What Did People Eat During The Black Plague?
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- čas přidán 22. 05. 2024
- When the Black Plague struck Europe in the 14th century, people didn't have much time to worry about their diets. Still, doctors warned that the most popular food and drinks in medieval England, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, could make people sick. Deemed healthy were items like meats, vinegar, and cooked fruit. For roughly three centuries afterward, millions of Europeans succumbed to sickness. The effects of the Black Plague influenced medieval food culture and directly shaped the way we live now.
#BlackPlague #FoodHistory #WeirdHistory - Zábava
Culinary topics I’d love to hear about: old wives’ tales food myths
My mother always used to cut the end off a cucumber, then rub the end against the cut edge until moisture bubbled, “to draw out the poison.” I’m sorry to say I did that unthinkingly until I was 20 years old.
I think a lot of these videos already contain those
@@oh2sail My mom used to do the same thing.
That’s a good one!
Agreed
I am surprised how old almond milk and lemonade is. I thought almond milk was a relatively new thing.
Do your research you will discover majority of stuff is old very old. In fact oat milk is nothing new either..
@@richiethev4623 Yes, because I didn't know about almond milk being old I don't do any research lol
no, they are making a comeback much like artisanal cheese.
So did i lol
Same here! Thought almond milk was a new thing! 😆
Fresh fruits making people sick in medieval times makes a lot of sense beyond the lead plates they were served on. Fun fact, almost half of all food poisoning cases in the US are due to unclean produce, 20% from milk and eggs, 22% from meats and poultry, and the rest from fish and sea food 6%.
Some things clearly don't change.
Interesting! I suspect lettuce might be one of the worst? I actually love lettuce it's my favourite vegetable and I eat it daily, different types of lettuce. But I remember a long time ago my mom telling me that contaminated lettuce had tragically caused some deaths and miscarriages stemming from a fast food restaurant? So when I was pregnant I actually stopped eating lettuce all together just to be on the safe side. For me it was a bit hard, I missed having lettuce on sandwiches and stuff but obviously I didn't want to take any risk.
i had me a nice bout of food poisoning from some bagged lettuce a few weeks back, it happens.
A S lettuce is fine if you wash it under cold tap water and don't eat the dirty outer leaves. Cut off any part that has dirt on it. Not everyone does this. That's why I don't est lettuce from restaurants.
@@KFrost-fx7dt thank you so much, great tips! Much appreciated 🌻
@@KFrost-fx7dt I rinse lettuce in baking soda and salt, yes remove outer part and any brown wilted part.
The smallest of things we forget to think about. Licking fruit to clean it because clean water was impossible to find is wild
I'm surprised that almond milk is such an old drink, I thought it was relatively new. For some reason I thought that it was from the 60s, don't know where I got that from though! 😅
Vinegar is also good for stopping my pet rabbits from chewing things, a little white vinegar and they won't go near it!
Oh and I prefer houmous with my 🥕
I wonder if people have been making the joke about "Where's the teat on an almond?!" since it's origin?
Very interesting huh? I thought it was a new thing up until about 5 years ago.
Wow you eat hummus with your carrots? Please tell us more we’re dying to know what else you eat
Vinegar is acidic enough that it does kill bacteria, you can use vinegar to clean your house and it really does get rid of bad smells, adding some to potentially dirty water isnt that bad of an idea
Vinegar gets rid of bad smells by covering them up with an even worse smell
You can add some to ypur load of washing clothes just a little bit not too much and it does wonders on the cleanliness🤗
Vinegar: Get rid of one bad smell and replace it with an equally repulsive one
@@richiethev4623 I use it as fabric softener/antibacterial spray 😉
@@samlosco8441 actually the smell dissipates super fast because vinegar evaporates easily, life pro tip if you maybe were smoking something somewhere you shouldn't have been 😅😅
Spices are well known to have health benefits. It's disregarded by the health boards in the States but German, Chinese, and Japanese health boards all have positive studies. The problem is if you eat the Standard American Diet, no amount of tumeric is going to alleviate arthritis. You have to eat foods that reduce your inflammation first then the spices really work well.
The tendency to write off natural medicien in the western world is based in lack of education. Essential oils (and spices) are just plant concentrates, and 90% of western medicine is derived directly from fungi and plants as a concentrate or distillate, or just product. A good example of an essential oil that no educated scientist can argue isn't medicine is wintergreen oil. Wintergreen oil is pure salycylic acid, which is the active ingredient in aspirin, it's actually a stronger version
Funny how the process of learning is always "hey we just discovered that we didn't know everything" and yet people still somehow think that we know everything now lol
I add turmeric to quinoa its super yummy
Honey and vinegar sounds close to a medieval take on a sweet balsamic reduction
Wanna help rebuild the Persian empire? Read my name
Or a realty team
Your mastery of sarcasm warms my heart!
