Until the 20th century, the peasants and the poor of Europe ate mostly bread (or pasta), supplemented by vegetables and fish. Meat was reserved for special occasions. English peasants in the medieval period experienced seasonal fluctuation in the availability of food, but extreme scarcity and widespread mortality was rare except for the early fourteenth century, especially during the great famine of 1315-1318. However by 1400 portions of meat, fish, and ale increased; roasting and frying started to replace the traditional cooking technique of boiling; and agricultural prosperity in England ushered in an era of cheap and plentiful food. By the twentieth century, per capita consumption of bread had dropped off precipitously due to social and economic modernization and the availability of a wider choice of foods. | Until the 20th century, the peasants and the poor of Europe ate mostly bread (or pasta), supplemented by vegetables and fish. Meat was reserved for special occasions. English peasants in the medieval period experienced seasonal fluctuation in the availability of food, but extreme scarcity and widespread mortality was rare except for the early fourteenth century, especially during the great famine of 1315-1318. However by 1400 portions of meat, fish, and ale increased; roasting and frying started to replace the traditional cooking technique of boiling; and agricultural prosperity in England ushered in an era of cheap and plentiful food. By the twentieth century, per capita consumption of bread had dropped off precipitously due to social and economic modernization and the availability of a wider choice of foods. |