Our modern eating habits and food preparation differ greatly from those of the Romans, but still some of our traditions in food preparation have some identifiable relation to the ancient classical period.
The Romans prepared their foods in a style comparable to our own in that they used simple ovens, roasted various meats and fish, and pot-boiled vegetables and grain foods. Much of what was consumed was eaten raw, as the simplest way to prepare a basic meal.
Kitchen utensils resembled our own to an amazing degree, and table utensils were also known; but for most foods Romans used fingers much more than we usually do today. Food types and eating habits varied over the life of the Republic/Empire, and the foods of the poor contrasted strongly with the dishes of the wealthy, as one would imagine.
Roman meals of the day were substantially different from our own.
Breakfast was usually not much more than a bowl of grain porridge, either barley or wheat, barley being the less desirable of the two, thought cheaper and more available. It is said that barley was sometime used as a
punishment in the legions for those who did not conform to military expectations. Lunch, if eaten at all, would be a crust of bread or
perhaps a bowl of soup.

Supper, the main meal of the day, had three major parts: the "gustatio" (appetizer), the "mensae primae" (main course), and the "mensae secundae" (dessert) which pretty much follows our present day meal description.
In the gustatio items such as vegetables, fish, and eggs played a large
part. The mensae primae generally consisted of red meats or some variety of fowl, while the mensae secundae was normally fruit sweetened with wine, fruit syrup, or honey--the major sweetener for dessert foods. Watered wine was drunk during the meal. Mulsum, a wine and honey concoction, would be available for dessert or perhaps to begin the meal as part of the appetizer. Most of the wine was consumed after the meal was over and the family and guests were relaxing on their couches.
In later issues we will discuss the variety of specific foods that were available to the people of classical times, how these foods changed over time, and some of the major types of foods that were a part of the life in
ancient Rome.

(to be continued)