View source for Ancient Roman cuisine

{{about|the cuisine of the ancient Roman civilization|the modern Italian cuisine of the city of Rome|Roman cuisine}}
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[[File:Still life with eggs, birds and bronze dishes, Pompeii.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Painting in ancient Rome|Ancient Rome painting]] depicting eggs, birds and bronze dishes found in the Roman [[House of Julia Felix]]]]

The [[cuisine]] of [[ancient Rome]] changed a lot over the duration of the civilization's existence. Dietary [[Habit (psychology)|habits]] were affected by the political changes from [[Roman Kingdom|kingdom]] to [[Roman Republic|republic]] to [[Roman Empire|empire]], and [[Roman economy#Trade and commodities|Roman trading with foreigners]] along with the empire's enormous expansion exposed Romans to many new foods, provincial culinary habits and cooking methods.

In the beginning, dietary differences between [[Social class in ancient Rome|Roman social classes]] were not great, but disparities developed with the empire's growth.

==Archaeology==
Most organic foods decay under ordinary conditions, but ashes and animal bones offer some archaeological details about the ancient Roman diet. [[Phytoliths]] have been found at a cemetery in [[Tarragona, Spain]]. Imported figs were among the charred foods preserved when [[Boudica]] and her army burned down a Roman shop in [[Colchester]]. [[Chickpeas]] and bowls of fruit are known from [[Herculaneum]], preserved since [[Vesuvius]] destroyed the town in 79 AD. Remains of small fish bones, [[sea urchin]] spines and [[Biomineralization|mineralized plants]] have survived in the city's [[Sanitation in ancient Rome|sewers]]; the plants [[Archaeology|archaeologists]] have identified include [[dill]], [[coriander]], [[flax]], [[lentil]], [[cabbage]], [[opium poppy]] and various other [[Nut (food)|nuts]], fruits and [[Legume|legumes]], as well as a diverse variety of fish and shellfish. At [[Pompeii]], grapes, cheese, bread and [[pastry]] were burned and buried in [[peristyle]] courtyard gardens as offerings to household ''[[Lares]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilkins |first=John |title=A Companion to Food in the Ancient World |publisher=Wiley Blackwell |pages=105–109}}</ref>

==Meals==

Traditionally, a [[breakfast]] called ''ientaculum''<ref name="ArtmanJohnAncient">Artman, John:"Ancient Rome- Independent Learning Unit", page 26, Good Apple, 1991.</ref> was served at dawn. At mid-day to early afternoon, Romans ate ''[[cena]]'',<ref name="ArtmanJohnAncient" /> the main meal of the day, and at nightfall a light supper called ''vesperna''.<ref name="Artman, John page 26">Artman, John::"Ancient Rome- Independent Learning Unit", page 26, Good Apple,1991.</ref> With the increased importation of foreign foods, the ''cena'' grew larger in size and included a wider range of foods. Thus, it gradually shifted to the evening, while the ''vesperna''<ref name="Artman, John page 26"/> was abandoned completely over the course of the years. The mid-day meal ''prandium'' became a light meal to hold one over until ''cena''.<ref name="ArtmanJohnAncient" /> Among the lower classes of the Roman society, these changes were less pronounced as the traditional routines corresponded closely to the daily rhythms of manual labour.
[[File:Roman Museum 099.jpg|thumb|Roman spoons with duck or swan handles]]

However, among the upper classes, who normally did not engage in manual labour, it became customary to schedule all business obligations in the morning. After the ''prandium'', the last responsibilities would be discharged, and a visit would be made to the [[thermae|baths]]. Around 2&nbsp;p.m.,<ref>Guy, John:"Roman Life", page 8, Ticktock Publishing LTD,1998.</ref> the'' cena'' would begin. This meal could last until late in the night, especially if guests were invited, and would often be followed by ''comissatio'', a round of alcoholic beverages (usually [[wine]]).

