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Around the Roman Table
In Around the Table of the Romans, Patrick Faas brings the Roman passion for eating to life. More than just a book of ancient recipes reconstructed for the modern cook (though there are more than 150 in the book), Around the Table of the Romans is a portrait of ancient Roman society as seen from the vantage point of the dining table. Faas explores ancient Roman manners, dining arrangements, spices, seasonings and cooking techniques. He shows how ancient Roman cuisine differs from its present incarnation. Most of all, he brings the ancient Roman world to life in a book that foodies and history buffs will salivate over.
(20030202)
(20030202)
371 pages, Hardcover
First published January 17, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 17, 2022
It took me a while to get through this book, which I was reading as research. I wanted to truly understand the complexities of dining in ancient Rome, for both the well-to-do and the everyday person.
Luckily, this book covers that information in detail, and even includes recipes. I freely admit to skimming over recipes for things like moray eel (although it is still eaten in the Campania region), flamingo, and other exotic delicacies.
If culinary anthropology is an area that interests you, this book is definitely worth your time.
Luckily, this book covers that information in detail, and even includes recipes. I freely admit to skimming over recipes for things like moray eel (although it is still eaten in the Campania region), flamingo, and other exotic delicacies.
If culinary anthropology is an area that interests you, this book is definitely worth your time.
November 13, 2024
This book is soooo expensive but I'm afraid I'm going to have to invest in a copy. RIP my wallet, it's been so long since I've bought a $40 book.
February 20, 2014
An entertaining and wide-ranging look at ancient Roman cuisine.
When I decided I needed to know more about food and eating in the ancient world of my own work in progress, I went overboard and ordered three different books on it. When they arrived I had to choose which one to start with. Looking them over, I thought that Patrick Faas's book would provide the best introduction. Now, although I haven't read the other two books yet, I feel sure that I chose right.
The other books are primarily cookbooks, and Faas's book is also that, with plenty of recipes drawn from ancient authors, notably Apicius, who wrote "the only gastronomic cookery book handed down to us from classical antiquity." But it's also much more than that. Faas sets the scene by taking us through all the things that surrounded the dishes themselves, starting with a "culinary history" of Rome that looks at the agricultural basis of Roman society and the various influences that affected it, such as Africa and Greece, and other factors such as feast days, philosophy, and sumptuary laws. He moves on to a study of "the meal," with chapters on table manners, the courses of a meal, the menu, and "the carousal" or drinking party that usually followed a dinner party. The author goes on to discuss Roman wine and other drinks, the Roman cook, and his condiments. Only then, in Part Two of the book, 175 pages in, does Faas start presenting recipes for actual dishes.
I was captivated by so much of what I found in this book. I knew that Romans reclined to eat their dinners, but how exactly did they arrange themselves around the table, and who reclined next to whom? The answers are here, along with illustrations. Did Romans really gorge themselves and then vomit up their food to eat more? (Not often, according to Faas; after drinking, though--that's another matter.) What kinds of dishes and utensils did they eat with? What kinds of pots and pans did they cook with? All here, and illustrated.
The recipes section is broken down interestingly into four parts named after the four elements, presenting dishes drawn from the land (cereal and vegetables), from the fire (cooked meat), from the air (birds), and from the water (fish). I've read some authors who claim that the typical Roman diet was monotonous and frugal, but the great wealth of ingredients, flavors, and techniques presented here seem to give that notion the lie. The Romans liked strongly flavored, highly seasoned foods. But they also liked fresh vegetables, and Roman gentlemen took pride in their skill at growing them--much like modern Italians that I've known in the Vancouver area! And Roman women did not cook. If a slave was not cooking, then the head of the household would attend to it himself; even emperors would practice cuisine and personally see to the feeding of their family and guests.
Faas does not simply give recipes; the various dishes offer opportunities to explain various facts, attitudes, and peculiarities in the Romans' approach to food. The section on vegetable dishes starts with a discussion of the Roman garden, including its required statue of Priapus, the phallic god of gardens.
