icultural
produce of the ancient Egyptians is pretty much the same as that of the
present day, and the habits of the people are not materially altered. In
Greece, the products cultivated in antiquity were the same kinds of
grains and legumes as are cultivated at present, with the vine, the fig,
the olive, the apple, and other fruits. So with the Romans, and so with
other nations. As to the different modes of artificially preparing those
to please the taste, it is only necessary to say that they arise from
the universal desire of novelty, characteristic of man in the
development of his social conditions. Thus has arisen the whole science
of cookery, and thus arose the art of making puddings. The porridge of
the Scotch is nothing more than a species of hasty pudding, composed of
oatmeal, salt, and water; and the "red pottage" for which Esau sold his
birthright, must have been something similar. The barley-gruel of the
Lacedaemonians, of the Athenian gladiators and common people, was the
same, with the exception of the slight seasoning it had beyond the
simplicity of Scottish fare. Here is the ancient recipe for the Athenian
national dish:--"Dry near the fire, in the oven, twenty pounds of
barley-flour; then parch it; add three pounds of linseed-meal, half a
pound of coriander-seed, two ounces of salt, and the quantity of water
necessary." To this sometimes a little millet was added, in order to
give the paste greater cohesion and delicacy.

1177. OATMEAL AMONGST THE GREEKS AND ROMANS was highly esteemed, as was
also rice, which they considered as beneficial to the chest. They also
held in high repute the Irion, or Indian wheat of the moderns. The flour
of this cereal was made into a kind of hasty pudding, and, parched or
roasted, as eaten with a little salt. The Spelt, or Red wheat, was
likewise esteemed, and its flour formed the basis of the Carthaginian
pudding, for which we here give the scientific recipe:--"Put a pound of
red-wheat flour into water, and when it has steeped some time, transfer
it to a wooden bowl. Add three pounds of cream cheese, half a pound of
honey, and one egg. Beat the whole together, and cook it on a slow fire
in a stewpan." Should this be considered unpalatable, another form has
been recommended. "Sift the flour, and, with some water, put it into a
wooden vessel, and, for ten days, renew the water twice each day. At the
end of that period, press out the water and place the paste in another
vess