According to a well-known proverb, "We are what we eat." Therefore, before Greece was incorporated into the Roman empire, early ancient Romans would have been labelled as porridge-eating barbarians by the Greeks. Things became more challenging after 146 BC. New recipes and flavours were frequently added to ancient porridge (or pulses), whether they were beans, spelt, or lentils. Greek cooks, along with Greek schoolteachers, rhetoricians, and even doctors, were frequently brought to Rome as slaves. This led to the creation of a new gap between the wealthy who owned kitchens and the poor who were dependent on the 150 thermopolia found in the Pompeii archaeological area.
In a normal day, the Romans would eat three meals. Breakfast was referred to as the Ientaculum, or first meal. It typically consisted of bread and sometimes some fruit and was consumed around daybreak. The Prandium was the name of the subsequent meal (lunch). The Prandium was a very small meal eaten around 11 AM. The Cena was the main meal of the day. In the afternoon, it was consumed. Due to the lack of kitchens in most homes, the ancient Romans used to have lunch at thermopolia, or fast food establishments.
In the first century, these locations were so prevalent that only the town of Pompeii, which was home to 15,000 people at the time, had roughly 90 of them. The cuisine of the ancient Romans was mostly composed of grains, vegetables, legumes, and cheese, with meat and fish being primarily consumed by the wealthy. Due to their extensive use of spices, ancient Roman cuisine is strikingly reminiscent of modern Middle Eastern and North African cuisine.
Fruits and Vegetables
In ancient Rome, lettuce, cabbage, and leeks were the three most popular vegetables. Asparagus, mushrooms, and artichokes, which are now so prevalent in contemporary Roman cuisine, were also within the means of the wealthy. They loved broad beans, lentils, and chickpeas when it came to legumes.
When it comes to fruit, the majority of what the ancient Romans consumed were apples, pears, plums, chestnuts, figs, and grapes. Contrarily, citrus fruits did not appear until the fourth century AD. The quince was the most well-liked apple at the period, particularly for the jam that was still produced from it. It's interesting to learn that the ancient Romans loved apricots, importing them from Armenia, and adding them to common stewed pork dishes, for instance.
Breads
Although the Ancient Romans ate a lot of bread, not everyone could enjoy the same bread. There was a white luxury one called panis candidus, which means candid bread, for the wealthy, and a black one that was affordable to the poor. Additionally, they began to eat the so-called puls, a mush of wheat, starting in the fourth century BC.
Meat
Meat could only be purchased in substantial quantities by the wealthy. Because cows were required for the fields, butchering of beef was outlawed until the second century BC. Pork, which was typically stewed first and then roasted, was the principal food that the ancient Romans consumed. They mostly consumed morays and shellfish when it came to fish. The "garum," a hot sauce produced with fish intestines and aged outside, was the most popular seasoning.
Drinks
Both wealthy and poor individuals, including slaves, would frequently sip wine throughout the day. But for women, it was strictly forbidden. Since there are many different types of wine and most of them have a rather strong flavour, they are frequently diluted with water and combined with spices, culinary herbs, or honey. The Posca, for instance, was a cheap beverage made of water and sour wine that was incredibly popular among regular people and legionnaires.