In the period of the kings and the early [[Roman Republic|Republic]], but also in later periods (for the working classes), the ''cena'' essentially consisted of a kind of [[porridge]], the ''[[puls (food)|puls]]''.<ref name="Woolf2007a">{{cite book|author=Greg Woolf|title=Ancient civilizations: the illustrated guide to belief, mythology, and art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=94NuSg3tlsgC&q=fish+sauce|year=2007|publisher=Barnes & Noble|isbn=978-1-4351-0121-0|page=388}}</ref> The simplest kind would be made from [[emmer]], water, salt and fat. A more sophisticated variation was made with [[olive oil]], and consumed with an accompaniment of assorted [[vegetable]]s when available. The wealthy commonly ate their ''puls'' with [[Eggs as food|eggs]], [[cheese]], and [[honey]] and it was also occasionally served with [[meat]] or [[Fish (food)|fish]].

Over the course of the Republican period, the ''cena'' developed into two courses: the main course and a dessert with fruit and seafood (e.g. [[mollusc]]s, [[Shrimp and prawn as food|shrimp]]). By the end of the Republic, it was usual for the meal to be served in three parts: an appetiser (''gustatio''), main course (''primae mensae''), and dessert (''secundae mensae'').

The Roman legions' staple ration of food was wheat. In the 4th century, most legionaries ate as well as anyone in Rome. They were supplied with rations of bread and vegetables along with meats such as beef, mutton, or pork. Rations also depended on where the legions were stationed or were campaigning. Mutton was popular in Northern Gaul and Britannia, but pork was the main meat ration of the legions.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A taste of Ancient Rome|last=Giacosa|first=Ilaria Gozzini|publisher=University of Chicago|year=1992|location=chicago}}</ref>

==Foods and ingredients==
{{main article|Food in ancient Rome}}

The Roman colonies provided many foods to Rome; the city received [[ham]] from [[Gallia Belgica|Belgium]], oysters from [[Brittany]], [[garum]] from [[Mauretania]], wild game from [[History of Roman-era Tunisia|Tunisia]], [[Silphium (antiquity)|silphium]] (laser) from [[Cyrenaica]], flowers from [[Egypt (Roman province)|Egypt]], lettuce from [[Cappadocia]], and fish from [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]].<ref>Patrick Faas, ''Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome'', University of Chicago Press (2005), p. 27.</ref>

The ancient Roman diet included many items that are staples of [[Italian cuisine|modern Italian cooking]]. [[Pliny the Elder]] discussed more than 30 varieties of [[olive]], 40 kinds of [[pear]], [[Ficus|figs]] (native and imported from Africa and the eastern provinces), and a wide variety of [[vegetable]]s.{{efn|Jacques André listed 54 cultivated and 43 wild vegetables in ancient Rome.<ref>André, Jacques. ''L'alimentation et la cuisine à Rome''. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1981.</ref>}}<ref>Phyllis Pray Bober, ''Art, Culture, and Cuisine: Ancient and Medieval Gastronomy'', University of Chicago Press (2001), pp. 187–188.</ref> Some of these vegetables are no longer present in the modern world, while others have undergone significant changes. [[Carrot]]s of different colours were consumed, but not in orange.<ref>Phyllis Pray Bober, ''Art, Culture, and Cuisine: Ancient and Medieval Gastronomy'', University of Chicago Press (2001), p. 188.</ref> Many kinds of vegetables were cultivated and consumed.<ref name="PatrickFaas">Patrick Faas, ''Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome'', University of Chicago Press (2005), p. 209.</ref> These included celery, garlic, some flower bulbs, [[cabbage]] and other [[brassica]]s (such as [[kale]] and [[broccoli]]), [[lettuce]], [[endive]], [[onion]], [[leek]], [[asparagus]], [[radish]]es, [[turnip]]s, [[parsnip]]s, [[carrot]]s, [[beet]]s, green peas, chard, field greens, [[cardoon]]s, olives, and [[cucumber]].<ref name="PatrickFaas" /> Some vegetables were illustrated in [[relief]]s.<ref name="PatrickFaas_a">Patrick Faas, ''Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome'', University of Chicago Press (2005), pp. 209, 210–239, 362–371</ref> 

