A Roman family’s diet depended on their social status. Those with little money ate wheat, which was probably boiled because the poor usually did not have ovens for baking. They also ate beans and leeks, but meat was a luxury. In modest homes, cheap wine and vinegar mixed with water were common beverages. Romans of all classes disapproved of drinking wine without water. Romans used milk to make cheese, but they did not drink it. They thought only uncivilized people drank milk!
As can be seen in the ruins of Pompeii, homes of the rich usually had big, fancy paintings, know as frescoes, on the walls.
The wealthy drank wine and ate a wide variety of meats, vegetables, and fish. An invitation from the poet Martial to a friend offers a glimpse of a middle-class Roman’s taste and hospitality: “If you are worried about a lonely dinner at home, Toranius, you can come share your hunger with me.
If you are accustomed to an appetizer, you won’t be disappointed; there will be cheap Cappadocian lettuce and strong leeks and tuna fish garnished with sliced eggs. . . . We will also have a small sausage served on a bed of white grits [a boiled wheat dish] and pale beans and red bacon.”6
World History
