On this page, you'll find a variety of food recipes.
De re coquinaria From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search
De re coquinaria is the oldest known cookbook, dating from the 3rd century A.D., still in existence. Probably partly based on one written by a famous 1st century gourmet named Apicius at the court of Tiberius, it seems to be a compilation of recipes from other leading chefs of the ancient world. The foods described in the book are important for reconstructing the dietary habits of the ancient world around the Mediterranean basin, since many of the foods identified with that region today—tomatoes, pasta—were not available in Antiquity. On the other hand, the recipes are geared for the wealthiest classes and contain what were exotic ingredients at that time, e.g. flamingo tongues. According to Seneca, Apicius himself committed suicide because, having spent so much of his fortune on food, he realized he could not afford to continue dining in the manner to which he was accustomed. Between 1483 (the date of the first printed edition) and 1936 (the date of Joseph Dommers Vehling's translation and bibliography of De re coquinaria), there were 14 editions of the Latin text (plus one possibly apocryphal edition). This work was not widely translated, however; the first translation was into Italian, in 1852, followed in the 20th Century by two translations into German, one into French, and Vehling's translation into English in 1936.