Seasonal Dining in the Middle Ages

The modern vogue for “seasonal” and “local” ingredients is in some ways beside the point for considering medieval dining since transport methods and technology limited the ability of even the most privileged groups to transcend the limitations of nature.  Considerable attention, however, was given to the seasons in basically three ways.  The seasons were thought to affect health, and diet, according to medical advice, needed to be adjusted to seasons.  Foods themselves possessed humoral properties of cold, moist, hot and dry qualities, and these took on helpful or threatening characters depending on the time of year.  A second vitally important factor was the religious holiday and the limitations imposed on dietary choice.  Unlike Judaism and Islam which define a number of foods as unclean, Christianity has tended to see itself as offering an omnivorous teaching.  Time is more important in traditional Catholic practice with Lent being the most intense but hardly the only time of fasting.  Finally, I would like to consider purely aesthetic considerations of what was thought to taste good at what times of year.  Fish were especially regarded as subject to fluctuations of quality over the course of the year.