Enough chocolate ice cream recipes and cheese sweets - let's talk about ancient Roman cuisine! The ancient Romans had an unexpected popularity for one strange sauce, which they used more often than salt, and which was made throughout the Roman Empire.

It was called "garum" and was made from fermented fish. The Romans liked its salty taste, and they poured almost any food on it.

What is Garum?

Some of the linguistic vicissitudes that have occurred with the concept of "garum" are described in this article. So in some historical periods, the word garum was synonymous with the word liquamen, and in others, liquamen was a separate sauce. The thick remaining after straining was called "allek", but often the word "garum" was used to refer to the whole mixture.

The recipe for garum has varied a lot, and we also suggest using different types of fish, although in the above video we only use the main option - the notorious mackerel insides.

Precisely because garum was prepared in different ways, it is difficult for us to understand which version of the sauce the Romans most often ate. However, this cannot prevent anyone from preparing an approximate analogue of garum at home.

This sauce was so popular that poetry was written about it, albeit in a rather critical tone: for example, according to Martial, young Romans seriously feared that the girl ate garum before a date. Although garum is similar to modern fish sauces, most tasters describe the flavor as unexpectedly subtle and note that it complements the flavor of food well.

As is always the case when reconstructing ancient customs, we cannot get an accurate picture, even by collecting all the available information. However, the recipes below will give you an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat this popular ancient Roman sauce tasted like roughly. If you decide to cook it, try adding it to a dish from Patrick Faas's book of ancient recipes.

Classic garum

Writer Laura Kelly spent nine months making the authentic garum, but that's a little longer than ancient sources might suggest. The recipe can be modified using pre-fermented mackerel, and then it will take less time (you can use the mackerel completely, you can only use the insides - the sources diverge on this score). Researcher Robert Curtis also offers another, more detailed recipe.

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The amount of fish should be changed according to needs, as if you follow the recommendations from the old recipes exactly, you will most likely get a lot more sauce than you need.

Ingredients:

Mackerel (can be substituted with anchovies, sardines, or any other oily fish)
... Sea salt
... Spicy herbs (optional; preferably dried)
... Earthen vessel

Recipe:

Prepare the mackerel - you can take the whole fish, but it is preferable to limit yourself to only blood and entrails. Mix with sea salt - the best proportioned recipe preserved thanks to the 10th century Geoponics compilation recommends using one part salt for eight parts fish. You can add herbs.

Leave the mixture to ferment under the hot sun for two months (different authors write about different periods, usually from a month to six months, although some argue that 20 days is enough). Stir to help dissolve the fish, and then strain the liquid that forms on the surface. Ideally, the sauce should be clear, but not necessary.

Fast Garum

Most modified garum recipes recommend boiling the fish in water and straining the resulting mixture. As a result, the taste, of course, is not as subtle as that of the “classic garum”.

Cooking Researchers at Ancient World Alive offer readers a variety of ancient recipes. To get garum, they recommend filtering salted fish water.

Recipe:

Boil the fish in sea salt water until the liquid thickens (crush the fish if necessary). Add the grape juice and oregano five minutes before cooking, strain and bottle.

Very fast garum

The popular science show site Nova has an excellent list of Roman recipes, including "modern garum." The author of the recipe recommends evaporating a quart of grape juice, dissolving 2 tablespoons of anchovy paste in it and adding oregano.

Purchased garum

Of course, you can always cheat - and this is not such a bad idea, because our garum recipes are still ultimately based on guesswork about how this sauce was made in ancient times.

Meanwhile, many Thai and Vietnamese fish sauces are very reminiscent of garum, and Italian colatura di alichi, it is likely that it is even prepared in a manner similar to the original garum.

Original article:.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign mass media and do not reflect the position of the Inosmi editorial board.

Culinary reconstruction

A detailed recipe for making Roman garum sauce from personal experience. The article contains the history of garum, a similar description of the preparation of Roman garum sauce at home in Russia, many photographs and videos. I dare to say that, most likely, this is the first experience of making garum in Russia at home ...

As I understood, in reality no one did it in Russia, because neither then (2011) nor now (2015) found a single article with photographs of the stages of preparation and photographs of the real final product - garum.

