This Nutty Custard Recipe Uses Ancient Rome’s Preferred Sweetener

In ancient Roman times, walnuts were a favorite children’s plaything. Because of that association, it was customary to place baskets of them in newlyweds’ bedrooms as a symbolic end of childhood. 

A version of this nutty custard recipe dates back to the ancient Roman cookbook De Re Coquinaria by Marcus Gavius Apicius.  Honey — believed by many to be the most important sweetener in antiquity — was valued for its qualities as a food preservative. According to one Aesop fable