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Product Description
An exploration of the food of the Mediterranean world in ancient times, from 750 BC to AD 450. The authors draw on sources beyond the familiar recipes attributed to the Roman gourmet Apicius, who mainly describes the food of the privileged classes at the end of the Roman Empire. All types of food are represented, allowing the modern cook to recreate the varied diet of the classical world, from the banquets of the rich to the simple meals of soldiers, farmers and slaves. The 50 recipes include Terrine of Asparagus, Sweet Wine Cakes, Olive Relish and Toronaean Shark. An introductory section to each chapter provides a historical outline and explains the sources. Translations of the original recipes are followed by a version for the modern cook. The book is illustrated throughout with scenes of food, carousers and hunters from wall paintings, mosaics and Greek vases.
Amazon.com Review
The Classical Cookbook combines carefully researched history with recipes that are interpretations of ancient Greece and Rome. Two Britons, historian Andrew Dalby and chef Sally Grainger, collaborated on this book, which discusses the banquets and feasts of Athens and Rome, but focuses mostly on how average people ate every day. Many of the seasonings favored from around 700 B.C. up to the fall of Rome in the 5th century, it turns out, are not that foreign to what we use today: leeks, nuts, vinegar, wine. The authors provide easy equivalents for the more exotic ingredients. Imagine how Socrates, in the 1st century, may have enjoyed honey-glazed shrimp or cheesecake. Such dishes make it tempting to try the culinary adaptations of classical cookery. Here's a rare example of history brought to life.
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