Eat Like a Roman
THE DIET OF A WEALTHY FAMILY
Breakfast (jentaculum) in a wealthy household normally consisted of: Bread and honey, in addition, a ricotta-like cheese and olives were also popular. Lunch (prandium) would often be bread and meat eaten at home or if eating out, a meal from a thermopolium (snack bar) could be: sausages, game birds, black pudding or whitebait, with plenty of fine white bread.
Dinner (cena) would usually be: Six or seven courses of food, ranging from antipasti to rich fish and meat dishes, ending with honey cakes, sweetmeats and fruit. There would also be plenty of wine to drink, all served by slaves.
Breakfast (jentaculum) in a wealthy household normally consisted of: Bread and honey, in addition, a ricotta-like cheese and olives were also popular. Lunch (prandium) would often be bread and meat eaten at home or if eating out, a meal from a thermopolium (snack bar) could be: sausages, game birds, black pudding or whitebait, with plenty of fine white bread.
Dinner (cena) would usually be: Six or seven courses of food, ranging from antipasti to rich fish and meat dishes, ending with honey cakes, sweetmeats and fruit. There would also be plenty of wine to drink, all served by slaves.
THE DIET OF A POOR FAMILY
For those with less money to spend on food, breakfast was either missed completely or would be a simple porridge of barley, millet or emmer wheat, mixed with whatever was available: vegetables, fish, olives or leftovers.
Lunch would be a snack eaten at one of the many thermopolia and could be some coarse bread with salted fish, or a soup of lentils or chickpeas. Dinner would be cereal again, made into a porridge or soup, served with foods that did not need cooking such as cheese, raw beans, some whole-wheat bread, some figs and olive oil because there was limited kitchen space.
For those with less money to spend on food, breakfast was either missed completely or would be a simple porridge of barley, millet or emmer wheat, mixed with whatever was available: vegetables, fish, olives or leftovers.
Lunch would be a snack eaten at one of the many thermopolia and could be some coarse bread with salted fish, or a soup of lentils or chickpeas. Dinner would be cereal again, made into a porridge or soup, served with foods that did not need cooking such as cheese, raw beans, some whole-wheat bread, some figs and olive oil because there was limited kitchen space.