Moretum Recipe – Ancient Roman Herbed Cheese Spread

Moretum – Ancient Roman Herbed Cheese Spread (Roman Feast Recipe)

This dish was served as part of the Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast.

Originally published: June 29, 2025 | Updated: June 5, 2026

Updated 6/5/2026: This post has been expanded to current Give It Forth standards with additional historical background, Roman dining context, feast and camp service notes, a recipe scaled for 8 diners, dietary notes, FAQ, internal feast links, and structured recipe data.

What is Moretum? Moretum is an ancient Roman herbed cheese spread made by pounding cheese, garlic, herbs, vinegar, and olive oil together in a mortar. It is pungent, salty, green, sharp, and excellent with bread as part of a Roman gustum, or appetizer course.

Moretum – Roman Herbed Cheese Spread

Course: Gustum (Appetizer)
Origin: Ancient Rome
Served: Cold or Room Temperature
Event: Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast

Moretum is one of those ancient dishes that feels startlingly immediate. Garlic, salty cheese, fresh herbs, vinegar, and olive oil are pounded together until they become a spread strong enough to wake the appetite and simple enough to serve with bread. It is not delicate food. It is rustic, fragrant, sharp, and lively, the kind of dish that makes a table feel inhabited rather than merely decorated.

For a Roman feast, Moretum works beautifully as a first taste. A small spoonful spread onto flatbread gives diners salt, fat, acid, herb, and heat all at once. It is also deeply practical for modern feast cooks: no stove is required, it can be made ahead, and it travels well if kept cold. That makes it especially useful for camping events, dayboards, and Pennsic-style service, where flavor, safety, and simplicity all have to sit at the same table.

Historical Background

Moretum was a common Roman dish combining fresh herbs, garlic, cheese, vinegar, and olive oil. The recipe appears in a short Latin poem once attributed to Virgil, describing a farmer preparing this flavorful spread as part of his daily breakfast. Its name likely comes from the mortar used to pound and mix the ingredients.

Did You Know?
The Moretum poem details the rustic preparation of this dish and includes an ode to garlic. It offers a vivid look into the humble meals of rural Romans.

For an English translation of the Moretum poem, see the Poetry in Translation version here.

The poem gives us more than a list of ingredients. It preserves a small domestic scene: a farmer rising early, grinding garlic and herbs, mixing cheese with oil and vinegar, and eating the finished spread with bread before beginning his work. That makes moretum especially useful for interpretation. It is not an elite showpiece dish, but a practical food with strong flavors, simple ingredients, and deep roots in everyday Roman eating.

This is part of what makes Moretum so valuable for historical cooking. Many surviving Roman recipes are associated with elite households, banquet culture, or the literary world of refined dining. Moretum, by contrast, feels close to ordinary life. It belongs to bread, work, garden herbs, dairy, and the mortar. It reminds us that historical food is not only peacocks, sauces, and spectacle. Sometimes it is a bowl of cheese and garlic eaten before a long day begins.

Garlic, Mortars, and the Roman Table

The name moretum is generally connected to the mortar, or mortarium, used to pound the ingredients together. This matters because texture is part of the dish. Moretum is not meant to be a delicate modern dip whipped into perfect smoothness. It is a pounded spread: coarse enough to show herbs and cheese, but unified by olive oil and vinegar into something that can be scooped up with bread.

A mortar changes how the ingredients behave. Garlic becomes softer, stronger, and more aromatic as it is crushed. Herbs bruise and release their oils. Cheese breaks down and absorbs the sharper flavors. Vinegar brightens the mixture, while olive oil softens the edges and helps bind everything together. A food processor is very useful for feast preparation, but the mortar helps explain the original character of the dish.

The flavor should be bold. Garlic gives the dish its heat. Cheese provides salt and body. Herbs bring freshness and color. Vinegar keeps the spread from becoming heavy. Served beside flatbread, olives, cucumbers, sausages, vegetables, and wine, Moretum makes a Roman appetizer board feel complete.

🏛️ Roman feast note: Moretum works beautifully as the flavorful center of a Roman dayboard. A small amount goes a long way, especially when paired with Piadina, olives, cucumbers, sausages, and other gustum dishes.

Moretum in the Gustum Course

In a Roman meal, the gustum served as the opening course, meant to wake the appetite and prepare diners for what followed. Dishes in this part of the meal might include eggs, olives, salads, cucumbers, small sausages, fish sauces, herbs, and bread. Moretum fits beautifully here because it is assertive without being heavy.

For modern diners, it also has an advantage: it is familiar enough to invite tasting, but different enough to feel historical. People understand bread and cheese. The surprise comes from the intensity of the garlic, the green herbs, and the vinegar. That balance makes Moretum a useful teaching dish. It lets the cook introduce Roman food through something approachable while still preserving a flavor profile that feels older than a modern cheese ball or party dip.

At the Push for Pennsic Roman feast, Moretum helped establish the tone of the meal. It gave the table a rustic, herbal, communal beginning and worked well beside the other opening dishes. Diners could take a little, spread it on bread, taste it with olives, or use it as a sharp counterpoint to richer foods. That is exactly where this dish shines.

Modern Interpretation

This version uses pecorino romano and fresh herbs like coriander and celery leaf to evoke the original blend. It is simple, pungent, and perfect with bread.

Pecorino romano is salty and assertive, which makes it a good modern choice for this dish. Fresh coriander, or cilantro, gives the spread a bright green herbal quality, while celery leaves echo the bitter-green flavors often found in older herb mixtures. If cilantro is not liked by your diners, parsley may be substituted, though the flavor will be milder.

The goal is a spread that tastes alive: garlicky, salty, herbal, tangy, and rich. If it tastes flat, add a little more vinegar. If it feels too harsh, add olive oil or a bit more cheese. If the garlic seems overwhelming, let the spread rest overnight. The flavors will settle and knit together, though the garlic will still remain the herald at the gate.

⚖️ Humoral note: In later medieval dietary theory, garlic was considered strongly heating and drying, while cheese could be heavy and moist depending on age and type. Vinegar and fresh herbs help sharpen and balance the dish. Although Moretum is Roman rather than medieval, the practical flavor balance is clear: rich cheese, hot garlic, bright herbs, sharp vinegar, and smoothing olive oil.

Krambe – Roman Cabbage with Caraway, Fish Sauce, and Herbs

Course: Mensa Prima (Main Course / Vegetable Side)
Origin: Ancient Rome
Served: Warm or cold
Event: Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast

Originally published: June 29, 2025 | Updated: June 3, 2026

Updated 6/3/2026: This post has been refreshed to current Give It Forth standards with expanded historical context, clearer recipe formatting, feast service notes, dietary notes, FAQ, internal links to the Roman feast series, and updated structured recipe data.

What is Krambe? Krambe is cabbage, a humble but important vegetable in the Roman diet. This Roman-inspired version is boiled until tender, chopped, and dressed with olive oil, wine, liquamen or fish sauce, caraway, onion, coriander, salt, and pepper.

Krambe in the Roman Feast

This cabbage dish was served as part of the Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast, where it appeared in the mensa prima, the more substantial part of the meal. After the opening course of olives, flatbread, sausages, cucumbers, and cheese spread, dishes like cabbage, chickpeas, and smoked ham gave the feast its heartier center.

Krambe works especially well for large feast service because it is inexpensive, sturdy, and flexible. It can be served warm, cooled, or chilled, and its dressing gives a plain vegetable enough brightness to stand beside richer Roman-inspired dishes.

The combination of olive oil, wine, fish sauce, onion, caraway, and herbs gives the cabbage a sharp, savory flavor. It is not a modern mayonnaise-based cabbage salad. It is closer to a dressed cooked vegetable: tender, seasoned, aromatic, and practical for event cooking.

🏛️ Roman feast note: Krambe pairs well with Lucanicae, Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis, and Petaso paro Mustacei. Its acidity and herbs help balance the richer dishes on the table.

Historical Background

“Krambe,” from Greek krambē, refers to cabbage, a vegetable that appears frequently in discussions of ancient food and medicine. Cabbage was a common food, but it also carried a strong reputation as a useful household remedy.

Roman authors such as Cato the Elder praised cabbage for its supposed medicinal properties. In De Agricultura, Cato gives cabbage an almost heroic place among garden plants, treating it as useful for digestion, health, and recovery. Whether or not we accept those claims today, they show how seriously Romans could regard an ordinary vegetable.

Apicius also includes cabbage preparations, reminding us that cabbage was not only medicinal or humble. It could be dressed, seasoned, and brought to table as part of a flavorful meal. Roman cooks often relied on combinations of oil, wine, vinegar or wine-based liquids, herbs, spices, and liquamen to make simple ingredients lively.

This version reflects that Roman habit of treating vegetables with strong seasoning. The fish sauce provides salt and depth, the wine sharpens the dressing, the olive oil enriches the cabbage, and the caraway gives a warm aromatic note.

⚖️ Humoral note: Later medieval dietary theory often treated cabbage as a vegetable that could be heavy or windy if poorly prepared. Boiling, draining, seasoning, and dressing it with warming spices and sharp liquids would have made practical sense to later cooks, even though this recipe is Roman-inspired rather than medieval.

Roman Chickpeas with Saffron (Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis) – Ancient Roman Recipe

Roman Chickpeas with Saffron – Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis

Course: Mensa Prima (Main Course / Legume Side)

Origin: Ancient Rome
Served: Warm
Event: Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast

Originally published: June 29, 2025 | Updated: June 3, 2026

Updated 6/3/2026: This post has been refreshed to current Give It Forth standards with expanded historical context, clearer recipe formatting, feast service notes, dietary notes, FAQ, internal links to the Roman feast series, and updated structured recipe data.

What are Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis? Erebinthoi are chickpeas, and this Roman-inspired preparation simmers them simply with saffron and salt. The dish is warm, fragrant, filling, and useful as a legume-based side in an Early Roman feast.

Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis in the Roman Feast

These saffron chickpeas were served as part of the Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast. They belong naturally in the mensa prima, the more substantial part of the meal, where legumes, cooked vegetables, and meats helped anchor the feast after the opening gustum.

Chickpeas are practical feast food. They are inexpensive, filling, easy to scale, and able to hold flavor without needing complicated service. For a primitive or outdoor event, a warm legume dish can be especially useful because it brings substance to the table without relying on fragile last-minute plating.

This recipe is intentionally simple. The chickpeas are soaked, simmered, seasoned with salt, and colored and perfumed with saffron. The result is not a heavily sauced dish. It is a minimalist preparation that lets the creamy texture of the chickpeas and the fragrance of saffron stand forward.

🏛️ Roman feast note: Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis pairs especially well with Krambe, Lucanicae, and Petaso paro Mustacei. It gives the meal a sturdy legume component and balances richer meat dishes.

Historical Background

Chickpeas, known in Greek as erebinthoi, were a familiar food in the ancient Mediterranean. They could be eaten in a variety of ways: boiled, roasted, seasoned, used in porridges, or served as part of broader vegetable and legume dishes.

Roman and Greek medical writers discussed legumes in terms of digestion, nourishment, and bodily effect. Authors such as Galen and Celsus refer to foods not only as ingredients, but as part of a wider understanding of health and diet. Chickpeas, like other legumes, were valued because they were sustaining, accessible, and substantial.

The addition of saffron makes this otherwise humble dish feel more refined. Saffron was an expensive aromatic spice, valued for its color, fragrance, and association with luxury. In the Roman world, saffron could appear in food, scent, ceremony, and elite display. Even a small pinch changes the dish: the chickpeas take on a golden hue and a warm, floral aroma.

Did You Know?
Saffron was so precious in Roman times that it was sometimes used as perfume, scattered in public spaces, or associated with elite entertainments. In this dish, it elevates a humble legume into something suitable for a feast table.

This contrast between ordinary chickpeas and costly saffron is part of the appeal. The dish remains simple and nourishing, but the saffron adds a small golden flourish, turning a basic legume into a feast-worthy side.

⚖️ Humoral note: Later medieval dietary theory often treated legumes as substantial and sometimes difficult to digest if poorly prepared. Soaking, simmering until tender, and serving warm would all make practical sense. Although this is a Roman-inspired recipe rather than a medieval one, the concern for digestibility and balance carries forward into later food writing.

Itria – Sesame Seed Biscuit & Basyniai – Fig and Walnut Cakes: Ancient Roman Sweets

Course: Mensa Secunda (Final Course / Dessert)
Origin: Ancient Rome
Served: Itria cooled; Basyniai warm
Event: Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast

Originally published: June 29, 2025 | Updated: June 3, 2026

Updated 6/3/2026: This post has been refreshed to current Give It Forth standards with expanded historical context, clearer recipe formatting, feast service notes, dietary notes, FAQ, internal links to the Roman feast series, and structured recipe data.

What are Itria and Basyniai? These two Roman-inspired sweets were served as part of the mensa secunda, the final course of the feast. Itria is interpreted here as a honeyed sesame-and-nut sweet, while Basyniai are small fig-and-walnut pastries fried in oil and finished with warm honey.

Itria and Basyniai in the Roman Feast

The final course of a Roman-style meal was not always a modern dessert course in the strict sense. Roman diners enjoyed fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, honeyed sweets, cakes, and small confections, but sweet and savory flavors could appear throughout the meal. A final course might refresh the palate rather than act as a heavy sugary ending.

For the Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast, these two sweets were served alongside assorted fresh and dried fruit and sugared nuts. Together, they offered the kind of small, rich, portable treats that work beautifully at the end of a large feast.

Both recipes are practical for event cooking. The sesame sweet can be made ahead, portioned into small bites, and served cooled. The fig-and-walnut pastries are best warm, but the filling and dough can be prepared in advance, making final service easier.

