Episode 36: How Rome used cheese to conquer Britain

The Roman Army was powered by cheese. It fuelled its soldiers through war and occupation and, as Rome’s armies swept through western Europe, altered how an entire continent produced and consumed cheese.

“It is a remarkable circumstance that the barbarous nations, which subsist on milk for so long, have been for so many ages either ignorant of the merits of cheese, or else have completely disregarded it.”

So wrote the Roman historian Pliny. In doing so, he highlights that cheese was a key foodstuff for the Romans.

Rome’s conquests were powered by cheese, with every Roman soldier received a daily ration of it. In fact, the Roman army’s reliance on cheese was so great that it would reshape the agricultural and culinary map of western Europe. This was particularly true in Britain, where the legacy of the Romans means that even today there are more sheep per square mile in northern Britain than anywhere else in Europe.

Guest

Thomas Ntinas is a food historian and host of the Delicious Legacy podcast, a podcast in which he explores both tastes both modern and ancient.

Cats present

None.

Useful links

Thom on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedeliciouslegacy

The Delicious Legacy Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4AeiOjVa9rf99xOM0U3Fmg

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