However, some foods considered characteristic of modern Italian cuisine were not used.<ref name="PhyllisPray">Phyllis Pray Bober, ''Art, Culture, and Cuisine: Ancient and Medieval Gastronomy'', University of Chicago Press (2001), p. 187.</ref> In particular, [[spinach]] and [[eggplant]] (aubergine) were introduced later from the [[Arab world]], and [[tomato]]es, [[potato]]es, [[capsicum]] peppers, [[maize]] (the modern source of [[polenta]])<ref name="PatrickFaas_a" /> and beans of the Phaseolus genus [[Phaseolus vulgaris]] (green - French and runner, lima, kidney)<ref>[[Phaseolus vulgaris]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=February 2025}} only appeared in Europe following the discovery of the [[New World]] and the [[Columbian Exchange]].<ref name="PhyllisPray" /> The Romans knew of rice, but it was very rarely available to them. There were also few [[citrus]] fruits.<ref name="PhyllisPray" /> Lemons were known in Italy from the second century AD but were not widely cultivated.<ref>{{cite web|author=Julia F. Morton|title=Lemon {{!}} Lemon in Fruits of Warm Climates|year= 1987 |pages=160–168|url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/lemon.html#Description|publisher=[[Purdue University]]}}</ref> 

===Breads and grains===
[[File:Fresco showing a piece of bread and two figs, from Pompeii, Naples National Archaeological Museum (14843173354).jpg|thumb|Fresco showing a piece of bread and two figs, from Pompeii, Naples National Archaeological Museum.  Bread was a staple food in the Roman world.]]
From 123 BC, a ration of unmilled wheat (as much as 33&nbsp;kg), known as the ''frumentatio'', was distributed to as many as 200,000 people every month by the Roman state.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Cities, Peasants and Food in Classical Antiquity: Essays in Social and Economic History|last=Garnsey|first=Peter|editor1-first=Walter|editor1-last=Scheidel|date=1998|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521591478|pages=237–238|language=en|doi=10.1017/cbo9780511585395}}</ref> There was originally a charge for this but from 58 BC this charge was abolished by the plebeian tribune [[Publius Clodius Pulcher]]. Individuals had to be citizens and domiciled in Rome to receive the ''frumentatio''.<ref name=":0" />

Originally flat, round loaves made of [[emmer]] (a species of wheat) with a bit of [[Edible salt|salt]] were eaten; among the upper classes, [[egg (food)|eggs]], [[cheese]], and [[honey]], along with [[milk]] and [[fruit]] were also consumed. In the [[Imperial Rome|Imperial]] period, around 1 AD, bread made of [[wheat]] was introduced; with time, more and more wheaten foods began to replace emmer loaves. There were many kinds of bread of differing quality. Typically white bread was baked for the elite, with darker bread baked for the middle class, and the darkest bread for the poor peasants.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Feldman|first=Charles|date=2005-03-01|title=Roman Taste|journal=Food, Culture & Society|volume=8|issue=1|pages=7–30|doi=10.2752/155280105778055407|s2cid=218839911|issn=1552-8014}}</ref> The bread was sometimes dipped in [[wine]] and eaten with olives, cheese, and grapes. At the time of [[Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79|the destruction of Pompeii in AD 79]], there were at least 33 bakeries in that city.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Berry|first1=Joanne|title=Bakery|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/pompeii_art_gallery_04.shtml|website=Pompeii Art and Architecture Gallery|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=23 September 2016|date=17 February 2011}}</ref> Roman chefs made sweet buns flavored with blackcurrants and cheese cakes made with flour, honey, eggs, ricotta-like cheese and poppy seed. Sweet wine cakes were made with honey, reduced red wine and cinnamon. Fruit tarts were popular with the upper class, but the lower classes couldn't afford to personally make them or purchase them from markets and vendors.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

