Tudor Society & A Miniature Dolls House Tudor Pudding to make

Please scroll down to the bottom for the Beginners Project to make a Tudor pudding

 Nobility:
Gentlemen, Landowners, Dukes, Earls, Barons and some Government members.

Gentry/Court:       
Gentlemen that lived in the towns and moved around with the King.
When the King/Queen went on a ‘progress’ (journey throughout the kingdom) the Gentlemen would provide board and lodging for the Sovereign and their Court. This could be up to 300 people!

Yeomen/Citizens:
Yeomen – Farmers that owned or rented land in the country.
Citizens – Rich merchants and craftsmen that lived in the towns.
Yeomen and Citizens were not born into the Gentry but were rich enough to live in town houses and employ servants. Tenant farmers leased their land from the rich.
Merchants and Craftsmen:
Merchants traded goods with the ship owners and craftsmen received good wages for their work.

Labourers:
Worked for the Yeomen/Citizens or Shopkeepers.
Labourers (often illiterate) were paid for their work and could earn up to 4d per day from sunrise to sunset.

Vagrants/Beggars:
Lowest and the poorest/ did not work.
Vagrants and beggars were the lowest and the poorest and could not work and were forced to beg. The Church helped those of the poor that were ill or disabled.

Examples of wages typical of the times
Nobleman        £1,500 to £3,000 per year
Merchant        £100 per year
Parson        £20 per year
Carpenter        £13 per year
Labourer        £5 - £10 per year

Tudor Re-cycling
Example: The Pig – on one side of the pig sty was ‘the midden’, gently sloped for human waste.
The pig ate leftovers and waste and got nutrition from the waste.
The pig produced manure and the manure was composted and used as a fertiliser.
The fertiliser was used on vegetables/herbs etc. and the humans ate the vegetables and herbs! Ymm!

Cooking
Methods used:
Spit roasting, baking, boiling, smoking, salting, frying.
A large amount of the cooking was performed over open flame or fires.
There was an annual slaughter in November of each year and the meat was cured by smoking. This was then hung and could last for up to two years!

Cookware:
Kettles, skillets, cauldrons, mortar and pestles were all commonly used.
Bread would be kept in an ‘Ark’ so that the rats and mice couldn’t get to it.
‘Verjuice’ was a popular main ingredient it was made from sour crab apples.
It was usual for the cooks to keep a book of their own recipes and methods.

A pretty Beginners Project Tudor dessert for you to make.
Vyolette
This was an almond milk pudding flavoured with lavender and violets.

Materials Required:
Ceramic tile to work/bake on
Craft knife or razor blade
Rolling pin or small glass bottle
Small flower cutter
Small pewter bowl
Fimo Soft: Lavender (62), Plum (63), Lemon (10)

• Judge the amount of clay by the size of your bowl or container – I use a very small ‘Warwick pewter’ bowl.
• Work a small piece of lavender clay until soft and pliable and put to one side.
• Cut a tiny piece of yellow and work in the same way.
• Finally the same with the plum clay, this needs to be rolled out.
• Place a tiny blob of tacky glue in the base of the bowl, then roll the lavender clay into a ball and push it into the bowl, press down and trim around the edge with your craft knife.
• Cut out a couple of flower shapes from the plum clay and place in the centre of the bowl on top of your lavender milk pudding.

• Finish by putting a tiny ball of the yellow clay into the centre of each flower.

• Place your bowl onto your tile and bake in the oven.
• Always follow the baking instructions on you clay packet and note that these instructions have changed recently.

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