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What Have The Romans Done For Us?

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Post  El Guapo Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:31 am

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Post  El Guapo Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:32 am

Fast curing cement - hugely important discovery which allowed cement to cure and harden in short times and even under water. The ancient Romans realised that adding pozzolanic earth from volcanic regions (Eg Pozzuoli near Naples) to traditional mortar allowed a water proof and extremely solid mix. This could be used to waterproof the interior of aqueduct tunnels or extend the potentials of Roman architecture with important buildings and domes such as the Pantheon.

Reinforced concrete - they introduced metal bars into the concrete in order to gain greater strength.
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Post  El Guapo Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:33 am

Our calendar - Thanks to Julius Caesar (who used "foreign" astronomers from Roman dominions to get it right). January was after the two faced god Janus. February was after "Februa" the wips used in a popular festivity held in February. March is for the god Mars (beginning of the war season in fact) and so on. July and August are quite interesting: July was renamed in honour of Julius Caesar and August renamed in honour of Emperor Augustus. September used to be the seventh month way back before the Julian calendar (Septem) October was the eigth, November the ninth, december the tenth. When they shifted to a twelve month calendar based on the Solar cycle rather than the lunar one they simply added the two month without actually changing the old numbered names so the twelfth month was actually called "tenth" and it still is today!

Days of the week too: Monday is the day of the Moon, Sunday they Sun, Saturday is for the god Saturn. For the other days of the week we have to look to Latin languages eg in Italian: Tuesday is Martedi' (Mars day), Wednesdays is Mercoledi' (Mercury day), Thursday Giovedi' is Jove or Jupiter and Friday (Venerdi') is Venus day.

The Saturnalia were celebrated until the 25th of December and involved an exchange of gifts. Christ and the god Mithras were both born on the 25th. It is not surprising that several old Roman feasts and festivities were absorbed into the Christian religion which eventually prevailed and set many of our modern festivities. Incidentally the 25th is when the days start getting longer again and so it isn't surprising that a pastoral society should regard it highly from the earliest of times.


Last edited by El_Guapo on Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:34 am; edited 1 time in total
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Post  El Guapo Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:34 am

Roman numerals - essentially constructed around fingers on the hand: I, II, III, IV, V and X are 1,2,3,4,5 and 10. the V stands for an open hand of fingers whilst the X (10) is two open hands back to back. Not very good for pure mathematics but perfectly ok for counting up your goods as they got stacked up in the warehouse.
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Post  Guest Tue Feb 16, 2010 12:06 pm

Aqueducts and water systems, that helped lessen the spread of desease, which was rife in those days due to the lack of hygeine.
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Post  EarthsAngel Thu Feb 18, 2010 12:38 am

Bathing (still a mystery to some people) sewers, roads, toga parties What Have The Romans Done For Us? 853678 They certainly brought a lot of technology to the world, the principle of most is still used today
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Post  El Guapo Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:33 am

The hamburger.

Yes...you heard me...the Romans invented the hamburger.

Legionnaires were given bread rolls with steak and tomato as they marched into battle.
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What Have The Romans Done For Us? Empty Don't forget they built

Post  Guest Sun Jun 13, 2010 2:48 pm

Straight roads,lol
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Post  Guest Mon Jun 14, 2010 10:39 am

Bolognese Sauce


hehehehehe.
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Post  El Guapo Sun Jun 20, 2010 12:05 pm

I'm NOT going to rise to it...


























BUT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BOLOGNESE SAUCE IN ITALY!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post  DarkLord Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:41 am

Sauce with Pasta isn't actually a Roman invention.... You'd have to look to the orient for it's origins.... Shocked

Oh, and London as such a busy trading post is thanks to the Romans too.......
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Post  LP Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:11 am

El_Guapo wrote:I'm NOT going to rise to it...


























BUT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BOLOGNESE SAUCE IN ITALY!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There flaming well is!!! The town Bologna gave it its name but it has sadly been interpreted in so many different ways that even Bologna don't serve the original version anymore. It was originally Ragu Alla Bolognese, referred to as simply Ragu by the natives.

