markets were organized in southern Scandinavia, most notably at Skanör in Scania, which was in the Middle Ages part of Denmark. From this market alone, merchant vessels of the Hanseatic League, the powerful medieval confederation of northern German cities, exported upwards of over 100,000 barrels of salted herring during many decades of the Late Middle Ages. Of equal, or even greater importance was cod, often fished on the North Sea and Atlantic, dried to make stockfish, and imported as an important staple, particularly during fast and Lent. Many freshwater fish were also of great dietary or economic importance, such as salmon, eel, pike and bream. Cattle rearing was very widespread in Scandinavia, especially Denmark, where the Black Death had left huge field areas untended and well-suited for grazing. The majority of meat produced was consumed by the local population, but an export market for high-grade beef slowly built up after the 1360s, and had by the 17th century reached well over 100,000 animals per year. All this cattle meant not just meat, but also great quantities of dairy products, which consisted mostly of soured milk drinks, various cheeses and, also a major export product, butter. Northern France Northern French cuisine had many similarities to the Anglo-Norman French across the channel, but also had its own specialties. Typical of the Northern French kitchen were the potages and broths, and French chefs excelled in the preparation of meat, fish, roasts, and the sauces that were considered appropriate to each dish. The use of dough and pastry, which was fairly popular in Britain at the time, was almost completely absent from recipe collections with the exception of a few pies. Nor were there any forms of dumplings or the fritters that were so popular in Central Europe. A common Northern French habit was to name dishes after famous and often exotic places and people. A specialty among finer French chefs was the preparation of so-called parti-colored dishes. These mimicked the late medieval fashion of wearing clothing with two colors contrasting one another on either side of the garment, a fashion that survived in the costumes of court jesters. The common Western European "white dish" (blanc manger) had a northern French variant where one side was colored bright red or blue. Another recipe in Du fait de cuisine from 1420 described an entremet consisting of a roasted boar's head with one half colored green