Changes

And this way we've travelled back to the 17th century. Now that we know more or less what humoral theory is, let's see how it can be put into practice. Let's begin with a fairly obvious observation (which will still stand in the 21st century) that usually the only people to think about healthy eating are the ones who can afford to do so. The poor are just happy, if they have anything to put into their pots. Those with a middle income (and who are literate) may be able to buy dietary handbooks to try and design their regimens by themselves. But only the most affluent can afford to employ a private medic/dietitian whose job would be to make sure that nothing unhealthy finds its way onto their lord's table.

At a great lord's court, every meal is a feast, not just for the lord himself, but for also for his family, guests and major retainers. How, then, do you ensure that each person at the table gets a diet that is appropriate for their particular temperament? The only way to do so is to serve a variety of dishes with different humoral qualities all at the same time once and let each diner pick whatever their medic advised them to eat (or what they've read is good for them in a book). Known as "''service à la française''", or service in the French way, it's the been the predominant way of serving food at banquets in Europe since the Middle Ages and will continue to be until the 19th century, when "''service à la russe''", or service in the Russian way, will take over, with each dish served to each diner separately in a strict order.