Celtic history co-op. Week 8: Food

Week 8: We made oat cakes in the Celtic style.

The Celts lived in Northern Europe and ate foods similar to the Vikings. Since barley, oats, millet and rye grains grow well in cold weather they were available. Vegetables such as onions, beans, leeks, carrots and cabbage and fruits such as apples, pear and berries were eaten. Wild boar and deer were hunted, and trout and salmon were caught in rivers. Milk, butter and cheese was produced from cows. A weak beer was a favorite drink. These foods were often eating plain, or mixed together to create cakes, breads and soups.

Interestingly enough, many of these foods are enjoyed today by the Germans which are descended from the Celts. Although some new foods such as potatoes have been introduced, soups made from beans, vegetables and lentils as well as breads made from rye, wheat and barley are very common.

The first step in creating oat cakes was grinding the grain. In the time of the Celts this was done by hand, but later improvements in technology lead to the mill.

Our barley and wheat grains were ground using cleaned paving stones and washed rocks.

The ground grains were mixed with honey, rolled oats, salt and water and then pressed flat into cakes. Then the flat cakes were fried on the stove-top.

Apples were chopped and mixed with honey, apple leaves and berries and then boiled for a sweet drink to accompany the cakes. The drink was served hot.

Berries and apples were mashed with a mortar and pestle to make a jam for the top of the oat cakes.

After enjoying the Celtic food, the kids began experimenting with improved methods for grinding grain. They found that by using two paving stones instead of a rock and stone, a much greater yield was produced.


Celts
Vikings
Scythians
Ancient China