Persica ex melle et pipere

Peaches baked in wine and honey with black pepper, as eaten in ancient Rome

Origin: Ancient Rome

From the journey of Peach.

The Romans called the peach malum persicum, the Persian apple, and received it via Greece around the 1st century BCE. By Pliny the Elder's time (23–79 CE), peaches had become common enough across the empire that Pliny commented on the collapse of their price, and Pompeian wall paintings depict them as objects of abundance. The Roman culinary collection known as Apicius (De re coquinaria, compiled c. 4th–5th century CE but reflecting earlier practice) contains a preparation for peaches that is strikingly modern in its simplicity and sophistication: peeled peaches baked in a cumin-scented broth with honey, a little fish sauce (garum), and fresh coriander. This version follows the Apician spirit, wine, honey, and black pepper, the classic Roman sweet-savoury register, adapted for contemporary kitchens while remaining faithful to the technique and the flavour logic. The combination of sweet ripe fruit with black pepper was one of the most characteristic moves of Roman cooking, appearing in preparations for everything from fruit to fish.

Ingredients

Dish

6 ripe but firm peaches, halved and stoned
150 ml dry white wine
3 tbsp runny honey
0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to finish
1 pinch fine salt
0.5 tsp ground cumin (optional, following Apicius more closely)

Serving

1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, torn, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Arrange the peach halves cut-side up in a single layer in a baking dish just large enough to hold them.
Whisk together the white wine, honey, black pepper, salt, and cumin if using. Pour the mixture over and around the peaches.
Bake for 20–25 minutes, basting the peaches with the cooking liquid halfway through, until they are tender and slightly caramelised at the edges. The liquid should have reduced to a light syrup.
Spoon the reduced honeyed wine over the peaches once more in the dish. Grind a little extra black pepper over the top and scatter with torn fresh coriander.
Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold. Accompany with thick yogurt, crème fraîche, or, in the Roman spirit, a drizzle of additional honey.

Notes

Any dry white wine works here; the Romans would have used a wine closer to an unfiltered ancient variety, so a slightly rustic, low-tannin white is truer to spirit than a crisp modern Sauvignon Blanc. The cumin is historically correct (the Apician recipe calls for it) but can be omitted if its earthiness feels at odds with the fruit.

The Gastrographer

Name: Persica ex melle et pipere
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Ancient Rome
Ingredients: 6 ripe but firm peaches, halved and stoned; 150 ml dry white wine; 3 tbsp runny honey; 0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to finish; 1 pinch fine salt; 0.5 tsp ground cumin (optional, following Apicius more closely); 1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, torn, to serve

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control