It's clear that the concept of a good balance underlay many of the methods and techniques we see in dishes and recipes of the period. A good cook would be expected to achieve harmony in a dish (or over the course of a meal) by balancing both the ingredients and the cooking techniques used in the process. Therefore an understanding of the temperaments of various foods, of how these might be adjusted by mixing with other foods, and by the application of different cooking techniques, were all a vital part of Medieval cooks' training and skills.
The diagram on the next page is based on a work by the Milanese writer Maino de' Maineri who, writing in the 1330's, codified many of the common practices of his day, and which would have been the basis behind much 13th century thought. This second diagram places a number of foodstuffs in their correct positions with regards to the temperaments shown earlier. While some are "obvious":
.others might seem a little bit strange at first glance: