While we wait for the animal art to be finalised (I am as excited as you), I thought today would be a good day to look into the culinary world of the Medieval times.
Our typical view of Medieval food is generally through the lens of lavish feasts with full hog roasts and overflowing flagons of mead, this may have been true of the eating class but for the peasants of the world their tables (assuming they owned one) were much more humble.
The primary food stuff of the day was a meal called Pottage, this was an 'everything' stew, where peasants would add grains, vegetables and, if they were lucky, meat, accompanied by some Rye Bread (Wheat was generally for selling to cities). For the most part, Pottage was made using Legumes which provided essential proteins since most meat was reserved for the upper classes.
The shadow of this history can still be seen today with most meats deriving from French words whereas living animals still use their Anglo-Saxon origins (think Cow and Beef, Sheep and Mutton).
There is a great deal of fascinating history surrounding the access to meat in the Medieval period, for instance it was customary for a Lord to leave the offal from hunting for the poorest members of his estate which would then be baked into a pie known as Umble pie, from whence we get the modern Humble Pie.
As Under The Yoke is centred around Medieval peasants it was very important to me that food would play as big a role as it did to our forefathers. Players can select the Hearth in their home from which a menu pops up which allows the player to cook various different meals, from pottage to pie to stews and everything in-between. The player then selects what ingredients they want to add and the size and frequency of portions.
These different meals will provide a number of benefits (or penalties) but the player must beware to keep their larder stocked.
All this talk of food has made me hungry so I shall see you next week. Subscribe below to receive these updates straight to your inbox!