448 food and diet: Europe Copper alloy cauldron for cooking, Britain, 1200s or later (© Museum of London) was made of honey, hops, and yeast fermented together These beverages were later replaced by kvass, a fermented wheat drink Russians did not regularly eat uncooked food Even fruits and vegetables at harvest time were processed in some way, mainly to be eaten during the long winter In Slavic countries the stove served as a dryer for all kinds of fresh produce—herbs, mushrooms, fruit, and berries During the day it kept food warm and provided the requisite temperature to speed up the fermentation of kvass and other drinks Religion had a significant impact upon food consumption During the Middle Ages the church in Poland strictly enforced meatless fast days (Wednesday and Friday) as well as fasts on certain holy days During Lent, Poles were expected to abstain not only from meat but also from butter The Orthodox Church heavily influenced the eating habits of Russians Orthodox believers were required to fast 178 to 200 days of the 365 in the year Since meat and meat fat were prohibited during all fasting days (in addition to being prohibitively expensive), Russians adopted mushrooms as a meat substitute Wealthier peasants might eat fish pies and salted herring for Lent The Primary Chronicle, the major source of information about the eastern Slavic state of Kievan Rus’ of the ninth to the 12th centuries, reveals that food and drink as sources of pleasure were to be shunned Sustenance was a benefit granted by a ruler to demonstrate his power and Christian piety Banquets for military leaders served to reward past services and to ensure continued loyalty, and providing food and drink for the poor and sick was the duty of a devout Christian The Kievan Rus’ commonly ate oats, wheat, bran, lentils, chickpeas, and honey, often in the form of the beverage mead The Primary Chronicle does not mention any specific fruit or vegetable, other than zel’e vareno, or “boiled greens.” Medieval documents indicate that mead remained quite expensive in Poland It appeared only at lavish feasts Some monasteries produced wine, but the beverage was expensive because it was typically imported A beer made from fermented toasted millet reached Poland in the sixth or seventh century Beer fermented from a number of grains, typically millet, barley, wheat, rye, and oats, subsequently became the most popular drink among all classes It even found its way into soup in combination with egg yolks and cheese Pots from the 12th century containing traces of honey and small crocks of carbonized millet were unearthed from a medieval house at Gniezno The animal-shaped redykalki cheeses from the hill country of Podolia apparently date to the medieval period Luxury foods, such as almond milk and sugar, were enjoyed only by a privileged few The Poles believed that the amount of food was more useful to the body than the particular type of food, although meat was seen as the ultimate source of protein A dinner for nobility would include not only a large quantity of meat but also huge amounts of bread and rolls The bread was used to make trenchers on which each person ate A purchase order for a royal dinner in 1394 itemized fish, lamprey, crayfish, green peas, dried peas, walnuts, pears, plums, cucumbers, parsley, beer, 360 loaves of rye bread, and 60 loaves of white bread Each person was expected to consume about two quarts of beer The food was eaten with the fingers Meat was seasoned with pepper, saffron, parsley, and mustard Mustard was the most common Polish condiment for flavoring meat sauces In both western Europe and Poland pork lard was the primary cooking fat Whereas the French used olive oil, the Poles used hemp or poppy seed oils English peasants apparently grew wheat, oats, barley, rye, peas, and beans While much of the grain was eaten or set aside for sowing the following year, barley often was used to make ale Women were the major brewers Barley also formed a popular type of bread Apples and pears were the major fruits grown for the market, with the large Costard as the most popular apple and the large and very hard Warden as the favorite variety of pear Cherries could be found at market, but strawberries and vegetables typically were grown only for home use Very large quantities of almonds were imported for use in almond milk, while pomegranates, oranges, and lemons were among the exotic foods that were often brought to England All of the ports of England imported wine, although it was also produced locally