Moretum is a word that we met in the past, when we prepared a recipe from a poem attributed to Virgil, titled, indeed, Moretum. In Columella’s De Re Rustica, we find several variants for this recipe that, basically, consists in cheese pounded with aromatic herbs, with the addition of pepper (absent in Virgil’s recipe and substituted with garlic), vinegar, oil, and in a few variants, nuts and seeds (sesame seeds, pine nuts, hazelnuts, almonds).
Since Virgil’s farmer eats his moretum with a flatbread, we decided to pair Columella’s with a different kind of bread, selected from the many described in Athenaeus’ Deipnosophists, in which the author reports quotes from other authors’ works. In this case, we chose the hapalos artos, which means soft bread, from a fragment by Chrysippus of Tyana, a famous ancient baker whose work is lost. We used his recipes in the past when we prepared the artolaganon and gastris.
For the bread, we used a dry yeast called musteus and described by Pliny and Palladius. We showed the method in the past preparing a poppy-seed bread from the Naturalis Historia. As described in the same passage of the Deipnosophists, however, Greeks (as well as Romans) had at disposal both dry and fresh yeast. To prepare ancient Roman sourdough, as Pliny describes thoroughly, check on the recipe for artolaganon.
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.
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MORETUM
Ingredients
dry aromatic herbs (pennyroyal, thyme, oregano, savory)
20 gr pine nuts
200 gr firm cheese
white wine vinegar
white pepper
extra virgin olive oil
Method
Cut the cheese finely and pound it in the mortar with pine nuts. Mix well with the dry herbs, adding a little vinegar and ground pepper. Serve it pouring over extra virgin olive oil.
Note about the method and the ingredients
As Columella writes, there is no need to use all the aromatic herbs, just the ones we have, fresh or dried. Remember that thyme and savory are quite similar, whereas oregano may be substituted with marjoram and pennyroyal with mint.
Choose among pine nuts, walnuts, and almonds, or use all three, if you want.
The cheese must be firm enough to be pounded in the mortar. In the other recipes for moretum, Columella suggests using a fresh and salty cheese, an excellent idea even for this one, since there is no salt in the recipe. We used a fresh caciotta made with cow and sheep milk.
Original text
Caseum Gallicum vel cuiuscumque notae volueris minutatim concidito et conterito nucleosque pineos, si eorum copia fuerit, si minus, nuces avellanas torrefactas, adempta cute, vel amygdalas eaque, quae supra condimenta [satureiam, mentam, rutam, coriandrum, apium, porrum sectivum aut, si id non erit, viridem cepam, folia lactucae, folia erucae, thymum viride, vel nepetam, tum etiam viride puleium] pariter misceto acetique piperati exiguum adicito et permisceto compositumque oleo superfundito.
Aliter. Si condimenta viridia non erunt, puleium aridum vel thymum vel origanum vel aridam satureiam cum caseo conterito acetumque piperatum et oleum adicito. Possunt tamen haec arida, si reliquorum non sit potestas, etiam singula caseo misceri.
Translation
Cut Gallic cheese or another cheese finely and pound it with pine nuts, if you have enough; otherwise, add roasted and peeled hazelnuts or almonds to the herbs mentioned above [savory, mint, rue, cilantro, celery, leek or, if you do not have it, the green part of the onion, lettuce, arugula, fresh thyme or lesser calamint, and even fresh pennyroyal] and mix with a little peppery vinegar, pouring over oil.
Another recipe. If you do not have fresh herbs, pound with the cheese dry pennyroyal, thyme, oregano, or savory, and add peppery vinegar and oil. You can use just one herb if you do not have the others.
HAPALOS ARTOS
Ingredients
300 gr white wheat flour
1 musteus or one tablespoon of sourdough
100 ml milk
30 ml olive oil
salt
Method
Knead the flour with the milk and oil, adding two pinches of salt and breaking the musteus. Add the quantity of water necessary to obtain a quite soft consistency. Let the dough rest overnight. The following day, shape three bread rolls and bake them in the oven for about 40 minutes. Serve them still hot.
Original text
παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Ἕλλησι καλεῖταί τις ἄρτος ἁπαλὸς ἀρτυόμενος γάλακτι ὀλίγῳ καὶ ἐλαίῳ καὶ ἁλσὶν ἀρκετοῖς. δεῖ δὲ τὴν ματερίαν ἀνειμένην ποιεῖν. οὗτος δὲ ὁ ἄρτος λέγεται Καππαδόκιος, ἐπειδὴ ἐν Καππαδοκίᾳ κατὰ τὸ πλεῖστον ἁπαλὸς ἄρτος γίνεται, τὸν δὲ τοιοῦτον ἄρτον οἱ Σύροι λαχμὰν προσαγορεύουσι, καί ἐστιν οὗτος ἐν Συρίᾳ χρηστότατος γινόμενος διὰ τὸ θερμότατος τρώγεσθαι.
Translation
Among the Greeks, there is a bread called hapalos artos, made with a bit of milk and a sufficient quantity of oil and salt. The dough must be made soft. This kind of bread is called Cappadocian, since in Cappadocia it is prepared in huge quantities. The same bread is called by Syrians lachma and it is the best kind of bread in Syria, since it is eaten hot.
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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 