A Mythical Dish For a Roman Emperor
Through any era the extremely wealthy like to use their riches for extravagant displays of consumption. In current times, people will pay huge amounts of money for exotic food stuffs. In China, Nests of the swiflet can fetch huge prices. The birds normally nest in remote cliffs and cave walls and make the nests with their saliva. Once the nests are taken, often with much difficulty, they are sold to be boiled in soups or made into desserts. [ref] https://www.hindustantimes.com/more-lifestyle/here-s-why-edible-nests-made-of-bird-spit-are-a-delicacy-in-china/story-bZlT6jLlGlV0TGcELzF9pI.html [/ref] Meanwhile, caviar is synonymous as a food stuff for the ridiculously wealthy. People will pay thousands for the roe (fish eggs) of the Beluga Sturgeon, so much so that it has driven the species to near extinction. [ref] https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/16/why-is-caviar-still-on-the-menu [/ref] In ancient Rome, the very wealthy liked to serve the tongues of exotic birds to display their status. The tongues of Flamingos, peacocks, nightingales are all recorded to have been served at banquets. The fact that only the tongue was served proved that the host was so wealthy, they didn’t need to bother with the rest of the bird. [ref] https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/05/20/712772285/the-lavish-roman-banquet-a-calculated-display-of-debauchery-and-power https://slate.com/technology/2019/01/eat-flamingo-google-autocomplete-question.html [/ref] But what does a Roman Emperor do to show he is the wealthiest of all? If… Continue reading