Some of these foods are actually pretty healthy, though they probably didn't help much if you contracted Plague.
My grandma used to make a cough medicine with a base of honey & apple cider vinegar. It was surprisingly tasty. I wish I could remember what else was in it
Probably cocaine
@@GrumpyIan You thought that was so funny
Opium
Red onions?
@@2anti386 it was
Cloves have antibacterial properties.
Aspirin is derived from the bark of willow tree.
Interesting! Thank you
How about videos on how School Lunches have changed over the decades and how School Lunches differ from each other around the world? Now those are topics that sound like Weird History videos!!! 😃🍞🥜🥕🍔🍕🍉🌮🥪🍟 ( Sorry, I went a little cray with the food emojis, haven't eaten yet)
Weird History, Can you please make a video on the contributions to society made by Mexico/America, Aztecs, Mayans, Incas etc. For example the medical sciences The astronomical sciences and gastronomy. Also the benefits to Europe of the tons of mineral wealth that came from Mexico and the Americas. There is so much to cover just on this topic alone its hard for me to even put in words. There is absolutely no reference to this topic that I am aware of. It would be lovely to see such a video. Thank you.
That's a great idea! I'm Mexican-American and would love to see a video like that!
They made a lot of videos about Aztec and maya
This channel has taught me more then 12 years of school
More than. Obviously!
Or maybe you're not listening in school
Would love to know about honey. It’s importance, bee keeping, mead, & whatever else you can find 😊
Seconded!
honey contains compounds that turn into hydrogen peroxide when it comes into contact with the salt and ph levels of flesh. So bugs that fall into honey will be dissolved by it, which is why you don't find little bits of bug floating around in honey
Mead was a staple in drinking
Star anise is actually used in the production of Theraflu.
I must be weird; I like most of the foods mentioned, especially Lemon, now growing some trees from seeds I liked.
"What did People Eat During the Black Plague?"
"Ummm...whatever they could find or steal?"
That was towards the end-ish era of Black Plague, in the beginning, there was a lot of experimentations with different foods being mixed
Honestly I thought almond was a new alternative milk I am 46.
I have been watching weird history for good while now, I am learning more than I did in school. Weird history helps history more interesting
I love vinegary foods, but I've never thought of them as more healthy. I just grew up eating them, so I'm used to them. I also keep a spray bottle of vinegar because it makes my stove top and any mirrors look less streaky; and I need it when I make soap, so I can keep any stray lye from eating holes in my skin when I clean up.
Facts on vinegar as a cleaning solution.
@@wobblefoot7607 it makes metal sink/tub fixtures shine, too!
@@TheGelasiaBlythe how long does your house smell like vinegar after?
@@reginaberger8406 Don't forget the Fish and Chips
@@reginaberger8406 like, a minute or two. It's not soaked into anything, so it's gone quickly
Gruel sounds like a mix between gross and cruel of which I totally agree, it is gross and cruel to have to eat it.
g
Gruel is oatmeal. It's very healthy and you can add lots of good stuff to it.
I make my sims eat this in the sims medieval. Even the king and the queen it this.
@@danmar007 yeah it really depends how it's prepared. It can have a horrible glue-like consistency, or it can be smooth and creamy. My mom used to prepare the former. As an adult, I learned it didn't have to be that way.
@@Glic2000 Interesting. My mom used to make it like that too. She also made pasta like that. 🙂
Americans all just want to be british nobility... Gruel is practical, easy to eat, and pretty tasty all things considered. Grits, oatmeal, cream of wheat, rice cereal, and many other types of gruels are still enjoyed today. It's basically just grains cooked to mush
What a perfect video to watch while having a stomach bug.
@COOL daddy the stomach problems dropped, but the head aches still persist.
Have you done a video on the history of marijuana? I think that would be fun, also the Osage tribe millionaires please!
Director Martin Scorcesse is making a movie about the Osage tribe with Leo and De niro in it.
This please!
@@almubarak89458 I know so excited!! It's kind of sad and I don't love sad movies but I'll watch this one!
@@justaguyyknow8730
😁👍
lordy imagine the smell(s)
Not everyone smelt 'bad'. Notably the Muslims, who taught Europeans how to wash properly.
