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Today On your tour of Rome, you will enjoy many fine foods, here is your menu, etiquette lesson and history lesson of Roman dishes

ROMAN FOODS

Your Meals Today:

Lentaculum (breakfast), usually like our cereal, bread dipped in watered down wine was a common breakfast meal. If you were in the mood for sweets early in the morning, you may have had honey along with it, or if you were in a rush, grabbed some dates on your way out.

Prandium (lunch) if you wanted a mid-day meal which was not a necessity for Romans since their main feast was dinner, you could swing by the thermopolii have bread, fruit, cheese, or maybe some leftovers of last night’s feast when you pigged out.

Cena (dinner), usually early evening, was THA BIG ONE. It was an elaborate several-course meal for the rich & fat. If you wanted to go simple, however you would have a three course meal instead of 5 or 6.

1. Gustus~ (appetizer) Mulsum (wine mixed with honey) salads, eggs, shellfish, mushrooms and other appetizers.

2. Lena~ poultry, fish, game, and/or exotic birds, served with vegetables.

3. Secundae Mensae~second table. It was called that because usually servants would actually remove the entire table and replace it with another one for desert: fruits, honey cakes, nuts and, of course, wine.

Choose From These Fine Common Roman Foods:

Food from Tavern:hot sausages... bread, cheese, figs, dates, nuts, cake and wine.

Garden grown food:Brassicas, greens, marrows, broad beans and cabbage sorrel, cucumbers, lettuces, leeks.

Food for flavor: garlic, onions, cress, chicory.

Picture of Roman fast food

Etiquette Lesson By Septima:

As you arrive, thank your guest as he shows you into the triclinium (dining room) because you are considered a dear friend or a worthy guest to be invited.

When you walk in there will be three large couches arranged around three sides of the table each sits 3 people. There will be a Summus (top), medius (middle) and "imus" (bottom). You will be seated depending on your social status. If you are the honored guest you will sit at the medius, and your host will sit next to you on the imus.

IMPORTANT: Never sit up at dinner! Only slaves and children sit up at the dinner table and while lying, lean on your left elbow.

You may touch any of the servers/entertainers since they are desirable young and attractive men and women, but don’t even think about falling in love because they are of course, slaves! Flirting and sexual encounters may occur, if they do, don’t be embarrased, just grab the cutest one around join the crowd

Always remember to belch when necessary to show that you’ve enjoyed your meal if the need to expel gas comes, do so impressively.

If you must urinate, politely snap your fingers for a server (do this always when summoning them) who will hold the flask, relieve your self with in full view of everyone and thank him when finished. nature.”

If you have more food than you are able to eat, please feel free to stuff your left overs in your napkin to take home or if you wish, induce vomiting and continue on with the feast!

Don’t be embarrased by these acts because “the highest wisdom is to follow the dictates of nature”

History

If you’ve ever attempted to make a Roman dish for Latin and it has turned out completely nasty, it may be because of the massive gap in time and

culture, their tastes were much different than ours. Or it may be because some of the only compilations we have of recipes were made by Apicius, who only recorded the less wealthy side of Roman society’s dining.

There was hardly any way of preserving the food so Apicius loves lots of pepper and honey to cover up the spoiled tastes.

Most insulae (Latin for apartments) didn’t have cooking facilities for food. Wheat was taken to pistor (bakery) and cooked for them. Most of the time if you wanted hot food you went down the street to the thermopolii (tavern or food shop). Like our many fast food restaurants, these were popular in rome because they were quick and easy. It’s estimated there were over 10,000 in Rome.

Fruits and vegetables were raised year round in the rural setting and also in city gardens.

Grapes were important source of food and of course, wine.

Early on, Meat was hardly eaten (with the exception of pigeon) unless an animal was sacrificed to the gods. Later however, the romans began to eat meat, but as for most scarce food it was mainly for the rich. Chicken and pork were eaten on farms. By the time of Augustus, many wealthier Romans were eating fish and other meats as a part of their daily diet. You can visit http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food.html for a food timeline.

As the Roman empire spread, its variety of foods spread also, but once again, the wealthy were the only ones that could really afford the import price of exotic food.

Commonly Imported food:

Bread~Egypt

Spices~ Northern Africa

Wild animals~Spain,

Oysters ~ Britain,

Honey ~Greece.

ROMAN FOOD TOOLS