Fast Food in the Middle Ages: Exploring Medieval Cookshops and Recipes

Summary:

This video delves into the surprising history of fast food during the Middle Ages, revealing that medieval society heavily relied on public cookshops rather than cooking at home.

Medieval Paris, as described in "The Cries of Paris," offered pre-cooked foods like meat pies, mashed peas, and a variety of sweets sold by street vendors.
"Rissoles," similar to modern hand pies, were a popular fast food item, with recipes varying from savory (pork, fish) to sweet (figs, raisins, apples).
The video features a recipe for sweet medieval rissoles, demonstrating the process of making saffron-infused pastry and a fruit-and-nut filling.
Medieval London also boasted cookshops that catered to both the poor and the wealthy, offering diverse dishes from coarse meats to game and fowl.
Many medieval citizens, especially the poor, lacked the means to cook at home, making cookshops essential.
Challenges in the medieval fast food industry included issues with food quality (e.g., rotten meat) and strict regulations, leading to a sometimes sullied reputation for cooks.
Despite these challenges, cookshops played a vital role in medieval society, particularly for travelers and large social gatherings like weddings or guild dinners.

The Ancient Roots of Fast Food [0:00]

Fast food is often seen as a modern convenience, but its origins stretch back to the Middle Ages.
- Most people in medieval times did not cook at home.
  - They relied on public cookshops for their meals.
- These cookshops offered a variety of items.
  - Cooked meats.
  - Waffles.
  - Rissoles (a medieval equivalent of a McDonald's apple pie).

Medieval Parisian Fast Food [0:31]

In the 13th century, Guillaume de Villeneuve documented the bustling food scene in Paris.
- His work "The Cries of Paris" detailed the foods sold in public cookshops and by street vendors.
- Common pre-cooked items included:
  - Hot mashed peas.
  - Meat pies.
  - Garlic sauce.
  - Cheeses from Champagne and Brie.
- Street vendors sold sweets from baskets.
  - Wafers.
  - Waffles.
  - Rissoles (which could be sweet or savory, including fish waffles).

The Rissole: A Recipe for Sweet Medieval Fast Food [1:00]

The 14th-century French cookbook "Le Ménagier de Paris" provides numerous rissole recipes.
- Savory variations included pork, chestnut and egg, beef bone marrow, or pike and eel meat.
- Sweet rissoles, the focus of this video's recipe, were made from:
  - Dried figs.
  - Raisins.
  - Roasted apples.
  - Nuts (to imitate pine nuts).
  - Spices (like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg).
  - Sugar and a pinch of salt.
  - Saffron for color and flavor.
Making the Pastry [2:19]
- Ingredients: 2.5 cups (300g) flour, 12 tbsp (170g) butter, 1/4 cup (60ml) water, pinch of saffron.
- Instructions:
  - Steep saffron in water for 5 minutes.
  - Sift flour into a bowl, add cubed butter, and rub with fingertips until sandy.
  - Strain saffron water into the flour mixture and quickly work into a dough.
  - Wrap dough in plastic and chill for 10-15 minutes while preparing the filling.
Making the Filling [3:12]
- Ingredients: 1/2 cup (120g) dried figs, 1/4 cup (30g) raisins, 6 medium apples, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 cup (100g) sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 cup (60g) chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts).
- Instructions:
  - Chop figs, mix with raisins, and soak in water or sweet wine for an hour.
  - Core and cut apples in half, roast at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes until soft. Let cool, then chop.
  - Whisk spices, salt, and sugar in a bowl. Add chopped apples, drained figs, and raisins. Toss to coat.
  - Grind a portion of the mixture in a mortar and pestle to create a smoother paste, as was common in medieval recipes, then add chopped nuts for texture.
Assembling and Frying the Rissoles [6:19]
- Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and form into balls.
- Roll each piece into an 1/8-inch thick circle on a floured surface.
- Place 2 tablespoons of filling in the center, fold dough over, pinch edges, and seal with a fork.
- Heat 3-4 inches of lard or oil to 350°F (175°C) in a deep pot.
- Fry 3-4 rissoles at a time for about 5 minutes, moving them often to prevent burning.
- Remove, drain on a rack, and sprinkle with sugar while hot.

Fast Food Culture in Medieval London [7:40]

William Fitzstephen's 1170 writing "Descriptio Londoniae" details London's public cookshops.
- Describes a cookshop on the riverbank selling meat (roast, fried, boiled), fish, game, and fowl.
- Caters to both rich and poor, offering "coarser meat for the poor, finer cuts for the rich."
- Wealthy people would use these cookshops when unexpected guests arrived, or when they didn't want to wait for servants to prepare food, highlighting the convenience factor.
"London Lickpenny," a 1450 poem, offers a commoner's perspective.
- A poor countryman from Kent is tempted by various foods and spices at cookshops near Westminster Gate.
- He is offered bread with ale and wine, ribs of beef, hot pies, mead, and hot sheep's feet, but cannot afford them.
- This highlights the economic disparity and the availability of different food types.

Regulation and Reputation of Medieval Cookshops [10:13]

Lack of home cooking facilities made cookshops essential for many.
- In 1301 Colchester, only 3% of tax-paying households had kitchens.
- Many poor citizens didn't own cooking utensils.
Cookshops varied in size and mobility.
- Some were small sheds, others were carts with mobile ovens.
- Streets housing these shops were sometimes called "Cockrow" (Cook's Row).
Specialization in cookshops was common.
- Some sold only pork sausages, others cheese and egg custards, or even just mustard.
- Wealthy households often bought sauces like "Galentyne" pre-made, as it was cheaper than buying spices in bulk.
Regulations aimed to ensure food quality and fair pricing.
- In 1350 London, cooks were limited to charging one penny for preparing a capon or rabbit in a pasty (customers brought their own meat).
  - Despite this, buying pre-made was often not cheaper.
- Penalties for selling bad food were severe.
  - In 1351, a cook named Henry de Passelewe was accused of selling putrid capon pasties.
  - He was sentenced to the pillory for a full day, and the rotten capon was paraded before him.
  - Such severe punishments underscore the value of food and the health risks involved.
Common food issues in court records included:
- Selling bad fish or parasitic pork.
- Selling reheated food, which was against ordinances because it was a way to hide old, spoiled food.
- Chefs would often blame assistants or wives when accused of these offenses.
Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" depicts the cook, Roger of Ware, with a sullied reputation.
- His shop is "filled with flies," his pastry is "soggy," his parsley sauce "a curse."
- He sells pies "that hath been twice hot and twice cold," meaning reheated.
- He also has an open, seeping ulcer on his leg, a gross detail adding to his dubious hygiene.
Wealthy individuals also relied on cookshops for large events.
- For weddings, funerals, or guild dinners, even those with kitchens would use professional cooks.
- Cook's guilds in Europe would mandate patrons use their services for such events.

Tasting the Medieval Rissole [21:22]

The host tastes the fig and apple rissole from the 14th-century French recipe.
The pastry is noted as "really good" and well-fried.
The filling's flavors (apples, figs, nuts, spices) are praised for complementing each other well.
The grounded texture of the filling is preferred over chunky fruit.
The host concludes that the rissoles are delicious and safe from the medieval proverb: "He is an evil cook that cannot lycke his owne lyppes" (if the cook won't eat his own food, you shouldn't either).