Fantastic video keep it up your doing amazing job
Thank you for this video ! 😊🌺
This channel is 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
So is your mom
Thanks for this! 🦠
How did people become doctors back in those times in Europe
Medical school
there were schools
I honestly have no idea. It's strange to think that someone like me who has only undergone a few years of medical training probably knows more about the human body than most (if not all) doctors of that time period. Even more fascinating, the average school-age child knows more than the greatest thinkers of thousands of years ago.
Wow, they weren't too far off with those ideas about miasma, vinegar and spices! The bad smells weren't the cause, but they were one of the effects of microorganisms, many of which can make you sick. Vinegar won't cure anything, but it does create a hostile environment for a host of illness causing bacteria! Some spices do, too. For example, Cinnamon. These guys were brighter than we give them credit for.
Exactly, the theories of the past really arent nearly as crazy and people like to make fun of them for. Theyre not wrong, just inaccurate. Like how silver was said to ward off evil, and today we know it is antimicrobial
Adding salt to the vinegar makes it even more hostile. There are bacteria that can survive in actual magma, or frozen in ice for 1000s of years, or buried deep underneath the ocean or even crust under immense pressure. But the combination of high acid and high salt is an environment that we have yet to find a single life form that can thrive in, at least in high enough concentrations like in some geysers
@@jek__ Vinegar's pretty good at eliminating bitterness in food that are otherwise bitter (but healthy). Lemon and lemon pepper are even better.
I love all the art that this channel shows throughout the presentations.
Such a great channel!
Lmao the comedic relief from Ye Ole Panera to Spitting on a Big Mac 👌 quality humor
I eat a gruel made of barley, peas, and steel-cut oats almost every day. If I plan ahead on making it, I might add beans and wheat, both of which require presoaking before cooking.
Sounds highly unappetizing.
@@sekichdawn3913 Modern sensibilities often mistake "hyperstimulative" for "appetizing". Taste is designed to help us figure out what food is good for us, not to just pervert and abandon the functional value of food to only focus on taste
Sounds like the perfect recipe for flatulence 🤣
I'd think quinoa might help. Not medieval, but pretty tasty. I add it to stews now and then.
Love these videos! Very Informative! Would love to see a video on the history of foods in the Caribbean ☺️ you would be amazed how the foods differ and are similar between the islands.
Interesting. Good video. Thank you.
Can’t get enough of this channel.
Can't get enough of your mom
LOVE this channel
Love your mom
I really love your historic videos on food! Could you please do a video on this?
Who created the first dissection charts on how to butcher pigs, sheep, cows, etc?
Was the FDA involved in creating these charts for butchering livestock?
I second this. Thinking about it, I'm also curious how we determined "cuts" of meat and applied values to each. Why is meat from this part of a cow's spine better than from another? How did we figure out how to tell the difference? Did we have some experts sit down and eat a piece from every part of an animal and take notes? I want answers, damn it!
@@NakedOwl501 people have eaten livestock like cows and pigs for thousands of years so i guess it was a natural thing people realized what parts tasted the best and therefore demand for those was higher so the value went up
@@PULLUPSKYNETOP i’m sure a lot of it is based on the muscle groupings we’ve worked out over the years. Different types of muscle have subtle variations in taste because they’re different at a cellular level, so it makes sense that different parts could come about.
@@Penuuumbra My husband's grandfather used to be a butcher. He taught Phil, my hubby, how to look for the best parts. He also had a smokehouse and Phil said his ham, brisket, and bacon were second to none. I wish I could have met him, but he died before Phil married his first wife back in the late 60's.
@@sharolynwells Wow, that's interesting!
Do you know who gives out the dissection charts for butchering livestock?
25% acetic acid (aka Vinegar) can kill quite a few bacteria, in fact, it is sometimes used to irrigate wounds. In fact, it could probably have been used to irrigate the buboes caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium.
Fresh strawberries and apples are high in vitamin c, aka ascorbic acid, which can help prevent bacterial growth.
I would love a video about Cardinal Richelieu, the Marquis de Sade, (if you haven't done one already). I find these two French historical figures to be very fascinating
I, too, love Richelieu particularly. Also, Jules Mazarin, as Louis The Great, aka The Sun King is my most favorite historical figure / monarch of all time!
Keep on doing what you are doing
Fresh fruit is one of the healthiest things imaginable, it is funny it was banned.
I should make gruel sometime!
