Post by Trish Shan on May 6, 2007 15:41:36 GMT -5
One of the aspects better known about the private life of the Romans is the relative at the food.
Three were the meals that they were doing habitually: the ientaculum, was the breakfast that was consisting basically of bread smeared in garlic, salt or some another seasoning; in some houses there were consumed also eggs, cheese, milk, honey, dried fruits, grapes or another class of fruits. The luncheon, in which the surpluses of the dinner were taking previous, cold or warmed. And, finally, the principal food: the dinner. It began on four o'clock or five o'clock in the afternoon, and in the noble families it was extending for hours. In the first times of the Republic, the dinner was simple enough: there was taking the pulmentum, pap of flour of wheat, and other food that we have mentioned. Only in the holidays one was eating meat of the animals sacrificed to the gods.
The Roman gastronomy starts transforming from the ends of II century B.C., in which the retainers leave the stools and they knock down in the triclinius supported on their left arm. The dinner now was consisting of a few inlets destined to excite the appetite based on eggs, salads and vegetables, olives, mushrooms fished in brine, oysters and other classes of mollusks. To the inlets they were followed(continued) by the dinner in strict sense that was consisting, in the well-off houses, of two or three plates which principal ingredients were fished of the most varied classes - mullets, eels, soles-, birds - thrushes, turtle-doves, partridges, dormice-, and lamb, kid, pork or wild boar.
The dessert was consisting of dried fruits and confectionary in general. After the dessert, it began the tablecloth during which it was drunk galore, though the food also was accompanying with wine, one believed that this one was dulling the taste, for what it was taking moderately.
Some essential products of the Roman nourishment:
In Rome, as in our days, there existed a series of basic products, as the bread, the wine, the honey, and others, as the salt, fundamental in the elaboration of plates and delicacies of the culinary art. In a general way we might say that the bread was a food of rich and its use in Rome was recent enough (171 A.D.). The Roman people was taking the puls or pulmentum, already mentioned, kind of pasta consisted essentially of water and flour, very similar to our mushes. If water was diluted with great it was an excellent refreshment.
The Romans knew the yeast ("fermentum"), and in the first century A.D. their bread was fermented; nevertheless, also a not fermented bread existed, " panis azymus ", and a bread lightly fermented, " panis acrozymus ".
The wine was known in the whole Mediterranean basin. It was prohibiting to the women to drink wine, only they could take a special wine. The wine was served mixed with cold or warm water. Also, with honey or mulsum. They were excellent appetizers the wine of absinthe, of roses and of violets.
The beer, which was taking generally warmly, was the drink of the poor citizens.
The honey was replacing to the sugar, for that at the time stranger. The favorite one was the virgin honey of thyme without smoking. The Roman nourishment was demanding a great consumption of salt. It was gray, not refined, very importantly in the conserves of meat, olives (of which a great consumption was done) and to prevent that the oil was thickening.
A feature typical of the Roman kitchen is the great use of the sauces and the flavoring with spices, determined by the constant practice of boiling any food before roasting it, to fry it or to cook it.
A chapter separates the so called garo deserves or liquamen, liquid that was obtained pressing in barrels meat of diverse fished blue: salmons, eels, sardines, Sardinians, horse mackerels, etc., with the salt. To this fragrant herbs were added, according to Gargilio Marcial: anise, fennel, rue, mint, basil, thyme, etc. The garo continues being used a lot of today in the Vietnamese food and it is possible to acquire bottling in any shop of nourishing oriental products.
In Rome it was used to flavor and to spice any food, to enrich its flavor. For the preparation of sauces it was mixed by vinegar, or sweet wines and honey.
In Apicio's book, " Treated about kitchen", (De re coquinaria) the way is described of how preserving the fried fish: " In the moment in which it has just fried to move to retire and to be covered with warm vinegar ". To preserve the fresh figs, the apples, the plums, the pears and the cherries: " all these fruits are chosen carefully by its peduncle and they get into honey without some touch each other to others ".
The second trick, " to preserve the truffles, there must be taken those who have not been damaged by the water and get into a container, alternating a cap of truffles and other one of dry sawdust; the cover is revoked and places in cold place ". (The sawdust was serving also for the conservation of the clusters of grapes).
Apicio's kitchen recipes:
Entry of gourds:
To place in a plate cooked and drained gourds. To add in a mortar pepper, cumin, a bit of root of laser, a bit of rue, one works with vinegar and to add him a bit of of doughnut in order that itshould give color. Put the sauce in a sauceboat. Whenit has boiled two and three times it moves back and is dusted by pepper.
Domestic sweets:
There are boned dates of any class and are refilled by nut or pine pinions or ground pepper. Salan externally, they fry in cooked honey and are served.
