Ancient Roman cuisine

The Roman Empire comprises the period between the 6th century B.C. and the 5th century A.D. and hence a little more than 1000 years. If the Eastern Roman Empire is included, the period is even of 2000 years. During this long period the eating and drinking habits of the Romans changed under the influence of Greek culture, the political changes from kingdom to republic to empire, and the enormous expansion which brought many new culinary habits and techniques from the provinces.

In the beginning the differences between social classes were not all that great, but the disparity grew along with the empire.

Meals

Traditionally in the morning a breakfast was served, the ientaculum or iantaculum, at noon the main meal of the day, the cena, and in the evening the vesperna. Due to the influence of Greek habits and also the increased import of and consumption of foreign foods, the cena increased in size and diversity and was consumed in the afternoon, the vesperna was abandoned, and a second breakfast was introduced around noon, the prandium.

In lower social classes the old routine was preserved, because it corresponded more closely with the daily rhythm of manual labor.

Ientaculum

Originally flat, round breads made of Spelt (Dinkel) with a bit of salt were eaten; in higher classes also eggs, cheese and honey, along with milk and fruit. In the imperial period, around the beginning of the Common Era, bread made of wheat was introduced and with time more and more baked products which substituted for the Spelt bread.

Prandium

This second breakfast was richer and mostly consisted of the leftovers of the previous day's cena.

Cena

Among the upper classes, which did not engage in manual labor, it became customary to schedule all affairs and obligations in the morning. After the prandium the last errands would be run and then a visit to the bath would be made. Around 3 o'clock, the cena would begin. This meal could last until late in the night, especially if guests were invited, and would often be followed by a comissatio (a round of drinks).

Especially in the period of the kings and the early republic, but also in later periods (for the working classes), the cena essentially consisted of a kind of porridge, the puls. The simplest kind would be made of Spelt = Dinkel, water, salt and grease. The more sophisticated kind was made with olive oil, with a side of assorted vegetables whenever possible. The richer classes ate their puls with eggs, cheese and honey, and (only occasionally) meat or fish.

Over the course of the Republican period, the cena developed into two courses, a main course and a dessert with fruit and seafood (e.g. molluscs, shrimp). At the end of the Republic, a tripartition was usual: first course, main course, and dessert.

Table culture

From 300 B.C., Greek customs started to influence the culture of higher class Romans. Growing wealth led to ever larger and more sophisticated meals. The nutritional value was not regarded as important: to the contrary, the gourmets preferred food with low calories and nutrients. A lot of value was placed in easily digestible food and diuretical stimulants.

At the table loose and easy clothing was worn (the vestis cenatoria), and the dinner was consumed in a special dining room, which later was to be called triclinium. Here one would lie down on a specially designed couch, the lectus triclinaris. Around the round table, the mensa, three of these lecti were arranged in the shape of a horseshoe, so that slaves could easily serve, and a maximum of three persons would take place per lectus. In imperial times, the only people allowed a place on a lectus were men. More tables for the beverages stood beside the couches. All heads were oriented towards the central table, with left elbows propped on a cushion and feet at the outside of the dinner-couch. In this fashion at most nine people could dine together at one table. Further guests had to sit on chairs. Slaves normally had to stand.

Feet and hands were washed before the cena. The food would be taken with the fingertips and two kinds of spoons, the larger ligula and the smaller cochlear with a needle thin grip, which was used as prong when eating snails and molluscs, in practice substituting for the modern fork. At the table, larger pieces would be cut up to be served on smaller plates. After each course the fingers were washed again and napkins (mappae) were customary to wipe one's mouth. Also one could bring his own mappae to take home the leftovers from the meal or small gifts (the apophoreta).

A custom that is foreign to other cultures is that the Romans threw everything that couldn't be eaten (e.g. bones and shells), on the ground, where it was swept together by a slave.

In summer, it was popular to eat outside. Many houses in Pompeii had stone couches at a particularly beautiful spot in the garden just for that purpose. One only ate while lying when the occasion was formal. If the meal was routine, one ate while sitting or even standing.

