Ancient romans dining
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It is probably hard to imagine, but the ancient Romans cooking was really different from today’s. In fact, simple food of our daily diet did not exist. Let’s just think to tea, coffee or sugar. Pasta, tomatoes, rise, potatoes and spirits were absolutely unknown. But what did ancient Romans eat? What was their diet? On what kind of food was it based? How did they cook their dishes?
Let’s discover together curiosities, temptations and secrets that made famous our ancestor’s banquets.
The ancient Romans were a people who developed from a small agricultural village, and so, to begin with, they kept frugal habits. The great change in their cuisine occurred with their first conquests, starting with their contacts with Magna Grecia, as hundreds of unknown ingredients and foods slowly reached their new dominions. To begin with, they mainly ate eggs, milk and cheeses.
Romans preferred the white part of the eggs to the yolk, and cooked them, as we do today, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, fried or scrambled. Eggs, which were a symbol of re-birth and fertility, were always eaten at the beginning of meals.
Milk (goat’s, cow’s, donkey’s or horse’s) was regarded as a fundamental food, and was drunk both fresh and aromatised. It was used to make soups until it was substituted with meat broth. Milk, with flour, honey and fruit, was also used to prepare cakes. Cheese was made from it, which Romans regarded as a complete dish, if used along with polenta or as a dressing. Butter was rarely used, because the technique needed to preserve it was unknown, and more often than not it was used as a medicine or as a body ointment. Yoghurt did exist, but it wasn’t comparable to the modern one, as it was made with milk, vinegar and onion.
Meat was introduced with urbanization, pork meat being the most widely used, whilst lamb or kid goat meat were considered the best. Sheep and goat meat were considered to be low grade, whilst the rich preferred peacock and dormouse. Wild ass and large and small-size wild game meat was also consumed (wild boar, hare, goose and duck).
Beef, on the other hand, was not eaten, both because oxen were used for field labour, and because they were considered sacred. As regards birds, in addition to thrushes and pigeons, Romans also cooked a number of species imported from the various regions of the Empire, such as flamingo, stork and cranes, and dishes based on peacock and pheasant were highly sought after. As for chicken, it was considered of low value and was eaten especially by the poor.
Fish was usually served with boiled vegetables, meat or liver. Among the most common varieties were the gilthead sea bream, mullet, sole and pike. Seafood, which was originally eaten during periods of famine, soon came to be regarded as a special dish. Later, fish both from saltwater, freshwater and fish bred in large artificial ponds became a staple food for the Romans, to the extent that as many as 150 different species became known. The most popular were lobster, cuttlefish, squid, crayfish, octopus, date mussels, frogs, prawns and especially oysters, which in fact were bred by the rich in their own fish farms.
Among the most widely consumed vegetables were roots, turnips, beetroots, carrots, radish, bulbs, leeks, but also asparagus, mushrooms, cabbage, lettuce, chicory or endive, artichokes, cucumbers, broad beans, lentils and peas. As for the sins of gluttony, the ancient Romans had very similar tastes to our own: among their favourite foods were truffles, mushrooms, oysters and lobster, but also asparagus, figs and spiced foods.
Bread was served with virtually all Roman meals. The principal grain used to make bread was “farro” (spelt/emmer), which at that time was the most widely grown cereal, whilst wheat was used to make a sort of frumenty. Initially, bread was homemade but in time, specialised cooks and artisans opened their own bakeries, equipped with ovens and mills. The first Roman focaccia bread was topped with cheese, olives, eggs and mushrooms. Essentially, there were three types of bread: black bread, or the poor man’s bread, white bread (slightly better than the former), and white bread of very fine flour or the rich man’s bread.
