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You are what you eat...

Roman Cuisine

The images of emperors, aristocrats and paramours feasting in decadent banquet style are the enduring images most have of Roman cuisine. Rich "dainties", flowing purple robes and wines are surely very glamorous. But the story of ancient dining is a story that begins in the fields of Italy and from the sea. It reaches from the farthest corners of the Empire, to the stews of the Suburb and even down through the centuries to Colonial America.

Ones customs and diet mostly depended upon their geographical location and their standard of living in Ancient Rome. Most Romans ate lightly, sparingly on a diet based upon grains, oil and water, the more exotic foods gracing only the tables of the wealthy. For example a poet, Juvenal describes one meal at a dinner party, “OHT”. It is known that rich Romans would eat whole plates of peacock tongues. Today, such a meal would make our stomachs churn but in Rome this was considered a very unique meal, a delicacy perhaps...

Posted by: Carlos Hernandez

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