Marcus Aurelius at the table

The Roman day is structured in three meals: the ientaculum, a frugal morning meal (bread, cheese, olives); the prandium, a light lunch eaten standing or on the go; and the cena, the main evening meal which, among the wealthy, unfolds in gustatio (appetizers and eggs), mensa prima (main dishes), and mensa secunda (sweets and fruits). Marcus Aurelius, a Stoic, deliberately reduced this opulence to the essentials: a porridge, some bread, fruits, and wine mixed with water.

A fermented fish sauce with salt, the king condiment of all Roman cuisine. A salty, deeply umami drop that replaced our table salt in almost every dish — even the most frugal like the emperor's puls.