Period Drinks

[Sempronius]

I was curious if anyone has ever tried or know of anyone making period "refreshments". Clearly Roman wine wasn't like a 2009 Malbec from Mendoza. I've read Roman red had burnt bread and honey in the mix.
Do we know what other Roman drinks were or what Rome's counterparts drank?

[Medicus matt]

I made a vat of Conditum Paradoxum for some barbarians at Sutton Hoo last weekend. First time I've made it using Apicius' ingredients (using spikenard and mastic rather than bay leaves and cinnamon)and it seemed to go down rather well, even if they were just dunking their mugs in it rather than straining it properly.

[Sempronius]

I made a vat of Conditum Paradoxum for some barbarians at Sutton Hoo last weekend. First time I've made it using Apicius' ingredients (using spikenard and mastic rather than bay leaves and cinnamon)and it seemed to go down rather well, even if they were just dunking their mugs in it rather than straining it properly.

Did it taste familiar to anything you've had in the past? I hate to use the phrase "It tastes like chicken" but it's interesting to experiment with these ancient recipes.

[comicus]

I have a good friend that made Sumerian beer from an ancient recipe, it was bitter and just about the worst thing i've tasted. History claims the Sumerians declined because of arid climate and salty soil, I say they moved to escape the beer.

[Sempronius]

I have a good friend that made Sumerian beer from an ancient recipe, it was bitter and just about the worst thing i've tasted. History claims the Sumerians declined because of arid climate and salty soil, I say they moved to escape the beer.

An acquired taste to be sure.

[Medicus matt]

Nope, some people thought it would taste like mead or Breton chouchen but it was totally different.

[Dan D'Silva]

I have a good friend that made Sumerian beer from an ancient recipe, it was bitter and just about the worst thing i've tasted. History claims the Sumerians declined because of arid climate and salty soil, I say they moved to escape the beer.

I read about a Sumerian beer project (presumably not the same one) a while ago, must see if I can track it down among my old college papers, that said the beer was sweet because it wasn't hopped.

[comicus]

Yeah Dan I thought it it was going to be sweet also, I watched him make it, he added a honey sweetened wine mixture and the date juice to the mash. Maybe something went wrong in the fermentation process, it tasted almost like a sour unsweetened cider.

Since we are on the beverage topic; is there research anywhere on how ancient Romans wines were made? Has anyone here tried to recreate it? and if so how did it taste?


Mike

[lyuv]

Most cheeses use exactly the same ingredients. But you get TOTALY different cheese if you make different cuts, different pressure, defferent time for defferent stages ect. and ofcourse, enviroment with different mold types.

Most factors where un-measurable (temperature, time...), or simply unknown. So an ancient recipe will NOT provide all the required information. Especialy when talking about fermentation. I think it could be usefull only to someone who had "hands on" experience, and just need to remember the ingredients.

Even if some dish would be edible (or even good), I would GREATLY doubt if it realy resembles the original.

[comicus]

I think George made a great thread here and I would hate to let it die. I have always been facinated by the food and drinks that were consumed by ancient civilizations. It seems to most people on this forum that ancient reenactment is more that just wearing a piece of armor for the public. Its recreating the time itself and living as they did for a short period of time to include cooking and beverage making(and definatly drinking). If any of you could share some recipes on ancient drinks, period drinks you have tried or information you have on this subject, I would love to hear it.

Thanks,

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

On a similar vein, I have a drink mixer, that I would like to try out sometime!
I believe they were for infusions used during cult ceremonies, but not sure what they
'infused'....I imagine possibly a mix of wine water and honey!?

[kazeryu]

You can infuse pretty much anything... any fruit or spice will do, and I bet vegetables would work as well. Infusing fresh spices works very fast, from a few days (sometimes even less) to a week or two. Fruits take much longer - several months or more. This is based on something around 40% alcohol -- I suspect infusion time goes up when the alcohol content is less, but I'm not certain.

That reminds me, I should open another jar of my basil liqueur... hrm.

Anyways, I don't know if there was anything in particular that they historically LIKED to infuse, but if you have a bottle of high-octane spirits on hand, the sky's the limit.

[Sempronius]

I've always been curious what Roman wine tasted like. I have no doubt there must've been red/white wines and possibly certain regions in the Empire producing the best. I have read that one red Roman wine was served "chilled", with honey and burned bread possibly mixed within.

[Epictetus]

I've always been curious what Roman wine tasted like. I have no doubt there must've been red/white wines and possibly certain regions in the Empire producing the best. I have read that one red Roman wine was served "chilled", with honey and burned bread possibly mixed within.

There are some companies that claim to re-make Roman wine. I know of a couple that have marketed the famous Falernian wine. I've been trying to do some research on them recently and see if I could buy some to try it out.

[Sempronius]

Really? I have to look into that as well.