The dried cod called stockfish was so hard it had to be beaten with a wooden mallet for at least an hour!

It was usually made into a thick sort of porridge called "pottage", with grain and water, or perhaps milk, butter or cream. Otherwise it was soaked in water and cooked and eaten with mustard.


Fish was often cooked in pies, either eaten hot or cold. Tudor fish pies would have tasted quite strange to us, as well as fish and spices they often had things like apples, dried fruit and lots of sugar in them - can you imagine eating a sweet fish pie?

Quite often the pastry wasn't eaten, the fish and fruit was put in and the pie was filled up with butter to keep the air out so the fish would keep longer, a sort of Tudor tin can! 		Plaice

Plaice

Fish jelly was another favourite, particularly for feasts These jellies had pieces of fish in them and were either clear or brightly coloured.

Fish was often served with vinegar or a sauce called green sauce, usually made with parsley. Crabs and lobsters were boiled and served with vinegar.

Oysters were very cheap, and were one of the few kinds of fresh fish poor people could afford. Oysters can be kept alive for quite a long time in water tanks, so could be sent inland.