How to Garnish a Medieval Meal

Medieval feasts were extravaganzas of "Look What We Can Do." Though many of their methods are beyond what we would do in order to surprise and delight our friends, we can still capture the pageantry of the Medieval meal with the garnishes we choose.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Flowers
• Feathers
• Pumpkin (large) or
• Gourds (small)

1. Using common garden herbs to garnish a dish is considered lovely by modern standards, but would have been poor fare to serve to guests at a medieval banquet. Still, you are serving a modern audience, so a plate of sliced apples sprinkled with confectioner' s sugar and garnished with fresh sprigs of mint could be used. For a more medieval flare, you might add chilled violet blossoms, their short stems dipped in wax. Candied violets were a delicacy in medieval times and the burst of color in your garnish will reflect the bright pageantry of the medieval feast.
2. Many medieval feasts featured roasted peacocks, swans and other stunning birds, garnished in their own plumage. Though medieval kitchens often went to lengths which would be inconvenient (or unsavory) by modern standards, there is nothing to stop you from using plumage to garnish your dishes. Hobby shops in your area have feathers which are sterilized and offered for flower arrangements. Steam the feathers (with a steam wand used for clothing or hang them over a boiling pot of water) to rid them of germs gathered while in the store, then coat them with a light glaze of sugar water to seal them and allow the colors to shine. When the feathers have dried, use them to line the serving plate, or position them however your creative vision will best be served.
3. In place of (or in addition to) whole roasts (apple in mouth, etc,), don't be afraid to try your whole fruit alternatives. Consider garnishing your soup by serving it in a baked pumpkin tureen, or serving soup into smaller baked gourds.
4. Serve mushroom pastries on individual slices of wood, showcasing the bark and the rings, to echo the wooden platters used to serve bread "trenchers" in times gone by and to honor the woodlands where mushrooms grow.