Editing Vikings (section)

====Farming and cuisine====
The [[saga]]s tell about the diet and cuisine of the Vikings,<ref>Sk. V. Gudjonsson (1941): ''Folkekost og sundhedsforhold i gamle dage. Belyst igennem den oldnordiske Litteratur. (Dvs. først og fremmest de islandske sagaer).'' København. {{in lang|da}} Short description in English: Diet and health in previous times, as revealed in the Old Norse Literature, especially the Icelandic Sagas.</ref> but first-hand evidence, like [[cesspit]]s, [[Midden|kitchen middens]] and garbage dumps have proved to be of great value and importance. Undigested remains of plants from cesspits at [[Coppergate]] in York have provided much information in this respect. Overall, archaeo-botanical investigations have been undertaken increasingly in recent decades, as a collaboration between archaeologists and palaeoethno-botanists. This new approach sheds light on the agricultural and [[horticulture|horticultural]] practices of the Vikings and their cuisine.<ref name="Horticulture">{{Cite journal|url=http://communicatingculture.dk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Danish-Journal-of-Archaeology-2013.pdf|title=Viking Age garden plants from southern Scandinavia – diversity, taphonomy and cultural aspect|author=Pernille Rohde Sloth, Ulla Lund Hansen & Sabine Karg|journal=Danish Journal of Archaeology|year=2013|access-date=19 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725012641/http://communicatingculture.dk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Danish-Journal-of-Archaeology-2013.pdf|archive-date=25 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Rundbottnat kärl av täljsten, delvis rekonstruerat, vikingatid (sq).jpg|thumb|Pot of soapstone, partly reconstructed, Viking Age (from [[Birka]], Sweden)]]

The combined information from various sources suggests a diverse cuisine and ingredients. Meat products of all kinds, such as [[Curing (food preservation)|cured]], [[smoked meat|smoked]] and [[whey]]-preserved meat,<ref>This will cause a [[lactic acid fermentation]] process to occur.</ref> sausages, and boiled or fried fresh meat cuts, were prepared and consumed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ribevikingecenter.dk/da/viden/mad/mad-forraad.aspx|title=Forråd til vinteren – Salte, syrne, røge og tørre [Supplies for the winter – curing, fermenting, smoking and drying]|language=da|website=Ribe Vikingecenter|access-date=20 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907022203/http://www.ribevikingecenter.dk/da/viden/mad/mad-forraad.aspx|archive-date=7 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> There were plenty of seafood, bread, porridges, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts. Alcoholic drinks like [[beer]], [[mead]], [[bjórr]] (a strong fruit wine) and, for the rich, imported [[wine]], were served.<ref name="Roesdahl 54">Roesdahl, p. 54</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/food/|title=Viking Food|publisher=National Museum of Denmark|access-date=20 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428235548/http://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/food|archive-date=28 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Certain livestock were typical and unique to the Vikings, including the [[Icelandic horse]], [[Icelandic cattle]], a plethora of sheep breeds,<ref>See the article on the [[Northern European short-tailed sheep]] for specific information. In southern Scandinavia (i.e. Denmark), the [[Heidschnucke|heath sheep]] of ''Lüneburger Heidschnucke'' was raised and kept.</ref> the [[Danish hen]] and the [[Danish landrace goose|Danish goose]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ribevikingecenter.dk/en/learn-more/manor-farm-animals.aspx|title=The animals on the farm – Genetic connection|website=Ribe Vikingecenter|access-date=19 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419203215/http://www.ribevikingecenter.dk/en/learn-more/manor-farm-animals.aspx|archive-date=19 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gl-estrup.dk/en/home/old-danish-breeds/poultry.aspx|title=Poultry|website=Danish Agricultural Museum|access-date=19 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419205110/http://www.gl-estrup.dk/en/home/old-danish-breeds/poultry.aspx|archive-date=19 April 2015}}</ref> The Vikings in York mostly ate beef, [[Lamb and mutton|mutton]], and pork with small amounts of horse meat. Most of the beef and horse leg bones were found split lengthways, to extract the marrow. The mutton and swine were cut into leg and shoulder joints and chops. The frequent remains of pig skull and foot bones found on house floors indicate that [[brawn]] and [[Pig's trotters|trotters]] were also popular. Hens were kept for both their meat and eggs, and the bones of game birds such as [[black grouse]], [[golden plover]], wild ducks, and geese have also been found.<ref>O'Conner, Terry. 1999? "The Home – Food and Meat." Viking Age York. Jorvik Viking Centre.</ref>