Bread was made also with honey, wine, milk, oil, candied fruit and pepper. Since it was very hard, it was usually dipped in wine, oil, soups or served with sauces. The wheat used to make bread was of paramount importance, to the extent that laws were promulgated to regulate its proper distribution and special supply services were organized. The wheat was stored in special warehouses and distributed to the people in the form of wheat grains or, later, directly as pre-baked bread. In the beginning, a special mix called “polenta” was used instead of bread. It was prepared in an earthenware container, using spelt/emmer to which water, salt and a little bit of milk were added, and, according to taste, also broad beans, cabbage, onions, cheese and even some pieces of meat or fish. This mixture contained an infinite number of ingredients and was called satura or satira, specifically because it was very filling (from which the terms saturation and satire derive, in the sense of heavy joke).
Wine, the Romans’ favourite beverage, was served at the end of every supper and was considered sacred. Men under thirty, that is, when they came of age, were not allowed to drink it, nor were the women. There was a test, known as the ius osculi (the right to kiss), whereby men would kiss their wives on the mouth in order to check whether they had been drinking. Red wine (called black wine) and white wine were known to the Romans, but not dry wine.
The wine was heavy, sour or bitter, and was served in very wide and almost flat goblets. It was often mixed with hot water or water cooled down with snow in order to lower its alcohol content. It was almost never clear, and was filtered with a strainer.
The most famous wine was the vinum mulsum, which, mixed with honey, was very popular as it enabled women and men under the age of thirty to circumvent the prohibition to drink pure wine. Peppery and spicy wines were also enjoyed with delight: spices like seseli, cane, reed, cinnamon and saffron were usually added.
Wine was kept for as long as 15 years in amphorae with a cork or clay cap, and each amphora used for transport bore a label indicating the place of origin and the date of production to protect the buyer; nevertheless even in those times there were cases of wine alteration. Aged wines (that is, wines that would be used after the first summer after the date of production) considered to be very precious were flaunted by the rich at their banquets. Wine consumption increased during the Imperial Age, especially in the areas where it was produced and in the larger cities.
The average annual consumption was high (140 – 180 litres per capita), due perhaps also to the fact that it provided a high caloric intake to the Romans’ diet, which consisted predominantly of cereals and vegetables. There were also substitute wines such as the “lora”, obtained from the fermentation of grape marc mixed with water immediately after the harvest, and the “posca”, made by mixing sour wine (acetum) with water. Beer, on the other hand, was very popular among the poor and the barbarians.
Although usually kitchens in ancient Rome were small, often without a window, with an oven for bread and flat bread, a sink and a sort of stone cooking stove (fed with wood or charcoal slack), in rich people’s houses these areas were completely different.
Here, apart from having a proper kitchen, rich people had at least 2-3 slaves who were assigned to preparing meals under the supervision of the best chefs. On special occasions, whole teams of chefs were used and often the services of flute-players, artists and acrobats were hired too. Chefs often adopted their masters’ tastes in order to best satisfy their requests.
The ancient Roman chefs’ uniqueness lay in their ability to copy and disguise tastes; sometimes they were even able to convince guests that they were eating fish when they were eating duck. Apart from changing the food’s flavours, chefs enjoyed changing its aspect too.
For the sumptuous tables of the rich, when there were great banquets, plates of meat and fish were prepared in the most imaginative ways; it was on these occasions that chefs showed their art, serving meat-dishes disguised as a wonderful grilled fish or creating sculptures with mythical themes.
Dishes served during the epic dinner of Trimalchio, described by Petronius in the “Satyricon” and re-evoked several centuries later by Macrobius. It is said that on this occasion courses were exaggeratedly imaginative and that this reflected the manner in which Romans flaunted their grandiosity. In our imagination tales linger of a hare served with wings so as to recall Pegasus, Bellerofont’s winged horse, and that of a female wild boar stuffed with live thrushes and surrounded by small suckling boars, made out of dough.
