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Apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order (to quote Monty Python) ... what did the Romans do for us?
Well, we've just learnt... burgers!
The global obsession with the burger, can apparently be traced back as far as the Romans and to the early 4th century.
Inside The Apicius cookbook, a collection of ancient Roman recipes, a recipe called Isicia Omentata details the complex preparation of a minced meat patty.
A preparation that sounds remarkably like the blueprint for the modern-day burger with a few extra twists like flavored with pine nuts, peppercorns, and a fish-based sauce called garum, and accompanied by a bread roll that has been pre-soaked in white wine. Try out the Roman burger recipe here.
Food historian Dr Annie Gray told The Mirror: “We all know that the Romans left a huge mark on Britain, fundamentally altering the British diet forever.
“Street food became available en masse, and many of our favourite foods were introduced, including Isicia Omentata, which can be seen as the Roman forefather to today’s burger.
That's right, Romans were also responsible for inventing fast food, prompted by the speed and efficiency required to cater for thousands of Roman soldiers travelling across the country on foot.
Excavations of in Pompeii last year revealed the remains of yet another food kiosk called thermopolia (see below) serving ready-to-eat dishes to workers on their lunch break. One of dozens already uncovered at the ancient Roman city in southern Italy.
So, when in Rome!
Image: Wikimedia