Three were the meals that they were doing habitually: the ientaculum, was the breakfast that was consisting basically of bread smeared in garlic, salt or some another seasoning; in some houses there were consumed also eggs, cheese, milk, honey, dried fruits, grapes or another class of fruits. The luncheon, in which the surpluses of the dinner were taking previous, cold or warmed. And, finally, the principal food: the dinner. It began on four o'clock or five o'clock in the afternoon, and in the noble families it was extending for hours. In the first times of the Republic, the dinner was simple enough: there was taking the pulmentum, pap of flour of wheat, and other food that we have mentioned. Only in the holidays one was eating meat of the animals sacrificed to the gods.
The Roman gastronomy starts transforming from the ends of II century B.C., in which the retainers leave the stools and they knock down in the triclinius supported on their left arm. The dinner now was consisting of a few inlets destined to excite the appetite based on eggs, salads and vegetables, olives, mushrooms fished in brine, oysters and other classes of mollusks. To the inlets they were followed(continued) by the dinner in strict sense that was consisting, in the well-off houses, of two or three plates which principal ingredients were fished of the most varied classes - mullets, eels, soles-, birds - thrushes, turtle-doves, partridges, dormice-, and lamb, kid, pork or wild boar.
The dessert was consisting of dried fruits and confectionary in general. After the dessert, it began the tablecloth during which it was drunk galore, though the food also was accompanying with wine, one believed that this one was dulling the taste, for what it was taking moderately.
Some essential products of the Roman nourishment:
In Rome, as in our days, there existed a series of basic products, as the bread, the wine, the honey, and others, as the salt, fundamental in the elaboration of plates and delicacies of the culinary art. In a general way we might say that the bread was a food of rich and its use in Rome was recent enough (171 A.D.). The Roman people was taking the puls or pulmentum, already mentioned, kind of pasta consisted essentially of water and flour, very similar to our mushes. If water was diluted with great it was an excellent refreshment.
The Romans knew the yeast ("fermentum"), and in the first century A.D. their bread was fermented; nevertheless, also a not fermented bread existed, " panis azymus ", and a bread lightly fermented, " panis acrozymus ".
The wine was known in the whole Mediterranean basin. It was prohibiting to the women to drink wine, only they could take a special wine. The wine was served mixed with cold or warm water. Also, with honey or mulsum. They were excellent appetizers the wine of absinthe, of roses and of violets.
The beer, which was taking generally warmly, was the drink of the poor citizens.
The honey was replacing to the sugar, for that at the time stranger. The favorite one was the virgin honey of thyme without smoking. The Roman nourishment was demanding a great consumption of salt. It was gray, not refined, very importantly in the conserves of meat, olives (of which a great consumption was done) and to prevent that the oil was thickening.
A feature typical of the Roman kitchen is the great use of the sauces and the flavoring with spices, determined by the constant practice of boiling any food before roasting it, to fry it or to cook it.
A chapter separates the so called garo deserves or liquamen, liquid that was obtained pressing in barrels meat of diverse fished blue: salmons, eels, sardines, Sardinians, horse mackerels, etc., with the salt. To this fragrant herbs were added, according to Gargilio Marcial: anise, fennel, rue, mint, basil, thyme, etc. The garo continues being used a lot of today in the Vietnamese food and it is possible to acquire bottling in any shop of nourishing oriental products.
In Rome it was used to flavor and to spice any food, to enrich its flavor. For the preparation of sauces it was mixed by vinegar, or sweet wines and honey.
In Apicio's book, " Treated about kitchen", (De re coquinaria) the way is described of how preserving the fried fish: " In the moment in which it has just fried to move to retire and to be covered with warm vinegar ". To preserve the fresh figs, the apples, the plums, the pears and the cherries: " all these fruits are chosen carefully by its peduncle and they get into honey without some touch each other to others ".
The second trick, " to preserve the truffles, there must be taken those who have not been damaged by the water and get into a container, alternating a cap of truffles and other one of dry sawdust; the cover is revoked and places in cold place ". (The sawdust was serving also for the conservation of the clusters of grapes).
Apicio's kitchen recipes:
Entry of gourds:
To place in a plate cooked and drained gourds. To add in a mortar pepper, cumin, a bit of root of laser, a bit of rue, one works with vinegar and to add him a bit of of doughnut in order that itshould give color. Put the sauce in a sauceboat. Whenit has boiled two and three times it moves back and is dusted by pepper.
Domestic sweets:
There are boned dates of any class and are refilled by nut or pine pinions or ground pepper. Salan externally, they fry in cooked honey and are served.