🏛️ Roman feast note: These sweets were part of the mensa secunda, served after the more substantial dishes of the feast. They pair especially well with fruit, nuts, grape juice, apple juice, lemonade, or other light beverages for a modern event table.

Historical Background

Sesame and honey confections were beloved across the ancient Mediterranean. Greek and Roman foodways both made use of small sweets made from seeds, nuts, dried fruits, and honey. These were compact, rich, and easy to portion, making them especially useful for feast service.

The Greek pasteli and Roman iritia or itria bear some resemblance to seed-and-honey sweets, although ancient food terms can shift in meaning depending on source, period, and context. For this feast, Itria was interpreted as a honey-bound sesame-and-nut confection: simple, fragrant, and portioned as small bites for the end of the meal.

Basyniai reflects another familiar ancient pattern: fruit and nuts enclosed in simple dough, fried in oil, and finished with honey. Figs, walnuts, olive oil, and honey were all well-suited to Roman-style sweets. The result is rustic rather than delicate, but rich, memorable, and feast-friendly.

These sweets also help modern diners understand that Roman final courses were not necessarily the same as modern desserts. A Roman-inspired ending could include fruit, nuts, honeyed cakes, fried pastries, and small confections rather than a single large cake or pudding.

⚖️ Humoral note: Later medieval dietary theory often treated nuts as rich and substantial, dried fruits as warming and nourishing, and honey as warming and drying. Although these are Roman-inspired sweets rather than medieval recipes, the practical balance is clear: dense nuts and figs are lifted by crisp pastry, toasted sesame, and warm honey.

Recreating an Early Roman Feast – Push for Pennsic 2004

Served at Push for Pennsic 2004 · SCA Event · Early Roman Style

Originally published: November 19, 2015 | Updated: June 3, 2026

Updated 6/3/2026: This feast hub has been refreshed to current Give It Forth standards with clearer menu organization, links to the recreated recipe posts, additional Roman meal context, practical feast-planning notes, dietary notes, FAQ, and FAQ structured data.

What was the Push for Pennsic Roman Feast? This was an Early Roman-style feast served at Push for Pennsic in 2004. It was designed for more than 100 diners and built around dishes that could be prepared ahead, transported, and served at room temperature under primitive site conditions.

About This Feast

Another blast from the past! This three-course feast was presented in the Roman style, allowing a diverse selection of savory and sweet items across all three courses. Designed to accommodate over 100 diners, the menu focused on dishes that could be made ahead and served at room temperature, with only a few heated on-site using a grill.

The feast site lacked a kitchen, with only a hose for water access, making this my third, possibly fourth, large-scale feast executed under primitive conditions. Because of that, the menu needed to be practical as well as historically inspired. Dishes had to travel well, hold safely, and make sense for service without a modern kitchen.

This is one of the reasons Roman food can be so useful for SCA and event cooking. Many Roman-inspired dishes are boldly flavored, served warm or at room temperature, and built from ingredients that can be prepared in advance: olives, cheese spreads, legumes, greens, sausages, breads, fruits, nuts, and honeyed or spiced sweets.

The Roman Meal Structure

A Roman-style meal is often described in three broad parts: the gustum, or appetizer course; the mensa prima, or main course; and the mensa secunda, or final course. This structure gave the feast a historical framework while still allowing the menu to be practical for a large modern event.

• Gustum: The appetizer course. These were small dishes meant to awaken the appetite. Olives, egg dishes, salads, spreads, sausages, and light vegetables could all belong here.
• Mensa Prima: The main course. This was the more substantial portion of the meal, often including meats, legumes, cooked vegetables, and richer sauces.
• Mensa Secunda: The final course. This might include fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, cakes, sweets, and other small delicacies. Roman meals did not always separate sweet and savory flavors as sharply as modern diners do, so sweet elements could appear throughout the meal.

Many dishes in this feast reflect the rich culinary heritage of Rome, inspired by texts such as Apicius and other classical sources. Some historical accuracy was necessarily interpreted through available ingredients, modern safety expectations, and the realities of cooking for a large event, but the goal was to preserve the spirit, flavor, and structure of an ancient Roman meal.

🏛️ Feast planning note: This menu works especially well for events because many dishes can be made ahead and served cold or at room temperature. That makes it useful for outdoor events, camping, Pennsic-style conditions, and sites with limited kitchen access.

Piadina – Ancient Roman-Inspired Flatbread Recipe

This dish was served as part of the Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast.

