Viking Foods
Viking Meats
Meat from livestock Cattle, pig, sheep, horse,goat, poultry such as hens and geese and their eggs. Pigs were killed in autumn in the 'Bloodmonth'. Pig meat was smoked to make hams, to last through winter. Meat from hunting In Scandinavia, deer,hare and wild boar, seals, whales,and reindeer.
Vegies and Fruits
From the garden: Peas, beans, cabbage, onions, garlic and leeks. Gathered in the forest: Roots, stems and leaves of angelica. Fruits: Apples, rosehips, plums, cherries.
Other Viking Foods
Cereals: barley, rye and oats. Dairy products: Milk, butter, and whey (the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a by-product of the manufacture of cheese). Honey was the only sweetener and was used in food and as fermented honey. Salt was imported from the Baltic Countries or was produced by evaporating sea water.
Preparation and Cooking
Food was roasted or boiled over an open fire, in an oven or warmed using potboilers –stones that were first heated in the fire before being put into water and soups. In this way use could also be made of boiling vessels made of wood and leather, which could not stand direct exposure to fire. Flour was ground on a rotary quern and for cheese-making use was made of a special board on which the cheese was kneaded. When making softer cheese a closely woven cloth was used to sieve off the whey. The bread was unleavened and was baked over the fire on flat iron or stone plates. These plates would produce a thick pancake style bread.
Viking Drinks
Beer brewed from barley and mead. Mead is made from fermented honey and water. ‘Bjorr’, a strong liquor which was produced from fermented juice.
Feasts of Viking
Vikings held feasts for a variety of reasons including seasonal feasts such as Winter Nights, harvest festivals, religious rituals and a wedding or a celebration of a successful raiding voyage. At year-turnings and religious observations, horses or other animals might be sacrificed, its blood sprinkled on the altar and the meat later eaten at the feast. Vikings valued their horses; a sacrifice of one showed a deep loyalty to the gods. Roasted and boiled meats, rich stews buttered root vegetables, and sweet fruits and nuts. Ale and mead for all with heady fruit wines. Major feasts might last 12 days. Singers and poets, would recite sagas and poems. Games of skill, wrestling and rough ball games. Read the full article