''[[Juscellum]]'' was a broth with grated bread, eggs, sage and saffron, described in ''[[Apicius]]'', a Roman recipe book of the late 4th or early 5th century.<ref name="Way 1843 p. 268">{{cite book | last=Way | first=A. | title=Promptorium parvulorum sive clericorum, lexicon Anglo-Latinum princeps, recens. A. Way | series=Camden Society | issue=v. 1 | year=1843 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G_0UAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA268 | access-date=May 18, 2016 | page=268}}</ref>

===Meat===
Butcher's meat was an uncommon luxury. The most popular meat was [[pork]], especially [[sausage]]s.<ref name="MaguelonneToussaintSamat" /> [[Beef]] was uncommon in ancient Rome, being more common in [[ancient Greece]]—it is not mentioned by [[Juvenal]] or [[Horace]].<ref name="MaguelonneToussaintSamat" /> [[Seafood]], [[Game (food)|game]], and [[poultry]], including ducks and geese, were more common. For instance, on his [[Roman triumph|triumph]], Caesar gave a public feast to 260,000 humiliores (poorer people) which featured all three of these foods, but no butcher's meat.<ref name="MaguelonneToussaintSamat">Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, ''A History of Food'', John Wiley & Sons (2009), p. 93.</ref> John E. Stambaugh writes that meat "was scarce except at sacrifices and the dinner parties of the rich".<ref name="John">John E. Stambaugh, ''The Ancient Roman City'', JHU Press (1988), p. 148.</ref> Cows were prized for their milk; bulls as plough and draft [[Animals in ancient Greece and Rome|animals]]. Meat of working animals was tough and unappetizing. Veal was eaten occasionally. Apicius gives only four recipes for beef but the same recipes call for lamb or pork as options. There is only one recipe for beef stew and another for veal scallopini.<ref>Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa, A Taste of Rome, 1992, pp. 91–92, {{ISBN|0-226-29032-8}}</ref>

[[Edible dormouse|Dormice]] were eaten and considered a [[delicacy]].<ref>John E. Stambaugh, ''The Ancient Roman City'', JHU Press (1988), p. 148; George A. Feldhamer, ''Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology'', JHU Press (2007), p. 359.</ref> It was a status symbol among wealthy Romans, and some even had dormice weighed in front of dinner guests.<ref>Maurice Burton & Robert Burton, ''International Wildlife Encyclopedia'' (2002), p. 701.</ref> A [[sumptuary law]] enacted under [[Marcus Aemilius Scaurus (consul 115&nbsp; BC)|Marcus Aemilius Scaurus]] forbade the eating of dormice, but failed to stop the practice.<ref>Patrick Faas, ''Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome'', University of Chicago Press (2005), p. 289-90.</ref>

===Fish and seafood===
Fish was more common than meat.<ref name="John" /> [[Aquaculture]] was sophisticated, with large-scale industries devoted to [[oyster farming]].<ref name="John" /> The Romans also engaged in [[Heliciculture|snail farming]] and oak grub farming.<ref name="John" /> Some fish were greatly esteemed and fetched high prices, such as mullet raised in the fishery at [[Cosa]], and "elaborate means were invented to assure its freshness".<ref name="John" />

