Roman Food
The food ancient Romans ate was heavily influenced by Greek culture. They started the day when the sun came up with breakfast. Around noontime they had a small lunch. In the evening they had their main meal. The ancient Roman diet was like the Mediterranean diet of today. It was low in saturated fat and high in salt and fiber. The salt came from olives, cheeses, anchovies, salted fish, capers, and salads covered in extra virgin olive oil.
For breakfast most Romans had bread dipped in a mixture of wine and water. Also, they sometimes would have olives, cheese, or raisins with it.
The Roman lunch was a quick meal that included bread, fruit, salad, eggs, meat or fish, vegetables, and cheese.
For supper Romans had wine that was well watered down. The less wealthy people ate onions, porridge, and pancakes. The wealthier had meat, vegetables, eggs, and fruit.
For breakfast most Romans had bread dipped in a mixture of wine and water. Also, they sometimes would have olives, cheese, or raisins with it.
The Roman lunch was a quick meal that included bread, fruit, salad, eggs, meat or fish, vegetables, and cheese.
For supper Romans had wine that was well watered down. The less wealthy people ate onions, porridge, and pancakes. The wealthier had meat, vegetables, eggs, and fruit.
Today's food
Many of the foods we eat today were also enjoyed by the ancient Romans. Bread is one of the Roman foods still savored today. Also, we still eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, cheese, and honey. In our society, many foods are prepared for us, but with the ancient Romans everything was hand made.
The main fruits that the Romans ate were grapes, figs, dates, apples, apricots, peaches, cherries, pears, strawberries, and melons. Today we still consume these fruits. Nuts that the Romans ate included walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, chestnuts, and pine nuts. Health-conscious people today still eat these nuts as well as the chickpeas, beans and lentils that were Roman favorites. In the vegetable aisles in today's supermarket, the same vegetables the Romans had can be found: cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, turnips, beets, radishes, cauliflower, onions, lettuces, and cucumbers. The Romans even ate ferns, and some people in Nova Scotia eat fiddleheads, a type of fern. We tend to eat more meat today than the average Romans did because only the rich in those days ate meat frequently.
The main fruits that the Romans ate were grapes, figs, dates, apples, apricots, peaches, cherries, pears, strawberries, and melons. Today we still consume these fruits. Nuts that the Romans ate included walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, chestnuts, and pine nuts. Health-conscious people today still eat these nuts as well as the chickpeas, beans and lentils that were Roman favorites. In the vegetable aisles in today's supermarket, the same vegetables the Romans had can be found: cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, turnips, beets, radishes, cauliflower, onions, lettuces, and cucumbers. The Romans even ate ferns, and some people in Nova Scotia eat fiddleheads, a type of fern. We tend to eat more meat today than the average Romans did because only the rich in those days ate meat frequently.
References
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Roman_cuisine
- http://rome.mrdonn.org/breakfast.html
- http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/roman_food.htm
- http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/22/1192940948256.html?page=fullpage
- http://historybites-tailtiu.blogspot.ca/2012/04/imperial-rome-bloody-decadent.html