The “Triclinium”, or dining room, was the finest room in the house, and the decoration and furniture was often opulent and sumptuous (marbles, mosaics, frescoes, fountains, inlaid tables and flowers). Three large containers could be found here: the oenophorus for wine, the caldarium for hot water, and a cratere (craterra) for dispensing the wine. The triclinium was to be entered with the right foot and each guest had a place on a bed accommodating three people, where they could eat in a reclining position like the Greeks. The custom of eating in a reclining position was indeed uncomfortable, but it was also a sign of elegance and social superiority. In fact, women, children and the poor would eat in the sitting position. The triclinia contained three long couches, arranged in the shape of a horseshoe around a three-legged round or square table. The fourth side of the table remained open for servants to bring in the food and the wine.
The place of honour was on the open and unsupported side of the couch (lectus medius). Of the other two couches, the one on the right was the most important (lectus summus) followed by the other (lectus imus). The host (dominus) normally occupied the lucus summus in imus , whilst the other places were assigned according to a hierarchical plan.
Each couch, as already said, accommodated three people, but those who did not want to be disturbed by their guests would occupy the middle couch alone, or would share it with only one other guest. Diners helped themselves to the food from a large platter, or from a plate served by slaves which they held in their left hand, while the right hand would be used to bring bite-size pieces to their mouths, being careful not to soil them. Plates and goblets were made of Italic terra sigillata (because of the sigillum). Knives were not generally used at meals, as they were not very practical due to the reclining position. This is the reason why the food was served already cut in bite-size pieces by slaves, called scissors, assigned to this special task. Spoons (ligulae), on the other hand, were more widely used and one in particular, called cochlea, was used for extracting snails from their shells, a food relished by the Romans.
Romans usually ate with their fingers and, indeed, it was considered refined and proper to carry food to the mouth using the finger tips. Another custom, which we would regard as bad manners, was to throw the food that could not be eaten onto the floor, a mark of appreciation and satiety for the people of the time. It was quite common during Roman banquets to be entertained by dancers, and the performers that were by far preferred were the lascivious dancers of Candice, to the sound of castanets. However, the Romans soon realised that their eating excesses were the main cause of several diseases, and hence the first treaties of gastronomy and dietetics appeared, which were very influential through to the Middle Ages. Such concerns were justified if you only consider that, at the time of the Roman Empire, up to more than a hundred servings were consumed at a single banquet.
When, how and what did ancient Romans eat? Usually the day was divided into three meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. The most important meal of the day was dinner, on the contrary breakfast and lunch were taken in a hurry and sometimes one of them was skipped.
The ancient Roman used to get up at dawn and had breakfast eating the day before dinner’s leftovers (cheese, olives, bread, honey), fresh milk and small cakes. At noon, when City’s activities took a break, people bought something to eat from hawkers, preferring hot food in winter and fresh food in summer. Romans used to have dinner when the got back from their thermal baths, where they met acquaintances who were invited to share the meal together.
Thermal Bath were also the meeting place of idlers, who went there in the hope to be invited by a friend.
Dinner was linked to the sunset. It was a rich meal and it was normally taken by the entire family. When there were guests, the meal was called convivium and included starters, main courses (caput cenae) and dessert (mensa secunda). At the end of the meal there was a final toast, that consisted in series of glasses drunk up, saying Evoè or the modern prosit.
In reach people houses, kitchen staff was directed by a chef and guests arrived in a gala dress. On the contrary, poor citizens often ate on the street. There were many taverns and hawkers, who were selling especially olives, brine fishes, small pieces of roasted meat, birds on the spit, stewed octopus, fruit, cakes and cheese. A poor man meal usually consisted of a slice of bread and small brine fishes, with a glass of water or inferior quality wine.
The Romans prepared a variety of seasonings also out of vinegar, and used potato flour as binding agent for sauces. Olive oil was used not only as seasoning, but also for medicine and lighting, and different types were available. The average consumption of olive oil of a Roman citizen was approximately two litres per month. To get an idea, suffice it to mention that Monte Testaccio is made up essentially of empty oil amphorae, mainly from the Betica region (southern Spain), the largest exporter of olive oil of that time. Given the mild climate of the city, the Romans also became masters in the art of food preservation: by smoking (usually cheese), dehydrating (meat), spreading honey (on fresh fruits), or by salting.
