A Quick Guide to Life in Byzantium

[TheFlax]

((Because Voluminoso forced my hand... ))

Food

Diet and Dining:

Most Byzantine families observed what can be called a traditional Mediterranean diet made up mainly of grains, pulses, vegetables, olives, wild greens, and fruit. Cereals were the foundation of this menu and took the form of freshly baked bread (artos), long-lasting biscuits (paximadia), and porridge (traganos). Pulses and vegetables varied with place and season but typically included beans, lentils, chickpeas, and greens. Olives and olive oil were used generously in cooking and made up about a third of the total dietary intake. Animal products were consumed in more limited quantities, if not just on special occasions. The main kinds of meat came from sheep, goat, poultry, and pigs, with cattle and wild games considered relative luxuries. Fresh fish and other seafood were available near the coast, along rivers, and around mountain lakes. A few chickens, sheeps and goats generally kept rural families supllied with eggs and milk, which could be stored in the form of butter and cheese. Fresh fruit was often hard to find and always highly prized. Wine of varying quality accompanied most meals.

There were two main meals during the day: a light breakfast (ariston) and a main meal (deipmon) served toward the evening. Some writers also mention an early prophagion taken at dawn. Family members sat on benches or chairs gathered around a small table, or shared their meals while seated on the floor. Meals were often served as small portions of different prepared dishes, which were presented in a variety of vessels, mainly tall-footed bowls and goblets.

Knives and spoons were commonly used. Carved wooden spoons were used for cooking and sometimes at the table, especially by village families. Table forks are first mentioned by Western observers in the tenth and eleventh centuries. A well-known legend tells how an eleventh-century Byzantine bride took a case of two-tined forks to Italy as part of her dowry when she married the heir to the doge of Venice. The forks seem to have been a novelty to the Venetians, who were offended when she refused to eat with her hands. Italian society was slow to take up their use, and not until the sixteenth century were forks widely found in western Europe.

Fine Dining:

Eating was an everyday activity that grew increasingly ritualized with social rank. While the breakfast (ariston) was taken informally, the evening meal (deipmon) could be a significant occasionwith guests from outside the family, an elaborate menu and hired entertainment. By the tenth century meals generally took place in a room that served many purposes. Diners sat upright at a rectangular table laid with silver plates for the wealthies families, most used colorfully glazed bowls and cups. Dinner entertainement included recitation of poetry or stories, mime, music and dance. These usually followed the meal and were accompanied by more or less drinking of wine. Women were excused from the more dubious postdinner festivities. A woman's presence at drinking parties could be considered grounds for divorce.

As for the food itself, fresh meat was the surest sign of rank. Lamb and beek became increasingly popular over time, and were supplied by large heards raised on the estates of Anatolia. Wild game from Thrace and Bithynia included gazelles, wild asses, sparrows, and other birds. Puoltry and pork were generally looked down on as country fare. Constantinople's most important source of protein was fish. Fishermen of the Bosphorus reliably netted tuna, mullet, turbot, mackarel, bass, lobsters, crabs, crawfish, shrimp, oysters, mussels, scallops and shellfish. Anchovy, salt roe, and caviar were brought from the Black Sea, with pickled herring coming from northern Europe. Meats preserved by salting, smoking, and drying were necessary, if less highly regarded option. Butter and cheese were medieval staples with different kinds available in the market. Cretan, Paphlagonian, and Vlach cheeses were especially prized in the capital.

Like all Byzantines, elite families preferred the finest grades of wheat bread and ate darker grains only under duress. Vegetables were and important if underappreciated part of the menu, and usually were served cut up and cooked with meat. Fresh cabbage, beans, lentils, carrots, and greens were the most widely consumed; garlic, leeks, and onions were used for seasoning. Byzantine cooks prepared meals with native and imported spices like caraway, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, ginger, juniper, marjoram, mustard, nutmeg, pepper, poppy, rosemary, and saffron. Spicy coriander berries and leaves were favored in stews. Dark red sumac berries made a seasoning both colorful and pugnent.

Typical menu items included roast meats and casseroles prepared with meat or fish, cooked in oil with eggs or cheese, cabbage, garlic, onions, and pepper. Butter and animal fat was often used in cooking. Fresh fruit did not travel well and was always in demand. Citrus, figs, and pomegranates came from the Aegean coastlands, while Anatolian apples, pears, cherries, and grapes were highly prized. Fruit, puddings, and honey-sweetened pastries were favored deserts.

Meals were accompanied by wine mixed with water. Distinct vintages came from all parts of the Empire and a well-stocked cellar would include wines from all around the Aegean. Clear, fresh water was always appreciated. Fennel, sage, and other herbs steeped in hot water gave a delicately flavored beverage much appreciated.