The upper class of ancient Rome loved to dine and throw banquet parties for guests. These banquets were feasts with all sorts of lavish and exotic dishes.<\/p>\n
One of the complete collections of ancient Roman recipes that we have a copy of is from a collection called Apicius :<\/span><\/strong> <\/em><\/strong>De re coquinaria<\/span><\/strong> <\/span>. This title can be translated as \u201cApicius: On the Subject of Cooking.\u201d You can find recipes from this cookbook online. The one I want to try is the Patina de piris. It seems like it\u2019s the ancient Roman version of a pear souffl\u00e9. All the ingredients for this recipe seem pretty attainable. For instance you\u2019ll need the pirus<\/strong> (nominative of \u201cpear\u201d), mel<\/strong> (honey), and other easily obtainable items.<\/p>\n Unfortunately not all of the Apicius recipes are easy to recreate. For example, one of the recipes lists flamingo as an ingredient. I don\u2019t know where I\u2019m going to get a flamingo, and I\u2019m not sure what I can substitute for that. If you\u2019re looking to recreate Apicius\u2019s recipes for the modern kitchen, then I\u2019d suggest buying a book called, Cooking Apicius: Roman Recipes<\/span> for Today<\/span> by Sally Grainer. I personally have this book and I really enjoyed making some of the recipes in this book. It\u2019s great for making as close to an authentic style ancient Roman dish for an ancient Roman themed dinner party with friends.<\/p>\n When you look at recipes like Pullum Frontonianum (Chicken a la Fronto), you kind of get the sense that the taste buds of people long ago are not that different from people of today. This isn\u2019t an extravagant dish, it\u2019s just some pullus<\/strong> (chicken) baked with some spices. Another book that I would also recommend is called Roman Cookery: Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens<\/span> by Mark Grant. This is a well researched book about the food prepared for the elite, and includes some explanation about some of the cultural values and attitudes the ancient Romans had about food.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re interested in a seafood dish, try Minutal Marinum. This recipe contains many ingredients which include vinum<\/strong> (wine), piscis<\/strong> (fish), oleum<\/strong> (olive oil), coriandum<\/strong> (coriander), origanum<\/strong> (oregano) and piper<\/strong> (pepper). If you like making gourmet meals then I\u2019d recommend a cookbook called Taste of<\/span> Ancient Rome<\/span> by Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa.This recipe book takes recipes from Apicius and Cato, Juvenal and even Martial. If you like learning about how to prepare the food that the wealthy ancient Romans ate, then you\u2019ll like the detailed recipes in this book.<\/p>\n There\u2019s another book called Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome<\/span> by Patrick Faas. It\u2019s a really interesting book about ancient Roman cuisines. Some of the fascinating recipes include a dolphin meatball dish and a boiled parrot dish. I\u2019m not sure I want to try that, but the book is worth trying because the author gives an insightful history about what the privileged classes ate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The upper class of ancient Rome loved to dine and throw banquet parties for guests. These banquets were feasts with all sorts of lavish and exotic dishes. One of the complete collections of ancient Roman recipes that we have a copy of is from a collection called Apicius : De re coquinaria . This title…<\/p>\n