Plymouth College's Year 8 Classical Civilisation students have gone back in time to sample the cuisine of the Romans.
Having spent the last few weeks learning about the food that made up a typical Roman diet, the focus of the tasting session was on everyday food rather than what would have been eaten at a sumptuous banquet.
The students were surprised at the lack of meat - salami-type sausages were the main meat eaten by the poor. Most protein came from dairy products and nuts. Another big gap was the non-existence of common foods today such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, cocoa and anything with sugar in it. A world with no crisps, fries or chocolate bars was quite difficult for Year 8 to imagine!
When it came to tasting the food, the students found the marinated anchovies and olives the most difficult to eat, although some really loved them. In fact one of the boys' tables ate all the left-overs! Everyone tried to eat something they had never had before and many found a new food that they really enjoyed - pomegranate and pistachios proved particularly popular.
