Nuts

Most of the varieties of nuts eaten today were also used in medieval cooking.

Almonds

• Almonds have been cultivated in the Mediterranean region for more than 2000 years.
• Their consumption in medieval cookery was enormous.
• An inventory, made in 1372, of the effects of Jeanne d'Evreux, Queen of France, enumerates only 20 lb. of sugar, but 500 lb. of Almonds.

Chestnuts

• Chestnuts were consumed in large quantities during the Middle Ages.
• They were considered a "heavy fruit" and were recommended to be eaten at the end of a meal.
• Chestnuts were also ground and used as a major ingredient when making bread.

Hazelnut

• Known to the Roman, hazelnuts are also known as filberts because in Europe folklore they are ready for harvest on August 22nd, St. Philbert's Day.

Pistachio

• The pistachio nut grows on a is a small tree native to Turkey and the area around and to the east of the Caspian sea.
• It has been cultivated for about 4,000 years.
• They were not introduced to England, however, until the 16^th century.

Pine Nut

• Pine nuts were thought to be an aphrodisiac in Roman and medieval times .
• In the The Art of Love the Roman poet Ovid recommends "the nuts that the sharp-leafed pine brings forth" as an effective and powerful aphrodisiac.

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