Each recipe is presented first as the original Latin text followed by its English translation, then a more detailed discussion intended to make the recipe doable for the modern cook. For hard-to-get ingredients he suggests good modern alternatives. The ubiquitous garum or fermented fish sauce, for example, can be replaced with soy sauce or anchovy paste. The equally ubiquitous herb lovage can be replaced with parsley or celery root.
It seems that Faas has made all these dishes himself, even the most exotic, such as roast flamingo or brain pate or sow's udders. He notes when the food is likely to be less palatable for the modern diner, but also how often the Roman dish is very good as is.
I have not been bold enough myself to try making any of the dishes; that was not my aim in reading the book. But Faas's enthusiasm and depth of knowledge have got me interested in trying some. For cuisine makes its own strong, definite statement about a culture, and this book gives a real flavor of ancient Rome.
When I decided I needed to know more about food and eating in the ancient world of my own work in progress, I went overboard and ordered three different books on it. When they arrived I had to choose which one to start with. Looking them over, I thought that Patrick Faas's book would provide the best introduction. Now, although I haven't read the other two books yet, I feel sure that I chose right.
The other books are primarily cookbooks, and Faas's book is also that, with plenty of recipes drawn from ancient authors, notably Apicius, who wrote "the only gastronomic cookery book handed down to us from classical antiquity." But it's also much more than that. Faas sets the scene by taking us through all the things that surrounded the dishes themselves, starting with a "culinary history" of Rome that looks at the agricultural basis of Roman society and the various influences that affected it, such as Africa and Greece, and other factors such as feast days, philosophy, and sumptuary laws. He moves on to a study of "the meal," with chapters on table manners, the courses of a meal, the menu, and "the carousal" or drinking party that usually followed a dinner party. The author goes on to discuss Roman wine and other drinks, the Roman cook, and his condiments. Only then, in Part Two of the book, 175 pages in, does Faas start presenting recipes for actual dishes.
I was captivated by so much of what I found in this book. I knew that Romans reclined to eat their dinners, but how exactly did they arrange themselves around the table, and who reclined next to whom? The answers are here, along with illustrations. Did Romans really gorge themselves and then vomit up their food to eat more? (Not often, according to Faas; after drinking, though--that's another matter.) What kinds of dishes and utensils did they eat with? What kinds of pots and pans did they cook with? All here, and illustrated.
The recipes section is broken down interestingly into four parts named after the four elements, presenting dishes drawn from the land (cereal and vegetables), from the fire (cooked meat), from the air (birds), and from the water (fish). I've read some authors who claim that the typical Roman diet was monotonous and frugal, but the great wealth of ingredients, flavors, and techniques presented here seem to give that notion the lie. The Romans liked strongly flavored, highly seasoned foods. But they also liked fresh vegetables, and Roman gentlemen took pride in their skill at growing them--much like modern Italians that I've known in the Vancouver area! And Roman women did not cook. If a slave was not cooking, then the head of the household would attend to it himself; even emperors would practice cuisine and personally see to the feeding of their family and guests.
Faas does not simply give recipes; the various dishes offer opportunities to explain various facts, attitudes, and peculiarities in the Romans' approach to food. The section on vegetable dishes starts with a discussion of the Roman garden, including its required statue of Priapus, the phallic god of gardens.
Each recipe is presented first as the original Latin text followed by its English translation, then a more detailed discussion intended to make the recipe doable for the modern cook. For hard-to-get ingredients he suggests good modern alternatives. The ubiquitous garum or fermented fish sauce, for example, can be replaced with soy sauce or anchovy paste. The equally ubiquitous herb lovage can be replaced with parsley or celery root.
It seems that Faas has made all these dishes himself, even the most exotic, such as roast flamingo or brain pate or sow's udders. He notes when the food is likely to be less palatable for the modern diner, but also how often the Roman dish is very good as is.
