A 100% Delicious Medieval Recipe (That Won’t Kill You)

Medieval cuisine gets a bad rap — often imagined as bland gruel or suspicious meat pies. But in truth, people in the Middle Ages enjoyed surprisingly rich and diverse meals, especially if you were noble (or cooking for one).

Today, we’re diving into one real medieval dish that’s been preserved through cookbooks like the 14th-century Forme of Cury, and we’ll explore what ingredients they used, how they cooked it, and what makes it surprisingly tasty (and safe) to eat today.

The Recipe: “Cynee of Chickens” (Medieval Chicken Stew)

This hearty dish comes from English and French medieval kitchens, and was often made with chicken, spices, and almond milk — a luxury item that symbolized status and Catholic fasting rules. It’s one of the rare dishes that both kings and commoners might eat, in very different forms.

Original 14th-Century Instructions (translated):

• Take chickens, clean and quarter them.
• Put them to boil in water with onions, parsley, sage, and salt.
• When half cooked, add almond milk, ground rice, and saffron.
• Simmer and stir well so it curdles not.
• Serve hot with white bread.

Sounds shockingly decent, right?

No pig’s blood or fermented fish guts here. Let’s break it down.

What They Ate: Ingredients in Context

• Chicken: Considered a safer meat for rich and poor alike. Nobles ate capons (castrated roosters — fancy!), while commoners made do with older hens.
• Onions, parsley, sage: Fresh herbs and aromatics were widely used and often homegrown.
• Almond milk: Not vegan activism — rather, medieval Christians used almond milk as a dairy substitute during fasting days. It was also easier to store.
• Saffron: A prized spice. If you had saffron in your kitchen, you were doing well. For commoners, turmeric or simply nothing added color.
• Ground rice: Used to thicken stews or sauces — rice was an expensive import and another sign of a well-stocked larder.

How It Was Cooked

Cooking was typically done over an open hearth, with pots suspended over embers. Wealthy kitchens had large cauldrons and long-handled stirring paddles. Most recipes assumed a cook already knew the basics, so measurements were vague (“a handful,” “until it be enough”).

This dish would’ve been simmered slowly to allow the almond milk and spices to meld. The result? Something between a creamy stew and a comforting chicken soup — thickened with rice and golden from saffron or turmeric.

Who Got to Eat This?

In noble households, a dish like this might be served on trenchers of stale bread at a feast, topped with decorative herbs and paired with mulled wine.

In monasteries, a simpler version (no saffron, no wine) would be eaten during fasting days.

For peasants, this recipe might have been an aspirational version — with milk or broth replacing almond milk, and maybe barley instead of rice.

Your Medieval Kitchen Challenge (Modern Version)

Want to try this at home? Here’s a modernized version:

• 2 chicken thighs, diced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup ground rice or rice flour
• A pinch of saffron (or turmeric)
• Salt to taste

Sauté chicken and onions, then add herbs and almond milk.

Simmer gently, stir in ground rice to thicken, add saffron or turmeric for color, and serve with rustic bread.

Pair with candlelight and your favorite medieval podcast.

So Was Medieval Food Gross?

Not always. While preservation methods (like salting and smoking) dominated, medieval recipes often show surprising sophistication. Spices were highly valued, not to mask rotten food (a myth), but as a sign of wealth and trade.

Dishes like this chicken stew show that medieval food could be hearty, aromatic, and warming — more Jamie Oliver than Viking horror show.

Sources

British Library – The Forme of Cury
https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/forme-of-cury-a-roll-of-ancient-english-cookery

Medieval Cookery
https://www.medievalcookery.com/notes/formeofcury.html

Historic UK
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Medieval-Cookery/