===Fruit===
[[File:Pompejanischer Maler um 70 001.jpg|thumb|A [[still life]] with fruit basket and vases ([[Pompeii]], c. AD 70)]]
[[File:Thermopolium Lucius Vetutius Placidus Pompeii.jpg|thumb|The ''[[thermopolium]]'' (eatery) of [[Pompeii]], Italy, 1st century AD.]]
Fruit was eaten fresh when in season, and [[Dried fruit|dried]] or preserved over winter. Popular fruits included [[apple]]s, [[pear]]s, [[Common fig|fig]]s, [[grape]]s, [[quince]]s, [[citron]], [[strawberry|strawberries]], [[blackberry|blackberries]], [[elderberries]], [[ribes|currants]], [[damson|damson plums]], [[Date (fruit)|dates]], [[melon]]s, [[rose hip]]s and [[pomegranate]]s.<ref name="John" /> Less common fruits were the more exotic [[azeroles]] and [[medlar]]s. [[Cherry|Cherries]] and [[apricot]]s, both introduced in the 1st century BC, were popular. Peaches were introduced in the 1st century AD from Persia. [[Orange (fruit)|Oranges]] and [[lemon]]s were known but used more for medicinal purposes than in cookery.<ref name="John" /> Although known to the ancient Romans, lemons were not cultivated in Italy until the [[Principate]].<ref name="John" /><ref>Wilhelmina F. Jashernski, Frederick G. Meyer, & Massumino Ricciardi, ''Plants: Evidence from Wall Paintings, Mosaics, Sculpture, Plant Remains, Graffiti, Inscriptions, and Ancient Authors'', in ''The Natural History of Pompeii'' (Wilhelmina Feemster Jashemski & Frederick G. Meyer, eds), Cambridge University Press, (2002), p. 102.</ref> At least 35 [[cultivar]]s of pear were grown in Rome, along with three types of apples. Cato described pear culture methods similar to modern techniques.<ref>J.F. Hancock & G.A. Lobos, ''Pears'', in ''The Future of Drylands: International Scientific Conference on Desertification and Drylands Research, Tunis, Tunisia'' (2006), Springer (2008), p. 304.</ref> There are recipes for pear and peach creams and milk puddings flavored with honey, pepper and a little [[garum]].

[[Columella]] offers advice on the preservation of figs by crushing them into a paste with anise, fennel seed, cumin and toasted sesame to be wrapped in fig leaves.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shephard |first=Sue |title=Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World |publisher=Simon & Schuster |date=2000 |page=41}}</ref>

===Vegetables===
While the precursors of [[Brussels sprout]]s, [[artichoke]]s, [[peas]], [[rutabaga]], and possibly [[cauliflower]] probably existed in Roman times, the modern cultivated forms we think of were not developed until the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance times. Cabbage was eaten both raw (sometimes dipped in vinegar) and cooked.<ref name="PatrickFaas_a" /> [[Cato the Elder|Cato]] greatly esteemed cabbage, believing it to be good for the digestion, and also believed that if a sick person ate a great deal of cabbage and bathed in his own [[urine]], he would recover.<ref>Patrick Faas, ''Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome'', University of Chicago Press (2005), p. 233.</ref>

===Legumes===
[[Legumes]] were limited to [[split peas|dried peas]], [[Vicia faba|fava beans (broad beans)]], [[chickpea]]s, [[lentil]]s, and [[lupin bean|lupin]]s. The Romans knew several varieties of [[chickpea]], such as venus, ram, and punic. They were either cooked down into a broth or roasted as a snack. The Roman cookbook ''[[Apicius]]'' gives several recipes for chickpeas.<ref>Wikipedia entry for chickpea</ref>

===Nuts===
The ancient Romans ate [[walnuts]], [[almonds]], [[pistachios]], [[chestnuts]], [[hazelnut|hazelnuts (filberts)]], [[pine nuts]], and [[sesame]] seeds, which they sometimes pulverized to thicken spiced, sweet wine sauces for roast meat and fowl to serve on the side or over the meat as a glaze. Nuts were also used in savoury pesto-like sauces for cold cuts. Nuts were used in pastries, tarts and puddings sweetened with honey.

