Mustacae was a Roman dessert served at the end of rich meals
The small, individual unleavened mustacae cakes were thought to help digestion.
The cakes were made from anise, bay leaves, cheese, cumin, grape must, lard and wheat flour. The cheese was probably a fresh, cream-type cheese.
Grape must is very sweet and is still used in Italian and Greek cooking.
Literature & Lore
Must cakes to be made thus: two gallons of bread-wheat flour to be moistened with must; add to this anise, cumin, 2 lb. lard, 1 lb. cheese, and grate in the bark of a bay twig; when you have shaped them, put bay leaves under them while you cook them. — Cato the Censor, De Agricultura, 121.
Language Notes
Mustacae were also called mustei.
