How the Hungry Viking Family Ate by Gina Conkle, my guest author today

My guest today is author Gina Conkle, who grew up in southern California, but despite all that sunshine, loves books over beaches and stone castles over sand castles. Now she lives in Michigan with her favorite alpha male, Brian, and their two sons where she occasionally gardens and cooks. She writes Viking and sensual Georgian romances. Her books offer witty banter and sexual tension that readers love. Today she is sharing with us some of her research for her Vikings stories.  (See my review of To Find a Viking Treasure from her Norse series, posted below this post.)

One lucky commenter will receive a $5 Amazon gift card to purchase a book if she likes! So do leave your email.

And now to Gina’s post on the Viking menu…

How the Hungry Viking Family Ate

Food is a universal language. In it we express love for our families whether we’re celebrating holidays with big feasts or simpler dinners. This common thread runs through the centuries. No matter the culture, we share the common bond of gathering together at day’s end to do one thing—eat.

As a historical romance writer, how a culture approaches food interests me. I bounce between reading cookbooks on lavish Georgian feasts and practical Viking fare. Learning how and what people ate tells me a lot about their era and what they valued. We often come with preconceived notions about long ago cultures. Some ideas are founded in truth. Others not. Say “food” and “Vikings” in the same breath and most picture a bearded warrior with a horn of ale in one hand, a hunk of meat in the other. You wouldn’t be far off from the truth. Vikings didn’t fuss with multiple utensils. They used knives and a rough version of a spoon. Thralls (slaves) served meals from trenchers in medieval fashion.

But, peel back the layers of time, and you might be surprised at these 3 basic things:

Vikings Ate Twice a Day

The first meal was more like an early lunch called dagvard. Common dishes for dagvard were porridges or stews. For the common Viking, animals were tended first and then you ate and got back to your day.

The evening meal, kvallsvard, was the time to enjoy a bigger feast. Families joined together to wind their day. Ale was consumed. Tales were told. No guest at the door was ever turned away. That’s the code of Viking hospitality. For the humble longhouse, cheese, smoked or dried meat, baked turnips, or other dairy products were typically served. Butter was common but not the full spice rack you and I enjoy today. Pepper was worth its weight in gold.

Grand longhouses of jarls, kings, and wealthy Vikings dug into fried breads, dried berries, pork (on special occasions), venison, dried fish, cheese, and more.

What about the hungry laborer in need of a mid-day snack? Soured milk (buttermilk) was popular to tide you over. Even Viking warriors were known to guzzle buttermilk.

 

Ovens, Fire Pits, and Kitchens

Typical longhouses had a center fire pit dug in the middle of the home. Viking women fried bread rather than baked it. Soapstone vessels were popular because they were more durable than pottery, acted like a “slow cooker,” and retained heat long after removal from a fire. They also looked better than black kettles (yes, Vikings used those too). Soapstone was the way to go. A Viking matron could put her ingredients in one of those pots and go about her day confident dinner would be ready come twilight.

While most Vikings cooked inside their longhouses, there are interesting examples of kitchens as outbuildings. Wealthy and high-ranking Vikings would’ve had an eldhus, literally a “heated room.” Sometimes the kitchen was referred to as bur pat er konor hafa matreido, a mouthful that means “the room in which women prepare food.”

In other words, kitchens were so unusual, the room never got its own name. The other unusual cooking implement? Ovens.

Vikings cooked over open fires with the exception of one place—Uppakra in southern Sweden. This rich settlement boasted a massive temple that drew crowds by the hundreds. Logic follows that massive feasts were held there too. Archaeologists unearthed a large, domed-shaped oven in Uppakra, evidence of baking. Clay analysis ruled out the possibility of it being a kiln (the dome never reached temperatures that high). Large amounts barley, emmer, and rye were found in the oven, leading to one conclusion: the oven baked bread.

Vikings Ate Their Kale

With kale being all the rage these days, it makes me smile to think Vikings ate healthy greens. Vikings also grew leeks and turnips (roasted and buttered turnips were quite common).

Other common foods were hazelnuts, white goosefoot (considered a weed in most places), sorrel (a spinach-y plant), and camelina. Camelina grows well in cold, arid regions. It’s called “False Flax” because the seeds are ground for their oil. Camelina is great for cooking (tastes like almond oil) and has many healthy properties.

 

The other power food Vikings ate? Lingonberries, a tart cranberry-like fruit. You’ve heard that blueberries and acai berries are chock full of antioxidants. You might be surprised to learn lingonberries (also called cowberries) have almost double the antioxidants! The hardy lingonberry thrives only in frigid climes.

No wonder Vikings grew big and strong.

For more Viking food nerdery, take a look at my blog series How to Eat Like a Viking. I cooked Viking meals as reconstructed from seven Viking archaeology sites and served them to my family. It was so much fun that I’m going to do it again next summer.

Now you tell me: When you hear "Viking" what foods do you think of? Did something surprise you today in what you read? If so, please tell me in the comments below, and you’re in the drawing to win a $5 Amazon e-gift card.

To Find a Viking Treasure...

  

Rough-souled Brandr’s ready for a new life far from Uppsala, but the Viking has a final task —protect the slave, Sestra. Her life's full of hardship…until she learns the location of a treasure. With war coming, stealing the enemy's riches will save lives, but only one man can defend her —the fierce Viking scout, Brandr.

The two have always traded taunts, now they must share trust. Passions flare as secrets unfold, leading one to make a daring sacrifice on their quest To Find a Viking Treasure.

On Amazon, B&N, Kobo, iBooks. And keep up with Gina on her Website and on Facebook!