I have not been bold enough myself to try making any of the dishes; that was not my aim in reading the book. But Faas's enthusiasm and depth of knowledge have got me interested in trying some. For cuisine makes its own strong, definite statement about a culture, and this book gives a real flavor of ancient Rome.
April 22, 2026
This is a history book disguised as a cookbook. The first 2/3 are mostly ancient Roman history: culture, customs, sociology & anthropology. Great stuff! The recipes are presented in latin and translated to English, and most are interpreted to modern cooking measurements. I bought this in paperback at the Legion of Honor Museum when they had an exhibition of food and culinary items from Pompei -- and I"ll never part with it. There are many recipes that I want to try. I'm so curious to try Roman recipes that are heavily cumin & coriander (leaf and seed) dependent -- modern Italian cuisine doesn't use those as much.
While the author described carousals and dining arrangements for festivities, I thought it was interesting that normal day to day dining wasn't much addressed. It seems that the society was largely centered around men based on this history. I want to know more about the women's lives and culinary habits.
ORIGINAL URL https://www.livegreenwearblack.com/20...
While the author described carousals and dining arrangements for festivities, I thought it was interesting that normal day to day dining wasn't much addressed. It seems that the society was largely centered around men based on this history. I want to know more about the women's lives and culinary habits.
ORIGINAL URL https://www.livegreenwearblack.com/20...
March 30, 2021
This really gave me some insight into Ancient Roman views on food, dining, and culinary traditions! And through the food, I feel like I better understand the Roman people as well. I tried some of the recipes, and they were quite tasty. Boiled eggs with garum sauce and breakfast porridge with cottage cheese were great. A lot of these recipes are things that I either wouldn't or couldn't possibly make, like dolphin, jellyfish, and eels. But it was interesting to read about!
March 25, 2008
A truly fascinating look at Roman gastronomy and cuisine. I like it because it ius both practical and comprehensive. The author freely admits where he speculates, and gives useful ideas for replicating Roman meals. Many recipes are included. I also like the fact that the author does not obsess about the bizarre (as do so many writings about Roman food).
February 23, 2008
Not nearly enough reference to the time spent on re-feathering a whole, roasted peacock! BUt insightful, mentioned many of the dishes I liked from The Good Book Cook Book, which has some jesus-tastic recipies
November 1, 2022
If you really want to learn about a different culture, investigating it's culinary traditions is an excellent way to do it. So too with the ancient Romans. This is a far more enlightening book than your typical so and so went here and fought this battle narrative. For the Romans food was used in religious sacrifices, table settings were battles for social supremacy, and politics was wrapped up in food as well, think of the famous saying "bread and circuses", where the elite members of society bribed the populace with free food.
December 3, 2023
Ancient Roman cooking is a vastly underrated subject in the classics that subtly reveals the values, habits and logic of the time. This book discusses food and its connection with religion, medicine, internationalism, and norms of the time. With direct quotations from Apicius, Pliny, Columella, Cato, Petronius, and more, as well as analysis of archaelogical and historical accounts, this book is factually heavy but still enjoyable to read.
September 22, 2019
Part history and part cookbook, the book does an excellent job giving an overview of most of the Roman republic and empire (as well as the fall) along with what they ate throughout and how the daily consumption of that fish, mouse, turnip or loaf represented quite a lot about the economics, politics, classicism, and religion of the time.
October 10, 2024
Some of the information was interesting. However only rich men’s feasts were considered and everything was based on documents. There was no discussion as to whether written sources are actually accurate representations of what happened.
Also at one point the author stated Romans didn’t need to attend orgys as they had plenty of willing slaves at home. While the slaves undoubtedly had no choice that doesn’t make them willing.
Also at one point the author stated Romans didn’t need to attend orgys as they had plenty of willing slaves at home. While the slaves undoubtedly had no choice that doesn’t make them willing.
July 31, 2013
More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.
