Food Shortages
Every food was seasonal and common people often had to endure shortages
Wild animals and plants
belonged by law to the owner of the land not the renter
this includes fish in the streams, and pigeons and rabbits in the fields
many people suffered from malnutrition