Roman Cuisine in the Republican Era

Romans of the Republican Era were a sober people of frugal dietary habits: they usually had two meals a day, prandium and supper. The custom of a breakfast of cereal, honey, dried fruit, and cheese was gradually introduced. For a long time, the most widely consumed foods were boiled cereals (a kind of mush), legumes such as broad beans, lentils, chickpeas, lupins, vegetables of various types, bread, and cake. The diet also included fish, game from the hunt (which was eaten only on festive days), milk, cheese, and fruit. Romans of that time did not raise livestock.

4. Answer the following questions:

What two meals had Romans of the Republican Era?

When did not Romans raise livestock?

What custom was gradually introduced?

Did the diet also include fish, game from the hunt, milk, cheese?

Were the most widely consumed foods boiled cereals or legumes?

5. Translate into Russian using чем … тем …:

The more you learn, the more you know.

The more one studies nature, the better one knows its laws.

The better products, the better meal.

The sweeter water, the drier mouth.

The older the cow, the more time one need to cook it.

Lesson 3

1. Read the words and put down their Russian equivalents:

soaked ____________________________________________________

affair _____________________________________________________

sweets ____________________________________________________

aromatic ___________________________________________________

stuffed _____________________________________________________

d'oeuvres ___________________________________________________

Barbarian ___________________________________________________

Digestible ___________________________________________________

2. Master the active vocabulary:

pickle - рассол; уксус для маринада

famished - голодный, изголодавшийся; умирающий от голода

refuge - убежище; прибежище

poverty - бедность, нищета, нужда, скудость

seafood - морепродукты

almonds – миндаль

3. Read and translate the text:

Roman Cuisine in the Imperial Age

The Romans in the Imperial Age had two main daily meals, but they often added a breakfast of bread soaked in wine, grapes, olives, milk, and eggs. The midday meal was a light affair of cold dishes. Dinner was the main meal: a feast of hoer d'oeuvres (mixed seafood) followed by game, pork, veal, goat, fowl, fish, and sweets with a honey base, fresh and dried fruit. Meals were accompanied by sweets and aromatic wines.