An inside look at food and cooking in a ancient Roman kitchen.

"Kitchenalia" introduces objects from different historical periods, discovers a bit about their history and how each was made. We look at how, through our practical experiments, we have learnt to best use them, and offer some recipes for you to try at home. Today's objects are "fish eaters". which became popular in the Victorian period.

In an earlier article, we challenged the idea that Roman soldiers cooked farinata, a type of unleavened bread made from chickpea flour, on their shields (link here). Given that Roman shields (Latin scutae; sing. scuta) were typically made of wood this is highly unlikely and at best a myth. So, if not using their shields, then what utensils might the average Roman soldier carry to cook with?

"Kitchenalia" introduces objects from different historical periods, discovers a bit about their history and how each was made. We look at how, through our practical experiments, we have learnt to best use them, and offer some recipes for you to try at home. Today's object is the Roman testum.

"Kitchenalia" introduces objects from different historical periods, discovers a bit about their history and how each was made. We look at how, through our practical experiments, we have learnt to best use them, and offer some recipes for you to try at home. Today's object is the Roman mortarium.

"Kitchenalia" introduces objects from different historical periods, discovers a bit about their history and how each was made. We look at how, through our practical experiments, we have learnt to best use them, and offer some recipes for you to try at home. Today's object is the Roman glirarium.

Pythagoras is credited with making a cup that, by applying the laws of physics, teaches us to drink wine in moderation.

Tastes Of History recently purchased a new toy: The Spring Oven. With ancient Greco-Roman forebears, and looking very much like a North African tajine, this [slip cast] terracotta creation is designed to steam bake bread at home for 'bakery style results'.

What do the letters “SRD” marked on stoneware jars mean?

Recreating a "cooker", known as a "craticula", the original having been found in a garden in Pompeii.