At the midday dinner, courses were ceremonially
brought in to music, and ritual bows were made to the lord. The
food at the head table was often tasted first by a servant as a
precaution against poison. Hounds, spaniels, and terriers lay near
the hearth and cats, often with litters, nestled nearby. They
might share in dinner, but the lord may keep a short stick near
him to defend morsels he meant for himself. Hunting, dove cotes,
and carp pools provided fresh meat. Fish was compulsory eating on
Fridays, on fast days, and during Lent. Cooking was done outside
on an open fire, roasting on spits and boiling in pots. Some spits
were mechanized with a cogged wheel and a weight at the end of a
string. Other spits were turned by a small boy shielded from the
heat by a wet blanket, or by dogs on a treadmill, or by a long
handle. Underneath the spit was a dripping pan to hold the falling
juices and fat. Mutton fat was used for candles. Bread, pies, and
pastry dishes were baked in an oven: a hole in a fireproof stone
wall fitted with an iron door, in which wood was first burnt to
heat the oven walls. It could also be used for drying fruit or
melting tallow. Fruits were also preserved in honey. Salt was
stored in a niche in the wall near the hearth and put on the table
in a salt cellar which became more elaborate over the years. Salt
was very valuable and gave rise to the praise of a man as the salt
of the earth.
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