On several sites, this photo is given as an example of supposedly garum ... of oyster sauce

Elsewhere, as an example of garum, a photo of the basic raw material of Thai fish sauce "nam pla" from this article "What Thailand smells like" is given. In Asia, no spicy herbs are used for fish sauce and it does not stand for two or three months, but for almost a year.

***

The idea turned out to be tempting ...

Orthodox fish eat a lot, Siberians living on rivers eat a lot of it. So, gutted fish is a waste product - the head, entrails, fins, tail, scales - all this is removed and thrown away. Because of the many bones in river fish, all this is inconvenient, and even dangerous to give to cats and dogs. In short, just throw it away ...

And at the end of 2011, a kind man helped our family with fish, including this 12-kilogram pike:

This 12 kg pike was not caught by me. They got it in the Kargaska area of \u200b\u200bthe Tomsk region

And then I realized - this is it, the time of the historical reconstruction of the ancient Roman garum sauce ...

While it was warm outside (October) fish giblets, blood, heads, ridges, fins and skin were collected in plastic bags and frozen in the freezer. First, you need to sprinkle unfrozen fish with coarse salt at the rate of 150 grams (you can also 200 grams) per 1 kg of fish waste.

Although, as they write, there was a recipe for garum on fish scales - it is not necessary to put it separately (for example, it was removed from the fish that went for frying) - it does not ferment the bones in 2 months.

Fish heads, gills, tails, offal, skin, fins are ideal raw materials for garum

Garum fish waste can be stored starting in the fall. Before freezing, sprinkle them with coarse salt at the rate of 150 grams per kg of fish waste. Garum cannot be spoiled with salt - a high salt content does not interfere with fermentation, but it has a positive effect on the safety of garum.

Until stable negative temperatures persist in November, frozen and salted garum raw materials can be stored in bags in the refrigerator.

Let me emphasize that you cannot spoil garum with salt - a high salt content does not interfere with fermentation, but it has a positive effect on the preservation of garum.

After the frosts of more than -10 º C in November were established, I transferred the fish from the packages and the freezer into a stainless steel flask, because I did not have stone vats at hand, as in ancient Spain and Italy. From that moment on, all new waste was put into this flask all winter until March, pre-sprinkling with salt at the rate of 150 g per 1 kg of fish waste. The flask stood in the senets (this is a warm wooden extension to the house).

Instead of stone containers for preparing garum, a stainless steel flask with a wide neck is ideal ... In it we also accumulate all fish waste in autumn and winter

For five months, a little less than half of the flask was accumulated ... Therefore, for completeness of the historical reconstruction, I decided to "fill up" a full flask.

To do this, I bought five kilograms of sprats and pollock on the cheap, and my relatives who live on the Ob, I asked for help with a bucket of fish - after a while they brought dace, scourge and bream. The latter for the Ob fishermen are third-rate fish, they either throw out the bream back, or bury it in the fish under a pepper or tomato bush as fertilizer.

At the pharmacy I bought three packs of sage, thyme, and mint (some of which were also in the house) in the store I bought 5 large packets of a mixture of Provencal herbs, 100 g of bay leaves, 50 g of allspice, hot pepper and ground coriander. I also had about a liter of a mixture of dried dill, parsley and coriander (dried myself). All these spices are enough for a flask of fish waste. However, it is permissible to put more herbs.

Since garum was made in the Roman Empire at different times of the year, I can assume that dried herbs were also used for its production when there was no growing season in the gardens of Italy and Spain. So my use of dried herbs does not distort the original technology of garum production.

If you can get your hands on fish for a whole jar in the summer, then of course you can use fresh herbs. But my procurement went on in winter and ended in March. In this case, dried herbs are the only option. Provencal herbs, thyme, sage, mint, dill, parsley, coriander leaves and ground seeds, bay leaf, allspice and hot peppercorns

And the process started ...

At first, I sprinkled the old frozen layer of already salted fish waste with herbs:

Then he laid down small river fish and capelin (he did not cut or gut them), cut pollock, bream and podleschik into pieces, sprinkled the fish with salt in the already mentioned proportion with broken bay leaves, peppercorns, Provencal herbs, mint, thyme, sage, etc. P. And so on to the very top ...

Technologically and ideally for the fermentation process, put fish waste with giblets and small fish at the very bottom, pieces of large fish should be at the top, guess why.

Sprinkled with salt on top ...

