Viking Cuisine

  Vikings were people of large size. With such a large size they had to eat a lot of food. The food they ate varied with their location. I have compiled a list of foods or ingredients that most all the tribes ate collectively.

  Mammals: cattle, pigs, sheep, goat, oxen
  Fish: cod, herring, ling
  Birds: duck, chicken, goose, plover, cormorant
  Cereals: oats, flax, spelt, hemp, rye, wheat, barley
  Fruit: apple, blackberry,"stone fruits" (plums, slomes, damsons), strawberry, sloe, elderberry, mountain ash, rose hips, cloudberries, crabapple, juniper berries
  Nuts: hazelnut walnut
  Veggies: celery, carrots, turnips, swede, radish, fennel, brassicas, nettle, cress
  Legumes: peas, beans
  Barley was in almost every meal. Whether if it was Barley cakes, Barley and Fish or Meat and Berries, Barley was a main component. In my last post, some of you wanted me to make a Viking dish. I have decided to make Barley cakes considering desserts are my specialty in the kitchen. I'll leave the recipe at the end of the post for those who want to try it!
  In order for Vikings to eat, they had to have some utensils to help them make and eat without just their hands. The utensils that have been found are pots, pans, forks, knives, spoons, kettles, strainers, metal pots and or cauldrons. They have also found wooden bowls and wooden plates. A more uncommon utensil that has been found is a large metal fork for cooking food directly above fire. Chains and tripods for hanging pots have also been found. Like the modern gridiron for making pancakes and bacon have been dug up!

Utensils used for cooking over a fire.

  For the sick and cold winter nights, Vikings used wooden, soapstone, or metal bowls for soup.
Curd draining boards, butter churns, wooden sieves with the nalbinding technique from horse hair and their version of the "sippy cup" have been found. Who knew the Vikings could be this advanced?  Many would still say they were savages from their thievery but from that sippy cup they found they were pretty docile people.

Viking spoons.

Barley Cakes:
-ingredients
    2 cups barley flour
    water or milk to make thin batter
    2-3 eggs
    pinch of salt

Preparation:
  Mix everything into a thin batter.
  Cook like pancakes on griddle or frying pan.
Optionals: You can leave the eggs out but they would cook a bit better with them in.
Serve: You may add butter and honey or any sweet syrup of your choice. You may also serve them with smoked or pickled fish, roast chicken, any other meats and fruit.
Enjoy!