Roman Cooking

  • Cooking was part of Roman Daily Life and the ingredients and recipes of Roman cooking are contained in a collection by Apicius.
  • During the Roman Empire most households had a separate kitchen for preparing food with a brick or stone oven.

1. Apicius

  • De Re Coquinaria
    • This is the Roman equivalent of the Victorian Bestseller, Mrs Beeton’s Cookbook (1861).
    • De Re Coquinaria means ‘On the subject of Cooking’ and contains 500 Recipes grouped into 10 Books.
    • It is a Roman Recipe Book attributed to Marcus Gavius Apicius, a well known Gourmet who lived during the first century CE. The Book was compiled later during the 4th or 5th Century CE.

2. Roman Ingredients

  • Roman Foodstuff List:
    • Seafood
      • Oysters brought in from oyster farms were very popular. ‘Salsus’ was a sausage filled with fish. Fish soup was a regular item.
      • Fish was bought live and cooked that day. It is thought that some vessels may have had tanks to bring live fish to the markets.
      • Salt fish was first preserved and then distributed over long distances.
    •  Poultry
      • chickens, pigeons, geese and peacocks.
    • Game and Meat
      • venison, boar, goat, pig, mutton, lamb, hares and dormice.
    • Serrano Ham
      • Tarragona (Tarraco) in Spain was a famed producer and exporter of Serrano Hams to the city of Rome.
    •  Vegetables.
      • Cabbage (brassica) was very popular, along with beans, leaks, lettuce, olives, onions and peas.
    • Modern vegetables the Romans did not know:
      • Aubergines, courgettes, green beans, sweet red peppers, potatoes and tomatoes.
    • Dried Food
      • Beans, Raisins, Figs and Dates.
    • Olives
      • Olives were served as starters as well as used as ingredients.
    • Olive Oil
      • Olive Oil was used in cooking and was produced in great quantity on huge estates known as Latifundia.
    • Salt
      • Salt was used to flavour food, to preserve meat and it was also used in the manufacture of fish sauce called Garum. There were two types of salt, Rock salt and Sea salt.
    • Pepper
      • Pepper, along with other Spices, was imported from the East and became widely available during the Empire.
    • Roman Herbs
      • The Herbs used to flavour Roman meals included Basil, Garlic and Bay leaves.
    • Garum
      • Garum was a fermented Fish Sauce made by the Romans in great quantity and recommended for use as a condiment in Roman Cooking by Apicius.
    • Honey
      • Wealthy Romans used honey in their cooking as there was no sugar. The Recipes of Apicius recommended using Honey either as an ingredient or as a Glaze.
    • Roman Cheese
      • Pliny the Elder describes a great variety of cheeses in his ‘Natural History’ (c.77 CE) Chap.XI line 97. Apparently, the most popular in cheese in Rome came from Pagi, near Nimes.
      • Pliny comments that cheeses were exported from, as well as imported into, Rome. His favourite cheese came from Bithynia, modern Turkey.

3. Roman Bakery

  • Roman Bakery
    • By 30 BCE, Rome had 300 bakeries, often owned by Greeks. Bread was sold at the front of the shop like today, whilst the preparation was done behind.
    • After all the day’s bread was baked, people could bring meals to be cooked in the oven for a small fee.
    • Loaves were usually circular, and scored into 8 segments (From Bakeries found in Pompeii)
  • Roman Pizza
    • Roman Pizza was called ‘Maza’, which was an unleavened bread (flat bread).

4. Roman Beverages

  • Roman Wine
    • Wine was considered to be part of a healthy diet and had a medicinal, social and religious role in Roman Society. It has been estimated that every person in the Roman Empire would have consumed a bottle of wine every day.
    • Wine was drunk on a daily basis by men and women in all social classes of Roman Society including slaves.
    • The best wines came from Wine Estates in Italy, where there was even a system of first growths similar to today’s ‘grand cru’, discussed by Pliny the Elder.
    • The poet Lucan described how the Roman wine producers of Campania created a sparkling wine full of bubbles which was both sweet and expensive.
  • Roman Beer
    • Beer was consumed during the Roman Period, but only in small quantities as it did not travel, unlike Roman Wine which could be stored.
  • Mead
    • Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) produced a recipe for ‘Mead Militites’ in his work Natural History.
    • Mead has been made for thousands of years and is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey with water, flavours can be altered by added spices or hops.
  • Aqua Vitae ‘Water of Life’ or ‘Eau de Vie’
    • Aqua Vitae was made by distilling wine. It has come to mean a locally distilled spirit in all the former regions of the Roman Empire.
    • Brandy was known to both the Ancient Greeks and Romans and was made either by distilling wine or distilling fermented grapes
    • The Alambic Still was known to the Ancient Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Originally, it was for medicinal purposes and making perfumes.

