Many people ate different things depending on how much money the earned. Peasants mostly ate porridge, bread, and vegetables because they grew their food from their crops. Nobles owned cows and goats to produce their own milk and cheese. Their servants prepared fancy food for them. Even thought nobles were rich they didn’t use spoons or forks to eat they used their hands. They only used knives when they ate meat and never washed their hands before meals. For drinks most people drank water, which was very unclean.
During the crusades it made a big change for food because there was a lot of trading going on that brought new spices into Europe. When the Black Death was going around it was kind of a miracle for peasants because there was a bigger supply of meat because of the small population. The different changes during history also influenced changes on food. Peasants had to cook their food on a small open fire and Nobles always had others prepare it for them. People used some of the cooking methods we use today such as frying, smoking, and baking.