What did the Ancient Romans eat?

Ancient Rome, with its rich and enigmatic past, continues to captivate and intrigue archaeologists and tourists alike.

At the height of its power, the eternal city was the most extensive political and social structure in western civilization, spanning vast territories and influencing countless cultures.

From its legendary emperors and iconic architecture to its remarkable cultural achievements and lasting impact on the world, Rome remains a source of fascination and wonder, drawing visitors from all over the globe to explore its secrets and unravel its mysteries.

From exotic spices and elaborate banquets to humble street food and simple peasant fare, the gastronomic heritage of ancient Rome offers a fascinating glimpse into the daily lives and tastes of one of history’s greatest civilizations.

From Lavish Feasts to Street Food Eateries

Fluent Romans enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and indulged in the highest quality food and wine. Their dinner parties, lasting for hours, were exclusive events requiring an invitation and a personal napkin.

The dining room, known as the triclinium, had a three-sided couch arranged around a table where 9 guests could recline on their left side while eating. The central position was considered the most important and desirable.

While the wealthy indulged in these luxuries, poorer Romans had to rely on fast-food eateries called thermopoliums. These ancient “holes-in-the-wall” were not too dissimilar from modern taverns and provided hot meals.

Menus were usually painted directly on the wall, and wine was served alongside food. Most Romans preferred to pick up cooked food to transport home or eat on the street.

The Evolution of Ancient Eateries

Although not appropriate for the well-to-do, there are accounts of noblemen mingling in these eateries with the masses.

Emperors restricted the type of food that could be offered, and over time these eateries evolved into places where people were able to congregate and drink wine, similar to modern-day wine bars.

Exotic Meats and Typical Dishes

Typical dishes served at these establishments included meatballs, lentils, fish, birds, pigs, goats, and even exotic meats like Giraffe

Bread was relatively uncommon for many centuries — so a type of gruel or porridge was usually served as well as vegetable dishes, fritters and other quick-to-make and easy-to-eat foods.

What sort of vegetables were found in Ancient Rome?

Romans ate many different variations of carrots that came in different colors (these variations are extinct today).

Vegetables and fruits that we associate with Italian cuisine such as tomatoes, eggplants, capsicum, spinach and lemons were still not part of the Mediterranean diet. Ancient Romans ate instead, cabbage, celery, kale, broccoli, radishes, asparagus, carrots, turnips, beets, green peas, cured olives, salad and cucumber.

Typical fruits include apples, figs, grapes and pears.

Without fridges, meat and fish needed careful preservation.

Refrigerators did not exist in ancient Rome and preserving meat and fish was no easy task.

Food poisoning was very common, so Romans preserved their meat and fish through smoking and salting processes. The salting was initiated by cleaning the flesh by immersing it in vinegar. It was dried and smoked by exposing it to smoke from burning wood — and finally salted.

Fish and seafood were eaten more than meat. The ancient Romans developed the fishing industry and oyster farming.

Meat was generally considered a luxury for most Romans. Poultry was widely eaten, followed by pork (salted), goat and lamb. Wild game such as boar, deer and pheasant were also popular, while beef was less common.

Wealthy Romans took pleasure in eating dormice which were considered a delicacy and a status symbol. Other exotic treats include flamingos, peacock, milk-fed snails, electric rays, songbirds, cranes and parrots.

Pasta was not yet invented in ancient Rome, but meatballs were popular. Romans were also fans of eggs and frittatas — and produced many interesting egg-based recipes using honey, pepper and herbs.

Cheese was big in Ancient Rome

The Romans were expert cheese makers and cheese was a staple part of the diet. The practice of drinking milk was considered barbaric though, as milk was considered suitable only for making cheese!

Roman farmer Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (4 BC-70 AD) writes about cheese-making in De Re Rustica(Book VII, Chapter VIII)

“Cheese should be made of pure milk, which is as fresh as possible, for if it is left to stand or mixed with water, it quickly turns sour.