The ancient Romans were a people who developed from a small agricultural village, and so, to begin with, they kept frugal habits. The great change in their cuisine occurred with their first conquests, starting with their contacts with Magna Grecia, as hundreds of unknown ingredients and foods slowly reached their new dominions. To begin with, they mainly ate eggs, milk and cheeses.
Romans preferred the white part of the eggs to the yolk, and cooked them, as we do today, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, fried or scrambled. Eggs, which were a symbol of re-birth and fertility, were always eaten at the beginning of meals.
Milk (goat’s, cow’s, donkey’s or horse’s) was regarded as a fundamental food, and was drunk both fresh and aromatised. It was used to make soups until it was substituted with meat broth. Milk, with flour, honey and fruit, was also used to prepare cakes. Cheese was made from it, which Romans regarded as a complete dish, if used along with polenta or as a dressing. Butter was rarely used, because the technique needed to preserve it was unknown, and more often than not it was used as a medicine or as a body ointment. Yoghurt did exist, but it wasn’t comparable to the modern one, as it was made with milk, vinegar and onion.
Meat was introduced with urbanization, pork meat being the most widely used, whilst lamb or kid goat meat were considered the best. Sheep and goat meat were considered to be low grade, whilst the rich preferred peacock and dormouse. Wild ass and large and small-size wild game meat was also consumed (wild boar, hare, goose and duck).
Beef, on the other hand, was not eaten, both because oxen were used for field labour, and because they were considered sacred. As regards birds, in addition to thrushes and pigeons, Romans also cooked a number of species imported from the various regions of the Empire, such as flamingo, stork and cranes, and dishes based on peacock and pheasant were highly sought after. As for chicken, it was considered of low value and was eaten especially by the poor.
Fish was usually served with boiled vegetables, meat or liver. Among the most common varieties were the gilthead sea bream, mullet, sole and pike. Seafood, which was originally eaten during periods of famine, soon came to be regarded as a special dish. Later, fish both from saltwater, freshwater and fish bred in large artificial ponds became a staple food for the Romans, to the extent that as many as 150 different species became known. The most popular were lobster, cuttlefish, squid, crayfish, octopus, date mussels, frogs, prawns and especially oysters, which in fact were bred by the rich in their own fish farms.
Among the most widely consumed vegetables were roots, turnips, beetroots, carrots, radish, bulbs, leeks, but also asparagus, mushrooms, cabbage, lettuce, chicory or endive, artichokes, cucumbers, broad beans, lentils and peas. As for the sins of gluttony, the ancient Romans had very similar tastes to our own: among their favourite foods were truffles, mushrooms, oysters and lobster, but also asparagus, figs and spiced foods.
Bread was served with virtually all Roman meals. The principal grain used to make bread was “farro” (spelt/emmer), which at that time was the most widely grown cereal, whilst wheat was used to make a sort of frumenty. Initially, bread was homemade but in time, specialised cooks and artisans opened their own bakeries, equipped with ovens and mills. The first Roman focaccia bread was topped with cheese, olives, eggs and mushrooms. Essentially, there were three types of bread: black bread, or the poor man’s bread, white bread (slightly better than the former), and white bread of very fine flour or the rich man’s bread.
Bread was made also with honey, wine, milk, oil, candied fruit and pepper. Since it was very hard, it was usually dipped in wine, oil, soups or served with sauces. The wheat used to make bread was of paramount importance, to the extent that laws were promulgated to regulate its proper distribution and special supply services were organized. The wheat was stored in special warehouses and distributed to the people in the form of wheat grains or, later, directly as pre-baked bread. In the beginning, a special mix called “polenta” was used instead of bread. It was prepared in an earthenware container, using spelt/emmer to which water, salt and a little bit of milk were added, and, according to taste, also broad beans, cabbage, onions, cheese and even some pieces of meat or fish. This mixture contained an infinite number of ingredients and was called satura or satira, specifically because it was very filling (from which the terms saturation and satire derive, in the sense of heavy joke).
