As the capital of a powerful and rich empire, Constantinople was a bustling city of a population from 100.000 to 500.000 people, centre of the domestic and foreign trade of the Byzantine state.* Grain, wine, salt, meat, cheese, vegetables and fruits flowed from the provinces into its markets. From the 9th until the late 12th century the capital was also a most important entrepôt of the eastern and northern luxury trade. Spices and high -luxury foods (like black caviar) were imported.
Of course, luxury foods were cherished so dearly by both poor and rich, though only the wealthy landowners, the officials of the state and church and the rich members of the new urban middle class, the “mesoi”, could afford them. The “mesoi” were for the most part traders, craftsmen and businessmen and bankers but some of them made a considerable fortune and enjoyed their purchasing power demanding fine quality foods.
For a wealthy merchant the entry into elite was the ideal. Where this was impossible he emulated the tastes of the aristocrats, food included.
If the hagiographers of 11th and 12th century maintained the traditional ideal of fasting, less conservative sources give a wealth of information about both the increased interest on eating and the greater availability of foodstuffs. The variety of vegetables, fruits and condiments- black pepper, caraway, honey, olive oil, vinegar, salt, mushrooms, celery, leeks, lettuce, chicory, spinach, turnips, eggplant, cabbage, white beets, almonds, pomegranates, nuts, apples, lentils, raisins, etc. -listed as food of the poor of Constantinople by Prodromοs (d. c. 1166, Poèmes prodr. nο.2.38-45) mirrors both the interest on good eating and the availability of dishes. Of course above all, the food in Constantinople of Komnenoi existed as a synthesis of what had gone before, but a synthesis enriched by new ingredients and many innovations.
For a wealthy merchant the entry into elite was the ideal. Where this was impossible he emulated the tastes of the aristocrats, food included.
If the hagiographers of 11th and 12th century maintained the traditional ideal of fasting, less conservative sources give a wealth of information about both the increased interest on eating and the greater availability of foodstuffs. The variety of vegetables, fruits and condiments- black pepper, caraway, honey, olive oil, vinegar, salt, mushrooms, celery, leeks, lettuce, chicory, spinach, turnips, eggplant, cabbage, white beets, almonds, pomegranates, nuts, apples, lentils, raisins, etc. -listed as food of the poor of Constantinople by Prodromοs (d. c. 1166, Poèmes prodr. nο.2.38-45) mirrors both the interest on good eating and the availability of dishes. Of course above all, the food in Constantinople of Komnenoi existed as a synthesis of what had gone before, but a synthesis enriched by new ingredients and many innovations.
THE “BYZANTINE DINNER” MENU (Edible history project)
MENU of the richsfungaton (spongy omelette)apaki
wine flavoured pork liver
rabbit cooked with red wine and spikenard[1]
roast pork basted with a mixture of vinegar and honey
silignites[2], a very white wheat bread
rice and honey pudding
quince spoon sweet
konditon[3]
thassorofon[4]
wine flavoured pork liver
rabbit cooked with red wine and spikenard[1]
roast pork basted with a mixture of vinegar and honey
silignites[2], a very white wheat bread
rice and honey pudding
quince spoon sweet
konditon[3]
thassorofon[4]
MENU of the poorcapers in honey – vinegar sauce
black olives with mustard seeds
braised endives with garos and olive oil
cabbage with garos[5], olive oil and vinegar
fava made with black-eyed beans served with vinegar and honey
different kinds of bread made with inferior grains or legumes
black olives with mustard seeds
braised endives with garos and olive oil
cabbage with garos[5], olive oil and vinegar
fava made with black-eyed beans served with vinegar and honey
different kinds of bread made with inferior grains or legumes
NOTES BY MAVI BONCUK
[1] Spikenard, also called nard, nardin, and muskroot, is a class of aromatic amber-colored essential oil derived from Nardostachys jatamansi, a flowering plant of the valerian family.
[2] silignites
Food and Drink in Antiquity: A Sourcebook: Readings from the Graeco-Roman World
By John F. Donahue
[3] a Byzantine wine flavoured with cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and spikenard.
[4] Thassorofon - a sweet drink made by grounding peeled Thassian almonds with water in a mortar.
[5] garos is a fermented sauce, one of those familiar in many parts of the world that add savor and saltiness
