<P> Many basic variations of cooking utensils available today, such as frying pans, pots, kettles, and waffle irons, already existed, although they were often too expensive for poorer households . Other tools more specific to cooking over an open fire were spits of various sizes, and material for skewering anything from delicate quails to whole oxen . There were also cranes with adjustable hooks so that pots and cauldrons could easily be swung away from the fire to keep them from burning or boiling over . Utensils were often held directly over the fire or placed into embers on tripods . To assist the cook there were also assorted knives, stirring spoons, ladles and graters . In wealthy households one of the most common tools was the mortar and sieve cloth, since many medieval recipes called for food to be finely chopped, mashed, strained and seasoned either before or after cooking . This was based on a belief among physicians that the finer the consistency of food, the more effectively the body would absorb the nourishment . It also gave skilled cooks the opportunity to elaborately shape the results . Fine - textured food was also associated with wealth; for example, finely milled flour was expensive, while the bread of commoners was typically brown and coarse . A typical procedure was farcing (from the Latin farcio, "to cram"), to skin and dress an animal, grind up the meat and mix it with spices and other ingredients and then return it into its own skin, or mold it into the shape of a completely different animal . </P> <P> The kitchen staff of huge noble or royal courts occasionally numbered in the hundreds: pantlers, bakers, waferers, sauciers, larderers, butchers, carvers, page boys, milkmaids, butlers and numerous scullions . While an average peasant household often made do with firewood collected from the surrounding woodlands, the major kitchens of households had to cope with the logistics of daily providing at least two meals for several hundred people . Guidelines on how to prepare for a two - day banquet can be found in the cookbook Du fait de cuisine ("On cookery") written in 1420 in part to compete with the court of Burgundy by Maistre Chiquart, master chef of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy . Chiquart recommends that the chief cook should have at hand at least 1,000 cartloads of "good, dry firewood" and a large barnful of coal . </P> <P> Food preservation methods were basically the same as had been used since antiquity, and did not change much until the invention of canning in the early 19th century . The most common and simplest method was to expose foodstuffs to heat or wind to remove moisture, thereby prolonging the durability if not the flavor of almost any type of food from cereals to meats; the drying of food worked by drastically reducing the activity of various water - dependent microorganisms that cause decay . In warm climates this was mostly achieved by leaving food out in the sun, and in the cooler northern climates by exposure to strong winds (especially common for the preparation of stockfish), or in warm ovens, cellars, attics, and at times even in living quarters . Subjecting food to a number of chemical processes such as smoking, salting, brining, conserving or fermenting also made it keep longer . Most of these methods had the advantage of shorter preparation times and of introducing new flavors . Smoking or salting meat of livestock butchered in autumn was a common household strategy to avoid having to feed more animals than necessary during the lean winter months . Butter tended to be heavily salted (5--10%) in order not to spoil . Vegetables, eggs or fish were also often pickled in tightly packed jars, containing brine and acidic liquids (lemon juice, verjuice or vinegar). Another method was to seal the food by cooking it in sugar or honey or fat, in which it was then stored . Microbial modification was also encouraged, however, by a number of methods; grains, fruit and grapes were turned into alcoholic drinks thus killing any pathogens, and milk was fermented and curdled into a multitude of cheeses or buttermilk . </P> <P> The majority of the European population before industrialization lived in rural communities or isolated farms and households . The norm was self - sufficiency with only a small percentage of production being exported or sold in markets . Large towns were exceptions and required their surrounding hinterlands to support them with food and fuel . The dense urban population could support a wide variety of food establishments that catered to various social groups . Many of the poor city dwellers had to live in cramped conditions without access to a kitchen or even a hearth, and many did not own the equipment for basic cooking . Food from vendors was in such cases the only option . Cookshops could either sell ready - made hot food, an early form of fast food, or offer cooking services while the customers supplied some or all of the ingredients . Travellers, such as pilgrims en route to a holy site, made use of professional cooks to avoid having to carry their provisions with them . For the more affluent, there were many types of specialist that could supply various foods and condiments: cheesemongers, pie bakers, saucers, waferers, etc . Well - off citizens who had the means to cook at home could on special occasions hire professionals when their own kitchen or staff could not handle the burden of throwing a major banquet . </P>

How did they preserve food in the middle ages
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