To prepare garum I used coarse salt - as the cheapest one. For 38 liters of raw materials for a flask, it took me about 6 kg. I suppose you can use fine iodized salt too

So, my garum was made from raw and frozen waste of pike, mackerel, pollock, capelin (capelin and pollock were also put whole), sterlet, whole dace, squid waste, cut into large pieces of bream and undergrowth ...

Attention: for the preparation of garum, only raw, not thermally processed fish waste and fish should be used.

I can assume that for effective fermentation, it is important to find, first of all, fish offal in the container, probably, it is the digestive enzymes and bile contained in them that trigger the process of lysis of fish flesh. I say this so that there is no person who would conceive of making a type of "elite" garum only from gutted fish. Read the ancient recipes - the presence of giblets, gills and fish blood in the base raw materials of the elite garum is a must. So that...

On March 25, the Spanish sun is not shining in Tomsk, and the temperatures are not Mediterranean. What to do? A greenhouse for cucumbers and peppers will help us! I put the garum flask there at the end of April (before that, as I already wrote, it was in the senses). In late April - early May in our greenhouse, the temperature begins to warm up to + 20–25 º С and higher in the afternoon.

In Siberia, a greenhouse is an ideal place for garum ripening. The author put up the fermentation flask at the end of April, although the fish was salted and sprinkled with herbs on March 25th. Until the end of April, the flag stood in senets

View of the unmixed garum on June 8th. The fish raw material has already melted noticeably and acquired a brown color. Has a mild fishy odor with herbs without a deadly stench ...

The flask was in a greenhouse with a loose lid so that flies would not get in. Once a week, the garum was stirred with a wooden stick, which was always there.

An important note, the fish bubbles were not fermented this way, neither in 2012, nor in 2015, when I made garum directly ... So, they can be thrown away, otherwise they float, and only take up space in the flask.

Garum after stirring on June 8th. During the fermentation of the fish, the wooden stick was in the flask. Pay attention to the photo - the fish bubbles did not ferment this way, neither in 2012, nor in 2015, when I made garum right ... in the kitchen.

Vietnamese make their fish sauces in these containers at the Nyok Mam factory.

About the smell and decay in the production of garum ...

Garum is not prepared as a result of rotting under the influence of putrefactive bacteria; garum is prepared by fermentation, when enzymes found in fish tissues, as well as digestive enzymes and offal bile melt flesh tissues, breaking down proteins and fats. At the same time, the fish does not go out. A large amount of salt absolutely (!) Prevents rotting processes.

That is why, I repeat, only raw fish and its waste should be used for garum, because tissue enzymes are destroyed from cooking and frying.

Therefore, oddly enough, the jar with the garums being prepared, even in the summer in the heated greenhouse, did not smell of any "terrible stench". The specific smell of fish was felt in the greenhouse only in the immediate vicinity. And then the smell came from the splashed garum over the edge while stirring.

So, if you thoroughly wipe the outer walls of the flask after mixing, there will be practically no smell - do not believe the modern comments of garum theorists that the neighbors will be tired of the "unbearable stench". None of my neighbors over the entire summer of 2012 recognized by the smell that my garum was being prepared.

Interestingly, the smell of garum was of no interest to the flies. I did not observe flies at all near the flask. Strange ...

The deadly stench from vats with fermenting fish (tourists who have visited Vietnam write about this) is a consequence of technological violations, when containers are not washed from the remnants of past raw materials, when raw materials are spilled around while stirring (this is clearly visible in the photo from Vietnam) and external walls containers, lids are not washed, etc.

Somewhere in early June, when good heat was established, the garum began to bubble very moderately - this is clearly visible on the video. At the same time, Garum did not climb over the edge. The emitted gas was most likely carbon dioxide - there was no smell of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, or other stench. I can assume that glycogen was destroyed in fish meat. After about two weeks, the evolution of gas bubbles ceased. At the same time, every week the garum became thinner and thinner - the fish pieces melted and softened ...

The smell of garum at this stage is moderately fishy, \u200b\u200bpeculiar, the smell of spicy herbs is felt. The deadly stench does not come from him.

Summer was in 2012 quite normal. It showed that the heat of Italy or Spain is not necessary for the full fermentation of fish and the preparation of garum. Enough of the Siberian sun and greenhouses.