===Dairy===
[[File:Moretum DSC 3303.jpg|thumb|A re-creation of ''[[moretum]]'', an herb and cheese spread eaten with bread]]

[[Cheese]] was eaten and its manufacture was well-established by the Roman Empire period.<ref name="Fox">P.F. Fox and P.L.H. McSweeney, Cheese: An Overview, in Cheese: Chemistry, Physics, and Microbiology Vol. 1 (3d ed.), p. 2-3.</ref> It was part of the standard rations for Roman soldiers and was popular among civilians as well. The Emperor [[Diocletian]] (284–305 CE) fixed [[Edict on Maximum Prices|maximum prices]] for cheese.<ref name="Fox" /> The manufacture of cheese and its quality and culinary uses are mentioned by a number of Roman authors: [[Pliny the Elder]] described cheese's dietary and medicinal uses in Book 28 of ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia Naturalis]]'', and [[Varro]] in ''[[De Agricultura]]'' described the Roman cheesemaking season (spring and summer) and compared soft, new cheeses with drier, aged cheeses. The most extensive description of Roman cheese-making comes from [[Columella]], from his treatise on [[Roman agriculture]], ''[[Columella#De Re Rustica|De Re Rustica]]''.<ref>P.F. Fox and P.L.H. McSweeney, Cheese: An Overview, in Cheese: Chemistry, Physics, and Microbiology Vol. 1 (3d ed.), p. 2-3</ref>

===Condiments===
[[Garum]] was the distinctive fish sauce of ancient Rome.<ref name="HarlanWalker">Harlan Walker, ''Fish: Food from the Waters, Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery'', 105-06 (1998).</ref> It was used as a [[seasoning]], in place of salt; as a table [[condiment]]; and as a [[sauce]]. There were four major fish sauce types: ''garum'', ''liquamen'', ''muria'', and ''allec''.<ref name="HarlanWalker" /> It was made in different qualities, from fish such as [[tuna]], [[Mullet (fish)|mullet]], and [[European seabass|sea bass]].<ref name="HarlanWalker" /> It could be flavored, for example mixed with wine, or diluted with water (''hydrogarum''), a form popular among Roman soldiers, although the emperor [[Elagabalus]] asserted that he was the first to serve it at public [[banquet]]s in Rome.<ref name="HarlanWalker" /> The most costly garum was ''garum sociorum'', made from [[mackerel]] (''scomber'') at the [[Cartagena, Spain|New Carthage]] fisheries in Spain, and widely traded.<ref name="HarlanWalker" /> Pliny wrote in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'' that two [[Congius|congii]] (7 litres) of this sauce cost 1,000 [[Sestertius|sesterces]].<ref name="HarlanWalker_a">Harlan Walker, ''Fish: Food from the Waters, Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery'', 106 (1998).</ref> One thousand sesterces in the Early Empire was equal to 110 g of gold.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

==Cooking==
[[File:Mosaico di un giovane come mese di giugno, III secolo dc..JPG|thumb|A boy holding a platter of fruits and what may be a bucket of crabs, in a kitchen with fish and [[Squid as food|squid]], on the June panel from a mosaic depicting the months (3rd century)<ref>J. Carson Webster, ''The Labors of the Months in Antique and Mediaeval Art to the End of the Twelfth Century,'' Studies in the Humanities 4 (Northwestern University Press, 1938), p. 128. In the collections of the [[Hermitage Museum]].</ref>]]
[[File:Castle-shaped ancient roman kettle.jpg|thumb|This Roman kettle was made in the shape of a fortress adding a reference to military life to an everyday object.]]

One of many modes of cooking in ancient Rome was the ''focus'', a [[hearth]] that was placed in front of the [[lararium]], the household altar which contained small sculptures of the [[household deity]] (the ''[[lares]]'', or guardian ancestor-spirits, and the ''[[Di Penates|penates]]'', who were believed to protect the ''floor'', the larder).<ref>Faas, p. 50-52.</ref> In homes where the ''lararium'' was built into the wall, the ''focus'' was sometimes built of raised brick into four sides, constructed against a [[baseboard]] on which a fire was lit. More common was a ''focus'' that was rectangular and portable, consisting simply of a moveable hearth with stone or [[bronze]] feet.<ref name="Faas">Faas, p. 52.</ref> After the development of separate kitchens, the ''focus'' began to be used only for religious offerings and for warmth, rather than for cooking.<ref name="Faas" />

