ABSTRACT
The kitchen of a great medieval house was commonly an elaborate establishment. The floor of the kitchen was commonly of stone or brick. A great table or two with a top of massive oak planks hewn with the axe was conveniently placed for holding dishes of food in course of preparation. In the Middle Ages eating and drinking were among the chief pleasures of life, and a vast amount of time and energy was devoted to the preparation of food. Some of the food, indeed, according to modern notions, was unfit before it came into the hands of the cook. In the medieval kitchen spices were used far more lavishly than in our day. They were, of course, rare and costly, and brought from the Far East. Venison in a pasty—the favourite type of food for aged hermits in modern historical romances—was prepared as follows: “Take haunches of venison, parboil it in fair water and salt.
