Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome

I bought this as a gift for someone who was very interested in ancient recipes and methods of cooking. When I told them that this was one of several modern translations of the oldest known cook book in existence, they absolutely freaked out and loved it! Plus, having this hard cover book on display in your kitchen makes you look like a pro!

As a historian and foodie, this book is essential to anyone interested in how Romans lived. It's literally one of the world's first cook books, and all the recipes work. Many of the recipes from Ancient Rome would form the standard European and middle-eastern repertoire of cooking up to the modern day. Ovis Apalus, for example, is deviled eggs (albeit, the Romans liked them a little more fishy, adding shrimp and fish sauce). The sausage recipes are easily recognized in the modern day as breakfast, Italian, and Salami. There is even a recipe that will astonish those of Scotch ancestry. Apparently, Apicius has a recipe for a dish that is nearly identical to modern-day haggis! This book will amuse, amaze, and satisfy your palate and stomach, as well as your mind, with accessible, exotic, and arguably accessible cuisine. The translation and adaptation of recipes is very well done. You need not worry about making your own garum, for example, a sauce made from fermented fish guts; many asian supermarkets carry bottled fish sauce that is made in much the same way, and tastes much the same, as well (Don't worry, it tastes like anchovies). We once used this book as the basis for a Roman Style toga party and feast. Everyone loved it.

I have long held the notion that food in Imperial Rome was heavily spiced and made with the finest and most expensive of ingredients, as befitting the most expansive Empire in the World. Apparently, I was wrong. The entire first section of the cookbook (beginning at locations 1022-27 - prior to this is historical dissertation) describes multiple ways to mask rotten food or broths, so that people will eat them anyway without realizing they've gone bad, and recipes for various drinks to cure their ills after eating the rotten food! I was interested in attempting the Rose Wine until reading the footnote following the recipe - "Used principally as a laxative medicine. List. These wines compounded of roses and violets move the bowels strongly." I subsequently decided against serving this at my next dinner party.Other recipes appear tasty and rather doable - if one is not at all familiar with old cookbooks, I might recommend "the forme of cury" first, for practice at amount guesstimations and ingredient substitutions, but this seems like it will be fun. Cheers, and go light on the rose wine! :D

I like that not only does this have history about the cooking, but also recipes. My husband found this in our mail. I had intended it for Christmas, but when he saw it by accident, he could not put it down. We have made some of the recipes already, and think that this was a good purchase. My husband is a Roman fanatic, and huge historian. He really enjoys this book. I hope to find more like it soon.

I got this as a gift for my partner, who enjoys watching videos online of people creating ancient recipes and modernizing them. He is fascinated by ancient cooking so I bought this for him just as a “just because I love you” surprise gift, and he hadn’t heard of it and has been up reading it every night. It’s sparked his interest even more and he is constantly researching terms and animals and cookware mentioned in the book. Makes a great gift for anyone who enjoys both cooking and ancient history.

I really don’t think it should be hard for a cookbook to get 5 stars. It provides exactly what it is expected to provide.Edit: I come back to this review years later for an important distinction. Modern cookbooks of which the author is still alive can be critiqued more heavily but a historic cookbook such as this can only be critiqued by the quality of product you received and not necessarily the recipes therein.

This is a ancient translation of recipes from a cook known as Apicius. The recipes are very archaic, and lacking detail. Nice historical perspective.

Education in good taste. For some this could be dry, but I enjoyed just about every morsel. Interesting, but challenging, I enjoyed finding the origins of dishes today and some that thankfully didn't make it, such as dormouse. Vermacelli; little worms, it's going to be hard to look at a plate of spaghetti without thinking about that. Some of the recipes could be a preppers delight. The recipes are frugal using everything from the rooter to the tooter.