In Carthage as in its army, the meal was organized not as starter-main-dessert but around a cereal base—the *puls*, a porridge of wheat or barley—that ranged from the humblest (water, salt, oil) to the richest (fresh cheese, honey, eggs). Around it gravitated the *opson*, the "accompaniments": olives, legumes, salted fish, figs, and dates. Olive oil and watered wine bound everything together; the festive meal added no new dishes but enriched the base. On campaign, Hannibal's army lived off the land: this structure was adapted to foraged supplies, from Italian wheat to dried fruits carried for the march.

The cereal porridge (*puls*) is the soul of the Punic table, and its festive version—the *puls punica*, mixed with fresh cheese, honey, and eggs—is one of the very few Carthaginian recipes that antiquity has transmitted to us in writing. Honey, olive oil, and sweet fruits (figs, dates) mark the Mediterranean sweetness of this cuisine.