Meat in Ancient Rome. Dormouse meat was considered a delicious food
It makes an impression on us, but centuries ago dormouse meat was considered a delicacy.
In Rome, obviously.
After all, was there perhaps an animal species that the ancient Romans left free to live in peace?
Probably not if we take into account that at the base of their diet there was also this small and harmless creature.
Not only that.
Before arriving on the tables cooked and ready to be eaten, these poor animals were raised with a series of special precautions, so that their meat would be tastier and tastier.
The dormice in fact, inside special rooms, remained for a long time to fatten in the dark in special containers, the gliraria, and only when they became suitable for the palate, were they killed and cooked.
The most common recipe based on dormice required the animal to be stuffed with pork meatballs, pepper and laser, a spice that is obtained from the juice of silphium, a root that grew in Cyrene.
However, it should be specified that dormice, just like any other type of meat in Rome (https://www.pilloledistoria.it/2891/storia-antica/cucina-dellantica-roma-carni-preferite,) was a food relatively usual only for the wealthiest citizens, since the high cost made it prohibitive or almost prohibitive for those who belonged to the lower social strata.