Roman Cookery: Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens (Paperback)

~ Mark Grant (Author) "This description of a banquet, in Apuleius' second-century AD novel The Golden Ass, paints the popular picture of Roman eating habits as unceasing gluttony in..." (more)
Key Phrases: ozfeta cheese, peppered vinegar, supple dough, Athenaeus The Partying Professors, Anthimus On Foods, Cato On Agriculture (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Here is a complete range of traditional Roman dishes, such as olive oil bread flavored with cheese. Included are explanations of the cultural values Romans ascribed to food and the social context in which it was prepared and eaten. While most Roman cookbooks detail complex banquet food enjoyed by only a tiny social elite, this cookbook provides easily made recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Serif Publishing; illustrated edition edition (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1897959397
• ISBN-13: 978-1897959398
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #773,825 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally something new, March 22, 2000

By	COURTOIS Julien "ivlianvs" (Bern, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

With the lot of books written about Apicius and his famous "de re coquinaria", other sources of antique Roman cookery have long been ignored. Thanks to this book it's no more the case.

Numerous recipes and some good comments makes the everyday cooking in ancient Rome, and it's provinces, come back to life.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just fancy food, September 11, 2002

By	Patrick Cauldwell (Hillsboro, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one of the first books I've seen on classical/historical cooking that represents the "food of the people" rather than the fancy food of the nobility that Apicius and other gourmets were writing about. Grant uses some non-traditional sources such as works on agriculture to get some clues as to what the common people were eating. His recipes are easy to follow and generally easy to prepare. Great for anyone interested in historical cooking for everyday rather than party fare.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun read but flawed cookbook, January 21, 2007

By	Melinda - See all my reviews

Roman Cookery is a great read for the fact that Graves provides fascinating insight into ancient cooking techniques and this portion of the text is well researched and presented. As a cookbook however, Roman Cookery has its flaws. A lack of serving sizes is definitly the most striking of these omissions but a general lack of description and explanation makes obtaining the desired end a difficult process. While a couple dishes turned out great a majority were either overcooked or needed more or less of the ingredients to make the meal work (not spices or other opinionated deviations but the neccesary steps such as the amount of flour needed to make dough as opposed to batter, for example).

All in all I would recommend picking up the book to experiment with some side dishes here and there and to read the historical discourse on culinary techniques but don't try to plan a week of meals out of the book or else you may find yourself frustrated in the process.