As we have seen in the past, Athenaeus’ Deipnosophists is a precious source of information about food in the Antiquity. This week we are preparing the kandaulos by Hegesippus of Tarentum, who lived in the 4th century BCE. According to Athenaeus, the kandaulos is a typical Lydian food, for which there are, indeed, three variants, one of which sweet, prepared with milk, honey, starch, and cheese as writes Pollux in the Onomastikon. The other version, instead, is described by Hesychius, who writes in the Lexicon that kandylos it is made with honey, milk, cheese, and hare meat.
Hegesippus’ recipe, very simple but full of flavor, recalls a bit some medieval recipes, more than ancient Roman food. We find dishes with these kinds of ingredients, for example, in the Registrum Coquine, despite being temporally separated by a couple of millennia. A recipe in particular, despite being without meat, is quite similar to this kandaulos: a simple bread soup with cheese and fat broth, with the addition of spices. In another recipe, the author, Johannes Bockenheim, uses cooked pork with parsley and bread.
The list of ingredients reported by Athenaeus is quite cryptic and to prepare this recipe we need to interpret it. The meat is called cooked or boiled (hephthu kreos) and there is also fat broth (zomu pionos), but it does not make sense to prepare a soup or a stew with boiled meat adding its broth, so, possibly, we should read this recommendation as meat cooked with the other ingredients. This is the interpretation we chose, but as we said, the list of ingredients is a bit hasty and unclear.
We used grated pecorino, but you may choose other kinds of cheese. The original Phrygian cheese was made with mare and donkey milk according to Aristotle in the Historia Animalium.
From the text, it is, again, unclear if the adjective knestu (grated) is exclusively referred to bread or includes cheese. If you use a fresher cheese cut into pieces or pounded in the mortar, you will obtain a great dish anyway.
We used fresh dill, but the text might also refer to the seeds. Athenaeus does not specify which kind of meat is used. The term kreas, however, usually refers to the meat of animals as beef, mutton, or goat. We used beef because its flavors pair better with the other ingredients, but mutton or goat work perfectly.
If you want to know more about historical bread, read our book Early Italian Recipes. Cereals, bread, pasta, and pies, where you will find historical information about cereals and their preparations from the Antiquity to the end of the Renaissance, with 114 recipes for pasta, bread, pizza, pies, and more, newly translated and explained. For more information about ancient cuisine, read our book Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Recipes, Sources. Moreover, the full translation of De Re Coquinaria is available on Patreon, with further translations and articles on ancient and medieval cooking.
To learn about the transition between ancient and medieval cooking, check out our translation, commentary, and glossary of a beautiful 6th-century source, De Observatione Ciborum, written by the physician Anthimus to the king of the Franks Theuderic; if you are interested in late-medieval cuisine, we recommend Libro de la Cocina. Medieval Tuscan Recipes and Registrum Coquine. A medieval cookbook. If you are interested in recipes for vegetables from the Antiquity to the beginning of the Modern Era in Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers available in English and Italian.
To support our work, you can buy us a beer or purchase our merchandise.
Ingredients
beef
pecorino
dry bread
fresh dill
chicken or beef broth
olive oil
salt
Method
Cut the meat into chunks. Sear it in a pan with olive oil until it browns. Cook it for a while. When its liquids are dried, add a bit of hot broth and cook for a couple of hours, stirring once in a while, and, if necessary, add more broth. If the broth is not already salted, add a couple of pinches of salt. The cooking time may change depending on the size of the chunks and the kind of meat you are using.
Grate the cheese and bread. Mince the dill.
When the meat is almost cooked through, thicken the stew with bread. Just before removing it from the fire, add the cheese and dill. Serve still hot.
Original text
αὐτόν φησιν ὁ Ταραντῖνος Ἡγήσιππος ἐξ ἑφθοῦ κρέως καὶ κνηστοῦ ἄρτου καὶ Φρυγίου τυροῦ ἀνήθου τε καὶ ζωμοῦ πίονος.
Translation
Hegesippus of Tarentum says that it [the kandaulos] is made with cooked meat, grated bread, Phrygian cheese, dill, and fat broth.
Buy me a coffee
Patreon
Ancient Roman Recipes Playlist
Ancient Greek Recipes Playlist
Medieval Recipes Playlist
YouTube Channel
Merchandise
Books
Early Italian Recipes. Cereals, bread, pasta, and pies
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano. Medieval Tuscan Recipes
Early Italian Recipes. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus. Early-medieval recipes at the court of the Franks.
