Interesting article. I have been studying Apicius for the past few months, and I have really fallen in love with ancient Roman food. It seems to have informed both Italian and French cuisine. The combination of flavors often reminds me of Chinese cooking. I may even have to try making some garum. I enjoy Asian fish sauces, and garum is not complicated. They used a lot of medicinal herbs in their dishes, too. SO far, I have found the flavors to be very balanced - savory, sweet, sour, bitter, piquant due to spices, aromatic due to herbs and "umami" from garum. Honestly, I quite like ancient Roman food! I found a few great youtube channels where people recreate the recipes - let me know if you want links. Of course, I love kosher and Greek food, too, as well as those of the several Middle Eastern and North African cuisines I have tried. No doubt though, the roots of much good French and Italian cooking is Roman.
Thanks, Judson, I would definitely like to see those links! Garum does seem similar to Asian fish sauces, as well as Worcestershire sauce or even ketchup (minus the tomatoes). From my other studies, I know that Romans had many dishes that Italians still eat today, including lasagna, but without New World ingredients like tomato, they were very different in flavor. I wonder if the prevalent use of medicinal herbs in cuisines back then improved their health. As a side note, this doesn't exactly pertain to my post but there is a channel I watch on YouTube where historical reenactors recreate colonial American dishes using period recipes and methods that you might enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/@EarlyAmerican
Thank you for sharing your work! I learned quite a bit. I was especially intrigued to learn people primarily ate two meals a day with a snack, which I presume would have been taken wherever they were working?
I believe so, Father. For example, farmers often ate popped/roasted wheat in the fields while they worked. Based on the NT, fish and bread were also common traveling foods, probably including the preserved fish for which the Hebrews were famous.
Thank you so much for this article! It is most informative, enlightening and inspiring. I learned a lot!!!
Thank you, Kathleen, I'm glad! God bless!
Interesting article. I have been studying Apicius for the past few months, and I have really fallen in love with ancient Roman food. It seems to have informed both Italian and French cuisine. The combination of flavors often reminds me of Chinese cooking. I may even have to try making some garum. I enjoy Asian fish sauces, and garum is not complicated. They used a lot of medicinal herbs in their dishes, too. SO far, I have found the flavors to be very balanced - savory, sweet, sour, bitter, piquant due to spices, aromatic due to herbs and "umami" from garum. Honestly, I quite like ancient Roman food! I found a few great youtube channels where people recreate the recipes - let me know if you want links. Of course, I love kosher and Greek food, too, as well as those of the several Middle Eastern and North African cuisines I have tried. No doubt though, the roots of much good French and Italian cooking is Roman.
Thanks, Judson, I would definitely like to see those links! Garum does seem similar to Asian fish sauces, as well as Worcestershire sauce or even ketchup (minus the tomatoes). From my other studies, I know that Romans had many dishes that Italians still eat today, including lasagna, but without New World ingredients like tomato, they were very different in flavor. I wonder if the prevalent use of medicinal herbs in cuisines back then improved their health. As a side note, this doesn't exactly pertain to my post but there is a channel I watch on YouTube where historical reenactors recreate colonial American dishes using period recipes and methods that you might enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/@EarlyAmerican
Thanks, Kaleb. Here are the links
https://www.youtube.com/@Ursulashistoricalrecipes
https://www.youtube.com/@HistoricalItalianCooking
https://www.youtube.com/@atasteoftheancientworld9070
Thank you for sharing your work! I learned quite a bit. I was especially intrigued to learn people primarily ate two meals a day with a snack, which I presume would have been taken wherever they were working?
I believe so, Father. For example, farmers often ate popped/roasted wheat in the fields while they worked. Based on the NT, fish and bread were also common traveling foods, probably including the preserved fish for which the Hebrews were famous.