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ROMAN FOODS

TYPES OF BREAD
Bread varied in quality depending on the flour, which varied with the kind of grain, the setting of the millstones and the fineness of the sieves. The very best bread was made from wheat flour; the very worst from bran alone. Loaves were circular and somewhat flat, like a coffee cake
 
 

BREADS AND BREAD PRODUCTS

Ever wonder what kinds of fruits the Romans ate? Well here's some of the more common ones:

More rare would be the fruits found on this list til a late point in Ancient Roman History:

Apricots, cherries, dates, lemons, and oranges weren't grown in Italy until the prinicipate
berries were rarely eaten
Fruits were eaten raw, dried, preserved, and cooked; fruits were dried or preserved for winter use

What vegetables did the Romans eat? Here they are:

Beans, olives, and peas were grown in Italy
Broccoli, leeks, artichokes and asparagus were imported
Beans and peas were an important part of lower class diets and were sold either dried or--in tabernae or by street vendors--hot
Cabbage was believed to prevent drunkenness, cure paralysis, and protect people from the plague
Garlic was believed to give soldiers courage
Legumes (beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, etc.) were also used as cattle feed
Lettuce was considered a laxative by the Romans
Mallow leaves were considered good for the digestion
Olives were eaten plain as well as with other food
Olive oil were used both as fuel for lamps and for use in the public baths

When they did eat meats, poultry, and fish, what specifically did the Romans eat? Here's a list:

The poor could seldom afford to buy meat
Meat was more often boiled than roasted with spicy sauces
Pork was considered a great delicacy.
Stuffed dormice were considered a delicacy too. Usually the dormice were stuffed with minced pork, pepper, pine kernels, and liquamen.

Sugar was unknown to the Romans; honey was their main sweetener. They also used other sauces and spices to add flavor to the food they ate:

Here's a partial list of foods that the Romans were never known to have used:

In the interest of promoting roleplay between the rooms here at Lost Worlds, certain concessions have been made as to the foods and drinks which we shall allow to be served in Rome.  These foods and drinks marked with an * in the above table are allowed in our menus in order to promote trade between the various cultures and to offer the fullest in Roman Hospitality to our Guests from the other Ancient Worlds.  If needed more foods may be marked as trade agreements open with new cultures.

The ordinary Roman was not a great eater of meats. The table below shows their typical meals:

Roman Legionaries followed a carefully supervised diet. Their diet was a balanced one of wheat, some meat (usually bacon), fish, poultry, cheese, vegetables, fruit, salt, olive oil, and wine.
 

ANATOMY OF A ROMAN DINNER PARTY
Roman dinner parties were similar but more sumptuous than those of today. Hors d'oeuvres were served, followed by six or seven main courses, then several kinds of dessert, with a lot of drinking underscoring the whole affair before, during and after the actual dinner. A small army of slaves usually dealt with the whims of the guests as well as serving watered down wine throughout the proceedings. Some hosts served their best wine to start with and then lesser vintages as guests became more intoxicated. In the early days of Rome, women were discouraged from drinking wine altogether, unless it was well watered down, but this stricture was dropped during the empire. At any dinner party it was considered polite to belch

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