Haselmaus – Zum Fressen gern

Description

New eating habits north of the Alps were introduced from the end of the 1st century BC onwards with the Roman troops and new settlers from Italy as well as from other strongly Romanised regions in the empire. The palate, accustomed to Mediterranean delights, did not want to do without these specialities, even though the distances must have been long for some products and the costs must often have been considerable. The finds from the Oberstimm fort on the Danube are extraordinarily rich. Thousands of objects from the fort occupants' layers of waste surfaced in the riverbed of the nearby Brautlach, reflecting the soldiers and officers' diet. These included numerous oyster shells. Peaches, wine, olive oil and fish sauce from Italy were also in demand.

The small, very finely crafted bronze sculpture of a dormouse is representative of the enjoyment of a wide variety of animals that are no longer on today's menu. Dormice were considered a delicacy in Italy in the 2nd century. They were specially and finally fattened with nuts and chestnuts in specially designed clay pots. The famous gourmet and culinary artist Marcus Gavius Apicius passes on a recipe for preparing the animals: "Fill the dormice with minced pork and minced dormice meat, mashed together with pepper, pine nuts, laserwort and fish sauce. Stitch them up, put each one on a brick and roast them in the oven".