Food and Medicine in the Time of the Epicureans in Ancient Greece and Rome

On ancient Greek diet:

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Greeks of that time were very fond of fish, perhaps even more than we are today. For lunch, they would routinely dine on any fresh fish that was available, including sea bream, mullet, sardines, and eels.

There was always an assortment of legumes from which to choose, including lentils, beans, chickpeas, peas and broad beans to accompany the fish.

The eternal European staple of bread was always part of the midday meal, accompanied by cheese, olives, eggs, nuts, and fruit.

https://greekreporter.com/2022/08/04/ancient-greeks-were-gourmands-with-a-preference-for-fish/

Another good article, the full article has lots of good details.

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Ancient Greeks enjoyed a varied diet of vegetables, legumes, and fruit as the mainstay. But, being a coastal country with many islands, fish and seafood were an important part of the diet and animal husbandry and hunting brought meats and game to the menu. However, the consumption of fish and meat varied in accordance with the wealth and location of the household.

List of the Various Foods Enjoyed by Ancient Greeks

Ancient Greek foods were similar to the foods we know today, except the variety was limited. Learn about ancient Greek foods and how they evolved.

www.thespruceeats.com

Homemade Cheese, In Ancient Roman Style:

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Here's something that people made and ate more than two millennia ago, but familiar to all of us. Art historian and chef Nancy De Lucia Real shares a simple cheese recipe that Romans would have eaten in Gaul (modern-day France), cited in writer Pliny's Latin text, "Natural History" written in 77 AD, that says the best cheeses came from the villages near what is now the city of Nîmes in southern France. You don't need to go all the way to Europe to try this Roman staple -- this cheese is easily replicated at home.

Homemade Cheese

Makes one 4-inch round cheese

Since this traditional recipe uses organic whole milk and vinegar for coagulation, the resulting cheese is extremely fresh and without artificial additives. It will keep, covered in an airtight container and refrigerated, for 2 to 3 days.

1 gallon organic, whole milk

½ cup white, distilled vinegar

1-1/4 teaspoons salt

Pour the milk into a 10 to 12-quart saucepot and heat, stirring constantly, until almost boiling.

When milk begins to smoke and almost boils, remove the saucepot from heat.

Immediately stir in the vinegar; let stand 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, line a strainer with cheesecloth, and set it over a large pot or bowl (bowl should be placed inside the sink).

After 10 minutes, pour the milk-vinegar mixture into the cheesecloth set over strainer. The solids (curds) should separate from the yellowish liquid (whey).

Stir the salt into the whey in bowl and then pour it over the curds in the strainer.

Let the curds continue to drain in the strainer for one hour.

Discard the liquid or whey.

After the cheese has finished draining, tighten the cloth around the cheese.

Loosen the cheesecloth and, using a soup spoon (or one that is slightly larger), gently scoop out the cheese and transfer it to a glass or porcelain bowl measuring 8 to 9 inches in diameter.

Pat the cheese into a ball and cover it with plastic wrap.

Store the fresh cheese in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Homemade cheese keeps refrigerated in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.

Variation: You can experiment with different varieties of cheese by adding ground black pepper, dried, red chili peppers, or your favorite herbs.

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Recipe: Homemade Cheese, in the Ancient Roman Style

This simple cheese recipe would have been made and eaten by Romans more than two millennia ago.

www.kcet.org

Quote from Pacatus

… in Classical Era Athens, the purchase of all fish by a wealthy citizen was considered an undemocratic act since he left nothing for the rest of the people.” https://greekreporter.com/2022/08/04/anc…rence-for-fish/ cited by Kalosyni in post #43 above.

I somehow didn't see that in that article, and it is a little bit confusing because that same article says this:

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As for processed fish, such as preserved tuna and anchovies, they were widely consumed by all social classes and were the product of a very flourishing trade throughout the Mediterranean and the adjacent seas.

Found this article on history of cheese in Greece:

Intro to Greek Cheeses

GREEK CHEESES -  A SHORT HISTORY The single most distinguishing characteristic of Greek cheese is that most of it is made with sheep’s milk, goat’s milk, or a…

www.dianekochilas.com

In last night's Zoom meeting a PDF document by Bryan contained an image of Epicurus with calendula flowers. (Bryan perhaps if by chance you feel you want to upload the image to the gallery?)

I looked up and found this info on Wikipedia.

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Ancient Romans and Greeks used the golden Calendula in many rituals and ceremonies, sometimes wearing crowns or garlands made from the flowers. ...

...Calendula officinalis oil is still used medicinally as an anti-inflammatory and a remedy for healing wounds.

I might try this one since I have some pears and eggs. I don't have the fish sauce, and thinking of ways to tweek this into a sweeter dessert, and may use butter instead of olive oil.

Patina de Piris (Patina of Pears) — Tasting History

A sweet egg frittata-like dish that has a classic combination of ancient Roman flavors of long pepper, garum, and cumin

www.tastinghistory.com

I just found this website which has recipes:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/cook-classical-feast-nine-recipes-ancient-greece-and-rome