Roman Food Research Paper

Aside from all the famous leaders and battles that Rome has been known for, Rome’s true culture can be expressed through it’s food. The Roman’s daily eating habits were created from their nearby surroundings. Roman banquets were highly valued in the upper class of the Roman population. Cooking was a necessary part of living and of daily patterns; the Roman’s cooking used various techniques to provide Rome with a statement of culture and civilization. Ancient Roman food entailed the elaborate dining experiences of Roman banquets and their daily consumption habits.
Even back hundreds of years ago, humanity still had to eat and process food. Though it may be different than what is traditional today, it is still essential to the evolution and …show more content…
Having expensive food was an obvious way to show your class off to guests in their minds. A “rich man’s banquet” served the most exotic foods that could be purchased. They brought food over from other countries into their empire for more exotic tastes. Not only were the food quality at banquets different so were to expectations. Guests brought their own spoon and napkins to social and banquets events. The knives were made from antlers, wood or bronze. The banquet rooms were decorated statues and vases. Adults laid on couches and ate on a square table. The square table is also known as a triclinium. A triclinium was a square table with couches on three of the sides of the table. The open fourth side was for the slaves to serve the food without being in the guest’s way. Wine and other drinks like water were served in jugs. It was traditional to mix their wine with water right before they drank it. It was also traditional to mix their wine with honey. Posca was a popular type of drink for soldiers or the poor as an alternative to wine. A banquet was successful if the guests asked goody-bags to take home. If that was the case, they would use a dinner napkin and wrap the leftovers in just a small cloth. The hostess of the banquet barely did any work to prepare or execute the meal. The slaves would have to cook, serve or entertain. Being a Roman slave was not as bad as most people thought it would. They …show more content…
The cooking allowed Rome to show their geological advantages to their food patterns. The Roman diet was inspired by the Mediterranean Traid. The traid included the food results near the Mediterranean sea, like fish, shellfish, barley, wheat, olive oil and wine. This not only presented a cultural building block, but a reliable food source. The lower class mostly cooked the Mediterranean triad with vegetables, fruits and occasionally eggs and cheese. “In 100 AD, the poor started eating oats and incorporating that into their diets.” The poor’s cooking ability was so minimalistic that incorporating new food was big news.
The Romans relied a lot on herbs and wheat to cook with than meat. They liked adding sauces to dishes to make them more exciting. One sauce in particular is a fish sauce called liquamen also known as garum that was very popular to prepare and cook. Products like carbonized bread and oily food were staples in Roman cooking. Many modern day Italian food was inspired by the Roman consumption habits. Oyster, snail and oak grub farms were very popular to have and to be devoted