4 ms·

>Of course, this was largely poultry (and not always the choicest cuts thereof) instead of luxurious meats like beef This comment comes as a surprise to me. My

>Of course, this was largely poultry (and not always the choicest cuts thereof) instead of luxurious meats like beef This comment comes as a surprise to me. My understanding is that historically, before the second world war, chicken was prohibitively expensive and considered a delicacy.

Retric 3y ago
“Chicken was one of the most common meats available in the Middle Ages.[6][7]” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_as_food https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_as_food US cattle prices pre WWII were low because the US had huge tracts of cheap land and rail networks to move that meat into cities. Medieval Europe had a very different logistical situation.
ffgjgf1 3y ago
IIRC eggs were somewhat rare/expensive
- OfSanguineFire 3y ago
  No, eggs, too were commonly consumed in the Middle Ages. In fact, even if the rural poor ate little meat in the sense of cuts off dead animals, they had access to eggs. Have you seen how many eggs are produced by even a modest henhouse next to a village home?
  - ffgjgf1 3y ago
    > Have you seen how many eggs are produced by even a modest henhouse next to a village home? Yes, I do. Which is why I found the prices listed here quite surprising: http://medieval.ucdavis.edu/120D/Money.html http://medieval.ucdavis.edu/120D/Money.html Two dozen eggs cost the same as two chickens. I would guess they were much more available in the countryside and the cost might have been high in cities because of no refrigeration (while animals were only butchered on the spot more or less)
    - OfSanguineFire 3y ago
      That price list puts the cost of two dozen eggs, or two chickens, at the same price as a gallon of ale. And we know that ale was widely consumed. If anything, this only underscores the accessibility of both eggs and chickens to the masses.
      - ffgjgf1 3y ago
        If you ignore the average wages at the time then perhaps. This is a pretty interesting answer (the thing I forgot is that chicken laid significantly less eggs back then than modern ones do): https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/afq8jy/how_often_did_medieval_peasants_eat_eggs/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/afq8jy/how_o... (It claims that even rural peasants could hardly afford to eat more than an egg or two per week) Regarding ale most poor people probably drank the .75d one and no the one which cost 1.5d. (Also poor people still mainly drank water) e.g. the daily wage for a semi skilled worker was 2-3d. If you have to fed a family that’s not a lot and eating eggs would certainly not be that common.

Retric 3y ago

“Chicken was one of the most common meats available in the Middle Ages.[6][7]” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_as_food https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_as_food US cattle prices pre WWII were low because the US had huge tracts of cheap land and rail networks to move that meat into cities. Medieval Europe had a very different logistical situation.

ffgjgf1 3y ago

IIRC eggs were somewhat rare/expensive

OfSanguineFire 3y ago
No, eggs, too were commonly consumed in the Middle Ages. In fact, even if the rural poor ate little meat in the sense of cuts off dead animals, they had access to eggs. Have you seen how many eggs are produced by even a modest henhouse next to a village home?
- ffgjgf1 3y ago
  > Have you seen how many eggs are produced by even a modest henhouse next to a village home? Yes, I do. Which is why I found the prices listed here quite surprising: http://medieval.ucdavis.edu/120D/Money.html http://medieval.ucdavis.edu/120D/Money.html Two dozen eggs cost the same as two chickens. I would guess they were much more available in the countryside and the cost might have been high in cities because of no refrigeration (while animals were only butchered on the spot more or less)
  - OfSanguineFire 3y ago
    That price list puts the cost of two dozen eggs, or two chickens, at the same price as a gallon of ale. And we know that ale was widely consumed. If anything, this only underscores the accessibility of both eggs and chickens to the masses.
    - ffgjgf1 3y ago
      If you ignore the average wages at the time then perhaps. This is a pretty interesting answer (the thing I forgot is that chicken laid significantly less eggs back then than modern ones do): https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/afq8jy/how_often_did_medieval_peasants_eat_eggs/ https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/afq8jy/how_o... (It claims that even rural peasants could hardly afford to eat more than an egg or two per week) Regarding ale most poor people probably drank the .75d one and no the one which cost 1.5d. (Also poor people still mainly drank water) e.g. the daily wage for a semi skilled worker was 2-3d. If you have to fed a family that’s not a lot and eating eggs would certainly not be that common.