Originally published: June 29, 2025 at 4:14 PM | Updated: June 5, 2026

Updated 6/5/2026: This post has been expanded to current Give It Forth standards with additional Roman bread history, feast service notes, Pennsic and camp cooking guidance, a recipe scaled for 8 diners, dietary notes, FAQ, internal links to the full Roman feast menu, and structured recipe data.

What is Piadina? Piadina is a simple Italian flatbread with roots in the broader world of ancient Mediterranean griddle breads. This feast version is made with flour, fat, salt, and warm water, then cooked on a hot griddle or pan. It is quick, sturdy, and especially useful for Roman-inspired feast service or camp cooking.

Piadina – Roman-Inspired Flatbread

Course: Bread
Origin: Roman-inspired Italian flatbread tradition
Served: Warm or Room Temperature
Event: Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast

Bread is the quiet workhorse of a feast. It holds sauces, softens sharp flavors, stretches a meal, and gives diners something familiar to reach for while exploring less familiar historical dishes. In this Roman-inspired menu, Piadina served as that edible anchor: simple flatbread cooked on a hot surface and served with cheese spread, olives, sausages, vegetables, and other first-course foods.

This is not a fussy bread. It needs no yeast, no oven, and no long rise. Flour, fat, salt, and water become a workable dough that can be rolled, griddled, stacked, wrapped, and carried to table. That makes it especially useful for camp kitchens, dayboards, and feast service, where a reliable bread can save the meal from feeling scattered.

Historical Background

Piadina as it is known today is a later regional Italian flatbread, especially associated with Romagna, but it belongs to a much older Mediterranean family of simple breads cooked on hot stones, hearths, tiles, pans, or griddles. For a Roman-inspired feast, this method makes practical historical sense: a basic dough cooked on a hot surface without requiring a built bread oven.

Flatbreads occupy an important place in Roman food history because they are practical. Before every household had ready access to a dedicated oven, doughs could be cooked on heated surfaces. Bread served not only as food, but also as a utensil, a scoop, a trencher-like base, and a way to carry sauces, cheeses, meats, olives, and vegetables from plate to mouth.

For feast interpretation, this distinction matters. I am not claiming that modern piadina is an unchanged ancient Roman recipe. Rather, this redaction uses piadina as a practical modern bridge to ancient breadmaking habits: simple ingredients, direct heat, fast cooking, and service alongside the strongly flavored foods of a Roman table.

🏛️ Roman bread note: This is a Roman-inspired flatbread rather than a claim that modern piadina is unchanged from antiquity. The method reflects an ancient and practical style of breadmaking: a simple dough cooked on a hot surface without requiring a bread oven.

Bread at the Roman Table

Roman meals used bread in many ways. It could be served plainly, dipped in sauces, eaten with cheese, used to accompany pulses and vegetables, or paired with preserved and salted foods. In a feast setting, bread also helps balance richer dishes. A bite of flatbread softens the intensity of fish sauce, garlic, olives, smoked meat, or heavily seasoned sausage.

This is why Piadina works so well in the Push for Pennsic Roman menu. It is not merely a side dish. It is the edible architecture of the meal: a carrier for spreads, a companion for sausages, and a reliable anchor for the rest of the course.

With Moretum, the flatbread becomes a vehicle for garlic, herbs, and cheese. With Epityrum, it carries olives and oil. With Lucanicae, it gives diners a way to eat rich sausage without needing modern sandwich bread. It does exactly what feast bread should do: quietly make everything else easier to enjoy.

🍞 Feast service note: For Push for Pennsic, I prepared about 12 flatbreads per table for 8 diners so guests could share and take an extra portion if desired. Bread disappears quickly when served with olives, sausages, spreads, sauces, and vegetables.

Modern Interpretation

This version of piadina uses only basic ingredients: flour, fat, salt, and water. It cooks quickly on a griddle or open fire, making it ideal for period events with limited kitchen access.

Olive oil keeps the bread vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free, while lard gives a richer and more tender result. Either choice works well. For a Roman-inspired feast, olive oil is the more flexible option, especially if serving guests with dietary restrictions.

The finished bread should be flexible enough to fold or tear, but sturdy enough to hold a spread. If the dough feels dry, add water a tablespoon at a time. If it feels sticky, dust with flour as you roll. The goal is not perfect bakery uniformity. The goal is practical bread that can move from pan to platter without drama.

Camp and Pennsic Notes:

• No oven needed: Cook on a griddle, skillet, cast iron pan, or clean flat cooking surface.
• Good for primitive sites: The dough uses simple pantry ingredients and can be mixed by hand.
• Make-ahead friendly: Cook ahead and rewarm briefly on a dry pan or grill.
• Feast service: Stack wrapped breads in a towel to keep them warm and flexible.
• Sharing: Serve whole for tearing, or cut into halves or wedges for a dayboard or appetizer table.

