Patina of pears: core and boil the pears, pound them with pepper, cumin, honey, passum, liquamen, and a little oil. Add eggs to make a patina, sprinkle with pepper and serve. (Apicius & Vehling, 2006, p. 38)
The fact that a variety of spices was used, and used in significant quantities, separates medieval European taste from its modern counterpart in which spices other than pepper (and that in small amounts) have been almost entirely banished, or at best relegated to desserts… What is most striking.. is the medieval ubiquity of spices like galangal and grains of paradise that have been unknown in Europe for centuries. (Freedman, 2008)
Master Chiquart was responsible in 1416 for making a sauce for a roast lamprey for the Duke of Savoy. He required 1 lb. of white ginger, 2 lb. of cinnamon, with grain of paradise, pepper, cloves and other spices. (Miller, 2007)
Sensory Taste
"combination of distinct sensations perceived on our tongues, in our mouths, and in our nasal passages." (Freedman, 2007; quoted in Gentilcore, 2009, p. 126)
Cultural Taste
"How people thought about food - its ingredients, preparation, and presentation"
or
A designation ("good taste", "bad taste") indicating conformity to a social norm.
In this sense, "taste" usually carries a class connotation
1100-1400
1500-1700