The Section of Pharmacists and Medical Biochemists of the HKLD organized a lecture entitled “Do We Know What Jesus Ate”, which was held by Prof. Dr. Sc. Slavica Dodig, specialist in medical biochemistry
The lecture was held on April 1, 2025 at 7 p.m., in the “Margarita Peraica” Hall of the Croatian Chamber of Dramatic Arts, Praška 6/II in Zagreb.
Prof. Dr. Sc. Jadranka Sertić spoke about the life and scientific journey of Prof. Dodig and introduced us to an interesting lecture.
At the beginning of her lecture, Prof. Dodig pointed out that data on the dietary habits of New Testament people in the Bible is very scarce and that the answer to the question of what Jesus ate can be found in the reports of historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, botanists, and the study of Jewish culture, as well as in the texts of the Old Testament.
The mainstay of the diet in Jesus’ time was barley bread and simple vegetarian dishes. Women prepared soups and stews from vegetables and legumes. Vegetables included leeks, kale, collard greens, lettuce, cabbage, and cucumbers, and legumes included chickpeas, peas, broad beans, and lentils.
They had an abundance of milk, from which they prepared sour milk, cheese, cream and butter.
Meals were prepared according to Jewish tradition and with significant influence from Greek and Roman culture. For holidays and feasts, they ate various spreads and roasted meat (lamb, goat, and for the rich, beef) and dessert.
They ate seasonal fruits, such as grapes, apples, melons, apricots, figs, pears, berries, or dried fruits such as figs or dates.
They had three meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which was the main meal because it was the time when everyone returned from their jobs – hunting, fishing, fields, and gardens.
Jesus ate Mediterranean food in his humanity, and the Gospels state that he multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish, turned water into wine, and thus showed us his divinity through food.
Jasna Ćurić, mag. pharm.
President of the Section of Pharmacists and Medical Biochemists
