Apicius

This is a scholarly treatise on Apicius, complete with the entire text in Latin and its translation into English. The translation is printed on pairs of pages, with the Latin on the left-hand pages and English on the right-hand pages. Following that translation is another translation, of a later excerpt purporting to be from the same cookbook. This was written by Vinidarius. The Vinidarius document also contains tips on stocking your kitchen, meant for an ancient Roman audience. There is a glossary of uncertain Roman culinary terms, with a complete discussion of each. There is a detailed discussion of Roman kitchens, cooking, and cooks, and details about what linguistic decisions the author made when translating Apicius. There is a discussion of garum and how it evolved into several forms in ancient Rome. There is a concordance of recipe numbering systems by various modern authors, which can be helpful if you are trying to compare Sally Grainger's "Cooking Apicius" recipes with anyone else's.I am very happy that I bought this book, and if I missed mentioning a good feature it is because there is so much of interest to me in the book that I keep skipping around in it.

My husband is a cook, and a huge nerd for Roman history and language. I bought him this as a birthday present and he calls it "the best birthday present he's ever gotten in his entire life." The introduction takes up about half of the book, but after that it's all old recipes. On the left pages, everything is in Latin and on the right pages, everything is in English. The book also gives reasons for why things were translated the way they were. My husband seriously loves it.

The original text side-by-side with the translation is incredible. The recipes are a fantastic indicator of their culinary priorities. This is a critical book to have if you are interested in historical recreation.

The only Roman cookbook, this edition is very nice with both Latin and English, and a good commentary

No wonder they didn't want to release this into the open market. The publisher is way too proud of the packaging. Releasing this at a more reasonable price would have at least doubled or tripled the sales! The work is excellent, with many new insights on Roman cooking by two noted scholars in the field. The new and fresh look, the background data, the recipes themselves, are all worthy of your time, but the price of the book has kicked it out of the hands of the casual cook and put in into the price range of severely dedicated hobbiests and scholars, a great disservice to the many readers who have an interest in this subject. There are several almost as good works for a much more reasonable price. I'd wait for a used or discounted version, unless you are really into the subject! I confess, I am happy to own the book, but I did NOT and would not pay full cover price for this work!

this is a must read for all pro chef!if your a nut of food and must know how it all started and why here you go !read slowly

I was expecting more for the price. I guess the publisher had to charge for the labor.Did it really take expert linguists that long to translate this:"Put some turnips into a jar with honey and savory. They should keep in a cool dry place." The recipes aren't specific, and most of them should be, because they are dealing with aged and preserved foods.You'd be better off with a cheaper version of modifed ancient recipes. I would also suggest a book on how to pickle vegetables.

It's true that there are editions that cost less. But despite the steep price, it is worth every penny.The cooperation between Latin scholar Grocock and recreatonal cook Grainger has resulted in a book that can be used for serious research as well as creating your own Roman meal. To do that however, you'll have to have some experience in interpretating recipes that give no amounts, cooking times or oven temperatures. If you want to have a ready-made Roman cookbook, I'd advise  Cooking Apicius: Roman Recipes for Today , also by Sally Grainger. But then you won't have ALL the recipes, and you'll miss out on the thirty recipes from the 'Extracts of Apicius' by Vinidarius (5th century), who used another redaction of 'De re coquinaria'.Worthwile extras: a glossary, original sources on Apicius, cooking and luxury dining, named recipes in Apicius, an article on garum and liquamen, and a concordance of recipes with earlier editions.

The book arrived in excellent condition, with a gorgeous purple hardcover and smooth pages. The content itself is endlessly fascinating, and I couldn’t’ve made a better purchase!