Wine, the Romans’ favourite beverage, was served at the end of every supper and was considered sacred. Men under thirty, that is, when they came of age, were not allowed to drink it, nor were the women. There was a test, known as the ius osculi (the right to kiss), whereby men would kiss their wives on the mouth in order to check whether they had been drinking. Red wine (called black wine) and white wine were known to the Romans, but not dry wine.
The wine was heavy, sour or bitter, and was served in very wide and almost flat goblets. It was often mixed with hot water or water cooled down with snow in order to lower its alcohol content. It was almost never clear, and was filtered with a strainer.
The most famous wine was the vinum mulsum, which, mixed with honey, was very popular as it enabled women and men under the age of thirty to circumvent the prohibition to drink pure wine. Peppery and spicy wines were also enjoyed with delight: spices like seseli, cane, reed, cinnamon and saffron were usually added.
Wine was kept for as long as 15 years in amphorae with a cork or clay cap, and each amphora used for transport bore a label indicating the place of origin and the date of production to protect the buyer; nevertheless even in those times there were cases of wine alteration. Aged wines (that is, wines that would be used after the first summer after the date of production) considered to be very precious were flaunted by the rich at their banquets. Wine consumption increased during the Imperial Age, especially in the areas where it was produced and in the larger cities.
The average annual consumption was high (140 – 180 litres per capita), due perhaps also to the fact that it provided a high caloric intake to the Romans’ diet, which consisted predominantly of cereals and vegetables. There were also substitute wines such as the “lora”, obtained from the fermentation of grape marc mixed with water immediately after the harvest, and the “posca”, made by mixing sour wine (acetum) with water. Beer, on the other hand, was very popular among the poor and the barbarians.
Although usually kitchens in ancient Rome were small, often without a window, with an oven for bread and flat bread, a sink and a sort of stone cooking stove (fed with wood or charcoal slack), in rich people’s houses these areas were completely different.
Here, apart from having a proper kitchen, rich people had at least 2-3 slaves who were assigned to preparing meals under the supervision of the best chefs. On special occasions, whole teams of chefs were used and often the services of flute-players, artists and acrobats were hired too. Chefs often adopted their masters’ tastes in order to best satisfy their requests.
The ancient Roman chefs’ uniqueness lay in their ability to copy and disguise tastes; sometimes they were even able to convince guests that they were eating fish when they were eating duck. Apart from changing the food’s flavours, chefs enjoyed changing its aspect too.
For the sumptuous tables of the rich, when there were great banquets, plates of meat and fish were prepared in the most imaginative ways; it was on these occasions that chefs showed their art, serving meat-dishes disguised as a wonderful grilled fish or creating sculptures with mythical themes.
Dishes served during the epic dinner of Trimalchio, described by Petronius in the “Satyricon” and re-evoked several centuries later by Macrobius. It is said that on this occasion courses were exaggeratedly imaginative and that this reflected the manner in which Romans flaunted their grandiosity. In our imagination tales linger of a hare served with wings so as to recall Pegasus, Bellerofont’s winged horse, and that of a female wild boar stuffed with live thrushes and surrounded by small suckling boars, made out of dough.
The “Triclinium”, or dining room, was the finest room in the house, and the decoration and furniture was often opulent and sumptuous (marbles, mosaics, frescoes, fountains, inlaid tables and flowers). Three large containers could be found here: the oenophorus for wine, the caldarium for hot water, and a cratere (craterra) for dispensing the wine. The triclinium was to be entered with the right foot and each guest had a place on a bed accommodating three people, where they could eat in a reclining position like the Greeks. The custom of eating in a reclining position was indeed uncomfortable, but it was also a sign of elegance and social superiority. In fact, women, children and the poor would eat in the sitting position. The triclinia contained three long couches, arranged in the shape of a horseshoe around a three-legged round or square table. The fourth side of the table remained open for servants to bring in the food and the wine.
