Noa & Una’s Marginalia 📜 Medieval Pottage

🥣Since you guys mentioned soup a lot, let's have something about soup! When you think of soup, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Sweet and creamy corn chowder? Tastebud-punching hot and sour soup? Or chicken broth that can warm both body and soul when you feel ill?

⛵Medieval Europe may not have had the wide variety of spices or imported ingredients that we enjoy today, but that certainly doesn’t mean their soup was bland and tasteless. Pottage, in particular, was closer in texture to Asian porridge and was an essential part of everyday meals in households across Europe.

🍲Many homes had a cauldron constantly simmering over the fire, filled with grains, vegetables, legumes, and herbs. As everything slowly cooked together, the aroma would drift through the house while the soup bubbled gently away. When it was time to eat, a bowl of thick soup served with bread and cheese could make for a filling and nourishing meal.

🥕In the kitchen of the Ordo Mediare, there is also always a cauldron happily bubbling away. The sisters gather fresh vegetables and herbs from the gardens, such as carrots, onions, thyme, and more! Sisters would chop them up, then add them to the cauldron to simmer.

🐈‍⬛While the pottage slowly cooks, there is time to get other work done. Something like keeping an eye out for any hungry sisters trying to sneak into the kitchen for an early taste, or small animals getting too close to the fire!

Sources

• What Is Medieval Peasant’s Pottage? – Alex The History Guy

• Food & ingredients available in Medieval Europe before contact with the Americas – Fake History Hunter

• Types Of Pottage: Thick, Thin, Frumenty, Morrews – Medieval Recipes

• Pottage – Wikipedia