The kitchen was the center of all Ancient Roman cuisine. In fact, the Roman kitchen was much more advanced than many other kitchens during this time period. By looking at the design, placement, and layout along with the different cooking utensils at this time, we can truly see how the Ancient Roman kitchen pioneered the modern day kitchen’s we see today. According to The History of the Kitchen, “the Ancient Roman kitchen was well equipped with utensils and ingredients and the true forerunner of the kitchen as we know it.” (Source _)
In Ancient Rome, the location of your kitchen was based on your social standing, rich or poor. At first kitchen’s were located in atriums so that smoke could easily escape but these atriums later became used as living spaces. For the rich, each home had its own kitchen which was located toward the back of the house. They also had a dining room were they ate laying on couches around a wooden table. These dining room where called “triclinia” because there were three couches placed around the table. On the other hand, poor Romans used communal cooking areas because the tenements they lived in were small and crowded making fire a great risk to the people and their home. They also ate on wooden tables but instead sat on stools, and did not enjoy the luxurious design of the “triclinia.” In every Ancient Roman kitchen, the floor was made from packed dirt to form a hard surface and a large fire pit with coals was located in the center of the room. Despite the difference in location, depending on wether you were rich or poor, the layout of each kitchen was quite similar. The Roman classes have different types of meals, which are split between the rich and the poor. The poor Roman’s cooked over the small fire, or bought pre-cooked food from restaurants or vendors. During this time, food could not be refrigerated, and the icebox had not yet been invented, therefor meat was preserved using drying, smoking, or salting, which greatly contributed to the flavors of the Ancient Roman cuisine. In Rome “cooking became a way of expressing refinement and cultivation.” (Source_) The most common and most likely the earliest Roman cooking utensil was the wide mouthed terra-cotta bowl. This bowl was used for cooking porridge, vegetables, and different kinds of meat. Cooking utensils were typically hung on walls using hooks along with the five most common pots: “pultarius” (using for stews), “caccabus” (used for simmering), “padella” (the shallow pan), “patina” (a circular or oval dish), and “angulis” (a square pan). These different pots and pans were used for a variety of different dishes in the Ancient Roman cuisine. The poor Ancient Roman people followed the ways of the Mediterranean cuisine. Something known as the ‘Mediterranean Triad’ consisted of barley, wine, and olive oil and set the tone of Ancient Roman foods. “The Roman Empire was one of the most flourishing empires in ancient times. Ancient Roman cuisine was very much influenced …show more content…
The upper class individuals would pay a good amount of money to have their own personal slave cook called a “coquus.” The slave cook would make meals using the built in clay ovens and “stove-tops” which were heated from a charcoal fire located inside. They would have their “coquus” serve difficult meals to show off to their guests. For example, complicated meals such as animals stuffed into each other would be served to show their wealth. The romans would keep their animals as their meat giving them easy access to beef, pork, chicken, mutton, and fish. Bread was considered to be a part of their daily diet and only the richest could afford the most expensive white bread. The upper class also liked to use spices which were brought by traders from thousands of miles away. Cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves were some of the spices that they like to use that were brought all the way from India. Honey was used as a sweetener because sugar was not available to them. Some roman recipes that include a lot of spices are the Columella Salad, Soft-Boiled eggs in Pine-Nut Sauce, and Roast Wild
In Ancient Rome, the location of your kitchen was based on your social standing, rich or poor. At first kitchen’s were located in atriums so that smoke could easily escape but these atriums later became used as living spaces. For the rich, each home had its own kitchen which was located toward the back of the house. They also had a dining room were they ate laying on couches around a wooden table. These dining room where called “triclinia” because there were three couches placed around the table. On the other hand, poor Romans used communal cooking areas because the tenements they lived in were small and crowded making fire a great risk to the people and their home. They also ate on wooden tables but instead sat on stools, and did not enjoy the luxurious design of the “triclinia.” In every Ancient Roman kitchen, the floor was made from packed dirt to form a hard surface and a large fire pit with coals was located in the center of the room. Despite the difference in location, depending on wether you were rich or poor, the layout of each kitchen was quite similar. The Roman classes have different types of meals, which are split between the rich and the poor. The poor Roman’s cooked over the small fire, or bought pre-cooked food from restaurants or vendors. During this time, food could not be refrigerated, and the icebox had not yet been invented, therefor meat was preserved using drying, smoking, or salting, which greatly contributed to the flavors of the Ancient Roman cuisine. In Rome “cooking became a way of expressing refinement and cultivation.” (Source_) The most common and most likely the earliest Roman cooking utensil was the wide mouthed terra-cotta bowl. This bowl was used for cooking porridge, vegetables, and different kinds of meat. Cooking utensils were typically hung on walls using hooks along with the five most common pots: “pultarius” (using for stews), “caccabus” (used for simmering), “padella” (the shallow pan), “patina” (a circular or oval dish), and “angulis” (a square pan). These different pots and pans were used for a variety of different dishes in the Ancient Roman cuisine. The poor Ancient Roman people followed the ways of the Mediterranean cuisine. Something known as the ‘Mediterranean Triad’ consisted of barley, wine, and olive oil and set the tone of Ancient Roman foods. “The Roman Empire was one of the most flourishing empires in ancient times. Ancient Roman cuisine was very much influenced …show more content…
The upper class individuals would pay a good amount of money to have their own personal slave cook called a “coquus.” The slave cook would make meals using the built in clay ovens and “stove-tops” which were heated from a charcoal fire located inside. They would have their “coquus” serve difficult meals to show off to their guests. For example, complicated meals such as animals stuffed into each other would be served to show their wealth. The romans would keep their animals as their meat giving them easy access to beef, pork, chicken, mutton, and fish. Bread was considered to be a part of their daily diet and only the richest could afford the most expensive white bread. The upper class also liked to use spices which were brought by traders from thousands of miles away. Cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves were some of the spices that they like to use that were brought all the way from India. Honey was used as a sweetener because sugar was not available to them. Some roman recipes that include a lot of spices are the Columella Salad, Soft-Boiled eggs in Pine-Nut Sauce, and Roast Wild