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Ash Wednesday and the Lenten dairy rule
The first day of Lent, which once banned cheese and butter, and now leans on cheese for its meatless meals.
Cheeses for Ash Wednesday and the Lenten dairy rule
Ash Wednesday begins Lent in the Western churches. In the Middle Ages the fast forbade not only meat but lacticinia, milk foods such as butter and cheese. Dispensations to eat dairy could be bought, and the Butter Tower of Rouen Cathedral is said to have been paid for by them. Over the centuries the rule eased, and in Catholic countries cheese became the comfort of meatless days: pasta with grated cheese, ricotta pies, cheese soufflés and, in Poland, pierogi with twaróg. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday remain days of fasting and abstinence from meat for Catholics.
The cheeses
Also part of it, and being written: Parmigiano Reggiano (Grated over the meatless pasta of Lent.).
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Ash Wednesday" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Ricotta: 8w9d, CC0, source
- Tvorog: Loyna, CC BY-SA 2.5, source