Wine Making
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Eating History - The Way to a Vikings Heart is Through his Stomach
   
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Ordering Wine In A Restaurant
Ordering wine in a restaurant is not much different than buying it in a wine store. The main difference is that you have an audience. Yet .....
Ordering wine in a restaurant is not much different than buying it in a wine store. The main difference is that you have an audience. Yet .....
Food history has always interested me. We can learn a lot about
our present eating habits from what our ancestors ate. I've read
up on the subject and I've even hosted a few parties serving
period foods. Today we'll talk about the Vikings. With the help
of our friends the archaeologists, food finds have been made.
The Scandinavian people of the 8th through 11th centuries were
not as limited in terms of their diet as some might think. They
were masters of the sea and ate everything from oysters to
whales. They were much more than just avid anglers feasting on a
variety of fresh and saltwater fish. They were farmers as well.
In the Danish settlement of Jorvik, now called York in Great
Britain, finds of both wild and domestic meats were found. Among
those were venison, beef, mutton/lamb, goat, pork, chicken,
goose, duck, grouse, and wood pigeon. The Vikings cultivated
grains such as barley, wheat, rye, and barley. They grew
vegetables and fruit like carrots, parsnips, turnips, celery,
plums, apples, raspberries, elderberries, and much much more. To
top that off, they were not opposed to using spices and herbs
other than salt for a little extra flavor.
Honey was the big sweetener in the Middle Ages. The Vikings used
a lot of it to make mead. You can read my article The Stuff of
Poetry Mead (http://onlinecooking.net/output_story.php?ID=1038) for more information. The Vikings drank more than just mead.
They had access to ale and even wines brought back from Italy
and France. Bread would have been a staple, since it is filling
(it also keeps you pretty regular). I recall a class assignment
back in elementary school where we had to prepare a food from
our respective cultures. Being proud of my Scandinavian
ancestors, I picked something Viking related. I found a recipe
in an old issue of Skalk, (http://www.skalk.dk/) an archaeological
periodical published in Denmark. It had a lot of different
grains in it, and unlike some of the breads we are use to today,
this stuff hit your stomach with a "thud". (One of the things I
enjoy doing is making improvised dishes based on ingredients
found in the Viking and Medieval ages.)
Here is a recipe that translates pretty well even to modern
times. It will keep you going on the coldest of winter nights.
Drink a couple horns of mead and you'll be really happy.
Paul's Viking Stew
Sauvignon Blanc Wine
Sauvignon Blanc wine is crisp, high in acidity and light- to medium-bodied, and Sauvignon Blanc wine is recognizable for its grassy, herbaceous flavor and aroma. When .....
A large piece of meat cut into cubes One large onion (chopped)Sauvignon Blanc wine is crisp, high in acidity and light- to medium-bodied, and Sauvignon Blanc wine is recognizable for its grassy, herbaceous flavor and aroma. When .....
One carrot (chopped) A few stalks of celery (chopped) One
Parsnip (chopped) Some cabbage (chopped) Pearled barley Beef
broth or stock, you can use chicken stock as well Oil for
cooking Salt and Pepper
Put your vegetables into a big pot and cook on low heat in a
little oil. If you want to stay authentic, do not use corn oil.
Corn as we know it in the Americas was not used until much
later. Olive oil might have been used if some Norwegian traveled
to Italy and picked up some.
When the onions and cabbage look translucent, then add the meat
and barley. Cover everything with your stock and bring it to a
boil. Reduce it to a simmer and stir it occasionally to make
sure nothing sticks to the bottom.
Cook until the barley is cooked and the meat is done all the way
through. You can also thicken this with a little flour in water.
So there you have it, an interpretation that would probably be a
little better than what the standard Viking would have. The
point is that this is a dish that would have been made with
ingredients that were available at the time. Stay tuned for more
medieval recipes.
Paul Rinehart is classically trained and is the founder of Online Cooking.
About the author:
Paul Rinehart is classically trained and is the founder of Online Cooking.