Ancient Roman Meals :: essays research papers

Ancient Roman MealsThe ancient Romans were similar to todays generations in their eatinghabits only when never ate three hearty meals a day. Ientaculum and prandium weremerely appetizers that filled their stomachs unitl the large cena, the eventthey look forward to since awakening. They had names for their meals similar toours, breakfast (ientaculum), luncheon (prandium), and dinner (cena).Breakfast, ientaculum was usually taken about nine oclock and consistedof merely a few pieces of bread sprinkled in salt or dipped in wine, and with afew raisins and olives, and a little cheese added. The poorest Romans atelittle other than wheat either crushed to make a porridge or ground into dredgefor bread.Lunch, or prandium was usually taken at noon. It was usually nothingmore than a piece of bread accompanied by cold meat, vegetables, and fruit wash down with a glass of wine. Both ientaculum and prandium were so shortthere was no need to set the table or wash ones hands.The only sound mea l was the evening dinner or cena. Dinner time waspractically the same for all Romans due to the lack of artificial light. Dinnerwas after the bathing tub at the end of the eigth hour in winter and at the ninth insummer. The food is mostly cold,-breads, salads, olives, cheeses, and meatsremaing from last nights dinner. Occasionally, hot dishes such as overplay and pigsheads are feasted upon. Some wealthy Romans would have as many as seven coursesto feed on.Trimalchio, a wealthy Roman would have a bronzed donkey with appetizerdishes of olives, stuffed dormice rolled in honey and poppy seed, hot sausageswere laid on a silver grill next to pomegranate and damson seeds. The guestswere unruffled busy with the hors doeuvres when a tray would be brought in with abasket on it, in which there was a wooden hen spreading her wings. Under the drinking straw were Peahen eggs that would base passed out. Each egg contained a fatbecafico rolled up in spiced egg yolkf. There were plates with the twelve signsof Zodiac on them that had food matas ching the symbol, ram, bull, crab, figs,lion, etc. Some hosts would heat a wfshole pig and then entertain his guests byhaving skilled swordmen carve the pa fig like he was killing it. by and by eating,many guests would entertain each othed sfr in belching. It was consideredpolite to belch and release wind after a ni sce meal. Guests would simply snaptheir fingers and servants would come streamlet with vases to contain urine.