List of ancient dishes

A plate of testaroli, an ancient dish, served with pesto at a trattoria in Pontremoli, Italy

This is a list of ancient dishes, foods and beverages that have been recorded as originating during the time of ancient history. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with Sumerian Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC.

Ancient history is defined in different manners, and can be defined as occurring from the beginning of recorded human history to:

• The Early Middle Ages (the end of the 4th century AD)
• The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD
• The Postclassical Era (200-600 AD and 1200–1500 AD, depending on the continent)

Although the ending date of ancient history is disputed, some Western scholars use the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD (the most used), the closure of the Platonic Academy in 529 AD, the death of the emperor Justinian I in 565 AD, the coming of Islam or the rise of Charlemagne as the end of ancient and Classical European history. This list does not contain entries that originated after ancient history.

Beginning of recorded history to 476 AD

This section is limited to dishes that originated during the time of ancient history (the beginning of recorded human history) up to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.

Antipasti prepared with prosciutto (pictured) and melon is "based upon ancient medical principles."

Congee

Ruins of a garum factory in Baelo Claudia, Spain

Papadzules may be "one of the most ancient traditional dishes of Yucatán, Mexico.

• Antipasti prepared with prosciutto and melon is "based upon ancient medical principles."
• Bread
  • Flatbread
  • Focaccia – dates to Ancient Rome
• Chili pepper (hot peppers) – remains of wild peppers were found around 150 miles south of Mexico City, Mexico that date back to 7,000 BC. The peppers were found in fossilized human coprolites (fossilized human feces).
• Chutney
• Congee
• Curry
• Dotorimuk
• Fatteh
• Fish sauce, see Garum
• Forcemeat
• Freekeh
• Gachas
• Garum, Ancient Greece (γάρος) and Roman Empire, known from before Pompeii's destruction in 79 AD
• Gofio
• Gruel
• Ham – dry-cured ham has been produced since ancient times.
• Harissa
• Jeok
• Jusselle
• Kebab
• Lamb and mutton
• Liquamen, see Garum
• Maccu
• Migas
• Misu karu or Misugaru
• Moretum
• Mulukhiyah
• Noodle – existent since at least 2,000 BC in Northwest China, the noodle was developed independently in Ancient China and Ancient Rome, and remained common in both areas "through the centuries".
• Olive, olive oil from Eastern Mediterranean in Bronze Age, c. 3000 BC
• Oxygala – a dairy product in Ancient Greece and Rome. It was also consumed by ancient Persians.
• Pane carasau
• Papadzules – a common dish in Maya cuisine that may be "one of the most ancient traditional dishes of Yucatán, Mexico.
• Pilaf
• Pinole
• Placenta cake
• Potée
• Rice – existed, but was "little-used in the ancient world"
• Rihaakuru

Sauerkraut

• Sauerkraut
• Sausage
  • Lucanica, Western Roman Empire, mentioned by Cicero, 1st century BC
• Sop
• Soup
  • Acquacotta
  • French onion soup
  • Lentil soup
• Sour cabbage
• Tamale
• Testaroli
• Tharida
• Tofu
• Torta de gazpacho
• Tracta was a kind of bread, pastry, or pancake in Ancient Greece and perhaps Rome.

• Ancient dishes
• 

  Acquacotta

• 

  Various chutneys in Banglore, India

• 

  Flatbread

Beverages

• Soy milk has been consumed in China since ancient times.

Cereals and grains

Further information: Ancient grains

Farro may be one of the "most ancient of all ancient grains."

• Amaranth grain – grain and plant bundles were found by archaeologists at the Tehuacán caves in Central Mexico that date back to around 5,500 years. The grain continues to be grown in the area in contemporary times.
• Barley
• Bulgur (burghul) – existed Anno Domini in the Near East
• Farro – may be one of the "most ancient of all ancient grains"
• Hemp seed – used as a food grain in Ancient China up to the time of the Han Dynasty, at which time its use declined and then stopped. This was documented as "the prevailing view" in the book Fermentations and Food Science.
• Kasha (buckwheat groats) – first cultivated in China, they were later cultivated in Eastern Europe. The food is still commonly used in both regions.
• Millet – a staple food of Ancient China, Egypt and India, before rice was used.
• Wheat
  • Einkorn wheat – may be one of the "most ancient of all ancient grains"
  • Spelt – a common grain in Switzerland and Germany "by the seventh century BCE" (BC) Spelt existed in Great Britain since 500 BCE.

