Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome

---- UVARUM, {Rx} 20; ---- MALORUM PUNICORUM, {Rx} 21; ---- COTONIORUM, {Rx} 19; ---- FICUUM, PRUNORUM, PIRORUM, {Rx} 20; ---- MALORUM MEDICORUM, {Rx} 21; ---- MORORUM, {Rx} 25; ---- OLERUM, {Rx} 26; ---- RUMICIS, {Rx} 27; ---- LAPAE, {Rx} 27; ---- DURACINORUM, {Rx} 29; ---- PRUNORUM, etc., {Rx} 30 --in most of these instances corresponds to our modern "preserving" CONGER, CONGRIO, CONGRUS, sea-eel, conger. CONGRUM QUEM ANTIATES BRUNCHUM APPELLANT,--Platina, cf. ANGUILLA. Plautus uses this fish name to characterize a very cunning person, a "slippery" fellow. A cook is thus called CONGRIO in one of his plays CONILA, CUNILA, a species of the plant ORIGANUM, origany, wild marjoram. See SATUREIA CONYZA, the viscous elecampane Cook, COCUS, COQUUS is the most frequent form used, COCTOR, infrequent. COQUA, COCULA, female cook; though female cooks were few. The word is derived from COQUERE, to cook, which seems to be an imitation of the sound, produced by a bubbling mess The cook's work place (formerly ATRIUM, the "black" smoky room) was the CULINA, the kitchen, hence in the modern Romance tongues CUISINE, CUCINA, COCINA. Those who work there are CUISINIERS, COCINEROS, the female a CUISINIÈRE, and so forth The German and Swedish for "kitchen" are KÜCHE and KÖKET, but the words "cook" and "KOCH" are directly related to COQUUS A self-respecting Roman cook, especially a master of the art, having charge of a crew, would assume the title of MAGIRUS, or ARCHIMAGIRUS, chief cook. This Greek--"MAGEIROS"--plainly shows the high regard in which Greek cookery stood in Rome. No American CHEF would think of calling himself "chief cook," although CHEF means just that. The foreign word sounds ever so much better both in old Rome and in new New York. MAGEIROS is derived from the Greek equivalent of the verb "to knead," which leads us to the art of baking. Titles and distinctions were plentiful in the ancient bakeshops, which plainly indicates departmentisation and division of labor The PISTOR was the baker of loaves, the DULCIARIUS the cake baker, using honey for sweetening. Martial says of the PISTOR DULCIARIUS, "that hand will construct for you a