Food and history are two of the great loves of my life. I thought Around the Roman Table would fit nicely into those categories. Well...it did, but I didn't really like it. Don't get me wrong--it was okay. It was just a more boring than I expected it to be. It includes a lot of descriptions about what people ate, how they ate it, and how food tied into culture in Rome. That part was interesting. But there was also an entire second part that included recipes from Roman times. I thought this was going to be pretty interesting, too...but I wasn't really impressed. Reading the recipes requires you to pound down some Roman terms for food that Faas explains earlier in the book, or else keep flipping back to those pages to figure out what he's talking about. Additionally, Roman recipes weren't really "recipes" in the same sense as we have "recipes." There often weren't fixed amounts, and I'm skeptical as to how accurate Faas' interpretations of them are. It seems like he might have just guessed at the amounts of ingredients to best suit modern readers' tastes. That said, I'm really not sure how many people would be putting copious amounts of fish sauce in every dish they make. Some of the ingredients I've never even heard of; for example, what the hell is lovage? That was explained, but not very well. Some ingredients are actually extinct, like laser, a plant that the Romans loved so much they actually drove it to extinction. And then there are other ingredients that, while technically still around, aren't exactly easy to get. For example, where would I find half a kilo of minced dolphin? The writing style wasn't all that fabulous, either; there were multiple cases of sentences that didn't make sense, and the recipes Faas included were also included in Latin, in their entirety. Really, I don't care about a quarter of a page of Latin that I can't read. More quoting often meant that, in the first half of the book, Faas quoted more than he actually wrote. Some of the clumsiness in writing may be because the book is translated (I believe it was originally in Dutch) but that doesn't really excuse it. Overall, interesting topic, but not the best book.
Food and history are two of the great loves of my life. I thought Around the Roman Table would fit nicely into those categories. Well...it did, but I didn't really like it. Don't get me wrong--it was okay. It was just a more boring than I expected it to be. It includes a lot of descriptions about what people ate, how they ate it, and how food tied into culture in Rome. That part was interesting. But there was also an entire second part that included recipes from Roman times. I thought this was going to be pretty interesting, too...but I wasn't really impressed. Reading the recipes requires you to pound down some Roman terms for food that Faas explains earlier in the book, or else keep flipping back to those pages to figure out what he's talking about. Additionally, Roman recipes weren't really "recipes" in the same sense as we have "recipes." There often weren't fixed amounts, and I'm skeptical as to how accurate Faas' interpretations of them are. It seems like he might have just guessed at the amounts of ingredients to best suit modern readers' tastes. That said, I'm really not sure how many people would be putting copious amounts of fish sauce in every dish they make. Some of the ingredients I've never even heard of; for example, what the hell is lovage? That was explained, but not very well. Some ingredients are actually extinct, like laser, a plant that the Romans loved so much they actually drove it to extinction. And then there are other ingredients that, while technically still around, aren't exactly easy to get. For example, where would I find half a kilo of minced dolphin? The writing style wasn't all that fabulous, either; there were multiple cases of sentences that didn't make sense, and the recipes Faas included were also included in Latin, in their entirety. Really, I don't care about a quarter of a page of Latin that I can't read. More quoting often meant that, in the first half of the book, Faas quoted more than he actually wrote. Some of the clumsiness in writing may be because the book is translated (I believe it was originally in Dutch) but that doesn't really excuse it. Overall, interesting topic, but not the best book.
November 18, 2010
Interesting content, although a bit encyclopedic rather than narrative. 5 stars for substance, 3 for style, averaged to 4.
Read
July 27, 2011Although I cannot prepare many of these dishes in the modern kitchen and with the modern grocery selection, I enjoyed this cookbook for its historical information.
November 10, 2012
Fairly informative book about Roman eating habits. The recipes are hard to duplicate but is mostly because we don't have the same ingredients as the Romans anymore.
July 2, 2013
I won't be cooking from it, but it really gives the flavor of living in ancient Rome. Sorry about that. Couldn't resist.
March 23, 2007
Go to prueter.org. Click on my page. Click on Book Summaries, click on Roman Culture.
September 5, 2007
Fascinating
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews