I wonder what type of cheese they were eating. I imagine something salty like a modern day hard farmers cheese and maybe pretty gross.
t-3 · 3h ago
I'd guess a quick-to-make traditional variety like most "squeaky" cheese - softer, often crumbly and sticky, probably not good for books. A hard cheese probably wouldn't produce as many crumbs or be damaging if it did.
mkw5053 · 3h ago
I was thinking that Medieval preservation was basically "add more salt until it doesn't rot," so everything was way saltier. Plus they didn't have the cheese-making techniques we have now. No precise temperature control, aging caves, or quality standards so just "milk that won't kill you, aged until hard."
AlotOfReading · 3h ago
Hard cheeses were a preservation choice, not something they had to do. Charlemagne is recorded to have enjoyed cheeses similar to modern brie, for example.
Medieval Europeans also liked pickling and smoking as preservation methods, for what it's worth.
sampullman · 3h ago
I think they were probably aging in caves, and had a large variety of hard and soft cheeses by 1100 or 1200.
Fresh cheeses too, like cottage, ricotta, and farmers cheese, which wouldn't have been too salty.
Medieval Europeans also liked pickling and smoking as preservation methods, for what it's worth.
Fresh cheeses too, like cottage, ricotta, and farmers cheese, which wouldn't have been too salty.