What and how well did the Italians eat in Roman times?

What and how well did the Italians eat in Roman times?

The answer to that question comes from a combination of archeological evidence and surviving writings and recipe books. Many ancient writers like Pliny, Horace, Seneca and Juvenal enjoyed writing about cooking. The book De Re Coquinaria, compiling recipes in ten volumes in the 4^th and 5^th centuries and attributed to a famed first century epicure Apicius, described the various vegetables, fruits, fish and meats that were available to the Romans. Archaeological discoveries from both Pompeii and Herculaneum provide us with a snapshot of the typical cuisine from 79 AD, by examination of carbonized foods and also artwork in mosaics and frescoes.

The many varieties of pastas were not yet invented and ingredients such as tomatoes, potatoes, coffee, rice and corn did not exist. The early Romans had a frugal diet. The most popular dish was puls, a mush of cereal grains. By the time of Pompeii’s destruction, a wider variety of food was available. The ancient Mediterranean diet revolved around four staples, which, even today, continue to dominate restaurant menus and kitchen tables: cereals, vegetables, olive oil and wine. Seafood, cheese, eggs, meat and many types of fruit were also available to those who could afford it.

The variety of foods available included fruit, fish and birds

Cereals made up the bulk of most people's diet with wheat and barley being the most common and used especially to make bread and porridge. The most commonly available fruits were apples, figs and grapes (fresh and as raisins and unfermented juice known as defrutum) but there were also pears, plums, dates, cherries, and peaches. Legumes, beans, lentils, and peas, as an excellent source of protein, were often mixed into bread. Available vegetables were cabbage, lettuce, leek, turnip, radishes, celery, endive, cucumbers and onions, while the more well off could include asparagus, mushrooms and artichokes. Olives and olive oil were plentiful. Nuts included hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts and pine nuts.

Meat could be an expensive commodity for most Romans and so was commonly prepared as small cuts or sausages. Poultry and wild game were important sources of meat, but pork, veal, mutton, and goat were also available. An astonishing variety of birds such as partridges, pheasants, geese, ducks, blackbirds, doves, magpies, plovers, woodcocks, and quails were also valued for their meat (caught wild or farmed), and just about any sizeable exotic bird, from flamingo to peacock, ostrich to parrot could find itself in the cooking pot of an aristocrat's chef, eager to impress his master's honored dinner guests.

Fish, most of which are still found in the Mediterranean today, could be eaten fresh, dried, salted, smoked or pickled. Fish and shellfish were also farmed in artificial salt and fresh-water ponds.

Spices, in particular, offered an infinite variety of taste combinations. They often came from Asia, and the possibilities increased from the 1st century AD when direct sea routes were opened up to Egypt and India. These exotic spices included ginger, cloves, nutmeg, turmeric, cardamom, cassia, mace, cinnamon, and, most popular of all, pepper. Tasty additives produced closer to home included basil, rosemary, sage, chive, bay, dill, fennel, thyme, and mustard. The art of good cooking was particularly associated with mixing condiments well to create tasty and unique sauces using wine, oils, vinegar, herbs, spices, and meat or fish juices. Many examples of helpful cooking advice fill the 4^th century book De Re Coquinaria.(see box)

Millstones at a bakery in Pompeii

There were also specialty dishes—like libum, garum, and savillum—that the inhabitants ate regularly. Libum  was a classic Pompeii dish consisting of a pas­try shell or bread topped with soft cheese and bay leaves, perhaps similar to today's famous Napoli pizza. To make the pungent sauce garum, cooks mature small fish and fermented fish entrails and was an extremely popular flavoring. Savillum, a baked cream dish comparable to custard, was a popular dessert. Honey, figs, peaches, and cumin were some of the other ingredients typically used in making desserts.

Wheat grew well in the fertile soil surrounding the Vesuvius volcano. Bread became a staple because it was both plentiful and versatile. Not surprisingly then, bakeries were quite popular and widespread. About 35 have been found in Pompeii, each supplying their local area. Bread-selling took place either directly at a bakery window or by delivery. The loaf was round and plump, like a cake, and bakers scored the dough with a double cross to form eight wedges.

An example of bread from Pompeii

According to University of Cincinnati Classics Profes­sor Steven Ellis, and reported by Deborah Rubin Fields in Italian America, archeologists studied an area of Pompeii that covered ten separate building plots and a total of 20 shop fronts, most of which served food and drink. They examined charred food waste that came from kitchens, drains, and ten latrines and cesspits. Among the discoveries in the drains was an abundance of foods, especially grains. Findings revealed inexpensive and widely available foods, as well as minimal cuts of more expensive meat and salted fish from Spain. Waste from neighboring drains, however, showed less food variety, thus indicating socioeconomic differences between neighbors.

Perhaps most surprising is that Pompeians generally ate out rather than at home. Along the main roads, people could buy hot and cold food at food shops called thermopolium. These shops consisted of an L-shaped masonry counter, equipped with large terracotta vessels.

One of the shops providing food on the go

In most of the household kitchens excavated in Pom­peii, the only permanent feature left is a masonry hearth with a tiled top and arched recesses at the bottom for storing fuel. Cooking was done on this open hearth, with pots set on iron tripods over burning charcoal or wood. Some houses also boasted a small oven, much like a modern wood fired pizza oven. The only other furnishings in the Pompeian kitchen were a basin to hold water for cooking and washing up, and sometimes supports for tables to prepare the food.

Today we would consider this vegetarian leaning diet of the Romans a good healthy one. They had fewer choices than we have today and certainly their socioeconomic position contributed to how well they ate.

Take a look at this sophisticated recipe for preparing duck, taken from De Re Coquinaria

Duck with Hazelnuts

Take pepper, parsley, dried mint, mountain celery, and safflower, moisten with wine, add roasted hazelnuts or almonds, a little honey, mix with wine, vinegar and fish sauce. Add oil and heat while stirring; add celery and calamint (an herb still used in southern Europe). Make incisions in the meat and pour the sauce over it. This mixture of sauce and nut flour gave the outside a crunchy texture while keeping it moist on the inside.