Beef, butter, and broth: cooking in 16th-century Sweden

Abstract

We present the organic residue analysis of sherds of 50 cooking vessels from the 16th-century town of Nya Lödöse, Sweden. We confirm previous analyses showing that lipids are absorbed by glazed ceramic. By analyses of biomarkers and compound-specific stable carbon isotope analyses of fatty acids, we show that pipkins and pans were used for cooking ruminant carcass products, dairy, and plant foods. The dominance of ruminant fat and dairy reflects the importance of oxen and butter in the local food culture. The vessels included in the present study show some degree of specialized function. Pipkins had more traces of ruminant carcass fats compared to pans. Medium and large-sized pipkins contained a combination of animal fats and plant traces, possibly representing the preparation of stews. In contrast, the smallest pipkins showed no traces of plant foods and might have been used to melt animal fat. Pans had more traces of butter and had been exposed to higher temperatures, indicating frying. Flat pans were, to a higher degree, used for the frying of fish than the deep ones, but fish seem nonetheless to be underrepresented in the lipid residue data. According to zooarchaeological and historical data, fish, pork, and poultry were important parts of the diet, but as traces of these foodstuffs are scarce in the organic residue analysis, it may be inferred that they were prepared differently—boiled in metal cauldrons, roasted on metal spits over the open fire, or consumed in their dried, salted, or smoked state without further preparation.