FOODSTUFFS
crease in heat and dryness as it aged. Cheese that was fatty, moder-
ately salted, and of medium age was considered best. All cheese was
slow to digest, and excessive consumption of cheese could lead to
bladder stones, it was claimed. At the conclusion of a meal, however,
cheese and pears were recommended, to “close” the mouth of the
stomach and ensure proper digestion of all foods consumed. One of
the dairy products sometimes referred to as “white meats” of the
poor, cheese was thought of as a coarse food suitable for people en-
gaged in heavy labor.
Eggs
One of the most versatile foodstuffs, eggs have been part of the Eu-
ropean diet for thousands of years. The Romans used eggs in their
cookery, but if the cookbook of Apicius is any guide, eggs were not
yet as ubiquitous as they were to become in medieval Europe. In a
fourteenth- or fifteenth-century cookbook it is not uncommon that
50 percent of the recipes list eggs as a primary or secondary ingredi-
ent. Usually the eggs in question were chicken eggs, but eggs of
other birds such as geese, ducks, or partridges are also occasionally
mentioned in the culinary and dietetic literature. Along with meat
and dairy products, eggs were subject to the fasting laws of the Chris-
tian church. They were eaten on feast days throughout the year, and
perhaps as a symbol of spring, or perhaps because they were most
plentiful at that time, eggs were consumed in great quantities at
Easter. Then as now, eggs were frequently hard boiled, soft boiled,
poached, fried, or scrambled and made into omelets. As a secondary
ingredient, eggs were used raw or cooked; sometimes just the yolks
or whites were required for a given recipe. Eggs were a popular thick-
ener for soups and sauces, and they were added to many different
dough preparations. There is also evidence that sophisticated cooks at
the end of the Middle Ages employed egg whites to clarify jelly.
Physicians classified egg whites as cold and moist, and yolks as warm
and moist. Chicken eggs were thought to provide quick nourishment
and increase virility. The yolk was considered less harmful than the
white. When eaten whole, eggs could cause freckles, was another
claim. Like the meat of chicken and partridge, their eggs were rec-
ommended for the dainty stomachs of the leisure class and convales-
cents, while goose and duck eggs were at best suitable for the coarse
stomachs of the common man, it was argued.
47
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