Popular Renaissance Foods
New Foods From the Americas Were Introduced During the Renaissance
Many popular Renaissance foods were introduced to Europe after Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492.
Early Renaissance foods were largely left over from the Middle Ages, until the discovery of the Americas in 1492 by Christopher Columbus. Soon new foods began trickling into Renaissance kitchens, beginning with the nobility and eventually finding its way into the homes of merchants, farmers and peasant. Certain crops, like the potato and corn, revolutionized European farming. Other foods, such as the tomato, were viewed with suspicion, even fear, and were not eaten on a regular basis for another two centuries!
Popular Renaissance Foods
Feasts were always popular during special occasions, such as weddings, or around the holidays or saints days. Large game birds such as peacocks, swans and cranes were often displayed with their feathers, as one of several meat dishes. Smaller game birds, such as pheasant and heron were common menu fare as well. It was a popular custom to serve pork alongside fried chestnuts.
Root vegetables, such as carrots, caraway and parsnips were always popular, not mention easy to grow and store. Asparagus was the vegetable du jour, and only the finest tables could afford to serve it. Salad greens, such as endive, chicory, lettuce and watercress were also very popular Renaissance foods.
Fruit was always a popular Renaissance food, though many physicians warned of eating it raw. They claimed raw fruit was poisonous. During the Renaissance, fruit was served as a last course. We would call this “dessert” today, but that term was decidedly vulgar to Renaissance Europeans. Instead, they referred to the last course simple as the “fruit course.” Common fruit dishes included marmalades, compotes, or raw salads.
New Foods From The Americas
Once regular trade began out of the Americas, new foods became a popular commodity. While some foods caught on right away, others took several decades, even centuries to gain popularity. Most foods took at least some time to be adopted by Europeans. One exception was the turkey. Cortez discovered the American turkey in Mexico sometime in the 1520s. Turkey, also known as “Indian Chicken” caught on swiftly with Europeans. Besides being delicious, turkey made a fantastic centerpiece for banquets, when dressed in all its feathers and plumes. In fact, at a banquet hosted by Catherine de Medici in 1549, the menu listed “seventy Indian Chickens” as part of one course.
Other foods that traveled from the America’s to Europe include corn (known as maize), sting beans, tomatoes, red peppers, potatoes and lima beans. In addition, the most important commodities of global trade, coffee, chocolate, and tea all came from South America. Sugar was in use in Europe during the Renaissance, but it was prohibitively expensive. The new crops of sugarcane in the Americas made sugar affordable for more household by the end of the seventeenth century.
Crop food, such as potatoes and corn changed the way people farmed in the late Renaissance. Corn, also called Maize or Spanish millet, it was easily adaptable to various European climates. Potatoes, though brought to Europe in 1500s, did not become the staple crop of Ireland until well into the 1600s.
Need more information on dining during the Renaissance? Check out Renaissance Table Manners.
Sources:
Sider, Sandra. Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe. New York: Facts on File. 2004
Sonnenfeld, Albert. Food: A Culinary History. New York: Columbia University Press. 1996.
