It Wasn't All Imperial Banquets! Ancient Roman Meals

 Food and Cooking in Ancient Rome

by Clive Gifford

Illustrations by Paul Cherrill

 

The above mosaic is held in the Vatican's Profane Museum. It depicts a variety of food garbage (and a mouse) which was meant to camouflage the REAL food garbage that guests would have thrown on the floor while eating. This type of mosaic was so common that it has its own name: asarotos oikos, or “unswept room.” 

(2nd century CE)

If you have a mental image of Romans eating, chances are you envision a banquet with toga-clad men eating bunches of grapes and exotic delicacies while slaves pour them wine; someone recites a poem in the background and strums the lyre. Maybe a dancing girl capers around. Scenes like this certainly occurred regularly among the upper echelons of society both in Rome and in the many places where Roman influence spread, but it was not a typical meal for "Joe Roman," anymore than dinner at the Four Seasons or Serendipity is typical for a person in the US today. Most ancient Romans enjoyed home-cooked meals or even relied on take-out. Curious to learn more? Let's take a look at Clive Gifford's book on the topic. It is written for ages 8-10 (grades 3-4).

Let me just say upfront that this little book (32 pages) impressed me with its content, presentation, and level of documentation. There are thirteen topics covered (from farm to table and everything in between), a glossary, an index, and a page with "Further Information and Web Sites." What I really appreciated was that the web sites section simply refers the reader to the PowerKiDS Press webpage for a regularly updated list of sites on the subject. http://www.powerkidslinks.com/ciwc/rome/ Very smart!

The amount of history and general information about the Roman world that is woven into this text really is remarkable. Although Classics is my field and I have spent a much larger than normal percentage of my lifetime reading and thinking about the Romans, I still found some new fun-facts (the Romans invented the first combine harvester [p. 7], the wine industry in France and Spain took root to satisfy the demand of the Romans [p. 5]) along with a lively presentation of many things I was familiar with. Like any good book about food and eating customs, this one explains how the production, preparation and consumption of food impact almost every other aspect of life. For example, bread was such a staple of the Roman diet that thirty three bakeries have been excavated in the city of Pompeii (the one covered by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius); this is an especially astonishing fact since only two thirds of that city has been uncovered! (p. 8). Best estimates for the population of the city are around 12,000. Does Fort Wayne, a city of a quarter million people, have thirty three bakeries? This tells you a lot about the importance of bread in the Roman diet and the concomitant importance of baking as a business. And the farming that produced all that grain. And the mills that turned the grain into flour.  

One element of Roman cooking that usually grosses students out is the extensive use of garum and liquamen, two condiments made from fermented fish bits (often innards). When I learned this as an 8th grade Latin student, I could hardly believe anyone would use something so obviously nasty, but I think many of my students now might know that fish sauce is a staple condiment in Thai and other Asian cuisines. I always have a bottle in my house in case I want to make pad thai or another Asian dish. I still don't love the smell, but it adds a wonderfully distinctive flavor. The Gifford book has two pages on these sauces (pp. 20-21) which include some speculation on why the Romans loved them so much. When I was reading these over, I thought of one of my favorite cooking channels on YouTube: Tasting History. The presenter, Max Miller, has a whole series of videos on the history and preparation of Roman foods, including one on making your own garum. I'm not about to give it a shot any time soon (the Asian grocery is only a couple of blocks from my house), but it would make a fun tie-in for students who wanted to see how it was done.

Rounding out the information and fun photos in the book are six Roman recipes. They range from the very simple (stuffed dates, p. 11) to the more ambitious (lamb stew, p. 13). Only one of the recipes cites a  source (the famous ancient Roman cookbook by an author named Apicius), but I've seen many of them before online and in other books, so I'm sure that they are pretty authentic. Any kid who is interested in food and cooking is probably going to want to try their hand at it, so these recipes are a big selling point for me. They are all at a level of difficulty that an 8-10 year old could certainly attempt with adult assistance, and they are kid-friendly foods (an omelette, a yogurt-based dip, a Roman "hamburger," etc.). There are so many shows now that feature kids cooking, it's likely that this would make the book more appealing to its target audience.

Food and Cooking in Ancient Rome is a well-balanced book. It is visually appealing (if not too exciting), the information presented goes far beyond the basics of what Romans ate, and the updated recipes for readers to try makes it more interactive. This could be a fun read for any kid interested in history or cooking, and it certainly would be a great addition to an elementary school library collection.

Gifford, Clive. Food and Cooking in Ancient Rome. Rosen Publishing Group, 2010.