A Taste of Ancient Rome (Paperback)

~ (Author), Anna Herklotz (Translator) "Anyone attempting to study ancient Roman nutrition and cooking must deal with countless sources that differ widely among themselves..." (more)
Key Phrases: teres piper, moisten with garum, cum ferbuerit, Cena Trimalchionis, Historia Augusta, Roman Empire (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Neither an update for modern palates nor an anthropological study, this engrossing collection reproduces a two-thousand-year-old cuisine to "tempt the reader to explore some appetizing dishes from forgotten historical sources."4 Relying primarily on the writings of Apicius, Cato, Coumella, Juvenal, Martial and Petroniussics , Giacosa recalls the foods and practices of the Roman meal, or cena , the banquet and the tavern. Though established centuries before the introduction of the tomato, eggplant or pasta, ancient Roman cuisine depended on some elements familiar to modern Italian cooking: eggs, vegetables, fish and poultry. Less familiar elements included dormice (served stuffed), thrushes (served roasted) and the widely used sun-fermented fish-based sauce called garum . The 200 recipes here for such representative selections as seasoned mussels and duck in prune sauce are offered in their original Latin and in English; Giocosa also provides additional instructions, as for stuffing pigeons, or substitutions for ingredients like silphium, which is no longer available. The dozens of line drawings of ancient foodstuffs and color plates of Pompeian taverns and food shops complete this culinary portrait. Useful for food historians, a treat for food buffs, the book takes a welcome new look at the origins of a familiar cuisine. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Here are two specialized books dealing with bygone cuisines, each with its own particular sort of fascination. Molokhovets's book was first published in 1861 but revised by the author up through 1917, thus spanning an important era in Russian history. Her compendium was a sort of Fannie Farmer or Mrs. Beeton's that became essential for young Russian housewives. (Indeed, it was credited with saving families that otherwise would have been destroyed by "drunkenness and loose living.") Toomre, a well-known culinary historian, has done an impressive job of presenting Molokhovets's work, providing a lengthy introduction to set the stage and annotations to put the recipes in context. A glimpse into another world that should interest cultural and culinary historians alike. Giacosa's unusual book goes back a bit earlier. Combining her scholarly training in archaeology and her interest in food, she presents a lively portrait of ancient Rome and its culinary practices. She has culled recipes from Apicius and other contemporary sources and made them accessible to adventurous modern cooks. As she presents it, the Roman kitchen seems surprisingly sophisticated, with a reliance on lots of fresh herbs, a taste for sweet and sour combinations, and dishes made with foie gras, truffles, and other "refined" ingredients. In fact, Giacosa also includes related modern recipes from the same region for comparison. Well written and engaging despite its narrow scope, Giacosa's book is recommended for special collections.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 239 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (May 2, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226290328
• ISBN-13: 978-0226290324
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #342,315 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarship you can sink your teeth into, June 10, 2000

By	psychephile - See all my reviews

Although "A Taste of Ancient Rome" presents another translation of some ancient Roman recipes, this work is not just an historical curiousity. First, it provides some of the yummiest lamb recipes I've ever tasted (who knew the Parthians for epicures?). Second, there are quite a few spice and sauce combinations that were apparently lost with the Visigoths, and they're definitely worth reviving. Although a few of the recipes are a bit outlandish, most of them are easily prepared and very tasty. I use this book all the time as a practical cookbook. And, of course, for dinner parties, it's a great item of conversation.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious recipes and a fascinating look at ancient Rome, August 31, 2005

By	Charlene Vickers (Winnipeg, Manitoba) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Taste of Ancient Rome (Hardcover)

I bought "A Taste of Ancient Rome" more out of historical interest than out of any real desire to prepare foods in the Roman style. One day, though, I ended up being given six frozen mallard ducks, and one of the recipes in this book, Duck with Turnips, caught my eye. I tried it, and it was absolutely amazing. Since that day I've prepared over half of the recipes in this book, and I've found most of them to be delicious, easy to prepare, and economical.

One of the more enjoyable facets of international cooking is seeing how cooks from different cultures meld flavours in a way most of us in North America would never think of. The recipes in this book contain many combinations that would seem to us to be insane. Duck with turnips? Cream of wheat or spelt with a ham bone? Cantaloupe with garlic and pepper? Tuna steak with dates? These blends sounds very bizarre, but they all work, and work well.

The writer has included a few recipes which couldn't be prepared in our time (such as the recipe calling for parrot!) simply to show the decadence of first-century Rome. But what surprised me the most about the other recipes is how many of them are absolutely accessible to the modern chef. One reason for this is the fact that the ingredients unfamiliar to us can for the most part be easily substituted with ingredients we have on hand. Apparently, even some Romans (Pliny the Elder, for instance) hated garum and substituted salt, so it's not inauthentic for us to do so. Another reason is simply that we still eat many of the foods the Romans did. Although they didn't have pasta, tomatoes, potatoes, soy, corn, or any of the other foods borrowed from the Far East or the New World, they did have most of the meats, fruits, nuts, and vegetables we eat on a daily basis.

That said, this book is not for everybody. There seems to be a subset of North Americans who eat nothing but conventional, middle-of-the-road food and who have no interest in anything the least bit unusual or new. If you shop for all your groceries at Wal-Mart, if you turn down any food that isn't aggressively conservative as being weird, foreign, or disgusting, and if TGIFridays or Appleby's is your idea of a really good restaurant, you probably won't enjoy this book. However, if you are able to go beyond your food comfort level and especially if you're interested in how people ate 2,000 years ago, A Taste of Ancient Rome might be for you.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An accessible and enjoyable cookbook and history book., August 12, 2002

By	Cas (the Idaho mountains) - See all my reviews

Here we have a small collection of redacted Roman recipes, along with explanations of ingredients and concepts and some modern adaptations.

Frankly, I think it was quite cool. I particularly got a lot out of the explanation of garum -- it really changed my mind about a lot of things I used to think about Roman food.

The few recipes I've tried from here turned out well, though I'm not sure I'd want to try them all. Some sound a bit bizarre and are probably included as a culture-shock device. For the average home cook, I'm not sure I'd consider this a must-have unless that cook were very VERY adventurous. But for the historian looking for a sourcebook, this looks like a keeper. Thoroughly enjoyable and well-written.