THE ROMAN EMPIRE: ca. AD 23 – 100
AD 500
AD 1
500 BC
1000 BC
ANCIENT COOKING
There were many varieties of pears in antiquity and many ways to use them. Pliny the Elder (AD 23/24–79) records 41 varieties, each with its own name, character, and flavour. Pears could be named after the Roman who introduced their variety to Rome, or by the region they came from, their colour, odour, shape, or the season of their harvest. The ‘Tiberian’ was named after Emperor Tiberius, because he liked them so
