Roman Food
A Roman drinking glass
What kind of food Romans ate depended a lot on how much money they had, and also on where you were in the big Roman Empire. So this discussion on food has to be divided into several sections.
Rich people's food (with recipes)
Poor people's food
To find out more about Roman food, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
Spend the Day in Ancient Rome: Projects and Activities that Bring the Past to Life, Ages 8-12 by Linda Honan (1998). With recipes for a whole Roman feast, for kids.
Roman Cookery: Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens, by Mark Grant (1999). Recipes for the food ordinary Roman people ate, not the fancy stuff.
Ancient Roman Feasts and Recipes Adapted for Modern Cooking, by Jon Solomon (1977). A history of Roman food, and then about a hundred Roman recipes you can make.
Food and Society in Classical Antiquity, by Peter Garnsey (1999). Garnsey has written a lot about ancient food, and is an expert, but he writes very clearly.
The Classical Cookbook, by Andrew Dalby (1996). Both rich and poor people's recipes, with a lot of context too.
Around the Table of the Romans: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome, by Patrick Faas (2002).
Here's a good webquest about Roman food, if you're interested.
