Cookery
	The diet of the average Dark Age person was quite varied. They ate only twice a day, the first meal was usually some kind of porridge or 'meal' with the main meal at night. The most commonly grown cereal crops were oats, rye, and barley. A wide range meats were eaten, from the familiar such as beef, pork, chicken, and lamb, to the more unusual (to us) goat, venison, boar, hare, some wild birds, and horse. Chickens were also kept as egg producers along with ducks and geese. Freshwater fish such as salmon, trout, and eels were eaten when available, while shellfish, herring, and some deep sea fish were popular in coastal areas. Both meat and fish could be preserved by salting, drying, and smoking - dried herring were eaten like biscuits, spread with butter. Vegetables were also varied with many of them similar to those of our own. Carrots were available although they were white rather than the orange ones we are familiar with now, while other vegetables included cabbage (of the loose spring green variety) , swede, onions, mushrooms, parsnips, garlic, peas, runner beans, spinach, and other leafy vegetables. Herbs such as yarrow, chives, horseradish, caraway, mint, and rosemary - to name a few - were used for flavouring and many of the spices we use today were available although they had to be imported so were an expensive item. Hazelnuts, beech nuts, and chestnuts were used as were many fresh or dried fruits - apples, pears, blackberries, sloes, quince and medlar were among the wide variety available. The actual methods of cooking were pretty much the same as today - boiling, roasting, grilling, and frying, Boiling was the most popular method as it allowed less tender pieces of meat to be used, cooked the meat more thoroughly, and allowed other things to be cooked alongside the meat. Some very tasty stews have been made in the villages! Roasting tended to be done over a spit although for re-enactment purposes this can be tricky as practice is required to make sure the meat is cooked through. Meat is safer if cut into small pieces and either fried or boiled. Ovens were used in the permanent sites but baking in the temporary encampments was done in a stone lined pit, a lidded cauldron or a flat stone next to the fire. When cooking for re-enactment certain precautions must be taken to maintain health and safety. Fire should be away from anything combustible and not left unattended and care should be taken with any dangling or loose clothes. Any meats or fish must be kept as cool as possible before cooking and all food should be eaten as soon as possible after cooking.