Portable stoves and ovens were used by the Romans, and some had water pots and [[Grilling|grills]] laid onto them. At [[Pompeii]], most houses had separate kitchens, most fairly small, but a few large; the [[Villa of the Mysteries]] covers a nine-by-twelve meter area.<ref name="Faas_a">Faas, p. 130.</ref> A number of kitchens at Pompeii had no roofs, resembling [[courtyard]]s more than ordinary rooms; this allowed smoke to ventilate.<ref name="Faas_a" /> Kitchens that did have roofs must have been extremely smokey, since the only ventilation would come from high windows or holes in the ceiling; while the Romans built [[chimney]]s for their bakeries and smithies, they were unknown in private dwellings until about the 12th century A.D, well after the collapse of Roman civilization.<ref>Faas, p. 140.</ref><ref>[[James Burke (science historian)|James Burke]], ''Connections'' (Little, Brown and Co.) 1978/1995, {{ISBN|0-316-11672-6}}, p. 159</ref>

Many Roman kitchens had an oven (''furnus'' or ''fornax''), and some (such as the kitchen of the Villa of the Mysteries) had two.<ref name="Faas_b">Faas, p. 132.</ref> A square or dome-shaped construction of brick or stone, these ovens had a flat floor, often of [[granite]] and sometimes [[lava]], which were filled with dry twigs and then lit.<ref name="Faas_b" /> On the walls of kitchens were hooks and chains for hanging cooking equipment, including various pots and pans, [[Knife|knives]], meat [[fork]]s, [[sieve]]s, [[grater]]s, [[Rotisserie|spits]], [[tongs]], [[cheese-slicer]]s, [[nutcracker]]s, [[Jug (container)|jugs]] for measuring, and [[pâté]] moulds.<ref name="Faas_b" />

==Alcoholic drinks==
{{See also|Ancient Rome and wine}}
[[File:Pompeii - Casa dei Casti Amanti - Banquet.jpg|thumb|Roman fresco with a banquet scene from the Casa dei Casti Amanti, [[Pompeii]]]]

[[Ancient Rome and wine|In Ancient Rome, wine]] was normally mixed with water immediately before drinking, since the fermentation was not controlled and the [[Proof (alcohol)|alcohol concentration]] was high. Wine was sometimes adjusted and "improved" by its makers: instructions survive for making [[white wine]] from [[Red wine|red]] and vice versa, as well as for rescuing wine that is turning to [[vinegar]].<ref name="Erdoes 1981 88">{{Citation |last=Erdoes |first=Richard |title=1000 Remarkable Facts about Booze |location=New York |publisher=The Rutledge Press |year=1981 |page=[https://archive.org/details/1000remarkablefa00erdo/page/88 88] |isbn=978-0831709587 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/1000remarkablefa00erdo/page/88 }}</ref> Those instructions as well as detailed descriptions of Roman viticulture date back to 160 BC in the oldest surviving text written in Latin prose.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stilo|first1=Aelius|title=Wine and Rome|url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/wine/wine.html|publisher=University of Chicago|access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref>

Wine was also variously flavored. For example, there was ''[[passum]]'', a strong and sweet raisin wine, for which the earliest known recipe is of [[Carthage|Carthaginian]] origin; ''[[Mead#List_of_mead_variants|mulsum]]'', a freshly made mixture of wine and honey (called a pyment today); and ''[[conditum]]'', a mixture of wine, honey and spices made in advance and matured. One specific recipe, [[Conditum Paradoxum]], is for a mixture of wine, honey, [[black pepper|pepper]], [[Bay laurel|laurel]], [[date (fruit)|dates]], [[Mastic (plant resin)|mastic]], and [[saffron]], cooked and stored for later use. Another recipe called for the addition of seawater, [[Pitch (resin)|pitch]] and [[rosin]] to the wine. A Greek traveler reported that the beverage was apparently an acquired taste.<ref name="Erdoes 1981 88"/> Sour wine mixed with water and herbs (''[[posca]]'') was a popular drink for the lower classes and a staple part of the Roman soldier's ration.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dalby |first=Andrew |title=Posca {{!}} Food in the Ancient World from A to Z |page=270 |publisher=Routledge |date=2003 |isbn=978-0-415-23259-3}}</ref>

