Tastes of Byzantium

Andrew Dalby reconstructs the culinary landscape of the Eastern Roman Empire, focusing on the markets and kitchens of Constantinople. He examines how Byzantine cooks blended Greek seafood traditions and Roman spice profiles with influences from emerging trade routes to the east. The book details specific ingredients like garum, mastic, and saffron while explaining how seasonality and the humoral theory of medicine governed diet. Dalby uses primary sources, including medical texts and travelers’ accounts, to list historical recipes and describe the physical environment of imperial banquets and common stalls.

This work serves historians and culinary enthusiasts who want to understand the origins of modern Greek and Turkish cooking. Readers learn the precise social rituals surrounding food and how the church and the calendar dictated consumption patterns. Instead of abstract generalizations, the text provides concrete data on food logistics, preservation techniques, and the symbolic value of specific dishes. Anyone studying the transition from the ancient world to the Middle Ages will find a clear record of how the Roman lifestyle evolved through its flavors and trade.

Outward-looking and clear-cut; a moderate read.

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