Rola nabiału w diecie późnego antyku i wczesnego Bizancjum (IV–VII w.)

Abstract

The present study tries to discuss the role of dairy products and eggs in the diet between the IVth and the VII th centuries. The article starts from a passage on a variety of milk kinds which were made use of in the period under discussion. The author comes to the conclusion that, although milk of many animals was used, the one coming from sheep and goats prevailed in the diet. Subsequently, he explains why only a fraction of the product was consumed fresh and the greatest part of it was later turned into cheese. Researching into cheese-like products, he describes three main kinds of the foodstuff: the cottage (oxygala or oxygalaktinon), the soft (chloros tyros) and the hard (xeros tyros) cheese. Later on the author comes to present the most important information on butter and concludes that it was more of a medicine than a kind of food. Finally, he proceeds to demonstrate numerous ancient and Byzantine methods of culinary application of eggs (oa tromatea, oa ropheta, oa hephta, oa pnikta, etc.). The material is consistently supported with medical doctrines on the discussed subjects retrieved from the works of Galen, Oribasius, Aetius of Amida, Paul of Aegina and other Greek medical doctors.