BBQ prawns and grilled lamb chops? 
I wouldn’t call them essential, and there *are *native Old World “blueberries” : bilberries.
I can’t really think of a common Medieval ingredient it replaced. There did used to be a lot more fruit used in meat dishes, but I’m not sure if tomato could be said to replace that, or just came in as styles were changing anyway.
Different countries have their different traditions for food pairings with chips/fries - in Belgium, it was fish and mussels, in the UK, fried fish, in France, with steak.
Turnips were certainly eaten a lot, but I’d argue that, for a year-round staple, bread and pottage would be the go to.
Thanks, Nemo.
Cranberries are an interesting example. As far as I can tell, cranberries and cranberry products were basically unavailable outside North America a few decades ago. I couldn’t get them in Asia or Africa in the 1980s or 1990s. But then they started to show up…by the 2000s, it was easy to buy cranberry juice in Cairo and Jakarta, and at least in Jakarta it was not unheard of to see frozen cranberries for sale, though I suspect most buyers were North Americans living in Asia.
I’ve always figured that the cranberry co-op folks decided it was time to tackle international markets, and gradually became more successful at doing so.
Were cranberries eaten as subsistence food by North American settlers? I wouldn’t think that native Americans would cultivate them.
Cheers, Kimstu; thank you for your very kind and charitable take on the question. It’s clear though, that I was just using the word incorrectly. I’m constantly uncrossing my eyes when trying to understand these recipes. (example below)
Nonetheless, our current use of the highly concentrated starch vegetables maize and potato replaced stewed leafy veg and higher fiber/starch ratio root veg like turnip and parsnip.
Here’s one that I thought would be cookies, see if you can guess what we call it now. ROFL!
Makerouns
PERIOD: England, 14th century | SOURCE: Forme of Cury | CLASS: Authentic
ORIGINAL RECEIPT:
- Makerouns. Take and make a thynne foyle of dowh, and kerue it on pieces, and cast hym on boiling water & seeþ it wele. Take chese and grate it, and butter imelte, cast bynethen and abouven as losyns; and serue forth.
- Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). New York: for The Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.
[spoiler] It’s Mac-n-cheese.
GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:
Macaroni. Take a piece of thin pastry dough and cut it in pieces, place in boiling water and cook. Take grated cheese, melted butter, and arrange in layers like lasagna; serve.
MODERN RECIPE:
3-4 lb. freshly home-made, undried noodles OR 1 lb. dried egg noodles*
1 tbs. oil
large pinch salt
2 cups grated cheese (see: How to Cook Medieval - Cheese)
1 stick butter
Boil noodles with oil & salt until al dente (tender-crisp). Drain well. In a serving bowl or platter place some melted butter and cheese. Lay noodles on top and add more butter and cheese. Serve as is or continue adding layers of butter, cheese, and noodles. Use extra cheese as necessary. Serve immediately, or place in a hot oven for several minutes and then serve. Serves 8.
Makerouns appears to be the ancestor of macaroni, and this dish may best be described as “medieval mac-n-cheese.” The period receipt advises to prepare it like “losyns” (lasagna), with layers of noodles, butter, and cheese. I find Cheddar cheese the tastiest, but feel free to try other varieties. The dish is wonderful when prepared with undried freshly made noodles, but works with a dried purchased variety as well.
*The original recipe noodles are essentially boiled pastry dough; if you have a pasta maker, feel free to use it in making your makerouns, boiling them while still fresh and undried. Egg noodles are probably the best to use when purchasing a commercial brand. Keep in mind the difference in weight between dried and undried noodles.
[/spoiler]
Funnily enough I grew up with cranberries in the 1970s as a native species of them grows wild in parts of Scotland (and elsewhere in northern latitudes). We would pick them and make cranberry sauce. The only difference is that the berries were smaller than the commercial American type.
A native species of blueberry also grows in many parts of Britain, called bilberry or blaeberry. They’re also smaller than the American type, possibly tastier. Lots of people pick them for jam or eating fresh.
Charles C. Mann, in 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, posited that sweet potatoes helped fuel the Chinese population explosion, as the yield per acre at the time was far greater than rice or other grains, though it turned out the farming methods were much more environmentally unfriendly in the longer term.
In the US as well, wild blueberries (usually called “huckleberries”) are also both smaller and tastier than the cultivated varieties.
Which part of China? B/c rice is still the staple for most Chinese people, and sweet potatoes is another snack.
530 years is enough time for agricultural and eating practices to change several times. Food “traditions” are often not more than a generation or two old.
In addition to Ascenray’s answer, this was also pre-industrial revolution. Lastly, China is very large, and not everywhere is suitable for rice growth. At a time when you need 10 farmers for every 50 or so people and mass food transportation is centuries off, you grow what yields the most in that area at that time. The more people that can be freed from agriculture, the more to support larger cities and more industry.
Quinoa seems to be becoming widespread lately. However it seems the only crops are within its native Andes mountain range, putting pressure on the locals who rely on it as a food-staple. I haven’t looked into it, but I guess it needs high-altitudes.
Pawpaws may be on the rise, too, at least with North America; a quick search indicates there are old-world relatives, though they might have their own flavors and textures and applications.
Which is why I asked which part of China. At least among the Han Chinese population, sweet potatoes doesn’t have same culture impact on Chinese Irish cuisine like the potatoes have on the Irish cuisine.
“China and the Sweet Potato” – http://www.chinastudyabroad.org/indepthchina/1039-china-and-the-sweet-potato
How about chia, has that grown in popularity abroad? I mean, as a food, not a chintzy novelty toy. I see it sold alongside trendy whole foods.
I didn’t need to guess, I’ve made this many times. And I make my own dough for it.
Also, loseyns - what modern dish would you think that was?
Newbies are often surprised when I offer them medieval blancmange…
Likely not rutabagas, since they didnt appear until well after 1492, possibly as late as around 1620, actually.
However, turnips dont grow like potatoes, which were a revolution.