Lucanicae – Ancient Roman Sausages Recipe

This dish was served as part of the Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast.

Originally published: June 29, 2025 at 3:44 PM | Updated: June 5, 2026

Updated 6/5/2026: This post has been expanded to current Give It Forth standards with additional historical context, Roman feast placement, Pennsic and camp cooking guidance, an appetizer-sized recipe for eight, dietary notes, FAQ, internal links to the full Roman feast menu, and structured recipe data.

What are Lucanicae? Lucanicae were seasoned sausages associated by Roman writers with Lucania in southern Italy. This version is inspired by Roman sausage traditions and the flavors of Apicius: minced meat, pepper, pine nuts, and liquamen or fish sauce, shaped small for feast service and grilled or gently cooked before finishing.

Lucanicae – Grilled Roman Sausages

Course: Gustum (Appetizer)
Origin: Ancient Rome
Served: Warm or Room Temperature
Event: Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast

Lucanicae are exactly the kind of dish that makes a Roman feast feel generous from the first course. Small, savory, highly seasoned sausages sit beautifully beside flatbread, olives, cucumbers, herbed cheese, cabbage, and chickpeas. They are rich enough to feel substantial, but when made small they remain appropriate for the gustum, the appetizer course meant to wake the appetite rather than exhaust it.

For modern feast cooks, they are also practical little flavor engines. The mixture can be prepared ahead, shaped small, chilled, transported, and cooked quickly on a grill or skillet. That makes Lucanicae especially useful for Pennsic-style service, primitive sites, and SCA dayboards where food needs to be flavorful, sturdy, and manageable without a full modern kitchen.

Historical Background

Lucanicae, the seasoned sausages of Roman origin, were named after the region of Lucania in southern Italy. Roman writers connect them with the Lucanians, and the name survived into later sausage traditions such as Italian luganega and Spanish longaniza.

Did You Know?
The Roman author Varro explains Lucanicae as sausages named from Lucania, describing the practice of stuffing minced meat into casings with seasonings. Whether read as food history, etymology, or both, the passage shows that Romans associated this style of sausage with a specific regional tradition.

For more on ancient Roman cookery, see the digitized Latin and English text of Apicius – De Re Coquinaria.

The surviving Roman cookery tradition does not give us a modern sausage recipe with neat measurements, temperatures, and timing. Instead, it gives us a flavor-world: pepper, liquamen, herbs, nuts, wine, vinegar, smoke, roasting, and meats prepared for household tables, taverns, military travel, and feasts. This redaction is therefore not a claim of exact reconstruction. It is a practical, feast-tested interpretation designed for SCA service, camp conditions, and modern food safety.

This is the useful place where historical cooking meets real-world feast work. A cook has to ask not only “what did the source say?” but also “how do I serve this safely, attractively, and generously to a table of modern diners?” For Lucanicae, the answer is to preserve the Roman flavor profile while making the shape and cooking method flexible.

Lucania, Soldiers, and Sausage-Making

The Roman explanation for lucanicae ties the sausage to Lucania, a region of southern Italy. Whether the Roman army truly learned the technique there or later writers preserved a convenient food etymology, the association matters. Sausages are portable, efficient, flavorful, and well suited to feeding groups. Minced meat mixed with salt, spice, and fat can stretch ingredients, cook quickly, and serve neatly in small portions.

That practicality explains why sausage belongs so comfortably on a Roman-inspired feast table. It is not merely meat in a casing. It is preserved knowledge: how to season meat strongly, how to divide it into portions, how to make it easy to cook, and how to carry rich flavor into a meal without requiring a large roast or elaborate carving.

For a feast cook, that ancient practicality still applies. A platter of small, bite-sized sausages looks abundant, serves cleanly, and works beautifully in an appetizer course. At Push for Pennsic, these are best treated as a gustum: a savory opening bite served with other small Roman-inspired dishes rather than as a large modern entree.

🏛️ Feast-cook note: A mound of small, meatball-sized sausages is pleasing to the eye and gives a generous impression while keeping portions appropriate for an appetizer course. About 1 tablespoon of meat mixture per sausage gives two or three bites, and 1 pound of meat makes roughly 30 small sausages.

Modern Interpretation

This simplified grilled version uses bulgur to approximate the grainy texture of some Roman-style forcemeats and mixes pork and beef for richness. Pine nuts add a distinctly Roman touch, and liquamen, or modern fish sauce, gives the meat its salty, savory backbone.

