Dining with the Anglo-Saxons Jessica Sandoval Alexandra Shami Alexis Pera.

Dining with the Anglo-Saxons

Jessica SandovalAlexandra Shami

Alexis Pera

When and Why Were There Feasts?

• Held for– Holidays– Births– Marriages

• Often used to– Form alliances– Goodwill

• Three day feasts were common

• Feasts began:– guests gather and wait for

horn to sound– handwashing– pass “door wardens”

• used to stop party crashers

• Proper etiquette was needed

Rituals of Feasts

Obtaining and Preparing

• Grow Crops• Pick Fruit

• Collected Wild Roots• Cooked on clay griddle

Drinks and Beverages

• Mead & Ale– made with honey– type of beer

• Wine– for the wealthy– imported

• Fruit Juices

Breads

• Baked in the clay oven daily

• Made from– Rye– Wheat– Oats

• Grinding done with grindstone

• Knead dough– wooden trough– also called

trencher

Fruits and Spices

• Spices– cinnamon– garlic– mace

• May have been imported

• Plums• Cherries• Sloes (shown

here)• Apples

– used for cider

• Grew wheats, oats and barley– oats mainly for animals

• Vegetables closer to wild ancestors

– carrots were smaller– cabbage was tougher

• Sugar was used for medicines

Vegetables

Meats

• When meat is available– Deer: antlers and skin used for shelter– Wild Boar: used tusks– Pigs: important food source because

of large litters– Sheep: also used for wool– Cows: provided milk too

Examples of Meats

Fish• Types eaten:

– Herring– Pike– Roach– Eel– Salmon

• Shellfish were a big part of diet

• Fish eaten fresh or preserved

Desserts

• Fruits• Honey and

almond cakes• May have had

– cheesecakes– gingerbread

Sources

• http://www.regia.org/food.htm• http://www.regia.org/wulfwyn.htm• http://www.woodlands-

junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/saxons/food.htm

• http://www.regia.org/feasting.htm