Omaha daily bee., 1911-12-26
OLD ROMAN COOKERY BOOK
Famous Epicure Left Recipes that
Have been Culinary Inspira-
ton for Ages.


Marcus Gabius Apicius ate up for
tune. he spent IL ali on food for himself
and his guests, food and the accessories
OF service and entertainment. When he
found he had only million sestercli left
about e7.OOQ-he was afraid he would
die of starvation. So he drank poison
and died.
That was 1900 years ago. when IT.
berius was emperor OF Rome, Apicius
was one OF the greatest gourmets that
ever lived. His was an age Of discovery,
not only geographically but gastronimi-
cally. Every new country conquered
revealed new foods. As the Ro
man empire spread over Europe,
Asia and Africa. new markets
were opened up. Ships freighted
with the product of Gaul. Britain, Egypt
Syria, Parthia, Mauritania and Scythia
flocked to Civita Vecchia the port of
Rome, and foreigners of all compilations
brought their tastes and their customs to
the capital. They also brought the foods
and drinks to which they had been ac-
customed at home. And Roman travellers
learned in distant lands how delicious
W6It AhNdAs anu NtBGidUlbb dtlu
Of which they had never before suspected
the existence Just as we today are eager
to try the SAVIOR Of foreign dainties, so
the pleasure-loving Romans OF the days
OF the early Caesars were eager to try
the national dishes of other peoples.
Wealth came suddenly to thousands
and with wealth came ostentatlon and
extravaganza in eating and drinking.
Rome was full of mushroom millionaires
aud the class of men who IN Paris are
called ''rastaguoueres.' Among the enor-
mously wealthy epicures Apicius stood
pre-eminent. He was a type OF the gour-
met, a man to whom eating was a fine
art, dining a religion. But he was UNI
selfish in his taste, and was glad to en-
rich the world with the deep knowledge
OF cookery that he had attained through
long study and much experimentation.
So he wrote a cookery book. This book
is the oldest Of It's kind that is known,
except a fragmentary one in Sanskrit
the vasavarajeyam. The original has
been lost, but it formed the basis OF a
book published $50 years after his death,
and this, which contains his recipes, has
lived for seventeen centuries and has
pNNH AHt VI luOuhdHuS Ol
cooks. Many OF the recipes OF Aplcius
are in common use with but slight modi-
fication to this day, especially by the
cooks of Spain, Italy and Southern
France. OF course, we have advanced
In gastronomic knowledge since those
days. Those sybaritic Romans knew
nothing Of many foods that are almost a
commonplace to us-sugar. for instance,
and potatoes and turkeys, to say nothing
of chocolate. tea, coffee and tobacco So,
where our recipes direct sugar, theirs
ordered honey, II they had not turkeys
they had partridges, pheasants and quail.
Where we use potatoes they used chest
nuts, peas. beans and lentiis.
The taste of the Romans OF the early
days of the empire ran to the reconcile
To serve food with It's own flavor seemed
too easy. Art in cooking did not consist
In adding such condiments as would
bring out the natural flavor OF the meat
as We eat mustard with ham or cram
berry sauce with turkey-but rather in so
Disgusting the flavor as to make It inn
possible TO recognize what was the basis
OF the dish. The artistic chef OF that day
made veal taste like fish. fish taste like
~
almost as some modern French cooks
boast that they can make delicious
fagout out of a pair OF wornout gloves.
The striking features of cookery among
the rich Romans were multiplicity of
dishes, the destruction and waste Of vast
quantities " material and the absolute
Disgusting OF favors by means OF ex-
traordinary combinations of highly sea-
soned sauces ana gravles.
In Italy today pigs livers are served
in way that is accurately described by
Apicius. Mixed with herbs, salt and wine
they are stuffed into small sausage skins,
with one bay leaf to each, and baked.
And there are many similar recipes
given by Apicius which are 30 similar to
the methods In use today as to be almost
| Identical. He tells how TO make barley
water such as given to invalids; how to
preserve comestibles with honey or salt
By freezing and keeping out OF the air.
lie tells how to keep punches of grapes
/ by burying them in fresh bran: how to
keep vegetables green by washing them
in soda and water, and dried figs and
prunes by dipping them into boiling sea
water.
1 AGaAtAf NhS AAAac meat bAEef ~ Atai 10
the heart OF the Englishman. and the no
less delicious deep pies. made In pastry
lined bowls. were well known TO Apioius.
and he even gives explicit instructions
about leaving a hole In the upper crust
through which the steam may escape
The majority OF our modern sauces were
known In his kitchen. You could make q
sauce piquante, remoulade or vinaigrettt
without difficulty by following his I'm
structions. IL Is interesting 10 note that
che far-famed Worcestershire sauce hac
It's origin in his kitchen. and has changed
but little since. Today. as then. It IL
made OF cayenne pepper, black pepper
cloves, ginger. turmerie, paprika, mus
tard. sugar. tamarlnds. vinegar, sherry
garlic and asafoetida. This Is probably
the only form 10 which asafoetida Is uset
in cookery today, but II was used by
every housewife In the midGle ages,
It's DurninE shame
1 EaIN -