European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 7, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                It. Cmdr. Dave Thompson and his daughter Karla 8, Sample food fit Tor a roman Tegio Naire. Hat o pasta eating habits have changed along the App Ian Way by Gary Miller Mediterranean Bureau fascination with the history of Southern Italy and in modern italian booking has led Amateur archaeologists to a deep philosophical question what did people in ancient Rome and Pompeii eat anyway fortunately for these curious culinary adventurers the galloping gourmet had three ancient epicurus who spelled it All out for them. The result of this repast research was presented at a recent meeting of the International archaeological society in Naples Italy. It proved to be an educational Endeavor that members could really sink their Teeth into. The first lesson eating habits have changed markedly along the App Ian Way. The ancients lacked several foodstuffs that Are essential to contemporary cooking on the Boot. Quot romans did t have sugar tomatoes or potatoes Quot said it. Cmdr. Dave Thompson one of the society members who helped prepare the ancient menu. Quot Salt was rare in recipes because it was an Imperial monopoly and As valuable As Gold Quot he noted. While romans did t have much Salt they did have the spice route to the Orient on which they relied heavily. Thompson quoted an ancient writer s complaint about the vast wealth leaving the Empire for the East to satisfy citizens taste for seasoning. It was a Trade imbalance that would Dwarf the current  controversy it would seem. What romans did with those spices was recorded by a Man named Paicius historians generally agree that the 470 recipes attributed to him were the works of three different men contemporaries of the emperors Julius Trajan and Augustus. An unknown ninth Century Monk translated the recipes to modern latin and added 32 More. Two British writers translated the recipes literally and adapted them for contemporary Cooks by providing such important information As contemporary substitutes and cooking temperatures in their Book the roman cookery of Paicius. While romans borrowed technology from Many other cultures they maintained their distinct food styles until the Empire fell Thompson said. One custom that lasted even longer was the unique evening meal As depicted in several movies the lie Down dinner. Dinner would begin with Hor d oeuvres usually consisting of food marinated in Olive Oil very similar to the Antipasto of modern italian meals. The size of the main course depended on the occasion and wealth of the Host but would generally have at least three dishes and perhaps As Many As five or eight Thompson said. Something Sticky was usually the dessert fare for a roman meal because Honey was the primary sweetner of the Day. Another Sweet romans enjoyed year round was ice Cream runners carried ice and Snow from Mountain peaks in Straw insulated containers to Rome where the cold confectionary was made Thompson said. The Empire s soldiers on the other hand lived on the ancient equivalent of Peanut butter and tuna fish sandwiches. Thompson held up a bowl and showed his audience a substance resembling Chunky guacamole. It was Olive paste a Staple of legionnaires on Campaign. Like Peanut butter the paste is High in protein. It was a nutrition source for the troops who often were called upon to March 20 Miles a Day carrying 90-Pound packs and then build a fort before eating supper Thompson said. They put the paste on coarse Black bread on which the troops also spread a fermented pickled fish sauce. Roman soldiers were so fond of their fish sauce that they would t leave Rome without  emperors legions once refused to Cross a River in Germany because there was no fish sauce Thompson said. Well to do romans also had Strong feelings about their food according to Thompson. The second Paicius was a very wealthy Man reputed to have spent the equivalent of $60 million on his mania for food. Quot about five years after he began wining and dining the capital and most of the Empire his Man servant told him he had Only $13 million left Quot Thompson said. Paicius killed himself that night Thompson said. Quot he was afraid head spend the rest of his Money and he d  a amps Gary Millar when in ancient Rome. Recipes from the roman cookery of Paicius. Vegetable and Chicken casserole 2-3 Pound Chicken 1 Largo stalk of Broccoli 1 cup photo mushrooms 1 cup Al Ltd carrots via cup poas i Teaspoon ground coriander 1 Teaspoon ground Pepper 1 Bay Leaf 1 Teaspoon thyme 2 Teaspoons celery seed 2 cups Chicken Stock 2 raw egg Yolks simmer the Chicken in water for about two and a half hours. Then Cut up skin and Bone it and put the meat in a Large casserole. Add Broccoli mushrooms carrots and peas. Season with coriander ground Pepper Bay Leaf thyme and celery seed. Combine Well beaten egg Yolks with Stock and pour Over casserole cover and Cook at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Carrots sauteed in peppered wine sauce 8 medium carrots cup White wine i cup vegetable Stock 2 Teaspoons Olive Oil i to 1 Teaspoon Pepper slice carrots thinly Lengthwise and saut6 in a mixture of wine Stock Olive Oil and Pepper until done. Serve carrots with sauce. Bread salad 1 Pound loaf of Fine White bread 3 Teaspoons mild vinegar 1 cup water 1 cup mild shredded cheese Salt dash of Pepper 1 Teaspoon Honey i Teaspoon mint Clove of garlic 1/4 Teaspoon crushed coriander 1 cup Olive Oil 2 Teaspoons mild White wine vinegar remove the crusts from the bread slice and moisten with vinegar and water. Cover a shallow bowl with pieces of the prepared bread Sprinkle them with a dash of Salt and a cup of shredded cheese and chill. To make the dressing Combine Pepper Honey mint garlic coriander Olive Oil and vinegar. Pour Over