Customer Reviews

The Classical Cookbook

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4 star:		(1)
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Excellent book for both its recipes (easy to follow with directions given for both the English and American cook) and its description of Roman life, for both the Roman commoners and the citizens of stature. If you want to have a Roman banquet, or a simple, traditional Roman meal, this is an ideal book. I especially enjoyed the well-written sections on Roman history, which perfectly integrate the recipes with what we know about the people's lives and the ingredients which were available to them. I looked at every Roman cookbook I could find, in both the USA and England, and my three favorites are: Classical Cookbook, by Dalby and Grainger, and, A Taste of Ancient Rome, by Ilaria Giacosa, and Roman Cookery, by Mark Grant. The latter two have more recipes than the first, but Classical Cookbook is a quality book with exquisite pictures, illustrations and explanations.

Fifteen years after it's original release this book remains one of the best on the subject. I would like to clarify that, as the authors point out through references to Odysseus, Philoxennus, Macedonia etc. it explains very cleary that the Greeks were those who elevated cookery into an art,through trial and error and endless experimentation. It focuses primarily on techniques and recipes that originated in ancient Greecemuch later to be passed on to ancent Rome. I make this point as a reviwer has incorrectly given the impression that the book focuses primarily on Roman cookery. One might argue that they at that time in history they were one in the same as Romans brought Greek slaves and free Greek cooks to prepare their meals for them ultimately consuming the same dishes. Over time, the simple dishes introduced by the Greeks became more complicated and lavish, an evolution that has continued till today. There are several other books available that cover this period in detail.

Having made the above points, the author has done an excellent job in the first 30 pages of the book to explain the intricacies of the recipes that follow, explaining the ingredients used, where to find them and substitutions that can be made in order to get an approximate idea of what the Ancient Greeks and later the Romans enjoyed at their tables. It is a good read regardless if you plan to execute the recipes or not.

An excellent historic cook book. Solid history. Author is careful with the reconstructions, explaining what is known, and what is inferred, for each recipe. And the recipes are good. I especially like the mushrooms with fish sauce and honey. Try it.

I got this recipe book for an ancient mythology class I was taking in college. My final project was to make an ancient meal. The meal turned out pretty well and I would use a good amount of the recipes.