Libum

The Ingredients

• Cheese was made from either horse or donkey milk. Cheeses were sent to Rome from all of the provinces. Most Romans enjoyed older cheese especially from Gaul (France) and the Alps.

Process of Making Cheese

Cato the Elder

• The milling of flour was originally done by hand between round stones, but later the Romans developed mills powered by a donkey or slave.

Example of Roman Mill

• Romans relied on honey for sweetening. Honey was obtained mostly through bee-keeping.

• Marcus Porcius Cato (also known as Cato the Censor or Cato the Elder) was a Roman statesman, orator, and the first significant Latin prose writer.
• De Agri Cultura (Cato's On Agriculture)
• The oldest remaining complete prose work in Latin
• A practical guideline including the cultivation of grape vines and olives, recipes, and the grazing of livestock
• Many details of old customs and superstitions

Cato the

Elder

LIBUM

HOW I MADE IT

Beat the cheese until it's soft.

Beat the egg.

Sift the flour into a bowl.

Form a soft dough and divide into 4.

Stir the cheese into the flour along with the egg.

Cover the cakes with your "brick".

Mold each one into a bun and place them on a greased baking tray with a fresh bay leaf underneath.

Warm the honey and place the warm cakes in it so that they absorb it.

Heat the oven to 425°F. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden-brown.

Libum

The Recipe

Allow to stand 30 minutes before serving.

Latin Text

Libum hoc modo facito. Casei P. II bene disterat in mortario. Ubi bene distriverit, farinae siligineae libram aut, si voles tenerius esse, selibram similaginis eodem indito permiscetoque cum caseo bene. Ovum unum addito et una permisceto bene. Inde panem facito, folia subdito, in foco caldo sub testu coquito leniter.

• During the mensa secunda (dessert) after a period of silence during which sacrifices were made, libum could be offered. However, libum could also be served as a starter.
• Libum was a sacrificial cake sometimes offered to household spirits during Rome's early history, especially on one's birthday.
• Libum was sometimes served hot, so the whoever ate it would probably eat it fresh. Also, because of the cheese, Libum would only last for a few days.

English Translation

Libum to be made as follows: 2 pounds cheese well crushed in a mortar; when it is well crushed, add in 1 pound bread-wheat flour or, if you want it to be lighter, just 1/2 a pound, to be mixed with the cheese. Add one egg and mix all together well. Make a loaf of this, with the leaves under it, and cook slowly in a hot fire under a brick.

Mortar

Modern Day Recipe

Libum

1 cup plain, all purpose flour

8 ounces ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

bay leaves

1/2 cup honey

Sift the flour into a bowl. Beat the cheese until it's soft and stir it into the flour along with the egg. Form a soft dough and divide into 4. Mold each one into a bun and place them on a greased baking tray with a fresh bay leaf underneath. Heat the oven to 425° F. Cover the cakes with your brick. (An overturned, shallow clay pot, a metal bowl, or casserole dish can be substituted as a brick.) Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden-brown. Warm the honey and place the warm cakes in it so that they absorb it. Allow to stand 30 minutes before serving.

Abigail Morici

Dr. Rupp

Latin II Honors, Pd. 2

February 25, 2014