[[Beer]] (''cerevisia'') was known but considered vulgar, and was associated with [[barbarian]]s.<ref>{{Citation |first=John E. |last=Stambaugh |title=The Ancient Roman City |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=1988 |page=149 |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-0801835742 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Larissa |last=Bonfante |author-link=Larissa Bonfante |title=The Barbarians of Ancient Europe: Realities and Interactions |year=2011 |location=New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521194044 |page=23 }}</ref>

== Desserts ==
While lacking necessary ingredients commonly used in the modern era for sweets such as refined [[sugar]] or properly churned [[butter]], ancient Rome had desserts to serve after they had completed their meals served with [[wine]].<ref name="Erdoes 1981 88" /> The most renowned were large platters of various fruits picked fresh; some of the more exotic fruits that were not able to grow in Rome were even shipped in from distant continents for the wealthy. Due to the lack of a [[Sugar substitute|sweetener]] such as sugar there was always a desire for the sweetest fruits that were available. Spira was a type of sweet pastry that was readily available during this time, made with a thin, cake-like crust sometimes containing fruit. Enkythoi is a common type of [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] pastry that was popular in Rome. It was softer, like a modern [[sponge cake]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Food|History}}

* [[Apicius]], De Re Coquineria
* [[Ancient Greek cuisine]]
* [[Byzantine cuisine]], Eastern Roman Empire
* [[Italian cuisine]]
* [[List of ancient dishes]]
* [[Spice use in Antiquity]]
* [[Asarotos Oikos]]
* [[Food in ancient Rome]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Gold |first1=Barbara K. |last2=Donahue |first2=John F. |title=Roman Dining: A Special Issue of American Journal of Philology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_uYTKMorJFgC |year=2005 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-8202-9}}
* {{cite book |last1=Faas |first1=Patrick |last2=Whiteside |first2=Shaun |title=Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YXGlAr17oekC |year=2005 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-23347-5}}
* {{cite book | last=Dalby | first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Dalby | title=Food in the ancient world from A to Z | publisher=Routledge | place=London, New York | year=2003 | isbn=978-0-415-23259-3}}
* {{cite book | last=Dalby | first=Andrew | title=Empire of Pleasures | publisher=Routledge | location=London, New York | year=2000 | isbn=978-0-415-18624-7}}
* {{cite book | last1=Grocock |first1=Christopher |last2=Grainger |first2=Sally |title=Apicius. A critical edition with an introduction and an English translation |publisher=Prospect Books |location=Totnes |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-903018-13-2}} [includes Vinidarius]
* {{cite book |last=Ricotti |first=Eugenia Salza Prina |title=Dining as a Roman emperor: how to cook ancient Roman recipes today |location=Rome |publisher=L'Erma di Bretschneider |date=1995}}
* {{cite book |last=Villegas Becerril |first=Almudena |title=Culinary Aspects of Ancient Rome. Ars Cibaria |location=Newcastle upon Tyne |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |date=2001}}

==External links==
{{Commonscatinline}}
*[http://pass-the-garum.blogspot.com Pass the Garum:] Recreations of Roman recipes
*[http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/233472.html Eight recipes] for an ancient Roman dinner
*[http://resourcesforhistory.com/Roman_Food_in_Britain.htm resourcesforhistory.com: Food in Roman Britain]

{{Ancient Rome topics}}
{{Cuisines}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancient Roman Cuisine}}
[[Category:Cuisine by culture|Roman]]
[[Category:Roman cuisine|*]]
[[Category:Historical foods]]
[[Category:Ancient dishes]]
[[Category:Food in ancient Rome]]