Registrum Coquine by Johannes Bockenheim. A medieval cookbook
Ancient Roman Cooking. Ingredients, Sources, Recipes
Translations of Historical Sources
De Agri Cultura by Cato – first part (2nd century BCE)
De Re Coquinaria by Apicius (Ancient Rome)
Apicii Excerpta by Vinidarius (5th or 6th century)
De Observatione Ciborum by Anthimus (6th century)
Appendicula de Condituris Variis by Johannes Damascenus (8th or 9th century)
De Flore Dietarum (11th century)
Tractatus de Modo Preparandi et Condiendi Omnia Cibaria (13th or 14th century)
Liber de Coquina – first part (14th century)
Enseignemenz (14th century)
Opusculum de Saporibus by Mainus de Maineris (14th century)
Libro de la Cocina by Anonimo Toscano (14th century)
Anonimo Veneziano (14th century)
Registrum Coquine by Johannes von Bockenheim (15th century)
Libro de Arte Coquinaria by Maestro Martino – parts 1-4 (15th century)
Recipes
Plebeian Mushrooms
Beef Skewers
Stuffed Chard
Shrimp
Frittata with Peas – Conchicla Commodiana
Tuna
Pork Stew with Red Wine
Chicken with Green Sauce
Pork Chops – Ofellae
Chicken with Dill – Pullus Anethatus
Religious Offering to Mars Silvanus
Rabbit
Gourds – Gustum de Cucurbitis
Roast Pheasant
Tyropatina – Honey Pudding
Pork Shank with Apician Sauce
The Diet of the Legionaries – Soup with Mutton and Beans
Chicken with Dill
Beef Roast with Quinces
Chard with Mustard
Religious Offering to Carna – Puls Fabacia
Pork Stuffed with Pasta – Porcellus Tractomelinus
Gilt-Head Sea Bream
Moretum – A Religious Offering to Cybele
Patina Versatilis
Aristophanes’ Roasted Birds
Pork Roast with Myrtle Berries
Cabbage Rolls
Pork Collar
Chicken with Taro
Honey and Millet Libum
Ham in Crust
Encytum
The diet of the ancient Germans
The diet of the Franks
Kandaulos
Wild Boar
Hypotrimma
Oysters and Clams
Peas
Ancient Sicilian Sea Bass
Pork Roast and Lentils with Sumac
Scampi
Cuttlefish and Eggs
Gustum de Praecoquis – Appetizer with Apricots
Octopus and Cucumber Salad
Copadia Agnina – Lamb Stew
Apothermum – Spelt Cakes
Pullus Parthicus – Roast Chicken
Tisana Barrica – Barley Soup
Beef Roast and Shallots
Staitites – Ancient Greek Sweet
Chicken Meatballs and Mashed Peas
Sweet Fritters – Dulcia Domestica
Columella’s Moretum and Hapalos Artos
Ancient Roman Frittata
A Saturnalia Recipe – Roast with Saffron Sauce
Muria – Ancestor of Colatura di Alici
Globi – Ancient Roman Sweet
The Diet of the Roman Legionaries – Buccellatum, Lardum, and Posca
How to make garum
Fig Sweet
Ancient Roman Gourd and Eggs
Ofella – Ancient Roman Steak
Fruit salads – Melon and Peaches
Isicia Marina – Shrimp Cakes and Cucumber Salad
Sala Cattabia – Snow and Posca
Copadia – Beef Stew
Puls Punica – Phoenician Dessert
Farcimina – Spelt and Meat Sausages
Ova Spongia ex Lacte – Sweet Omelettes
Flatbread and Chickpea Soup
Chicken stew
Salted Fish with Arugula Sauce
Savillum – Cheesecake
Pasta and Meatballs – Minutal Terentinum
Venison Stew with Spelt Puls
Veal with Allec Sauce – Ius in Elixam Allecatum
Isicia Omentata – Meatballs Wrapped in Caul Fat
Placenta – Honey Cheesecake
Pork Laureate – Porcellum Laureatum
Mashed Chestnuts
Poppy Seed Bread with Ancient Dry Yeast
Cured Olives and Epityrum
Historical Italian Cooking 