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Did Henry VIII have sugar?
Sugar was still a luxury when Henry VIII ruled, kept under lock and key by Hampton Court’s yeoman guard, along with exotic spices, nuts and fruits. “The Tudors were a royal line all about show and food was also very important to them,” explains Dunn, “so the two came together in the subtleties.
Did Rich Tudors eat pottage?
This was essentially a cabbage and herb-flavoured soup, with some barley or oats and occasionally bacon, served with coarse bread (sometimes peas, milk and egg-yolks were added). The rich ate pottage too, though theirs would have also contained almonds, saffron, ginger, and a dash of wine.
What did the rich Tudors drink?
The main drinks were ale, cider, perry, mead and wine, everyone avoided drinking water because it was very polluted, hypocras was a sweet liqueur imported from the Eastern Mediterranean; it was the most expensive drink of all and was served at Royal banquets and special occasions.
How did the Tudors cook their food?
Meat was roasted on spits over a fire or slow-cooked in an iron box that was placed in the ashes. Wealthier Tudor landowners ate lots of fresh meat as they could keep more animals on their estates, but it was also preserved for the winter months by salting, smoking, or drying.
Did the Tudors eat rice?
There were medieval rice pottages made of rice boiled until soft, then mixed with almond milk or cow’s milk, or both, sweetened, and sometimes coloured. Rice was an expensive import, and these were luxury Lenten dishes for the rich.
How did Tudor people store their food?
Tudor people had no fridges or freezers. They preserved meat in tubs of salty water or by hanging it in smoky chimneys, and stored fruit and vegetables in cold attics and barns to eat in winter time.
What did the Rich drink in the Tudor era?
Instead of drinking water with their meals, they often drank ale and the rich drank wine. Water was often unfit for drinking because it was contaminated with sewage. Sugar came from abroad and so was expensive. The Tudor people often used honey to sweeten their food instead.
Why did Tudors use honey as a sweetener?
Initially Tudors used honey as a sweetener as sugar was expensive to import, until an increase in its quantity and thus a more affordable price transformed diets. Along with herbs, sugar was seen as medicinal, with people encouraged to eat sugar for its warming qualities and for ailments like colds.
Why was water so expensive in Tudor England?
Water was often unfit for drinking because it was contaminated with sewage. Sugar came from abroad and so was expensive. The Tudor people often used honey to sweeten their food instead. Poor people ate a herb-flavoured soup called pottage which would be served with bread.