It should usually be curdled with rennet obtained from a lamb or a kid, though it can also be coagulated with the flower of the wild thistle or the seeds of the safflower, and equally well with the liquid which flows from a fig-tree if you make an incision in the bark while it is still green.”

Garum — Oyster sauce for the Romans

Garum was a condiment that the ancient Romans used on everything. A bit like modern-day Oyster sauce, this was a fish sauce made from the entrails of anchovies that had been left in the sun to ferment. The ancient Romans put it in everything including their deserts. Garlic was not used for cooking (only for medicinal use).

Popular spices included ginger, cloves, saffron, mustard, cardamom, poppy seeds, fennel, cumin, anise, celery, sesame, myrtle berries, bay leaves, juniper, mint, oregano, parsley, lovage, chervil, dill, coriander, lavender.

The most prized of herbs was the now-extinct Silphium — a herb cultivated on the island of Cyreanica off the coast of Libya. It tasted very similar to another spice that is still common in Middle Eastern cooking today: Asafetida.

Grains and bread

Grains were very important to Ancient Romans. Barley, durum wheat (emmer or spelt), rye, oats, millet and panic were widely cultivated. Barley was the staple food of the soldiers, besides being the most widely used grain in the Republican period.

The gladiators were served sprouted barley as a gruel — they became known as hordearii which meant eaters of barley.

Spelt was crushed and cooked in porridge. Oats were generally only used as animal feed.

Thanks to archaeological digs and written sources, we now know that the poorest citizens of Rome ate a diet heavily based on millet, another grain looked down upon by the wealthy as fit only for livestock.

They ate it in the form of Puls — a type of porridge. Millet was also the grain most widely eaten by the poor population during the Middle Ages.

Grains were originally served as gruels or porridges — but around 300 BC Romans discovered the perks of baking grains and other flours over serving them as a paste.

The bread that was usually eaten in ancient Rome was coarse and dense, as the flour was stone ground. Bread would have contained lots of dust, pieces of dirt and poorly crushed grain. Finer specialist bread was available- but could only be afforded by rich citizens.

It was during the Roman era that bread production attained new heights, moving from coarse flatbreads to a staple food consumed by all social classes.

Drinking in Ancient Rome

Beer was not common in the Roman empire and was considered a barbaric drink by many because it was associated with barbarians.

The ancient Romans were however well known for their wine production expertise, and their high consumption of this esteemed beverage.

The Romans were the first to discover the ageing potential of wine, storing it in barrels for 25 years. Barrels replaced old clay amphorae that the Etruscans used.

Wine was so important to Roman culture that there was even a god dedicated to it:Bacchus. Bacchus was distinguished among Roman gods and often portrayed by a man in perfect health holding a cup of wine.

The Romans considered the drinking of wine as a daily necessity, and its consumption was part of every common meal.

Everyone could drink wine, starting with the emperor and extending all the way down to the humble slave. Naturally, the quality of the wine consumed varied according to social class levels, but wine was a privilege that was offered to everyone, nevertheless.

The Romans spread wine through the empire, which was larger than the original reach of the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, and the Greeks. The spread of the wine-making culture throughout Europe was one of the Romans's greatest legacies with the foundation of vineyards in some of the most world-renowned regions in modern day.

Watered down wine

Ancient Roman’s looked down on drinking to excess and drank their wine mixed with water. It was considered barbaric to drink wine that was not watered-down.

The Romans added various spices and honey to their glasses of wine, and this was often served hot. They clarified wine with unpleasant ingredients such as lead, charcoal and seawater and believed that wearing wreaths made of laurel and other types of flowers would help them ward off drunkenness.

Roman emperors used a variety of methods to exercise control over the masses, and this included food supply. A person’s access to food and wine depended on several factors, including status (slave, soldier or freeman) and these were imbued with social and even religious significance.

As Ancient Rome progressed, the differences in eating habits between social classes became more pronounced, but it was this complex food supply system that contributed significantly to Ancient Romes longevity.