Seafood was important, in some places even more so than meat. [[Whale]]s and [[walrus]] were hunted for food in Norway and the northwestern parts of the [[North Atlantic]] region, and [[Pinniped|seals]] were hunted nearly everywhere. [[Oyster]]s, [[mussel]]s and [[shrimp]] were eaten in large quantities and [[cod]] and [[salmon]] were popular fish. In the southern regions, [[herring]] was also important.<ref>Roesdahl pp. 102–17</ref><ref>Nedkvitne, Arnved. "Fishing, Whaling and Seal Hunting." in {{cite book|title=Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia|author=Pulsiano, Phillip |year=1993|publisher=Garland Reference Library of the Humanities}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IF7kxs-A92AC&q=bioarchaeological+vikings+fish&pg=PA99|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421021802/https://books.google.com/books?id=IF7kxs-A92AC&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=bioarchaeological+vikings+fish&source=bl&ots=WADFgx5Hiz&sig=V0wA9vVw-DxQvTTLcB3fY_d7fqo&hl=da&sa=X&ei=YWOoU-q6JujiywPSwYKYBg&ved=0CFsQ6AEwBzgK |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2016 |title=Hunting, fishing and animal husbandry at The Farm Beneath The Sand, Western Greenland |author=Inge Bødker Enghoff |access-date=23 June 2014 |year=2013 |journal=Man & Society |volume=28 |institution=the Greenland National Museum, Dansk Polar Center |isbn=978-8763512602}}</ref>

Milk and [[buttermilk]] were popular, both as cooking ingredients and drinks, but were not always available, even at farms.<ref name="Viking Feast"/> Milk came from cows, goats and sheep, with priorities varying from location to location,<ref>Roesdahl, pp. 110–11</ref> and fermented milk products like [[skyr]] or [[Filmjölk|surmjölk]] were produced as well as butter and cheese.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fondén |first1=R |last2=Leporanta |first2=K |last3=Svensson |first3=U |editor1-first=Adnan |editor1-last=Tamime |title=Fermented Milks |year=2007 |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=978-0632064588 |doi=10.1002/9780470995501.ch7 |chapter=Chapter 7. Nordic/Scandinavian Fermented Milk Products |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xKAu9IYnK2wC&q=Chapter+7.+Nordic%2FScandinavian+Fermented+Milk+Products&pg=PA164 |access-date=29 October 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414031019/https://books.google.com/books?id=xKAu9IYnK2wC&q=Chapter+7.+Nordic%2FScandinavian+Fermented+Milk+Products&pg=PA164 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Food was often salted and enhanced with spices, some of which were imported like [[black pepper]], while others were cultivated in herb gardens or harvested in the wild. Home grown spices included [[caraway]], [[Mustard seed|mustard]] and [[horseradish]] as evidenced from the Oseberg ship burial<ref name="Roesdahl 54"/> or [[dill]], [[coriander]], and [[Angelica archangelica|wild celery]], as found in [[cesspit]]s at Coppergate in York. [[Thyme]], [[juniper berry]], [[sweet gale]], [[yarrow]], [[rue]] and [[peppercress]] were also used and cultivated in herb gardens.<ref name="Horticulture"/><ref name="Seastallion">{{cite web|url=http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/fileadmin/vikingeskibsmuseet/_frontend_files_/grafik/UndervisningsPDFer/Mad_udskriftsark_2.pdf|title=The Seastallion from Glendalough|language=da|publisher=Vikingeskibsmuseet|access-date=19 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021190423/http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/fileadmin/vikingeskibsmuseet/_frontend_files_/grafik/UndervisningsPDFer/Mad_udskriftsark_2.pdf|archive-date=21 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Faroe stamps 515-517 everyday life in the viking age.jpg|thumb|Everyday life in the Viking Age]]
Vikings collected and ate fruits, berries and nuts. Apple (wild [[crab apple]]s), plums and cherries were part of the diet,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> as were [[rose hips]] and [[raspberry]], [[Fragaria|wild strawberry]], [[blackberry]], [[elderberry]], [[rowan]], [[common hawthorn|hawthorn]] and various wild berries, specific to the locations.<ref name="Seastallion"/> [[Hazelnut]]s were an important part of the diet in general and large amounts of [[Juglans regia|walnut]] shells have been found in cities like Hedeby. The shells were used for dyeing, and it is assumed that the nuts were consumed.<ref name="Horticulture"/><ref name="Viking Feast">{{cite web|url=http://ribevikingecenter.dk/en/learn-more/food-solstice-feast.aspx |title=A Viking Feast – an abundance of foods |website=Ribe Vikingecenter |access-date=19 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714132855/http://ribevikingecenter.dk/en/learn-more/food-solstice-feast.aspx |archive-date=14 July 2014 }}</ref>

