Ever wonder what your ancient ancestors were eating at dinner time? The foods humans have eaten throughout the centuries have changed, but not as drastically as you might think. All sorts of recipes, from basic to elaborate, have been made by our ancient chef relatives to suit the palettes of the times and the regions they lived in. Using the very same ingredients today, it’s easy to recreate some of the tastiest dishes that our ancestors enjoyed ages ago. Each region and culture has something unique and delicious to contribute to the long, long history of human’s culinary talent.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greeks ate some pretty familiar things – all sorts of great fresh ingredients were available, as well as a myriad of seafood and game. The Greeks had access to many diverse ingredients thanks to simple ancient naval engineering, allowing basic trade between islands. Some of the most common foods eaten by in ancient Greece were rabbit, lamb, eel, prawns, lentils, cheeses, plums, cress, garlic, mint, honey, and vinegar. These foods are still very popular in modern Greek food, and the echoes of ancient recipes are very noticeable. One of the earliest Greek recipes recorded called for sliced fish cooked with oil and cheese. This simple traditional combination is seen in modern Greek food. To try it for yourself, check out this tasty recipe called Psari Plaki, or Greek baked fish.
Ancient Egypt
The food eaten by ancient Egyptians has long been something historians and foodies the world over have been heavily interested in since the discovery of a variety of food stocks stored in elaborate tombs of high ranking Egyptian societal people. Some of the foods that the ancients in Egypt ate were dates, grapes, onions, fish, and some of the earliest known forms of bread. Meats were also commonly enjoyed, the poorer class eating mainly fowl while the rich ate beef, sheep, goat, and pork. Beer was also a large part of ancient Egyptian life, and it was used in their food as well as enjoyed as a beverage. A popular Egyptian dish eaten today is called Bamia, which uses many ingredients available to the ancient Egyptians; beef, onion, yogurt, and more. Learn to make Bamia with okra here!
Ancient Rome
Though not the pioneers of ancient culinary talent, the ancient Romans are very well known for their hearty and tasty recipes including many ingredients found all over the Mediterranean. The way ancient Romans cooked was complex and artistic, and their style of food and their love for rustic ingredients has touched many surrounding cultures, and remains prevalent in the dishes of those cultures to this day. The most common foods eaten by ancient Romans were mushrooms, onions, turnips, beets, spinach, oils and vinegars, olives, and radishes. The meats they ate varied by class, but it’s been noted that almost all ancient Romans enjoyed pork served many different ways. They cooked seafood as well, and bred and raised geese as food. The ancient Romans were also very choosey about spices, and used local weeds and bush plants as a flavorful addition to many dishes. Capers, sorrel, fenugreek, and elder shrub were used to flavor ancient Roman dishes, and are still used today. A very ancient recipe for cooking mussels with cumin, egg, and vinegar is still eaten today, and has changed very little since the days of the ancients. Visit this page for the recipe as it is today, as well as the original recipe from a very old Roman cook book!
Ancient China
The ancient Chinese were the most technologically minded civilization through much of humanity’s history. The many ingenious ways they went about cultivating, storing, and preparing their food helped to create a diversity in their cuisine that wasn’t seen in many other cultures till literally centuries later. The ancient Chinese were masters of preserving and pickling, and created intricate dishes using foods that were more often than not considered medicinal in nature. The most common foods eaten by ancient people in China were soybeans, millet, rice, cucumbers, wild mushrooms, ginger, peaches, fowl, and fish. In modern Chinese cooking, the various cooking styles are usually split into groups depending on which region they originated in. Each region has it’s own unique style of cooking, but each stemmed from the ancient traditional foods and recipes of their ancestors. Chinese dumplings are what come to mind when one thinks of traditional Chinese food, so making a dish echoing an ancient time with ingredients they would have had centuries ago is simple. If you want to give it a try, check out this recipe for pork dumplings – this dish includes many traditional Chinese ingredients, and is fun to make as well!
If you’re interested in finding out more about the ancient foods eaten in these and other countries around the world throughout history, visit FoodTimeline.org.
Helpful sources from:
Welkom
http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/food/
http://www.ancientnile.co.uk/diet.php