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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....
no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 12:57 pm (UTC)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
no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 02:55 pm (UTC)Bloomin' Romans have the whole world sewn up...
Oh, yes! Technically speaking, your residence is the House of the Faun, too!!
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Date: 2011-05-14 01:11 pm (UTC)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.
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Date: 2011-05-14 02:56 pm (UTC)Mmm, I'm almost tempted by the honey coated dumplings...
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Date: 2011-05-14 04:09 pm (UTC)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.
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Date: 2011-05-14 04:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-17 07:49 am (UTC)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.
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Date: 2011-05-17 04:31 pm (UTC)But I'd have to cook for Lent, since I'm veggie.
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Date: 2011-05-17 04:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 11:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-15 09:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-15 02:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 01:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 01:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 02:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 03:51 pm (UTC)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?
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Date: 2011-05-14 04:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 04:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 05:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 07:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 07:31 pm (UTC)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...)
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Date: 2011-05-14 07:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-14 08:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-15 06:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-15 06:55 am (UTC)Hm, I learn something new here constantly :) Thank you!
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Date: 2011-05-15 09:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-15 02:38 pm (UTC)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.
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Date: 2011-05-16 01:57 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 04:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-16 05:11 pm (UTC)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)