The invention and introduction of the [[mouldboard plough]] revolutionised agriculture in Scandinavia in the early Viking Age and made it possible to farm even poor soils. In [[Ribe]], grains of [[rye]], [[barley]], [[oat]] and [[wheat]] dated to the 8th century have been found and examined, and are believed to have been cultivated locally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ribevikingecenter.dk/en/learn-more/manor-farm-crops.aspx|title=The farm crops|website=Ribe Vikingecenter|access-date=19 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420030509/http://www.ribevikingecenter.dk/en/learn-more/manor-farm-crops.aspx|archive-date=20 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Grains and flour were used for making porridges, some cooked with milk, some cooked with fruit and sweetened with honey, and also various forms of bread. Remains of bread from primarily Birka in Sweden were made of barley and wheat. It is unclear if the Norse leavened their breads, but their ovens and baking utensils suggest that they did.<ref name="RibeBread">{{cite web|url=http://ribevikingecenter.dk/da/viden/mad-korn,-broed.aspx |title=From grains to bread – coarse, heavy and filling |language=da |website=Ribe Vikingecenter |access-date=19 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714194517/http://ribevikingecenter.dk/da/viden/mad-korn,-broed.aspx |archive-date=14 July 2014 }}</ref> [[Flax]] was a very important crop for the Vikings: it was used for oil extraction, food consumption, and most importantly, the production of [[linen]]. More than 40% of all known textile recoveries from the Viking Age can be traced as linen. This suggests a much higher actual percentage, as linen is poorly preserved compared to wool, for example.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.ribevikingecenter.dk/media/10424/Flaxreport.pdf|title=From Flax To Linen – experiments with flax at Ribe Viking Centre|publisher=[[University of Southern Denmark]]|author=Bo Ejstrud|display-authors=et al.|year=2011|isbn=978-87-992214-6-2|access-date=19 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924090931/http://www.ribevikingecenter.dk/media/10424/Flaxreport.pdf|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The quality of food for common people was not always particularly high. The research at Coppergate shows that the Vikings in York made bread from wholemeal flour—probably both wheat and [[rye]]—but with the seeds of cornfield weeds included. Corncockle ([[Agrostemma]]), would have made the bread dark-coloured, but the seeds are poisonous, and people who ate the bread might have become ill. Seeds of carrots, [[parsnip]], and [[brassicas]] were also discovered, but they were poor specimens and tend to come from white carrots and bitter tasting cabbages.<ref name="ReferenceA">Hall, A. R. 1999 "The Home: Food – Fruit, Grain and Vegetable." Viking Age York. The [[Jorvik Viking Centre]].</ref> The [[rotary quern]]s often used in the Viking Age left tiny stone fragments (often from [[basalt]] rock) in the flour, which when eaten wore down the teeth. The effects of this can be seen on skeletal remains from that period.<ref name="RibeBread"/>