Historically, sausage could be stuffed into casings, but feast conditions are not always generous. This version may be shaped into small patties, rolled into bite-sized sausage logs, stuffed into casings, or gently poached in plastic wrap when casings are unavailable. The goal is not to make a modern deli sausage, but to create a flavorful Roman-inspired bite that can survive real event conditions.

The flavor should be peppery, savory, and slightly rich from the pine nuts. The fish sauce should not make the sausage taste fishy. It should deepen the meat, much as Roman liquamen does throughout Apicius-style cooking. If your fish sauce is very strong or salty, use a little less and add more only after cooking a test piece.

Why These Ingredients?

• Ground meat: Pork is especially appropriate for Roman cookery, though a pork and beef blend gives a rich, accessible modern texture.
• Bulgur: This is a modern practical choice that gives texture and helps the mixture hold together. It also echoes the use of grains and fillers in historic forcemeat traditions.
• Liquamen / fish sauce: Roman cookery used fermented fish sauces extensively. Modern fish sauce is the easiest substitute.
• Pine nuts: Pine nuts appear frequently in Roman recipes and add richness, texture, and a distinctly ancient Mediterranean character.
• Pepper: Black pepper was a prized imported spice and appears often in Apicius-style seasoning.

⚖️ Humoral note: Later medieval dietary theory often treated pork and beef as heavy meats that benefited from warming spices, salt, vinegar, mustard, or sharp sauces. While this recipe is Roman rather than medieval, the flavor logic still makes sense at table: pepper, fermented fish sauce, and accompaniments such as mustard, olives, herbs, or wine help cut the richness of the meat.

Roman Smoked Pork with Must Cakes – Petaso paro Mustacei

Petaso paro Mustacei – Smoked Pork with Sweet Wine Cakes

Course: Mensa Prima (First Course)
Origin: Ancient Rome
Served: Warm
Event: Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast

Historical Background

Petaso, or pork, was widely enjoyed in Ancient Rome. In this dish, it is sweetened with honey and figs and served alongside mustacei—wine cakes traditionally baked atop bay leaves for flavor. These cakes were often served at celebrations, symbolizing hospitality and indulgence. Recipes for mustacei appear in Cato the Elder's De Agri Cultura, one of the oldest surviving Latin texts.

Did You Know?
Mustaceum comes from "mustum"—fresh grape must—used to flavor celebratory cakes in Roman weddings and feasts.

Modern Interpretation

Ingredients – Pork & Broth

• 2 pounds smoked ham
• 2 ½ cups pearl barley
• 10 dried figs
• 1 celery stalk
• 10 peppercorns
• 1 cup honey

Instructions

1. Soak ham overnight. Discard water.
2. In a pot, cover ham with fresh water. Add barley, figs, celery, peppercorns, and ½ cup honey.
3. Boil, skim, and simmer for 1 hour. Remove meat and reserve broth. Cool, then glaze with remaining ½ cup honey.

Sweet Wine Sauce

• 1 ¼ cups red wine
• 1 ¼ cups raisin wine (or substitute sweet red wine)
• ½ tsp ground black pepper

1. Simmer wines and pepper until reduced slightly. Serve as sauce with pork.

Sweet Wine Cakes (Mustacei)

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp lard
• 2 oz grated cheese
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp aniseed
• 3–4 tbsp red wine
• Bay leaves
• ½ tsp dried yeast

1. Rub lard into flour. Mix in cheese, cumin, and aniseed.
2. Dissolve yeast in wine with bay leaf. Remove bay leaf and mix into flour.
3. Knead dough, divide into 8, shape into buns. Place on greased tray. Cover and let rise 1½ hrs.
4. Bake at 375°F for 25–30 minutes until golden.

Serving Suggestions

Slice glazed pork and serve with the wine reduction sauce and a warm mustaceum. Ideal paired with olives or soft cheese for a full Roman plate.

Sources

• Cato the Elder – De Agri Cultura: LacusCurtius
• On Roman cakes: CooksInfo – Mustaceum
• Additional Texts: Apicius via Gutenberg

---

🍷 Want more recipes from this feast?

Explore the other dishes served at the Early Roman Feast – Push for Pennsic, July 9–11, 2004:

• Cucumeres (Braised Cucumber)
• Lucanicae (Grilled Sausages)
• Epityrum (Olives)
• Moretum (Herbed Cheese Spread)
• Piadina (Flatbread)
• Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis (Chickpeas with Saffron)
• Krambe (Roman Cabbage)
• Itria (Sesame Seed Biscuit)
• Basyniai (Fig and Walnut Cakes)

Epityrum – Seasoned Olives from Ancient Rome (Apicius)

Epityrum – Roman Herbed Olive Spread

Course: Gustum (Appetizer)
Origin: Ancient Rome
Served: Cold
Event: Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast

Historical Background

Epityrum is a Roman olive paste found in De Agri Cultura by Cato the Elder. A mix of olives, herbs, and vinegar, it was served as a flavorful appetizer. It highlights the Roman love of seasoned preserves and showcases the Mediterranean pantry of antiquity.