These plague videos are the best, and very helpful for understanding that period.
Thank you for the video.
Turned raw milk is still drunk today in many countries. Some people actually prefer it. It doesn't go bad the same way that pasteurized milk does.
Raw milk is amazing!
Vinegar, the Ivermectin of Middle Ages…
Funny both lemon juice and vinegar have lots of health benefits.
I would love to see a video on what our first ancestors may have eaten.
Tree bark, leaves, and occasionally meat when they hunt and kill an animal.
Lemons have high citric and vitamin content and many animals don't like ghe smell of lemon.
@@sekichdawn3913 bark? We can't digest wood. Fruit. Early humans ate a lot of fruit. Some say this is likely how we discovered alcohol, and have been consuming it since we were early primates in the form of fruit eaten of the ground
My grandma used to give me a shot of vinegar when i got migraines ss a kid. Found out later it opens up the blood vessels. 👍
AWESOME channel💯💯💯❤
Very interesting and educational.
I remember learning the peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold rhyme when I was little. It's strange how history had parts that made it into the present until the last few decades. Not just this but the classic novels, art, inventions, everything that steered us to the present. If we don't learn our history then the lessons to be learned from it are sure to be lost and we'll be doomed to repeat our mistakes.
Id love to hear more about recipes by medieval wise women
Animal AND human waste was used as manure for fertilizing. Unsurprisingly fresh fruit & veggies posed a health hazard; explaining why they were avoided.
History of thieves oil. And thanks to everything you do to provide us with information with a dash of comic relief !!
Funny and informative 👏👏👏
Thanks!
1 portion Honey, 3portionslemon juice, 4 portions rum,a touch of cinamon with 1 portion spoon of aloe perfect for coughing and cold. Mix proporcionaly
I’d love to know if it was common for people to keep pets back then
@@uniqua2621 Just cats in general. The pope ordered to have them killed.
They killed cats almost to the point of extinction. if they let them live, I believe the Plague wouldn't have been as serious since the cats would have eaten the mice and rats.
They seem to have kept livestock rather than pets though I imagine that some richer folks had hunting dogs and the like. I cant imagine medieval peasants would waste food on an animal that was a companion.
Seems that way to me at least.
@@Miss-Anne-Thrope that would probably make sense. Animals for food or animals for work, possibly not for pets. Like someone else mentioned they thought cats were related to black magic and dogs eat a lot
@Alex H lol
You always make me laugh!
Your mom uses both hands on my manhood like she's saying grace... When she says "Amen" I bless her face
@@vandal1764 I do your boyfriend bcz he hates you...
You would assume back then that the immune system wasn't what it is today. If you didn't eat well back then,you where more likely to catch it!
I was surprised about lemonade!
From the Blackadder comedy series:
Doctor: "I think you're in luck, though. I've an extraordinary new cure for just this kind of sordid problem."
Blackadder: "Something involving leeches?"
Doctor: "I'd no idea you were a medical man!"
Blackadder: "Whatever I've had, you lot have used leeches. One on my ear for ear-ache,
on my bottom for constipation."
Doctor: Marvelous!"
Blackadder: "That one wasn't. I sat down and squashed it."
Doctor: "Leeches come to us on the highest authority."
Blackadder: "Dr Hoffman of Stuttgart?"
Doctor: "The great Hoffman."
Blackadder: "Owner of Europe's largest leech-farm."
Doctor: "Yes.
I've no time for gossip. As far as this case is concerned, I've had time to think it over and I can strongly recommend a course..."
Blackadder: "...of leeches. Just pop them down my codpiece before I go to bed!"
Doctor: "No, no, no! We're not in the Dark Ages. Just dissolve four in your mouth every morning."
Brilliant writing on Black Adder
red wine makes you constipated? bruh, drink a bottle and wait how constipated you are next day. that's like saying taco bell causes constipation
Is it true or not?
@@layeokoh8006 no. It gives you the squirts .
@@layeokoh8006 are you kidding me
@@layeokoh8006 no
cool and lnteresting well done we thank you
Dang. I never knew honey and vinegar was a thing beyond Mr. Wizard telling us it was a fun and healthy drink one morning in the late 70s. Now I wonder why he mentioned it on a kids show about science experiments. Probably got tired of making vinegar and baking soda volcanos.
3:16 What is that guy in blue doing to that sheep?
Helping it out the door of course. 😆
I can testify to White Vinegar being used as a household cleaner because my Mom has used it to clean the coffee pot. I hate the smell and always will. 😂😂😂😂😂 But, it works.
