Medieval cuisine includes the foods, eating habits, and cooking methods of various European cultures during the Middle Ages, a period roughly dating from the 5th to the 15th century. During this period, diets and cooking changed less across Europe than they did in the far briefer early modern period that followed, when those changes helped lay the foundations for modern European cuisine. Cerealsremained the most important staple during the early Middle Ages as rice was a late introduction to Europe, and the potato was only introduced in 1536, with a much later date for widespread consumption. Barley, oat and rye among the poor, and wheat for the governing classes, were eaten as bread, porridge, gruel and pasta by all of society's members. Fava beans and vegetables were important supplements to the cereal-based diet of the lower orders. (Phaseolus beans, today the "common bean," were of New World origin and were introduced after the Columbian Exchange in the 16th century.)