Ancient Greek and Roman Dietary Guidelines

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Ancient Greek and Roman Dietary Guidelines

The Greeks and Romans didn’t have very many options on what they ate,

they basically ate anything they could find or make. They had many

different techniques of cooking and certain classes of people ate

differently than others. The Greeks also had many religious ceremonies

that were associated with meals and eating habits.

The wealthy Greeks ate a variety of meals and related them very much

to religion. Fresh, dried, and salted fish were a delicacy if they

were mackerel, sturgeon, tuna, sea bream, or mullet; but one of the

favorites was eels from Lake Kopais in Boeotia. Some of the more

common eaten fish were anchovies or sardines. The most popular

vegetables were cabbages, asparagus, carrots, radishes, cucumbers,

pumpkins, chicory, celery, and artichokes. Onions, garlic, and olives

were eaten in large quantities and were the diet for the Greek army

and navy. They ate grapes, figs, apples, pears, and dates but they did

not have any citrus fruits, bananas, or sugar, so they had to use

honey and dried figs to sweeten their meals. They harvested wild nuts

such as almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, and chestnuts. Cheese was made

only from sheep or goats and olive oil was the only source of fat used

in all food preparation, then they used salt to preserve the foods.

There were 2 different kinds of bread that they ate: maza, which was

made from barley flour; and artos, which was a white bread made from

wheat. Artos was for more wealthy, luxourious people. Bread was eaten

with honey, cheese, and olive oil and could also be cooked up in

porridge or broth. They also had a special word “opson” to mean any

food that was eaten with bread, since bread was the basis of their

diet and 70% of their caloric intake. The Greeks favored wine as their

drink of choice and only drank in quantities after eating. Wines came

from the islands of Chios, Lesbos, Rhodes, and Samos which was said to

have made the best wine. Beer was associated with barbarians only and

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