Did You Know?
Cato writes: “Lucanicae are so called because soldiers learned to prepare them from the Lucanians...” Oops! That’s for sausages. For Epityrum, he writes: “Pound green, black, or mottled olives. Add oil, vinegar, coriander, cumin, fennel, rue, and mint.”

Read the digitized text at the Perseus Digital Library – Cato’s De Agri Cultura.

Modern Interpretation

This version captures the herbal punch of the original while using accessible pantry ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pitted black or green olives (or a mix)
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp dried coriander
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp fennel seed
• Pinch of dried mint
• Pinch of dried rue or substitute arugula
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Crush the olives roughly using a mortar and pestle or food processor.
2. Add oil, vinegar, and all herbs/spices. Mix into a coarse paste.
3. Taste and adjust seasoning. Store with a thin layer of olive oil on top.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with rustic bread, Piadina, or crackers alongside cheese and Roman sausage for a full gustatio experience.

Sources

• Cato – De Agri Cultura 119: Perseus Digital Library
• Apicius – De Re Coquinaria: LacusCurtius

---

🍷 Want more recipes from this feast?

Explore the other dishes served at the Early Roman Feast – Push for Pennsic, July 9–11, 2004:

• Cucumeres (Braised Cucumber)
• Lucanicae (Grilled Sausages)
• Moretum (Herbed Cheese Spread)
• Piadina (Flatbread)
• Petaso paro Mustacei (Smoked Ham with Sweet Wine Cakes)
• Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis (Chickpeas with Saffron)
• Krambe (Roman Cabbage)
• Itria (Sesame Seed Biscuit)
• Basyniai (Fig and Walnut Cakes)

Ancient Roman Braised Cucumbers – Apicius Recipe (Cucumeres)

Cucumeres – Braised Cucumbers

Course: Gustum (Appetizer)
Origin: Ancient Rome
Served: Room Temperature
Event: Push for Pennsic 2004 – Early Roman Feast

Cucumeres – Braised Cucumbers

Ingredients:

• 1 large cucumber
• 3 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. clear honey
• Salt to taste

Part of the Push for Pennsic Roman Feast Series!
This recipe was originally served as part of the Early Roman Feast at Push for Pennsic, July 9–11, 2004. Explore the full menu and other Roman recipes from this event.

Instructions:
Peel and cut the cucumber into thick slices. Pour the vinegar, olive oil, and honey into a heavy pan and cook the slices of cucumber gently in the sauce until tender, shaking the pan occasionally to redistribute the cucumber slices and ensure even cooking.

Note: Best served at room temperature.

---

🌿 A Note on Ancient Cucurbits

The word cucumeres in Latin is commonly translated as “cucumbers,” but Roman references to cucurbits were broader than our modern definitions. Roman cooks had access to a wide variety of cucurbit species, including:

• Old World cucumbers (Cucumis sativus): Likely thinner, with more bitterness than modern varieties.
• Melons and gourds (Cucumis melo, Lagenaria spp.): Young melons or gourds were used like vegetables.
• Bottle gourds (Lagenaria siceraria): Also used for food when harvested young.
• Snake melon/Armenian cucumber (Cucumis melo var. flexuosus): Treated culinarily as a cucumber.

If you're cooking this dish today, any firm, mild cucumber will work. For historical flavor and texture, the following heirloom varieties are excellent options:

• Suyo Long – A crisp, curling cucumber with tender skin.
• Armenian cucumber – Technically a melon, but ideal for cucumber-like preparations.
• True Lemon cucumber – A round, yellow heirloom closer to older Mediterranean cultivars.
• Bottle gourd – Available from specialty grocers or heirloom seed sources.

Where to Source Seeds:
- Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
- Seed Savers Exchange
- Monticello Heritage Seeds

---

---

🍷 Want more recipes from this feast?

Explore the other dishes served at the Early Roman Feast – Push for Pennsic, July 9–11, 2004:

• Lucanicae (Grilled Sausages)
• Moretum (Herbed Cheese Spread)
• Epityrum (Olives)
• Piadina (Flatbread)
• Petaso paro Mustacei (Smoked Ham with Sweet Wine Cakes)
• Erebinthoi Knakosymmigeis (Chickpeas with Saffron)
• Krambe (Roman Cabbage)
• Itria (Sesame Seed Biscuit)
• Basyniai (Fig and Walnut Cakes)