What was Anglo-Saxonfood and drink like?

Objectives

Objectives• To find out which foods were

available in Anglo-Saxon times• To compare everyday Anglo-Saxon

meals to feasting foods• To follow an Anglo-Saxon recipe

(optional)

©KS2History.com

Starter Activity

Food, glorious food!

Anglo-Saxons Lesson 7:What was Anglo-Saxon food and drink like?

Have a look at the pictures of food. which of these foods you:• know the name of• have tried before• like eating

©KS2History.com

Main Input

Anglo-Saxon Foods: Everyday Meals

©KS2History.comAnglo-Saxons Lesson 7:What was Anglo-Saxon food and drink like?

In Anglo-Saxon times, people usually ate things that could be grown or made within their settlements. As their everyday meals, people living in village settlements usually ate;

To drink, many people including children had beer, which was made from barley. This was safer

to drink than water, which was not always clean enough to drink.

Sometimes people also had mead, an alcoholic drink made from honey.

• Bread, made from home-grown wheat, barley or rye and baked in a special bread oven.• Home-grown vegetables, including leeks, turnips, onions, parsnips and peas. These could be

used to make stew.• Fruit, including apples, pears and blackberries, according to what was in season.• Fish, if the settlement was near enough to a river, lake or sea.• Cheese and butter, made from cows’ milk and eggs from chickens, ducks or geese.• Meat from animals reared on farms or caught from hunting, including beef, lamb, goat meat,

pork, chicken and deer. However, most people could rarely afford it, so eating meat was usually a special occasion.

Food was flavoured using wild herbs or honey (collected from beehives). There was no sugar available and it was rare to have exotic spices traded from foreign countries.

Main Input

Anglo-Saxon Foods: Feasts

©KS2History.comAnglo-Saxons Lesson 7:What was Anglo-Saxon food and drink like?

Richer people in Anglo-Saxon times enjoyed food and often had great feasts in the chief’s hall. During the feasts, there would be plenty of meat, which was cooked over a fire, as well as entertainment like singing, poetry or juggling. During these feasts, people would eat:

• Meat - often cooked on a spit over a fire. The meat would usually be either pig or something hunted especially for the feast like deer or wild boar. There would also be available wild birds and seafood.

• Sauces – rich sauces were available, flavoured with fruit, herbs or spices.• Vegetables - served mashed or boiled and flavoured with mint, sage, honey, salt or fruit

vinegar. Vegetables included parsnips, turnips, beans and peas.• Fruit - including fresh fruit like berries as well as dried fruit like prunes or dried apples.• Bread – sometimes eggs or extra honey could be added to the dough to make a sweeter,

richer bread.• Eggs, butter and cheese – richer people were able to eat a variety of cheeses, including

more mature types that were expensive to preserve.• Beer, mead or wine – people would drink out of goblets or special drinking horns

Potatoes, rice, pasta and tomatoes were not known to people living in Anglo-Saxon Britain.

Main Input

How does it compare?

©KS2History.comAnglo-Saxons Lesson 7:What was Anglo-Saxon food and drink like?

Make a list of everyday foods and feasting foods on your whiteboard/paper.

• Underline any foods that you enjoying eating yourself.

• Circle any foods that you have never tried eating before.

Which of your favourite foods now were not available to people in Anglo-Saxon Britain?

Main Activity

Anglo-Saxon Menu

Matching Resource: 7a

Task 1: Design a menu for an Anglo-Saxon meal. Write and draw which foods you have chosen.

You can choose whether it is an everyday meal or part of a feast.

Remember to only use the foods that would have been available. Make it bright, colourful and attractive!

©KS2History.comAnglo-Saxons Lesson 7:What was Anglo-Saxon food and drink like?

Spot Check

Spot Check

Can you tell someone: • 3 foods from everyday

meals• 3 foods from feasts• 3 foods you like to eat

now that were not available in Anglo-Saxon times.

Anglo-Saxons Lesson 6:Who was King Alfred the Great?©KS2History.com

Plenary

Chef’s SpecialsCan you use your knowledge of Anglo-Saxon food to work out which of these are real Anglo-Saxon recipes and which are made up?

©KS2History.comAnglo-Saxons Lesson 7:What was Anglo-Saxon food and drink like?

❖ Roast Chicken in Lemon Sauce❖ Fried apples covered in chocolate❖ Rice pudding❖ Beef and tomato stew❖ Parsnip and bean stew❖ Boiled crab with chips❖ Chopped plums drizzled with honey❖ Egg-fried rice❖ Roast deer with mashed potatoes❖ Nut and leek stew served with bread❖ Pigeon and pork stew with hazelnuts

Plenary

Chef’s Specials (answers)The real Anglo-Saxon foods are in green and the fake ones are in red. Remember – there was no chocolate, rice, tomatoes or potatoes!

©KS2History.comAnglo-Saxons Lesson 7:What was Anglo-Saxon food and drink like?

❖ Roast Chicken in Lemon Sauce❖ Fried apples covered in chocolate❖ Rice pudding❖ Beef and tomato stew❖ Parsnip and bean stew❖ Boiled crab with chips❖ Chopped plums drizzled with honey❖ Egg-fried rice❖ Roast deer with mashed potatoes❖ Nut and leek stew served with bread❖ Pigeon and pork stew with hazelnuts

Main Activity

Recipe: Anglo-Saxon Honey Bread

Matching Resource: 7b

Here is a recipe for honey bread: Follow the instructions to make Anglo-Saxon honey bread at some point if you decide too (optional)

Once the bread is baked, you can eat it by breaking it into chunks and dipping it in honey.

©KS2History.comAnglo-Saxons Lesson 7:What was Anglo-Saxon food and drink like?

Image ©KS2History.com