In Byzantium, the main meal (deipnon) is not divided into starter-main-dessert but is organized around the ártos, wheat bread, the foundation of every table. It is accompanied by prosphágion, what "is eaten with bread" (stews, fish, vegetables), seasoned with brine and spices. Then come the glykýsmata, honey sweets, and diluted wine. In the monastery, the same table becomes austere: dark bread, legumes, and fish on lean days, according to the Orthodox calendar.

A fermented fish brine inherited from Rome, gáros is the king of seasonings in Byzantine cuisine: a few salty, umami drops replace salt in almost everything, from courgette stew to lentil pot. It is held in such high regard that it is served in small flasks at the imperial table.