Classics Department: Roman Cooking

Daily Life in Rome

Food

Where would we be without food? Romans, while disdaining the Greeks for decadence and luxury, were quite fond of it themselves, at least in the upper classes. Poorer Romans made due on fish, bread, grain, olives, and the obligatory wine. Patricians, and many of those in the middle class, ate from a slightly more interesting menu. Many tales are recorded of the fabulous banquets thrown by the rich and powerful. Below are some places you can check out before attempting your own Roman banquet.
One thing to consider is that Romans did not eat sitting up, this was extremely bad manners. At mealtimes, Romans would recline on couches around the table. Food2

To begin with, you're going to have to cook something. If you're lucky, you have a cook to do it for you, as would be done in Rome. If not, you can check out a page on Roman cooking. These look to be excellent and quite authentic recipes. Note that these are European recipes, so they use weights of ingredients where an American would use measures of volume. The suggested conversions are somewhat dubious, but if an accomplished Roman matron could cook this, it's likely easier in the modern day. If this is not enough variety for you, take a look at De Re Coqvinaria Don't worry, it is in English! This is a list of Roman cookbooks (not on line unfortunately), descriptions of what the Romans did and did not eat (in other words, don't serve a chocolate cake for dessert!), and more recipes. The Roman Orgy (yes the name is real!) contains more recipes and many links that are also included on this page.

In order to ease the transition from Roman cooking to the modern world, check out the history of Italian cooking from Roman times to the present. This is an invaluable guide for incorporating ancient and modern methods of cooking. A related article of interest is the history of pasta.

Many of the Roman recipes we now know of were taken from "De re coquinara" (not to be confused with the web site above) by Marcus Gavius Apicius. According to the Swedish National Encyclopedia Apicius lived during the first half of the first century CE, although the age of the work is not clear. In another complication, the "De re coquinara" is attributed to Apicius althogh it is believed to have been written by a certain Caelius in the 3rd century CE. Food

Many sources other than the "De re coquinara" web site above are available. One such is cookbook of Apicus. All these recepies are "guaranteed tested for the BBC Radio series," although "not guaranteed particularly edible." Echoing that sentiment, the maker of this web page will not be held responsible for any indigestion caused by making a recipe from one of the links from this site. Another site is The Olde Cookery has recipes, with a well-defined glosasry of less-common ingredients. This recipe book has measures in the European system (perhaps I should say international system!), its measures are in liters and grams. Be sure to have a calculator handy (if you're an American that is!). The last one is Apicus and Forme of Curye, which has recipes from both authors, Forme of Curae being a writer in pre-modern England. The recipes are in Middle English, with a translation.

All these Apicus sites getting you confused? Take a look at a Review of Apicus Translations.

Whether or not you like them, olives were a very important food to the ancient Greeks and Romans. An enviable page has been put together, An Ode to Olives, containing everything you've ever wanted to know about olives and then some. It includes olive recipes, and is highly recommended.

A little bit lost with all these herbs? The Romans, lacking many foods that we in the modern world cannot envision life without, were left with the single solution to bland food being herbs. Although easy to grow, many moderns are left shaking their heads about the proper uses of herbs, and not just in Roman cooking! For a womderfully complete page on herbs and their uses (the Classics Department web page designer guarantees that this page will improve your cooking!), check out the Culinary Herb Page. On another tangental line, a wonderful page on aphrodisiacs has been made up. For those interested in food, its uses and history, this is the place.

Finally, after cooking a meal, there remain certain customs that should be understood if not followed. Many of these are explored in age, gender and status divisions at mealtime in a Roman household. This is extremely complete, including a diagram of the Roman dinner table and reclining couches.