The cuisine of ancient Rome
La cooking in ancient RomeWhat the ancient Romans ate and where they ate throughout the day.
What did the ancient Romans eat?
The ancient Romans had three main meals: jentaculum, prandium e coena.
The three meals of the ancient Romans
he first meal corresponded, more or less, to our breakfast; it was based on bread, cheese, milk, honey, wine and dried fruit and was eaten very quickly. In the late morning we had another quick, cold snack of fish, bread, fruit, pulses and wine called prandium. It corresponded, roughly, to our lunch but was so 'spartan' that there was no need to set the table or even wash hands after the meal. Instead, the important meal took place in the afternoon after the usual bath at the spa and sometimes lasted until dawn the next day.
La coena - dinner - initially, it was eaten in the atrium, but when houses became larger and more articulated, and especially where the wealth of the ruling class made it possible, it was held in the 'triclinium' - dining room - where the master of the house arranged the 'triclinarii' - beds/sofas - on which the guests could lie. The ancient Romans ate lying on the 'triclinarii', leaning sideways on their left arm and keeping their right arm free so that they could grasp the food from the low tables diligently set.
The guest of honour was entitled to a place of honour, known as a 'consular' and was to the right of the central 'triclinar', placed in front of the door so that a messenger could easily communicate an urgent message to him. The host had to sit to the left of the guest of honour.
The richest dwellings had more than one dining room: the summer 'triclinium', facing north, and the winter 'triclinium', facing west, which used every last ray of sunlight. The oldest cuisine was very simple, based on cereals, pulses, cheese and fruit. With the conquest of the East, it acquired special flavours and aromas that to us, today, may seem like a mix between oriental and medieval cuisine. The new conquests arrived, of course, only on the tables of the rich.
The Roman cuisine of Marcus Gavadius Apicius
What we know today comes mainly from the beekeeping cookbook, a well-known gastronome of the imperial age, who wrote: 'de re coquinaria"from which we can derive the most knowledge about ancient Roman cuisine.
The main ingredient: Garum
The main ingredient in Roman cuisine was the 'Garum' brine probably used instead of salt, which is very expensive and hard to find. The pepperthe cumin and the liguistic were the most commonly used spices and the 'main dishes' were meat-based, mainly pork.
A characteristic of ancient Roman cuisine was the combination of contrasting flavours such as sweet with spicy or sweet with spicy. Certainly in our day, the recipes of the famous cook Apicius would not be very successful, whereas for the Romans of the time they were extremely refined and appetising.
The poor cuisine of ancient Rome
The majority of the population, who were not wealthy, consumed much simpler meals, mainly of cereals, pulses and fruit, with little meat, and certainly could not afford to dine in the 'Triclinia', let alone lie on the comfortable beds/sofas. the disadvantage was that they ate less, the advantage was that they probably ate healthier without the use of condiments such as 'Garum' and without the excessive consumption of meat, which often caused the gout disease in the rich.
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