Entertainment

During a dinner for guests, musicians, acrobats or poets would perform and dinner conversation played an important role. Dances were not usual, as it was considered improper and would not mix well with table manners, although during the comissatio often this habit was disregarded. To leave the table for bodily functions was considered inappropriate and restraining oneself was considered good manners. Only a very small minority of the highest classes used to vomit to make room for more food. After the main course, during a pause, an offer was made to the Lares, the spirits of the house. This offer normally consisted in an offer of meat, cake and wine. The cake was mostly coloured with saffron.

Typical dishes

Of course, all food that originates from America was unknown at roman times. This includes potatoes, tomatoes, Paprika or Capsicum (Bell pepper), chilis, corn, pumpkins, turkey and many others. Chicken meat and eggs were unknown until the time of the late republic.

The starter

This part of the meal was called gustatio or promulsis. It generally consisted of light, appetising dishes. The usual drink was mulsum, this is a mix of wine and honey. Eggs, mostly from chicken, but also from duck, goose and rarely even from peacock played an important role. Another essential part of the starter were salads and vegetables. At big feasts more starter dishes were served one after another.

Usual plants for salads and vegetable were:

• legumes such as fava bean, chick pea, pea and lupines were only appreciated by peasants, smiths, legionaires and gladiators. Only lentils that were imported from egypt were liked by the upper class. Beans as we know them today stem from America and were not known then.
• several kinds of Cabbage were usually enjoied with vinegar, kale was cooked in nitre, from chard both the green and the white parts were used.
• Many leaves of bushes and weeds were cooked to mush and strongly spiced. Examples are elder, mallow, orache, fenugreek, stinging-nettle and sorrel.
• pickled fruit and vegetables such as olives, leek, onions, cucumbers, melons, capers and cress were called acetaria and were thought to be appetising.

Other constituents of starters were:

• Mushrooms, such as boletus, field mushroom and truffles.
• stewed and salted snails, raw or cooked clams, sea urchins and small fish
• After the end of the republic light meat dishes were also served as starters. An example for this is the meat of the dormouse, which was breeded in special enclosures called gliaria and were fattened in clay pots. Small birds like thrushes were also served.

Main dish

Bevore the real caput cenae often an intermediate dish was served. Often the decoration of this dish was more important than the food itself.

The main dish usually consisted of meat. Usual dishes were:

• Beef was not very popular. Cattle was used as a working animal, for example for plowing or dragging carriages, so it's meat was usually very hard and had to be cooked very long to make it edible. Even calf meat was not popular, only a few reciepts for it are known.
• Pork was the most usual and best liked meat. All parts of the pig were eaten, more unusual parts like the breasts and uterus of young sues were considered delicasies.
• Wild pigs were also breeded and fattened bevore slaughtering.
• Geese were breeded and sometimes fattened, the technique of stuffing was already known, and the liver of stuffed geese was a special delicacy, like today.
• Chicken was more expensive than duck. Other birds like peacocks and swans were eaten on special ocassions. Capons and poulards were considered special delicacies. 161 B.C the Consul C. Fannius prohibited the intake of poulards, but that didn't change anything.
• Sausages, farcimen, were made of beef and pork according to an astonishing number of diverse recepies and types. Particularly widespread was the botulus, a "Blood sausage" (?) which was sold on the streets. The most popular type of sausage was the lucanica, a short, fat, rustic pork sausage, whose recipe is still used today in Italy and other parts of the world. Also the Brasilian linguiça is one of the heirs of this Roman sausage.

*For special effects, whole pigs were stuffed with sausages and fruit, roasted and then served on their feet. When cut the sausages would spill like entrails from the animal. Such a pig was humurously called porcus Troianus.

• Hares and Rabbits were bred, the former with little success, making them as much as four times more expensive than rabbits.

Hares therefore were regarded as a luxury; especially the shoulder was favoured.