Cooking Apicius: Roman Recipes for Today
Grainger is both a scholar and an excellent cook of Ancient Roman food and writes in a friendly, chatty manner with informative discussions of various ingredients and cooking techniques.
I’ve cooked from “Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome” by Patrick Faas, and “Roman Cookery: Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens” by Mark Grant, it’s fun to get another taste of the patrician’s table. I hosted a Murder Mystery Game once, with full Roman meal for seven guests using “A Taste of Ancient Rome” by Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa for inspiration and practical guidance.
For a long time cooks who reconstruct Roman food have taken Apicius literally, and without any thought into the many elements of Roman food. At best, the food is tasteless. The excuse, usually an emphatic “this is how the Romans did it!” is just plain silly. Rather, Apicius is a guide for cooks, much like 18th and 19th century cookbooks, where the recipe leaves almost all the explanations and cooking instructions out.
Sally Grainger has meticulously researched the elements of Roman cooking, and worked the recipes out into very palatable dishes. She thoroughly explains the ingredients, including mulsum and garum, and some of the unusual seasonings like lovage.