Extra - Food - Lecture notes 18 PDF

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Extra: Food Basic Roman Meals  Breakfast or before dawn: bread, water/wine, maybe cheese, if eaten at all  Lunch (prandium) was also a simple meal, though in the early Republic it had been the main meal; grain, vegetable, a bit of cheese or meat, wine  Supper (cena) was main meal, around sundown or later if a formal banquet  Ranged in type, but for upper classes, had multiple courses; started with little gustatio, almost always including eggs, proceeded through meat dishes, with vegetable and grain side dishes; ended with sweets and fruit  Wine was universal accompaniment Wine    

Produced throughout Italy, but also imported from Greece and east; different regions produced different types, certain areas, grapes, and years were particularly prized Wine was always watered; usual ratio at least 3:1 water to wine, but much weaker was common; in winter, warm water was added Other additives common - honey, spices, seawater, resin From mid-Republic onward, wine was considered (along with grain) a staple; under the Empire, rations of wine and grain were doled out to the urban poor as a type of basic welfare

Basic Foods  Staples were grain and legumes: mainly types of wheat, also millet, barley, and oats; lentils, chickpeas, broad beans  Grain was eaten in a porridge or a bread  Cheese, both ripened and soft, was an everyday item  Olive oil (not butter)  Eggs, olives, nuts, green leafy vegetables, herbs, other vegetables  Fruit: apples, figs, dates, grapes, pomegranates  Some seafood - fish, squid, octopus - more luxury goods  Meat was expensive; often a byproduct of sacrifice, religious festivals and holidays  Seasonings: salt, garum (fermented fish sauce), green herbs, pepper, cumin, coriander; honey was main sweetener  Imported spices included saffron, cinnamon, silphium - very expensive...