The traditional recipe, registered in 1982 by the Bolognese delegation of Accademia Italiana della Cucina, confines the ingredients to beef, pancetta, onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, meat broth, white wine, and milk or cream. Cool
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Post  El Guapo Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:50 am

LP wrote:
El_Guapo wrote:I'm NOT going to rise to it...


























BUT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BOLOGNESE SAUCE IN ITALY!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There flaming well is!!! The town Bologna gave it its name but it has sadly been interpreted in so many different ways that even Bologna don't serve the original version anymore. It was originally Ragu Alla Bolognese, referred to as simply Ragu by the natives.

The traditional recipe, registered in 1982 by the Bolognese delegation of Accademia Italiana della Cucina, confines the ingredients to beef, pancetta, onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, meat broth, white wine, and milk or cream. Cool

referred to as simply Ragu by the natives

lol

Exactly! A ragu is any tomato based sauce. You can have a ragu di carne (what you would call a bolognese sauce) a ragu di marinara (fish) a ragu napolitana (plain with garlic) a ragu puttanesca (olives and anchovies) a ragu pizziola (to pour over beefsteak with a fried egg), a ragu con involtini, etc etc.

The traditional recipe

lol. There is no "traditional," recipe for any sauce. Different regions all have their own spin and each will ALL swear theirs is the "only" way to make it!

Accademia Italiana della Cucina

This organisation is nothing more than the italian equivalent of the BBC Good Food Guide. Any self respecting italian would probably be quite offended to be told the "correct," way to make a ragu di carne.

We just don't call a sauce with meat a "Bolognese," sauce in Italy...

But don't take my word for it Very Happy The first link takes you to the "horses mouth," as it were. It's a translated page of an italian cookery site based in Bologna itself.

http://www.cookingschoolbologna.it/Dishes_and_Specialities/Spaghetti_Bolognese.htm

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_country_did_spaghetti_bolognese_come_from

http://6v8.gamboni.org/Bolognese-Pasta-Bake.html

http://www.palladius.it/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=177:spaghetti-bolognese-dont-exist&catid=30:english-contents&Itemid=67

http://slim.mx/2010/06/spaghetti-alla-bolognese/

As a footnote, funnily enough, in Bologna a meat sauce is served with linguine or tagliatelle rather than spaghetti because spaghetti originates from Naples. Do you really think a northern region would therefore have a regional dish based upon a type of pasta made by the southern peasants?!

Shame on you for daring to argue with an Italian over pasta! What Have The Romans Done For Us? 476963
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Post  LP Sun Aug 01, 2010 6:40 am

My dear friend, I too share an Italian heritage, albeit only through blood, not language or culture. To clarify, I was not discussing the pasta element, just the sauce, and I can never not rise to something if it looks like it'll be fun Laughing

Probably should have thought about whether were a wop or not first, that does change the argument slightly. Tell me what you think of this:

"Bolognese sauce is an Italian meat-based sauce for pasta which originates in Bologna, a city in Northern Italy. A true Bolognese sauce includes a small amount of tomatoes or tomato paste in a rich sauce with meat and other ingredients. It tends to be served on thick pasta, as larger pasta shapes hold meat much better than finer pastas such as capellini. Variations on the sauce outside of Italy often include much more tomato and vegetable ingredients, which change the flavor profile considerably.

In Italian, Bolognese sauce is called ragu alla Bolognese, which essentially translates into “meat sauce as it is made in Bologna.” Ragu is an Italian word for any meat-based sauce, derived from the French ragouter, “to revive the taste.” Another famous Italian ragu comes from Naples, in Southern Italy. Bolognese cuisine includes many other famous foods, including a popular cured meat product, mortadella, sometimes known outside of Italy as “Bologna.”

