What did they eat?

I strive to make the details about the Vikings’ culture and life as historically authentic as possible, while telling Halfdan’s story in the Strongbow Saga. Reports, summaries, and analyses of archeological finds are one source for factual details. Another, which I rely on heavily, are the old Viking sagas.

But some everyday aspects of life, when they occurred over 1,000 years ago, can be very difficult to pin down. At best, we can make educated guesses based on the limited facts available.

An example of this is what types of food did the Vikings eat? From archeological examination of Viking-era sites, including their middens, or trash dumps, some clues can be gleaned. Animal bones, for example, provide evidence of domestic animals found on Viking homesteads, as well as types of game that were hunted and consumed. Microscopic examinations of pollen residues and other residual evidence can suggest at least some of the types of crops grown in Viking-era Scandinavia. But how did they cook those foods? Unfortunately I have not found any recipes, or even detailed descriptions of meals, in any of the old sagas I’ve read.

Common sense and logical deduction suggest that stews were probably a common meal, given that cooking was done over an open fire, and meals often had to serve large numbers of people, particularly in the longhouses of chieftains. Stews have the virtues of being relatively easy to prepare in large volumes, and of making large amounts of hearty fare out of limited ingredients. Common sense also suggests that meat would often have been scarce enough that it would be used more as a flavoring, than as a main course.

I was recently asked by a friend what types of foods the Vikings might have eaten. Inspired by the question–and by some root vegetables this same friend gave us from her garden–my wife and I cooked a stew such as the Vikings might well have made, using ingredients they would have had available. We did not, however, cook it over an open fire ;-). The recipe is offered here–if you try it, do not skip the bone broth step. It’s key to the dish’s rich flavor.

Viking Stew

Bone Broth (make ahead)

Cut a rear thigh bone of a deer into three to four inch sections with a hatchet or saw. Place in a crockpot, cover with 4 to 5 inches of water, and simmer for roughly 48 hours. Discard bones. The broth should be thick, dark brown, and aromatic. (Substitutions: use beef or sheep marrow or soup bones purchased from a butcher or grocery store, if venison leg bones are unavailable. Try to use bones with visible marrow, to melt into the broth). Excess broth can be frozen for future use.

Stew

About one pound of venison, cut into roughly 1 inch cubes (use lamb or beef, if venison is unavailable)

4 to 5 cloves of garlic

Olive oil

Two small or one large onions, coarsely chopped

3 to 5 large carrots, cut into sections 1 inch or less long

3 to five large parsnips, cut into sections 1 inch or less long

One large rutabaga, peeled and cut into roughly ½ inch cubes

One teaspoon peppercorns

1 ½ teaspoons Juniper berries

Two to three small or medium leeks, cleaned and chopped

¾ to 1 cup of barley (purple hull-less or a similar heritage variety, if available)

About a half bottle of Burgundy or similar hearty red wine

Salt to taste (coarse sea salt if available)

About a pint of Chanterelle, Winter Chanterelle, or other wild mushrooms

In a large soup pot, sauté the venison and garlic in the oil until the meat is just browned. Add the onions, carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, peppercorns, Juniper berries, roughly one quart of the broth, plus a teaspoon of salt, and simmer for about three hours. Taste liquid, and add more salt if needed. Add leeks, barley, and wine, and simmer for another 1 to 1 ½ hours. Briefly sauté the mushrooms in a small amount of butter and a little broth from the stew, and stir them into the stew just before serving. Taste again and stir in more salt, or sprinkle on top of individual servings, as needed.

Notes:

1)      The meat and vegetables used in this recipe were all common in the Viking countries.

2)      Olive oil would not be authentic; the Vikings would likely have cooked with butter or rendered animal fat.

3)      Peppercorns would have been rare and expensive, but because the Vikings did have well established trade routes connecting with the Middle East, and pepper was a common, if expensive, trade good in the Middle East since ancient times, wealthier Viking households might well have at least on occasion had peppercorns on hand. Pepper was certainly known as a spice in England as early as the 7^th century.

4)      Barley was a grain grown for use both as a food and for brewing ale. Heritage barley, such as purple hull-less, which has a much chewier texture than most modern commercially-grown barley sold in grocery stores, would bear a greater resemblance to the type of barley grown and consumed during the Viking era.

5)      Although wine was not produced in Viking Scandinavia, it was a widely traded commodity. Like the peppercorns, it would probably only be found in wealthier Viking households. A more “common man” version of this recipe would omit the peppercorns and wine.