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[personal profile] endlessrarities

One thing that struck me about me about Pompeii - and Herculaneum - was the astounding number of fast food joints that littered the place.  It was evidently the done thing for the Roman citizens of 1st century Pompeii to eat out for lunch.  This wasn't just a matter of sitting down in a swanky restaurant:  instead, parties of friends and associates would hire a room, then have their food served to them by the staff in a place of luxury and comparative privacy.

The popularity of this pastime was evidenced by the presence of a fast food joint, almost literally round every corner.  They're distinctive things:  they comprise a row of huge pots set in concrete, with just the rims visible at the level of the counter:-

When you're facing such stiff competition, it's obvious that you have to work hard to make your establishment stand out from the crowd.  And the Roman equivalent of the easy-clean formica worktop is used to present some stunning eye-catching mosaics.  Some are patterned, while others are just random arrangements of thin polished marbles and porphyries.  The results are stunning:-
 




And a close-up of the 'easy-clean worktop':


Now I couldn't help wondering what they served in these fast food joints.  The pots are huge, and unglazed, which means they must be porous.  My knowledge of Roman food is not good:  I know Roman cuisine involved stuffed dormice and lots of fish oil, but I'd guess that whatever they're serving from these particular jars must be fairly dry.  Otherwise, how do you clean the things?  

Residue analysis of the jars would be rather intriguing.  That is if volcanic ash allows the preservation of organic residues in unglazed ceramic.

An intriguing thought.... 


Date: 2011-05-14 12:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] faunhaert.livejournal.com
top one looks liek a fruits and saldad bar
with soul on the end
the second
maybe a small fire below
or just hot rocks
with another pot on top of metal
filled with food? a warming pot
maybe tapas- finger food and sauces

looks like it would be a great thing to
recreate for the tourists
come for your roman lunch! a chicken in every pot!

;oved you pictures all the way
but this faun typing at you
was way bigger than the one in the palace
grin

Date: 2011-05-14 02:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] endlessrarities.livejournal.com
What have the Romans done for us? Well, apart from sanitation, roads, the legal system, etc. they invented shopfronts AND the tapas bar!!!

Bloomin' Romans have the whole world sewn up...

Oh, yes! Technically speaking, your residence is the House of the Faun, too!!

Date: 2011-05-14 01:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aulus-poliutos.livejournal.com
Roman MacDonald, how cool is that.

I totally want those tiles for my kitchen.

They should reconstruct one of those in the Archaeological Park in Xanten; I'm sure a town the size of Colonia Ulpia Traiana must have had fast food restaurants just like Pompeii. Maybe even local ones as well. "Forget about the stuffed dormice. Try Barbaricus' boar steak instead." (There is a restaurant serving Roman food, but the interior makes some concessions to modern living style, and you can't see into the kitchen.)

Actually, there was most likely not stuffed dormice but stews and porridges, and as Faun said, finger food like little spicy sausages. Maybe some fish fried in egg batter if the cook was ambitious. Bread, cheese, olives and such. Probably some sweet things like honey coated dumplings.

Date: 2011-05-14 02:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] endlessrarities.livejournal.com
I hoped you'd have something to say about this one!!

Mmm, I'm almost tempted by the honey coated dumplings...

Date: 2011-05-14 04:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aulus-poliutos.livejournal.com
Getting a Roman cook book (preferably a decent German one because of the measurements, and everyday food rather than Apicius) is on my list. And growing some of the herbs that have come out of fashion nowadays if I can get some seeds.

I've eaten Roman(ish) food a few times and what makes it different is mostly the seasoning (even minus the garum). I once had a stew-like dish with meat, apricots and raisins, for example - maybe a slightly unusual combination of ingredients, but a far cry from stuffed dormice. And I really loved the goat cheese with pepper and honey; that's something I sometimes reproduce at home.

Date: 2011-05-14 04:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] endlessrarities.livejournal.com
Again, this sounds quite yummy!!

Date: 2011-05-17 07:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cmcmck.livejournal.com
There is evidence that dormice were fattened for the pot- large pottery vessels with things like hamster runs inside where they lived until ready for another sort of pot! Dormouse bones turn up in the middens too.

Fruit and meat/fish are not an unusual combo of foods if you look at North African tajines and other fruit based stews and casseroles of that sort still eaten in those areas.

Mediaeval English food often had these amazing sweet/sour combos too- I've experimented with some of the recipes.

Date: 2011-05-17 04:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] endlessrarities.livejournal.com
I've got a medieval recipe book and I really ought to try making something.

But I'd have to cook for Lent, since I'm veggie.

Date: 2011-05-17 04:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cmcmck.livejournal.com
Moi aussi, but there are plenty of possibilities even so! :o)

Date: 2011-05-14 11:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] khiemtran.livejournal.com
That would have been a good idea for Pompeii or Herculaneum actually. It was a bit hard to really see the food stalls in context without knowing what sorts of food was served and how it all fit together.

Date: 2011-05-15 09:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] endlessrarities.livejournal.com
Perhaps the current pizza cafe conveys the appropriate atmosphere, even if it doesn't deliver authentic grub!!

Date: 2011-05-15 02:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com
Mmmm, every single thing in your last paragraph sounds delicious!

Date: 2011-05-14 01:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] technophobe1975.livejournal.com
Have they found any evidence of the Roman version of Happy Meals giveaways?

