FOOD.
The food the Romans ate depended on how much money they had, and where you were on the Roman Empire.
In Ancient Rome, there weren't many rich Romans, but there were many poor Romans. Romans who were really rich likes showing off by having a lot of slaves cook very fancy food/dinners for them, so they can invite a lot of friends over and eat at the fancy table that goes along with the fancy food. It is also a way to show off ones wealth to others.Slaves tried to cook food that were unusual/awkward, very expensive, or very difficult to make because those were the most important rather than having a good, delicious dinner.
Rich Romans like eating whole plates of peacock tongues. They also like eating complicated meals like stuffing a chicken inside a duck, then the duck inside a goose, then the goose inside a pig, and then the pig inside a cow. Afterwards, they cook the whole thing.
The rich Roman also liked to use expensive spices that traders brought from thousands of miles away. Cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg and cloves came all the way from India. The Romans eating habits were very different from ours today.
FOOD LiFESTYLES.
Breakfast (Jentaculum is what the Romans called breakfast) :
The upper class of Romans (they were called patricians) breakfast consisted of fresh meat, vegetables, fish, fruits, and bread. Honey was used to sweeten meals, since the Romans didn't know sugar at the time. The job of cooking and cleaning belonged to the slaves, they also cut food for the patricians. Fingers were the traditional way that Romans ate their food with, since forks and spoons were not invented at the time. Children who go to school would probably buy food items, like a pancake so they can eat something on their way to school.
The lower class of Romans (which were called plebeians), began their day eating dry bread. Times when the plebeians ate the bread as it is, but often plebeians dipped their bread into wine or water. They can also choose to sprinkle a different variety of food items on top of their bread like: olives, cheese, raisins, and etc. In the early days of ancient Rome, a tradition was that people gave out bread on a daily basis to those who weren't working.
Lunch (Prandium is what the Romans called lunch) :
Lunch was usually eaten about eleven o'clock a.m. and was consisted of a light meal of bread, cheese and maybe some meat.
Supper (Cena is what the Romans called the main meal, supper) :
Supper was usually eaten late in the afternoon, or in the early evenings. If the master of the house that day had no guests, the supper might take up to about an hour, but if the master did have guests, then the meal might take up to four hours. Light suppers were usually eaten right before the Romans went to bed, consisting of bread and fruit. Usually, Romans weren't big meat eaters, and most of their normal meals involved vegetables, herbs, and spices mixed together with a wheat meal that looked like porridge.
