Societas Via Romana - Discussion Archives

Salvete,

Roman inscriptions often mention "crustulum/a" ("cookies") being distributed at public feasts. Does anyone know a recipe of Roman cookies, if possible with the ancient source(s) that mention it ?

Valete,

Q. Pomponius Atticus

Salve Attice

Are you sure they were cookies? I just love cookies. My main weakness actually. If there was a recipe for Roman cookies I would certainly be looking for it. I think crustulum might better be thought of as baclava. Cato does not include a crustulum recipe among his bread recipes, and I have no idea where else you'd begin looking.

Salve Attice,

I didn't find any recipe for crustula, but found something about desserts from Apicius, De re coquinaria, VII 13 :

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Dulcia domestica et melcae

{307} Dulcia domestica: palmulas uel dactylos excepto semine, nuce uel nucleis uel pipere trito infercies. sale foris contingis, frigis in melle cocto, et inferes.

{308} Aliter dulcia: musteos Afros optimos rades et in lacte infundis. cum biberint, in furnum mittis, ne arescant, modice. eximes eos calidos, melle perfundis, compungis ut bibant. piper aspargis et inferes.

{309} Aliter dulcia: siligineos rasos frangis, et buccellas maiores facies. in lacte infundis, frigis et in oleo, mel superfundis et inferes.

{310} Dulcia piperata: mittis mel, merum, passum, rutam. eo mittis nucleos, nuces, alicam elixatam. concisas nuces Auellanas tostas adicies, et inferes.

{311} Aliter dulcia: piper, nucleos, mel, rutam et passum teres, cum lacte et tracta coques. coagulum coque cum modicis ouis. perfusum melle, aspersum inferes.

{312} Aliter dulcia: accipies similam, coques in aqua calida, ita ut durissimam pultem facias, deinde in patellam expandis. cum refrixerit, concidis quasi dulcia et frigis in oleo optimo. leuas, perfundis mel, piper aspargis et inferes. melius feceris, si lac pro aqua miseris.

{313} Tyropatinam: accipies lac, aduersus quod patinam aestimabis, temperabis lac cum melle quasi ad lactantia, oua quinque ad sextarium mittis, si ad heminam, oua tria. in lacte dissolues ita ut unum corpus facias, in Cumana colas et igni lento coques. cum duxerit ad se, piper adspargis et inferes.

{314} Oua spongia ex lacte: oua quattuor, lactis heminam, olei unciam in se dissoluis, ita ut unum corpus facias. in patellam subtilem adicies olei modicum, facies ut bulliat, et adicies impensam quam parasti. una parte cum fuerit coctum, in disco uertes, melle perfundis, piper adspargis et inferes.

{315} Melcas: cum pipere et liquamine, uel sale, oleo et coriandro.

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Now hurry up and translate this, the guests will be arriving soon !

Vale bene
Lupus

Now hurry up and translate this, the guests will be arriving soon !

Well, you'd beter wish my translation is somewhat correct, or strange-looking and -tasting snacks will be dished up next saturday, when you're coming to my symposium !

Now, just to check, "palmulas" means "roasted rat faeces", no ?

Vale,

Atticus

You must use a different dictionary. Mine says it's an oaken plank used as an oar. and no matter how much salt and pepper you toss into those walnuts and honey it's not going to be palatable. Next Saturday you say? For dinner? Can I bring a friend, and maybe my own cook, too?

when we think of cookies, we think of something hard and flat, but I suppose Roman cookies were different. They didn't use sugar, but honey to sweeten them, so they must have been not as dry as our cookies and more sticky, like gingerbread.

Salve Quinte,

Here are two french links on the roman cooking !

First is a a library on line where you can buy latin books :

http://www.librarius.net/boutique_libra ... 474&page=1

Second is a site with a list of links (see the first and the second link) :

http://www.reacteur.com/search/12?kw=Cuisine%20romaine

If you read the french, i advise you a french book on roman cooking :

Nicole BLANC, Anne NERCESSIAN, La cuisine romaine antique. Glénat, Faton, 1997.

It's a very good book. I use it for a roman cook for my birthday. It was great...

Vale bene

Aulus

Salve Aule,

And thank you for the links. If you're into Roman food and drink, do try Apicius' recipe for mulsum ! Summarized : boil 3 dl. of white wine (not your most expensive wine of course !) with pepper, bay leafs (laurier), saffron (just a tiny bit) and pieces of date. Pour the wine through a sieve into a jug, add 4 soupspoons of honey and the other 4,5 dl. of cold wine. After it has cooled down, pour it back into the bottle and leave it in the fridge for a few hours. Ready in just 15 minutes, but simply delicious.

Vale,

Atticus

ariadne sergia fausta wrote:when we think of cookies, we think of something hard and flat, but I suppose Roman cookies were different. They didn't use sugar, but honey to sweeten them, so they must have been not as dry as our cookies and more sticky, like gingerbread.

And no chocolate chips either! Just not the same without the chocolate!

salve

while reading old recipes it usually strikes me that food had to cook very long. Even in recipes from 60 years ago it was often necessary to let a dish 2 or 3 hour on the fire. I asked my grandfather how this was done, that women had to spend their whole morning by the fire. He said that is was because of the stove (I don't know wether this is the same word in English) It was easier to let it burn steadily the whole day, without exstinguishing en re-lighting it. I wonder on which type of furnace the Roman cooks prepared their food, and how long the cookies had to bake

ariadne