Roman food The kitchen of ancient Rome has greatly evolved over the centuries. The food of the ancient Romans , was dependent on exotic dishes that under the Empire. Most Romans, under the Republic, were content with simple food. They ate little dishes rather coarse, and the law even punished those who indulged in too rich banquets. It is not until the ii e century BC. AD , with the conquests that of the rarest and finest products from the East come to Rome , and that wealthy Romans began to organize banquets increasingly ostentatious. Most of the Roman population remained rural and poor for her daily rations did not change. The staple food of the Romans in ancient timesChange The power of the early Romans consisted mainly of cereals such as barley , the wheat and wheat with which a slurry were manufactured ( pulmentum ) which remains even during the imperial era, the poorer food. This slurry was raised by aromatic herbs such as mint and seasoned with olive oil , the butter is not used as food. The slurry was accompanied by goat cheese or vegetables , such as lettuce , the leeks , the cabbage , the olives , the beans . Thereafter, the staple food consists of bread , appeared quite late in Rome ( iii th century BC. AD ) and manufactured home. It is also accompanied by vegetables, especially cabbage, but leeks, chicory , of cucumbers . These vegetable dishes are raised in a harmonious combination of flavors: mint, garlic , cilantro , celery , dill and fennel . In addition to herbs, Roman cuisine was always possess a reserve of garum . It was a condiment sauce made from fermented fish: one salted fry and fish entrails that left in the sun until the flesh is transformed. The current equivalent of garum is nước mắm Vietnamese. The Romans ate meat, which, however, was reserved for holidays. Very early yet, wealthy families were in the habit of consuming in abundance, according to various preparations. The Romans had a preference for meat from pigs , of lamb for fricassee of duck or jugged deer , pattys head boar , as well as for meat boiled rather than roasted, fresh meat consumption is rare . For daily consumption, family farms providing milk from sheep or goat , and were manufactured cheeses . For pastry, preferably the Romans went to the cheese-based cakes often reduced to powder. They were most often presented coated with honey, sprinkled with poppy or sesame seeds, and cooked on leaves of plants or aromatic trees. The Romans were making different kinds of wine: straw wine ( vinum passum ), the honeyed wine ( vinum mulsum ), etc. And vinegar mixed with water (the posca , Legionnaires drink). The Romans loved the wine drank preferably fresh and usually mixed with water. The price of the wine was not very high. The most famous wines came from Capua, Pompeii, Messina and especially Falernian. Fermented wines were prohibited to women; and children. Food preservation in ancient Rome In attics, were stored wheat and beans: Pompeii was discovered amphorae filled with flour mola and spelled far. Several methods have been used for preservation of perishable Roman food such as smoking, drying or curing. Salting was the most common technique and was using salt. Since the second millennium BC, Europe, smoking was used both for the meats to fish. It dries and introduces formaldehyde, which acts as a preservative and also changes the taste of the meat. In the I st century Columelle submitted his observations on the flavor of a Roman cheese that has been cured in brine and then smoked .. The use of salt was an important means of conservation for the Romans. Several types of salt were used: - rock salt salt facitum - sea salt salt Navitum which were mixed spices. Sea salt was obtained by evaporating sea water in salt marshes or salt springs. Rome was well stocked with salt, a large warehouse was at the mouth of the Tiber. Columella mentions the use of salt in goat cheese preparations and Cato the former relates how they kept green olives in brine and provides a procedure for hams cured. Varro says that eggs were also preserved in salt. Little known, conservation honey was used to preserve fruit. The effect of honey and wax facilitates the conservation process. Pliny the Elder described the technique. Meals Mealtimes everyday The day was punctuated by the Roman three meals. The traditional breakfast jentaculum was served. The main meal of the day was served dinner ( cena ) and another lunch ( prandium ) a little less important. Customs, especially the richest, have been much influenced by the Greek tradition and by the contribution of food due to new conquests, while the lower strata of the society preserved the old customs that corresponded more to the daily rhythms of a worker . The Romans became idle, rich or poor, will get into the habit of snacking throughout the day (besides Rome swarming street vendors). For them, meal times have changed. The snack was removed and remains: the jentaculum : kind of breakfast fort succinct, taken at sunrise. There is consumed bread rubbed with garlic, cheese and a glass of water. Breads originally flat, round are made from flour farro . In the higher classes, also consumed eggs, honey with milk and fruit. The bread can be eaten with wine, olives and olive oil. Starting with Augustus , bread began to be made from wheat and replaces the bread of farro. We started to also eat sweet and savory biscuits. The prandium : this simple meal very quickly around noon remains fairly frugal, and sometimes took up. It was eating cheese, fruits, some vegetables, a porridge ( pecumia ), bread soaked in wine and as drinking water or lying wine. Hot dishes are sometimes consumed, often made up of leftovers. The Cena : it is a dinner and the main meal of the day, but which takes in the late afternoon or dusk and lasts about three hours. If the poor were content with polenta , for the richest people, it became customary to schedule all its obligations in the morning. They were doing the last necessary tasks after prandium then went to bathroom . Around nine oclock the cena began and could extend into the night. We eat with his fingers and slaves are there to ensure the comfort of the diners, and offer them fat dishes. The guests have towels. We know that some were woven asbestos , which allowed to clean by simply passing in a fire. Only this meal offered a ceremonial and consisted of three services: The first gustatio , consisted of a series of appetizers (oysters and snails were, for example, popular). Was served with it a mixture of honey and wine called mulsum . During the main service, prima mensa , one saw arrive on the table, or meat roasted poultry, boiled, grilled or in sauce, sausages or simple stews. It is accompanied by ordinary wine, often mixed with water. After the main course, a gift was offered to the gods Lares , the gods of the house, which protect the family. Finally, the meal ended with the second service, secunda mensa , assorted fruit, cakes and sweets, exciting thirst. The comissatio could then give the ambiance of the evening. Then designated a king drink which, according to his mood, defined quantities and types of wines that diners were drinking, and if the guests were kidding and philosophise or get drunk. Banquets The end of the Roman Republic will mark a radical change in eating habits. In primitive frugality Romans succeeded after the conquests and from the ii th century BC. AD , especially in the upper classes of society, the desire for a less frugal food, more varied and refined during meals during which they drank to the health of the guests, and where dance performances and singing took place. When a toast, it was customary to drink as many cups as the name of the person involved letters. It was then that the wealthiest Romans begin to eat fish , and wild boar which was a great success. Finally, it is also reported that the Romans taste the products of hunting: pheasant , partridge , woodcock , and foie gras , which seems to be a Roman invention. An epigram of Martial is targeting a baeticus man with coarse tastes, who preferred capers , the onion and ham to hares , the wild boar , the pheasant and the more willingly drank retsina as Falernian. It was at this time that the first great wines of Western Europe. For the first time, texts written by contemporary authors allow historians to know that these wines are tasted and appreciated. The Romans will reconnect with the luxury, the superfluous, the spice -rich Etruscan banquet . They will also develop food preservation techniques. The recipes of Apicius (great Roman gastronome) show the refinement of Rome. But if the rich Romans ate refined and many dishes, most people could only eat bread, porridge of wheat or beans. A famous caricature scene cena under Nero is described in the Satyricon of Petronius , in the chapter of banquet Trimalcion. Banquets, the Romans had cooks meals so that guests can not recognize what was served. This food revolution did not happen smoothly. The legislature, through sumptuary laws, tried to channel it. One of the first taken in -182 , had intended to limit the number of guests to a banquet. It was in vain [ 5 ] Diodorus [ 6 ] reports: They took the habit of serving sumptuous meals, accompanied by the wonderful fragrance scents, for which we prepared the beds covered with cushions ... Wines, those who were not than pleasant, were despised; we did, unrestrained, delights Falerno, choice and their rivals, and the best fish and other refinements of the table. » The table manners During the meal, the guests stretched on benches arranged in a horseshoe around the table. The guests were based on one side of the right hand they seized food, while the left arm resting on a pillow holding the plate. Diodorus of Sicily says that these colored cushions were the most expensive and made with consummate art of ivory, silver and other precious materials. The Romans were using spoons and forks table but not knives, food is pre-cut. We ate in a room provided for this purpose, the triclinium , which takes its name couches (three in number) on which the guests were lengthening, the fourth side being free to enable the service. Preparing Food It was noticeable that at Pompeii , destroyed in 79 , almost all the houses have their own grain grinding wheel . Each house also had its own oven in which baking of breads circular and flat. Many houses also owned mills olive oil . The inhabitants of the insulae had them certainly buy food in tabernae and thermopolia . Here is a partial list of utensils used in the kitchen of ancient Rome: the pot ( olla ) is used to boil food. Casserole ( cacabus or cacabulus ) is used to cook food. Colanders and stamens allow filtering. The oven dish ( patina ) is used to roast the food. Stoves ( sartagines ) are used to pan. The mortar used to grind food for the sauce. Mussels ( forma or formella ) are used to decorate molding food. Ladles, forks and knives ( harpago, trulla, furca, Carnarium ) are used to cut food.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 09:48:13 +0000
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