I dig your voice allot narration wizard
I live to hear your voice ! 💞👍🏻❤️👍🏻💞
I'm glad I was born in the 20th century.
Second that.
I'm glad your mom was
"Have you smelled a pot of Brussels sprouts?" Often, but steamed, not boiled, or sauteed. Boiling them is an abomination.
Amazing!
So is your mom
I’d love to see Weird History talk about ethnically Jewish foods, especially many of the commonly known Ashkenazi dishes ✡️
Good idea 💡. Although , { i'm #Catholic 📿 } there's too dhabīḥah style which has a sub category called Halal . It's apparently very #controversial 🗣👥️️ : en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhabihah . ♑️✍️🇦🇺🇸🇯 🍽🍲📖📿🏳️🌈
Man, that's something. Strange things and ideas came when it was medieval food.
I would have hated to be pregnant during this time, the smell of vinegar/ drinking/ eating it would make me absolutely miserable.
My grandma used to make me drink malt vinegar when I had a cold. No idea if it did any good but it stung like hell
To the members of Weird History, please do a video about Korean Fried Chicken or other Korean foods!
They basically steal western foods & just make it Korean flavored loool, nothing new besides the basically imported Chinese & Japanese style foods from the times,… I think the question you are asking is “historic East Asian food origins”
You are welcome
The narrator makes this show.
11:05 This Narrator is Awesome! 😄
I often add vinegar to greens and fish, so that doesn't seem that weird. Though lemon on fish and chicken (or lemon pepper) is even better. Vinegar or lemon is necessary for shark and swordfish, because they kill the bitterness (But I eat very sparingly because of the mercury.)
What did the EAST INDIAN COMPANY eat ? Including shipmates, slaves etc.
Would be fascinating
Imagine if walking around with vinegar soaked bread on your face was mandatory to get on a plane in 2022
Please do a video on ww1 andvww2 food
you should make a "what would You have to do to survive" video, and explain all the stuff we'd do to protect ourselves from the plague, like washing our hands, cleaning with vinegar and eating lemons... apparently.. haha
The narrator kinda has the same tone as Dwight from the office😂 just a bit lmao
Beer for breakfast? Snap! Crackle! BURP!
🥣🍺🥴🥴🥴🥴
Weird History: "Carrots have reclaimed some of their reputations since the invention of ranch-dip."
Bugs Bunny: "Mmmmmyeeaaah..., (chomp, chomp, chomp) What's up Doc?"
Here I am I watching this on my lunch break
I live or at least try to live a chemical free life. I use vinegar and baking soda for many purposes. Cleaning chemicals at stores are so highly toxic and cancer causing
You shouldn't be drinking cleaning chemicals from the store
No they're not! Chemicals are our friends when used properly!
@@gaywizard2000 2 Tablesppon of Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with water twice a day cleanses your liver and helps you lose weight. : )
@@gaywizard2000 if they are not dangerous then why the WARNING labels on the product?
Moderation is key as always. Concentrated vinegar will burn your skin too. Chemicals in cleaning products are not cancsr inducing, however it will cause problwms if ingested or if it gets into eyes or even sometimes on skin.
Chemistry ia not bad and changes our lives for better. However there are dangers and that's why we print warning labels to know how to work with it.
Chemicals are everywhere from water to air to the billions of things in your own body. Don't try to live without them, just try to know them and use appropriately.
The lemonade may have saved my mother's side of my family. Pretty cool.
History is awesome
Yeah that's why your mom is in my bed
I love vinegar-any kind- and incorperate as much as I can in my daily life and diet.
Vinegar ice cream? YUM! 😋😜
In 500 years time, Weird History will be reporting why on earth people bulk bought toilet roll during covid-19, and those in the future will be equally as confused as we are today.
Hey, can you make a video/ videos on the relationships/influences of Arab people in Europe
Lemonade that far back is incredible. Need a good dose of vitamin C to keep those pesky fleas away.
As a person from Ohio. That bit with the OSU and USM rivalry was priceless!!!
Menu's limited, though.
Sit back, pop open a Zima and watch some Black Plague food info.
Am I supposed to be wearing 3D glasses during this episode?
Sorry if it's off topic, but Happy Mother's Day! ❤🍀☘❤🍀☘❤🍀☘❤🍀☘❤🍀☘
Happy mothers day Alice 💓
@@brucewebb1114 thanks! You too! ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Same to you! 💜