the chilled bread and serve at once. Now Yohst Tim Lionel Tiger Pines for the nutritional Golden age. Did Cavemen live in nutritional Golden age by Florence fabricant new York times news service talk about nostalgia for old fashioned food. While some people nurse memories of grandmas cooking the anthropologist or. Lionel Tiger s fixation is Caveman food a upper palaeolithic Caveman food that is from 10,000 or so years ago the Dawn of civilization. And like it or not he says it s what we Long for too. We Are drawn to the campfire and tempted by the Quot newly traditional Barbecue with its particular primordial attention to the taste of smoke a always surrounded by the magnetic Aroma of charring fat Quot he insists in his new Book Quot the Pursuit of pleasure Quot Little Brown. The Book is a Lively thought provoking study of alimentary sexual emotional and other pleasures a and vices a sometimes putting human nature on a collision course with contemporary Post Industrial society. Tiger the son of a grocer is a soft spoken cherubic looking Man of 54 he discussed his theories Over dinner setting a Good upper palaeolithic example by cleaning his plate of charred Lamb salad before moving on to the roasted halibut he is an anthropologist a the Charles Darwin professor of anthropology at Rutgers University a specializing in the study of the evolution of behaviour Quot there is something eternal in the human situation Quot he said Quot and cultural differences Are merely variations on a common denominator Quot take food. My colleagues say that what we eat has to do mostly with culture but it s mom than that he said he called the Era at the Dawn of civilization a nut National Golden age m which the cardiovascular system the taste buds and the food Supply Weie m Harmony it was a Lime the human body Lem Emeis and licit in Pant still controls the Way it functions these Days Fie said we eat a Rich meal and then go logging to recapture that upper palaeolithic metabolism because human bodies Hove not adjusted to a different Way of life in 10 000 years you can t change cholesterol and the whole cardiovascular system he said Quot if you think about All the foods we now consider to be unhealthy like butter and beef they Are foods that came about after Man made the transition from Hunter gather to Shepherd and Fanner the taste buds a survival tool were also tonnes m the Ora of the Hunter gatherer simply Pul distaste fully bitter and sour flavors served to Wain Early humans away from unripe fruit or plants that might even tie poisonous a Sweet taste was a signal that the i rent was Ripe and Safe now Howo Vei. The body s Dosne for sweets like its taste for Tats is too easily satisfied in what Tiger Calls a Quot Mal adaptation Quot of relatively recent Vintage before the late 1 7th Century stools came mostly from fruit because sugar As such was not cultivated and it took a lot of fruit to provide a Sugai blast equivalent to that from a can of soda or a couple of brownies. Quot the old preferences and pleasures produce new problems Quot he said. What is needed he contends is a More balanced View of the pleasure of eating thai sugar is considered a treat today Tiger writes implies that the rest of what we eat is not the lust for sugar along with a struggle to control in has taken Over because Quot we Are reluctant to celebrate the pleasure of  he said. Quot has a pleasure denied by experts who have promoted a theory of modernization Hygiene and emancipation from nature Quot he said. To Means the nutritionists Industrial food producers and scientists High on his list of egregious food policing was the recent ban in new Jersey of Runny or soft cooked eggs. Tiger called the ban which was imposed to guard against possible Salmonella Connarn natron Quot fascist the result of busybodies who Loel they can control the destiny of their fellow Man Quot it might be More worthwhile he said to prohibit the use of powdered eggs which he termed aesthetic Nelly unfit to eat. For Tiger it s essential that food taste Good Quot we have a lot to answer for when it comes to our children and their nutrition because we have not treated their need for tasty food with enough seriousness Quot he said. He contrasted the american Quot children s portions Quot with the chinese system of eating with Lood Cut in Small pieces and served on communal plates Quot no children s portions Quot he said. Quot children can eat what they want and Are not humiliated a he also said that chinese markets where sea Lood and Birds Are sold live More easily satisfy that old longing for the upper palaeolithic Era of the Hunter Quot when i was in China and told people How to bought fish in our shops they were aghast Quot he said Quot they could t understand Why anyone would buy a dead  sharing tha food that was acquired in the Hunt was essential or primitive humans to maintain Community health and availability of food restaurants Are popular today he said because they Are intense food sharing enterprises necessary now that the Home is losing its traditional importance As a place where Lood is prepared and served to a group he said eating alone represents a breakdown of Man s fundamental humanism Quot and something most people prefer not to do Given the Choice Tiger who is divorced and has a 22-year-old son at Yale selects his meals the Way Quot More serious people select investments Quot Tiger it should be noted has a rather utopian vision of what society could accomplish in pleasure were nurtured rather than constantly restrained Quot there s something intrinsically sensible in the idea that what pleases nearly All people must have helped most of their ancestors endure Quot he said sexual pleasure Good Lood and barbecuing Page 14 b the stars and stripes Friday february 7, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 15