Summer Smith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
somethingwithturquoise) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2022-07-29 05:09 am
somethingwithturquoise) wrote in fandomhigh2022-07-29 05:09 am
ACTUAL Ancient Food Crimes; Friday, First Period [07/29].
You know, the real crime with this class was that it landed in first period, because no matter which way you look at it, no one should have to start their day with anything from this class. Not even just the food, but also Summer's disgusting enthusiasm for it.
Would it help, though, knowing that most of Summer's current beaming mood at way too early in the morning was still a hold-over from fancy-ass wedding dress shopping for her bestie and not actually so much about the food this time?
Was there any help for this class....ever?
"Morning, everyone!" she greeted them brightly. "And welcome back. Today, we're going to be talking about warriors. Specifically, the Spartans, a major player in the world of the ancient Mediterranean that was pretty hopped up on its own machismo and liked to fight a lot. And if you're going to have an army, you're probably going to need to feed that army, and the Spartan answer to this was a little dish we call melas zomos, aka black soup."
And thus she removed the cloche to reveal a big old pot of...yup, that was definitely some black soup, with potentially worrying bits inside.
"Boiled down to the basics, melas zomos is thought to have been a staple of the Spartan diet consisting of mostly four things: boiled pork shank, fresh blood, salt, and vinegar. We have a few records suggesting it was probably mostly consumed at banquets and religious ceremonies, but there's also a multitude of records from other Greeks not being able to shut up about the infamous Spartan black soup and how awful it is, so the dish sort of became a little bit of a gatekeep. Like, okay, you may not be a Spartan, but you managed to eat our blood soup? Then you might just be okay after all.
"Meanwhile, you legit have stories of one guy giving it a try and just straight up saying he understood now why the Spartans were so gung-ho about dying in battle.
"Now, there's definitely a lot of cultures and cuisines today that have traditional blood soups, too, so what in particular made melas zomos so reviled? We may never know. I mean, we might, someone around here's had to have gone through Ancient Sparta eventually, but, for now, we're just going to try a modern attempt to recreate it that I assume is far better than the actual thing, but I definitely wouldn't know.
"And, to wash it down, we've also got some ancient Greek kykeon, as well, which was much more popularly enjoyed around the Hellenistic world, which is usually a mix of barley, wine, mint, and grated cheese of some kind, usually from goat's milk. Because I missed that one last week."
Sure. 'Missed' was the right word to use here.
Would it help, though, knowing that most of Summer's current beaming mood at way too early in the morning was still a hold-over from fancy-ass wedding dress shopping for her bestie and not actually so much about the food this time?
Was there any help for this class....ever?
"Morning, everyone!" she greeted them brightly. "And welcome back. Today, we're going to be talking about warriors. Specifically, the Spartans, a major player in the world of the ancient Mediterranean that was pretty hopped up on its own machismo and liked to fight a lot. And if you're going to have an army, you're probably going to need to feed that army, and the Spartan answer to this was a little dish we call melas zomos, aka black soup."
And thus she removed the cloche to reveal a big old pot of...yup, that was definitely some black soup, with potentially worrying bits inside.
"Boiled down to the basics, melas zomos is thought to have been a staple of the Spartan diet consisting of mostly four things: boiled pork shank, fresh blood, salt, and vinegar. We have a few records suggesting it was probably mostly consumed at banquets and religious ceremonies, but there's also a multitude of records from other Greeks not being able to shut up about the infamous Spartan black soup and how awful it is, so the dish sort of became a little bit of a gatekeep. Like, okay, you may not be a Spartan, but you managed to eat our blood soup? Then you might just be okay after all.
"Meanwhile, you legit have stories of one guy giving it a try and just straight up saying he understood now why the Spartans were so gung-ho about dying in battle.
"Now, there's definitely a lot of cultures and cuisines today that have traditional blood soups, too, so what in particular made melas zomos so reviled? We may never know. I mean, we might, someone around here's had to have gone through Ancient Sparta eventually, but, for now, we're just going to try a modern attempt to recreate it that I assume is far better than the actual thing, but I definitely wouldn't know.
"And, to wash it down, we've also got some ancient Greek kykeon, as well, which was much more popularly enjoyed around the Hellenistic world, which is usually a mix of barley, wine, mint, and grated cheese of some kind, usually from goat's milk. Because I missed that one last week."
Sure. 'Missed' was the right word to use here.
Eat Food and Discuss! - ACTUAL Ancient Food Crimes, 07/29.
Be unwittingly glad and/or disappointed that her plans to make this a whole unit on a few different soups was thwarted when she ran into one tiny hitch with being able to properly recreate tlacatlaolli....
Re: Eat Food and Discuss! - ACTUAL Ancient Food Crimes, 07/29.
Re: Eat Food and Discuss! - ACTUAL Ancient Food Crimes, 07/29.
It wasn't good. He made a face. He made a face for a long time.
The drink sounded more like it ought to be a salad than a beverage and he was going to skip that, for now.
Re: Eat Food and Discuss! - ACTUAL Ancient Food Crimes, 07/29.
Well there was someone to blame for Goose's unique eating habits now.
Re: Eat Food and Discuss! - ACTUAL Ancient Food Crimes, 07/29.
Re: Eat Food and Discuss! - ACTUAL Ancient Food Crimes, 07/29.
He would, however, eat the soup. "I don't see what the big deal is," said the guy who'd asked for blood to be added to his fruity cocktail. "I mean, the vinegar can kind of be a thing, but I think it's delicious."
Re: Eat Food and Discuss! - ACTUAL Ancient Food Crimes, 07/29.
Then he decided to try the drink and he instantly regretted that, he had to focus on not bringing that all back up again.
Re: Eat Food and Discuss! - ACTUAL Ancient Food Crimes, 07/29.
The blood soup, though...He tried it, made a thoughtful grimace, and shook his head. "It really could use a bit of spice and something to cut the saltiness."