The base of Bolognese sauce is a soffrito, an assortment of aromatic and flavorful vegetables such as celery, onions, and carrots fried in olive oil and butter. Next, chunks of meat such as beef and pancetta are added to the soffrito to brown. A dash of milk or cream is added and the mixture is briefly stirred before white wine is poured in and the sauce is allowed to reduce, concentrating the flavor and creating a rich broth. Next, tomato paste and stock are added, along with a dash of butter and salt. The Bolognese sauce is stirred and then simmered gently until the meat breaks down.

The Bolognese may be tossed with pasta, or drizzled on top. Some cooks dress it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, while others prefer to let the natural flavor of the sauce come through. Freshly cracked salt and pepper may also be used in small amounts, to bring out the flavors of the Bolognese sauce. Typically, pasta with Bolognese sauce is served with a wine of choice, such as a rich red.

Outside of Italy, Bolognese sauce may seem more like a tomato sauce than a ragu. A more tomatoey version of Bolognese sauce is especially popular in Britain and Northern Europe, as well as the United States. Since the chunks of meat in the sauce still make it rich and heavy, it should ideally be served with big pasta shapes like linguine, tagliatelle, and fettuccine. Some people also use it as a spaghetti sauce, although the pasta may not hold up well under the dense sauce."
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Post  El Guapo Sun Aug 01, 2010 8:38 am

Hi LP

You a wop too?! lol I'm 1/2 italian on my mother's side. Our family originate from Naples and Salerno but we also lived in Venice for several years.

I think what I'm getting at is that the combination of having minced meat with a tomato sauce can't possibly be said to have originated in Bologna. The entire country has been making meat sauces since the introduction of pasta! However, Bologna is home to classics such as Lasagna and Tortellini which are traditionally made with a meat sauce..Perhaps this is where the association of Bologna and a meat sauce originally stems from?

Colin and me have this little thing where I keep telling him Spaghetti Bolognese doesn't exist in Italy and you have to admit from an Italian perspective it is a weird combination. Spaghetti is much better served Carbonara or Al 'Olio.

My pet hate isn't so much calling a meat sauce a Bolognese sauce but rather calling the dish of Spaghetti Bolognese an Italian dish when the truth is any Italian probably looks at a plate of Spaghetti Bolognese with a mixture of horror and disgust lol



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Post  LP Sun Aug 01, 2010 7:34 pm

El_Guapo wrote:Hi LP

You a wop too?! lol I'm 1/2 italian on my mother's side. Our family originate from Naples and Salerno but we also lived in Venice for several years.

I think what I'm getting at is that the combination of having minced meat with a tomato sauce can't possibly be said to have originated in Bologna. The entire country has been making meat sauces since the introduction of pasta! However, Bologna is home to classics such as Lasagna and Tortellini which are traditionally made with a meat sauce..Perhaps this is where the association of Bologna and a meat sauce originally stems from?

Colin and me have this little thing where I keep telling him Spaghetti Bolognese doesn't exist in Italy and you have to admit from an Italian perspective it is a weird combination. Spaghetti is much better served Carbonara or Al 'Olio.

My pet hate isn't so much calling a meat sauce a Bolognese sauce but rather calling the dish of Spaghetti Bolognese an Italian dish when the truth is any Italian probably looks at a plate of Spaghetti Bolognese with a mixture of horror and disgust lol




Hey Guapo (why the Spanish name??)

I sort of knew that's what you were getting at but you threw the gauntlet down with bolognese sauce, not the spaghetti, I just couldn't resist What Have The Romans Done For Us? 607366

I'm only a 1/4 wop but I got lucky with the skin and hair colour. It's my mothers side, she has 4 brothers and 4 sisters!!!!!!!!! Proper immigrant wop breeding Laughing Not sure where they hail from but I'll ask her next time I see her Very Happy
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Post  El Guapo Mon Aug 02, 2010 5:34 am

The El Guapo bit is for the Spanish half of me Very Happy I was born in Gran Canaria and that's where all my father's side is from.

I've also posted under the name Padrino before too but I prefer El Guapo and everyone kinda knows me by that name now.
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