• Ancient cereals and grains
• 

  Buckwheat kasha

• 

  Millet flour

Dairy products

Quark

• Butter – documented as existent since at least 2,000 BC
• Buttermilk – existed Anno Domini in India
• Kumis – documented as existing in ancient Scythia
• Milk
• Opus lactarum – documented as existing during the Ancient Roman Empire
• Quark (lac concretum) – documented as existing in ancient Scythia
• Schiston – "separated milk" purported to have been invented by physicians during the time of the Ancient Roman Empire and Pliny the Elder It was prepared by boiling milk or whey along with pebbles.
• Shrikhand – documented as existing circa 800 to 300 B.C. in Ancient India
• Smy – thickened milk documented as existent in Ancient Egypt
• Yogurt – documented as existing in India circa 300 BC to 75 AD; referred to as "dahi"

Cheeses

Pecorino Romano is one of the world's most ancient cheeses

• Cheese
• Bryndza – an ancient Romanian cheese dating to "before the time of the Romans"
• Caciocavallo
• Cantal cheese – one of the oldest French cheeses, it is named after the Cantal mountain range
• Castelmagno cheese
  • Emmental cheese
• Feta – existed during the times of Homer in Ancient Greece
  • Touloumotiri is an ancient cheese that is considered as the "forerunner to feta".
• Kefalotyri – dates to the Byzantine Empire
• Pecorino Romano – is one of the world's most ancient cheeses
• Pecorino Sardo (Flore sardo) – one of the world's oldest cheeses that is believed to date back to the Bronze Age
• Pecorino Siciliano
• Roquefort
• Tomme
  • Tomme de Savoie

• Ancient cheeses
• 

  Cantal cheese

• 

  Feta

• 

  Tomme de Savoie

Legumes

• Mung bean – an food crop of Southwest Asia from ancient times
• Soybean – an ancient food crop in China, Japan and Korea

Seeds

• Chia has been cultivated by the Aztecs, Mayans, Incas and "other ancient Native American cultures" for over 5,000 years.

477–1500 AD

This section includes dishes, foods and beverages that originated during the time of ancient history from 477 AD to 1500 AD (prior to the Postclassical Era).

• Börek is known from 14th century Persia in a poem by Bushaq-i-Atima, and it may be far older.
• Popcorn – an ancient food used by people of the Inca civilization.

• 

  Börek

Cereals and grains

• Amaranth was used by the Aztec people (14th–16th centuries).
• Quinoa – an ancient food crop used by people of the Inca civilization. Quinoa remains as a staple food of importance in South America.

Defined as ancient, but lacking time frame

A bowl of poi showing a typical consistency

• Khanom chan – an ancient Thai dessert
• Poi is an ancient Polynesian staple food prepared using taro root.

Beverages

• Kombucha is an ancient beverage that originated in Asia and is used for its supposed health benefits.

Legumes

• Chickpea – an ancient food crop in the Ethiopian Highlands

Seeds

• Sesame seed is an ancient food.

Likely ancient in origin

• Nattō is prepared using fermented soybeans, and has been described as likely being an ancient food. It's origins have been described as unknown. Nattō may have been developed independently in different areas that have the same ingredients, such as Japan, China and Korea.

• 

  Nattō is typically consumed atop rice

See also

• Amurca
• History of cheese – the history of cheese predates recorded history
• Neolithic founder crops – eight plant species that were domesticated by early Holocene farming communities in the Fertile Crescent region of southwest Asia, and which formed the basis of systematic agriculture in the Middle East, North Africa, India, Persia and (later) Europe
• Popina – an ancient Roman wine bar, where a limited menu of simple foods (olives, bread, stews) and selection of wines of varying quality were available
• Timeline of food

Ancient cuisines

• Ancient Egyptian cuisine
• Ancient Greek cuisine
• Ancient Israelite cuisine
• Ancient Roman cuisine
• Egyptian cuisine
• Maya cuisine
• Muisca cuisine

List articles

• List of food and beverage museums
• List of foods
• List of historical cuisines
• Lists of prepared foods