p. 19 In 512, in the same year that princess Anicia Juliana, in the city of Constantinople, received her beautiful copy of Dioscorides De materia medica, the Byzantine physician Anthimus worked at the courts of the Ostrogoth King Theordoric the Greay and of the Frankish King Theuderic I. In that year, he wrote a treatise on healthy living and eating, De observatione ciborum, that he then offered to Theuderic I. .. on the basis of this text we can develop an idea as to hom, in the sith century, people cooked in the region. Anthimus included a number of recipes and suggestions for the cooking and consumption of fruit and vegetables. Celery, coriander, dill and leeks could be added to any recipe, with the stipulation that leeks much be cooked in advance; febbel, cloves, asparagus, carrots and parsnips were considered to be always healthy. He warns against unripe fruit and uncooked beans as they are not good for the stomch or liver. He argues, without providing a reason, that fish sauce garum, a staple in Roman cooking, should be banned from all kitchens. .. Not once does he refer to philosophical treatises or the past, and certainly not to he classical gods. He barely mentions the four temperaments that, based on the writings of Glaen, would later form the foundation for an authoritative theory of health. He merely recommends that onions are wet, cabbage be eaten in winter because it produces black, bile; garlic and radishes are good for phlegmatic people and for those with a cold stomach.”
p. 166 In his Tacunium Sanitatis ‘Check board of Health,’ the Christian Arab Ibn Butlan (d. 1066) gives a detailed systematic overview of all kinds of vegan foodstuff according to the theories of the Greek physicians Hippocrates (fifth century BC) and Galen of Pergamon (second century AD) combined with the early Arabic theory of the six res non naturalis, things that are necessary for health but aren’t automatically thought of as such, of which food and drink are the most important. Because a balance of all these elements is the basis of health, the cook who has to care for an appropriate diet is the best physician.”
p. 177 “Many differents types of plants were consumed as food in the Middle Ages, among them spices from the Orient including sugar, fruit from Mediterranean countries, comfits made from quinces, mulberries and other fruits, vegetables, fruit and green herbs, grains and grapes…. A balanced diet was the best guarantee for good health and it was clear that the cook was the best doctor.”
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