Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome FROM THE PUBLISHER
Around the Roman Table is a portrait of ancient Roman society as seen from the dining table, the kitchen, and the market stalls. Beginning with the Roman conquest of faraway lands and the variety of foodstuffs the Romans pillaged to enrich their storehouses, and continuing on to the extravagance of Imperial Rome, Faas explores ancient Roman manners, dining arrangements, spices, seasonings and cooking techniques. He looks at the class structures of ancient Rome and the way they influenced Roman dining. He looks at the Roman penchant for complex sauces, elaborate display, and even food trickery, as when one cook satisfied his master with "anchovies" made from strips of vegetable when real anchovies weren't in season. Perhaps, most intriguingly, he shows how ancient Roman cuisine differs radically from its present-day counterpart. Influenced by eastern spices and herbs that contemporary Romans would disdain, ancient Roman cookery and dining was a riotous celebration of tastes, colors, and textures. Complete with over one hundred and fifty ancient recipes reconstructed for the modern cook, Around the Roman Table is a great work of culinary history that will intrigue cooks, chefs, and history buffs alike.
FROM THE CRITICS
R. de Goede - Viva
A wonderful book for cooking and reading. It is fascinating,interesting and witty.
Janny de Moor
The most extensive book on this subject. It is a revelation.
Publishers Weekly
Faas, a Dutch food historian and chef, opens with the caveats that this is "no historical treatise" and that the more than 150 recipes will be difficult to prepare in a modern kitchen. Excuses aside, this is a capable study of the fascinating ancient Roman culture and the foods that graced its tables. A culinary history leads up to and through the Empire, when imported foods were all the rage and forks were unheard of. (Slaves were ordered to grow long hair so that their masters could wipe their hands on it.) Granted that these recipes are unlikely to be usable, as Faas points out, it's still unfortunate that such recipes as Broad Beans with Meatballs leave out certain details (such as, the type of pan used and the cooking time). Although Faas is most enthusiastic about foods that won't cause the modern palate to salivate-e.g., Stuffed Mouse and Dolphin Balls as well as "the meat of nursing puppies"-of greatest interest here are the comparisons between ancient Roman foods and modern Italian cooking. A dish of Fried Courgettes marinated in vinegar would not be out-of-place on today's antipasto table, and the Lupin beans that were once fed to livestock are now brined and eaten as a snack. (Dec.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
David Johnson
"To read Mr. Faas' book is a pleasure."
Library Journal
Claiming that his work is "neither a history book nor a cookery book; it is a bit of both," Dutch food historian and chef Faas balances plenty of facts about the Roman Empire's dining customs and social traditions with an entertaining food guide, mixing in 150 recipes (adapted for the modern cook). The lusty Romans' passion for exotic food is legendary, and some recipes are more bizarre than what an Iron Chef could conjure. Apparently, Romans ate almost everything that roamed the planet: there are recipes for roast moray eel, boiled sow's nipples, calf brain p t , cooked parrot tongue, and more. Surprisingly, Roman dishes were usually highly spiced, using more pepper than the modern Western palate could tolerate. Recently, Faas's enthusiasm for re-creating ancient Roman delicacies instigated a lawsuit by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for baking stuffed mice (recipe included here). A good companion to Mariangela Rinaldi and Mariangela Vicini's Buon Appetito, Your Holiness and for culinary history collections.-David Nudo, New York Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
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