A Glimpse Of Ancient Roman Food Recipes
The rich Romans of ancient times were very famous for their banquets. These banquets lasted for hours serving different courses of meals. Romans love food and they are not averse to eating new and exotic recipes. In fact the Romans liked it better if it was exotic and expensive. A collection of ancient Roman Food Recipes have survived to this day and this is considered to be a historical treasure.
The secret is in the sauce
Ancient Roman cooking was heavy on sauces. The main ingredient of the sauce is the garum or fish sauce. This is very similar to the fish sauce that people of South East Asia use. The garum is mixed with wine, honey, and vinegar to create that sweet, sour, and salty balance. They also used sweet wine for cooking. Another common ingredient in a Roman food is a defrutum which is a fruit syrup thickened like the marmalade or jam we have today. Cooks for the rich Romans are also very liberal with their spices and aromatic herbs.
Making the fish sauce
Among the recipes written in this cookbook about ancient Roman Food Recipes that survived is how to make the fish sauce. This Roman cook wrote that he made sure the fish he used was the fat kind like the sardines. The fish was placed layer by layer adding spices and herbs on every layer for aroma and flavor.
The cook also wrote that the measure of salt was a handful to make sure that it was as salty as the ocean. Once the container has been filled to the brim it was then sealed tight and was rested for seven days under the sun. He added that he used the mixture daily in a maximum of twenty days because after that the mixture has already liquefied.
A Roman’s staple food
Although there was a huge difference between what rich Romans serve on their dining tables compared to the poor Romans in ancient times they also have a few things in common. The most basic meal in ancient Rome is porridge called puls. They also ate bread. For those who can afford it bread was paired with honey, cheese, or eggs. It was also eaten along with all kinds of meat as well as fish and shellfish. Bread is actually the perfect partner for saucy Roman Food Recipes. The Romans of old also loved to eat fish and oysters and though they eat all kinds of meat pork is the all time favorite.