Latest features How the Tudors wined and dined

Date Published:

16/03/2009

As Heston serves up another historical feast, 4Food finds out what was on the menu back in Tudor times

The population of Tudor England

England doubled between the reigns of Henry VII and Elizabeth I from 2 million to 4 million people. 10 per cent of the population lived in towns, and half of this number was always in London.

Inflation went through the roof in Tudor times meaning some men and women did a day's work for board and lodging, with no payment.

Food took up to four-fifths of an ordinary family's budget. The diet was generally rather basic: hunks of bread, coarse hard cheese, occasional meat and fish.

A Tudor soldier's daily rations were 32oz (910g) of meat, 24oz (680g) of bread, 16oz (455g) cheese and 5 pints (2.8 litres) of beer.

Poor relief in some parishes was 6 pence a week. The staple diet of the poor was a halfpenny loaf of bread, which fed two people.

Save your pennies, bake your own bread

How the other half live

On 6 January 1508, to mark the end of the 12 days of Christmas, the duke of Buckingham gave a feast for 460 people. The menu included swans, herons and peacocks, 680 loaves, 260 flagons of ale, 400 eggs, 200 oysters, 12 pigs and 10 sheep. The total cost was £7. This was more than a year's pay for a labourer.

1597 was a year of widespread famine that hit the poor hard. At the same time one courtier claimed to have lavished £2,000 on his mistress and Mrs Ratcliffe, one of Elizabeth I's maids of honour, appeared at court wearing a dress of cloth of silver costing £180.

Eat, drink and be merry

By the early 17th century, London had a thriving pub scene. Playwright and journalist, Thomas Dekker, recorded that: "There are more ale houses than there are taverns in all of Spain and France."

Even if they weren’t eating it, Tudors had food on the brain; references to food preparation appeared in documents as diverse as poetry and estate papers.

Meat and stewed veg

In 1542, physician, Andrew Boorde, wrote his 'Compendyous Regyment or Dyetary of Health' where he suggested that different meats were suitable for different classes of person. Beef, he noted, was best for an upper class Englishman whereas bacon was good for carters and ploughmen, "the which be ever labouring in the earth or dung".

Eating vegetables was recommended for good health but raw fruit and veg were regarded with great suspicion and thought to cause disease.

Don't trough like a Tudor, savour these salad recipes

What's for dinner?

Day to day food varied little from food eaten in the medieval period but exotic ingredients began to creep in from the New World.

Native British fruit included apples, pears, plums, cherries and strawberries. The Tudor period saw the introduction of new fruits from southern Europe which the wealthy grew in their gardens. These included quinces, apricots, pomegranates, oranges and lemons.

In the Elizabethan era, food got even more exciting as the expansion into South America brought new flavours to England; turkey and tomatoes, from Mexico, kidney beans from Chile and potatoes from Chile and the Andes. These were prized delicacies, eaten in wealthy households.

One of the most exciting and expensive ingredients to feature in Tudor England was sugar. The aristocracy scoffed so much of the sweet stuff they suffered terrible tooth decay and having rotted teeth became a sign of wealth.

Treat your sweet tooth to these chocolate recipes

Discover more from our food past with Heston's Feasts

Additional information from Making a Meal of It, English Heritage, 2005

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