Date: 2011-05-14 01:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] birdsedge.livejournal.com
The third photo down looks a bit like our local Chinese takeaway. Not much changes in 2k years except the technology to heat the food. (And the health and safety regulations.)

Date: 2011-05-14 02:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] endlessrarities.livejournal.com
Maybe that's what all these little flying phallus charms are about! Maybe you get a free charm and a free slave girl (or boy!) with every Happy Meal!!

Date: 2011-05-14 03:51 pm (UTC)
ext_189645: (Default)
From: [identity profile] bunn.livejournal.com
Could the big pots be pot in pot refrigerators?

I believe the idea is you fill the big porous pot with water or wet sand, then the actual food goes in smaller glazed pots inside that. Evaporation from the porous pots then keeps the whole thing cool.

I don't know if the Romans used them, but it seems like the kind of technology they could have?

Date: 2011-05-14 04:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aulus-poliutos.livejournal.com
They definitely had cooling technology and ways to store ice from the Alpine glaciers. After all, they transported oysters and such overland, and they knew something like sherbet.

Date: 2011-05-14 04:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] endlessrarities.livejournal.com
A great suggestion, and one that could be tested! The sand would have survived archaeologically, but the water most certainly would not. BUT... If the organic contents are not in direct contact with the outer pot itself, they won't soak into the pottery so an examination for residue might just prove useful, if only for a negative. There's no sign of charring or excessive heat on the stone or the concrete or the ceramic, so presumably everything got infilled with ash prior to the onset of the final searing pyroclastic flow...

Date: 2011-05-14 05:40 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] goddessofchaos.livejournal.com
Somehow, I've always thought of eating out and especially fast food as a recent invention, so it's fascinating to see that's certainly not the case! Now I'm curious too about what was actually served there. And whether people moaned about it being "junk food" like they do today!

Date: 2011-05-14 07:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aulus-poliutos.livejournal.com
Not all Roman appartments had a kitchen, in particular not the cheaper ones in the insulae. It obviously cost less to eat out than keep a cooking slave, or buy the ingredients and do the job yourself.

Date: 2011-05-14 07:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] endlessrarities.livejournal.com
So they were even more useless and over-specialised than we were! At least we can still cook meals for ourselves without having to rely on a live-in chef...

Ah, another interesting point which we noted... We couldn't find any obvious latrines in the houses we visited. Now, I refuse to believe that the citizens of Pompeii survived on a combination of chamber pots and public toilets, so... What's the score???? I know the Roman soldiers have communal toilets in the forts but what's going on in the towns? (Ah, the joys of a sponge soaked in vinegar...)

Date: 2011-05-14 07:35 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] changeling72.livejournal.com
I remember those fast food joints. It's fascinating to discover how much of the 'modern' world isn't really that modern. I've got a photo of myself beside a huge pot! :o)

Date: 2011-05-14 07:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] endlessrarities.livejournal.com
They were great pots:-)

Date: 2011-05-14 08:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] clairehawthorn.livejournal.com
Fascinating post and photos, the history of food always intrigues me. I can't believe how modern those worktops look.

Date: 2011-05-15 06:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gghost.livejournal.com
That "worktop" is beautiful.

Date: 2011-05-15 06:55 am (UTC)
ext_25635: photo of me in helmet and with sword (Default)
From: [identity profile] red-trillium.livejournal.com
Beautiful tops. And intriguing. I wouldn't have thought that there would have been that much need for fast food joints, but someone commented that many apartments didn't have kitchens. I'd love to know how they worked too.

Hm, I learn something new here constantly :) Thank you!

Date: 2011-05-15 09:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] endlessrarities.livejournal.com
And I learn something new when I visit these places!!

Date: 2011-05-15 02:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com
Absolutely fascinating. I saw the first paragraph, then got called into the kitchen, where I told my kids all about how I was just reading about Pompeian fast-food joints. Then I came back and finished the entry--and now the comments--wow! I love the refrigeration notion (makes me want to try doing similar, actually--though i'm hampered by not having a big unglazed pot.

The photos are are beautiful too. I love the ones of the polished counters with the urn mouths showing right at the level of the counter.

Date: 2011-05-16 01:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cmcmck.livejournal.com
Fab pics again :o)

There's an awful lot of rubbish talked about Roman fish sauce (guarum). It was a fermented fish based sauce and contained no oil at all. Why use fish oil when you are producing vast amounts of good olive oil?

While the Romans plainly enjoyed strong flavours, if it was as awful as some 'historians' seem to assume it wouldn't have been mass produced in such large amounts and various qualities and put into so many recipes.

Think Vietnamese fish sauce (nam pla) or Worcestershire sauce- strong flavours, but tasty and perfectly edible.

Date: 2011-05-16 04:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] endlessrarities.livejournal.com
Oh, you've shattered the illusion!!! Our Romanist lecturers always gave us the impression that the 'fish oil' would have been disgusting:-) Must've been a standing joke as far as the teaching staff were concerned - fool the poor little undergrads into thinking that 'These Romans are crazy!', as Obelix would say.

Date: 2011-05-16 05:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cmcmck.livejournal.com
Archaelogists have come up with dozens of brand names on guarum containers (always handy that the Romans did branded goods :o)

As usual, the popular end of history tends not to be up with the most recent research.

It's quite fun doing recipes from the likes of Apicius subbing nam pla or worcester sauce for guarum! The results are entirely edible :o)
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