Guides
A humble bowl of lentils, onions, and leeks can open a window onto the kitchens of ancient Mesopotamia. Long before modern ideas of soup and stew took shape,…
Roman Britain was never a single culinary culture. When Roman power reached the island in the first century CE, it encountered regional communities with…
Defrutum was a concentrated grape syrup made by reducing fresh grape must, the cloudy juice pressed before fermentation. Roman cooks used it to sweeten sauces,…
In ancient Greece, olive oil was far more than a cooking fat. It illuminated homes, softened skin, scented the body, accompanied religious offerings, and…
In ancient Rome, food workers occupied a complicated place in society. Butchers and bakers performed essential services for crowded cities, supplied households…
Long before pesto became a Ligurian specialty, cooks across the Roman world were combining herbs, garlic, salt, cheese, nuts, and oil in heavy stone or ceramic…
A Greek symposium was a drinking gathering, but it was never simply a matter of passing around cups of undiluted wine. Held after the meal, the symposium…
In ancient Rome, animal sacrifice was a carefully ordered act that joined religion, politics, agriculture, and food. A victim was not simply killed for a…
Long before bottled condiments appeared on modern kitchen shelves, Greek cooks relied on fermented fish sauces to add salt, aroma, and depth to food. Garon,…
The Nile was Egypt’s great food-producing artery, and its fish were among the most accessible sources of animal protein. From village markets to temple estates…