5. Roman Meals

  • Breakfast (Ientaculum)
    • This consisted of wheat pancakes with dates and honey.
  • Lunch (Prandium)
    • The Prandium was a light meal with fish or meat and vegetables with bread.
  • Dinner (Cena)
    • The Cena was the main meal with dinner parties held in the Dining Room (Triclinium).
  • Roman Banquet
    • The Roman Banquet could be a Public Feast, a private Dinner party or a drinking affair.
    • All followed strict protocols regarding how and when the food and drinks were served.
  • Roman Festivals
    • Banquets were often held on Festival days such as Bacchanalia.

6. Roman Crockery and Cutlery

  • Arretine Ware
    • Arretine Ware, also known as Samian Ware was a decorative pottery used for plates and dishes for presenting food.
  • Goblets
    • Drinking Goblets were made of either pottery, glass, tin or silver.
  • Cutlery
    • The Romans eat predominantly with spoons, but also used knives and forks.
    • They were usually made out of bronze, but the wealthy used silver cutlery.

7. The Roman Kitchen (Culina)

  • The Roman Kitchen or Culina would be a small room located in the corner or on the edge of the house. It was staffed by Roman Slaves and was a hot, smoke filled place to work in.
  • The Roman Oven
    • The Roman Oven had a small entrance giving into a large area, (similar to a modern pizza oven) where fuel was burnt first, after which the food inserted and the entrance sealed.
  • Roman Utensils
    • The Roman cooking pot or ‘Olla’ was a round pot with a flat base that was placed directly on the Fire and the contents boiled.
    • The Cauldron, or ‘Aenum’, was hung over the fire from chains.
    • Other Utensils would include a mortar and pestle, tongs, skewers, knives, spoons, ladles and a chopping board.
  • Roman Firestarter
    • The Romans used an iron or steel striker shaped like a knuckle guard against a flintstone to produce sparks that would ignite a flammable material.
    • All Roman households and every Roman Legionary would possess one.

8. Roman Bars

  • Three main types of Roman Bars and Restaurants provided food with no accommodation. Roman Hotels provided accommodation.
  • Thermopolium
    • A snack bar in the street consisting of a booth serving hot food and drink.
  • Taberna
    • These were shops but could also be a one room Roman Bar (Tavern) opening onto the street, mainly serving alcohol although some served food.
    • Customers were also served from an L-shaped marble counter 6-8 feet (1.8-2.4,) long, with latrines usually available at the rear.
  • Popina
    • Popina were inexpensive restaurants, similar to the Taberna, but with the emphasis on cheap sit down meals for the poorer population such as Slaves, Freedmen and Foreigners.
    • They offered a basic menu of olives, bread, stews and wines. Latrines were available at the rear.
  • Inns
    • In addition to the three types of Bars above, inside the city walls, Inns such as the Hospitium and Cauponia offered sit down restaurant areas for travellers in addition to accommodation.

9. The Food Markets of Ancient Rome

  • Macellum Magnum
    • The Macellum Magnum was a large farmers’ market built by Nero.
    • A Macellum was an indoor farmers’ market with shops arranged around a courtyard with a fountain in the centre. Some shops had marble counters for selling meat and fish.
  • Forum Piscarium
    • The Forum Piscarium was a fish market betyween the Via Sacra and the Argiletum and later incorporated into the Macellum.
  • Forum Cuppedinis
    • This was a delicatessan.
  • Forum Holitorium
    • This was a vegetable market noted for its cabbage vendors.
  • Forum Boarium
    • The Forum Boarium was the cattle market.
  • Forum Suarium
    • The Forum Suarium was the pork market.
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