Questions about Seasonal Variation in Diet

Reference code: FOL.QUES/49
Level of description: Series
Title: Questions about Seasonal Variation in Diet
Scope and content: 1. Did the people of your area eat different everyday foods at different seasons?
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
2. What was the normal number of meals eaten each day? What were they called?
3. Were there occasions when extra meals were taken, e.g. at harvest?
4. Were there times of the year when the number of daily meals was reduced, e.g. during Lent? Was the content of meals at these times different from normal?
5. Did the times at which meals were taken vary according to the time of year?
6. Did Sunday meals differ from those on other days? Were there special menus for the main Sunday meal?
7. Did children and adults have the same meal times? Did they have their main meal at the same time of day?
8. Was it customary for servants or farm workers to have their meals at different times from the family? Did they have different food?
9. Did workers who did not live-in receive meals as part of their wages? Were wages adjusted to pay for the food, or was it regarded as a perk?
10. At what times of the year did people have special meals or food, e.g. Halloween, Christmas, etc.?
11. Did people preserve food for use during winter?
12. Did they preserve:
Wild or garden fruit – wild/garden/both
Vegetables – yes/no
Fish – yes/no
Meat – beef/mutton/lamb/pork
(please delete where appropriate)
13. How was fruit preserved (e.g. jam, bottling, etc.)?
14. How were vegetables preserved (e.g. bings, clamps, etc.)?
15. How was fish preserved (e.g. drying, salting, immersion in brine)?
16. How was meat preserved (e.g. drying, salting, immersion in brine or oil)?
17. Were different methods of preservation used for different kinds of meat? If so, please list these overleaf.
18. What happened to the parts of a beast which were not usable as food, e.g. hoofs, skin, etc.?
19. Were there any parts of a beast, such as the head, which were not straightforwardly cooked but used to make, e.g. sausages, brawn, potted meat, etc.?
20. Were there any parts of a beast considered to be a delicacy? Please list.
21. Were there any parts of the animal’s flesh not considered fit for human consumption? Were they fed to animals? If not, what happened to them?
22. Were any foods forbidden to certain types of people at certain times, e.g. to women during pregnancy?
23. Were any foods considered particularly beneficial to certain types of people, e.g. seaweed for children?
24. Were drinks or snacks provided in the fields for workers in addition to meals?