The place of honour was on the open and unsupported side of the couch (lectus medius). Of the other two couches, the one on the right was the most important (lectus summus) followed by the other (lectus imus). The host (dominus) normally occupied the lucus summus in imus , whilst the other places were assigned according to a hierarchical plan.
Each couch, as already said, accommodated three people, but those who did not want to be disturbed by their guests would occupy the middle couch alone, or would share it with only one other guest. Diners helped themselves to the food from a large platter, or from a plate served by slaves which they held in their left hand, while the right hand would be used to bring bite-size pieces to their mouths, being careful not to soil them. Plates and goblets were made of Italic terra sigillata (because of the sigillum). Knives were not generally used at meals, as they were not very practical due to the reclining position. This is the reason why the food was served already cut in bite-size pieces by slaves, called scissors, assigned to this special task. Spoons (ligulae), on the other hand, were more widely used and one in particular, called cochlea, was used for extracting snails from their shells, a food relished by the Romans.
Romans usually ate with their fingers and, indeed, it was considered refined and proper to carry food to the mouth using the finger tips. Another custom, which we would regard as bad manners, was to throw the food that could not be eaten onto the floor, a mark of appreciation and satiety for the people of the time. It was quite common during Roman banquets to be entertained by dancers, and the performers that were by far preferred were the lascivious dancers of Candice, to the sound of castanets. However, the Romans soon realised that their eating excesses were the main cause of several diseases, and hence the first treaties of gastronomy and dietetics appeared, which were very influential through to the Middle Ages. Such concerns were justified if you only consider that, at the time of the Roman Empire, up to more than a hundred servings were consumed at a single banquet.
When, how and what did ancient Romans eat? Usually the day was divided into three meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. The most important meal of the day was dinner, on the contrary breakfast and lunch were taken in a hurry and sometimes one of them was skipped.
The ancient Roman used to get up at dawn and had breakfast eating the day before dinner’s leftovers (cheese, olives, bread, honey), fresh milk and small cakes. At noon, when City’s activities took a break, people bought something to eat from hawkers, preferring hot food in winter and fresh food in summer. Romans used to have dinner when the got back from their thermal baths, where they met acquaintances who were invited to share the meal together.
Thermal Bath were also the meeting place of idlers, who went there in the hope to be invited by a friend.
Dinner was linked to the sunset. It was a rich meal and it was normally taken by the entire family. When there were guests, the meal was called convivium and included starters, main courses (caput cenae) and dessert (mensa secunda). At the end of the meal there was a final toast, that consisted in series of glasses drunk up, saying Evoè or the modern prosit.
In reach people houses, kitchen staff was directed by a chef and guests arrived in a gala dress. On the contrary, poor citizens often ate on the street. There were many taverns and hawkers, who were selling especially olives, brine fishes, small pieces of roasted meat, birds on the spit, stewed octopus, fruit, cakes and cheese. A poor man meal usually consisted of a slice of bread and small brine fishes, with a glass of water or inferior quality wine.
The Romans prepared a variety of seasonings also out of vinegar, and used potato flour as binding agent for sauces. Olive oil was used not only as seasoning, but also for medicine and lighting, and different types were available. The average consumption of olive oil of a Roman citizen was approximately two litres per month. To get an idea, suffice it to mention that Monte Testaccio is made up essentially of empty oil amphorae, mainly from the Betica region (southern Spain), the largest exporter of olive oil of that time. Given the mild climate of the city, the Romans also became masters in the art of food preservation: by smoking (usually cheese), dehydrating (meat), spreading honey (on fresh fruits), or by salting.