On June 23, I decided to end the fermentation process. I thought that if you tighten it, the garum will go rancid. As it turned out later, this is not the case. Garum could be held until August, however, it makes no sense to stand it for more than 3 months - by this time, even in Siberia, fish tissues will soften to a state of slurry Now I can say that punctuality up to a certain day is not needed during garum fermentation.

He pulled the flask onto the platform of the yard, removed the large heads and ridges, including the giant pike head. Then, through an iron sieve, he drained the garum from the bones of scales, fins, etc.

Garum before starting to strain. In this photo, the garum is not dry. The heads of large fish were simply pulled out, including the head of that huge pike in the first photo.

That's how much solid waste (heads, bones, scales) turned out after straining the base garum flask through an iron sieve

Close up view of solid waste from garum. Reading the historical information (it is below), one might think that this is the halex, which was then sold to the poor. It's waste to be thrown away ... Even homeless people can't eat these stinking bones. What is halex, I realized later ...

From a full jar of basic raw materials, almost 20 liters of puree garum with a pronounced fishy and spicy smell without an unpleasant stench turned out:

From a 38-liter jar, I got a little less than 20 liters of puree garum of the first stage of preparation.

After that, he poured this substance into three-liter cans, rolled them up with tin lids, and lowered them into the cellar for aging and stratification.

I believe that it is better to stand garum sauce for at least six months, or even a year - during this time a good stratification occurs. I had these cans for 2.5 years, the Vietnamese, as they write on the net, last a year or even three years with their fish sauce ...

At first I thought, reading about garum in, that garum is a cumulative puree-like mass, but such garum, when added to food, smells terribly and gives food a strong bitterness (from rancid fish oil and not only from it)

This puree is not a liquid (liquamen) ...

Garum of the second stage of readiness. After six months of standing in the cellar, its stratification occurs. Below is a translucent brown garum, above is a protein-fat puree with spices and a really very strong fishy smell. This is halex. Oxidized proteins and fats give it a bitter and unpleasant taste, but this thing is rich in protein and fat, high in calories and nutritious. In short, for the Roman plebs and the soldiers will go ... They were not in Tomsk, so I sent the Khaleks to the compost heap for fertilization

The famous and original garum itself is a brown translucent liquid, which is located at the bottom of the cans in the above photo.

My "guess" was confirmed, and this photo later found on the Internet:

View of the original factory garum. Apparently made in Italy

The upper part is a protein-fat puree with spice particles and is called halex. It is difficult to eat it, but it is possible. The Japanese and Chinese eat pickled fish. From childhood you can get used to everything ...

Rancid fish oil and oxidized proteins give an unpleasant bitterness to food if you add a lot of it. But the most unpleasant thing is that this is what gives a strong fishy smell when cooking, which is not acceptable for everyone, even with a small addition.

But ... for the first year I filled them with gutted fish before smoking. Spicy khales salted fish meat very gently, gave a moderate taste of seasonings, and when smoked it came out with fat and juice - smoked mackerel salted with khales is ideal. Therefore, those who smoke a lot of fish can safely leave a liter of three haleks.

If you get 18 liters of base garum, the hales when you strain out will be about 9 liters. If we do not have mass smoking of fish, hales can be fed to pigs (carefully, very salty) and then only at the first stage of fattening, otherwise the fat and meat will then have a fishy smell.

And for those who do not have livestock, pour the halex into the compost heap - this is a good nitrogen fertilizer. And it is still better to salt fish for smoking with true garum.

How to drain out stratified garum? I did this through the tube from the dropper - accuracy is important here, not the speed of pouring, due to which the mixture of garum and halex can occur. At the same time, the garum flowed into my sieve, covered with a thick viscose napkin (sold as a rag for wiping in household stores) - a convenient thing for filtering anything.

Since the ancient Romans did not have glass jars and dropper tubes, they defended garum in these amphoras. Its narrow bottom was carefully beaten off (pierced?), And then the transparent garum was carefully poured.

And so, here it is garum ...

Garum has a mild fishy smell and a very spicy pleasant taste, as if you were eating good dried fishat. Of course, garum is very salty.

After the first straining, the garum should be allowed to stand in the cold. This time it stratified into three parts - fat at the top, solid particles at the bottom, and in the middle - actually already garum, I think, already of extra class quality.

This is a jar of garum of the third stage of readiness. Garum was strained from the halex and stood for three days in the refrigerator. It has stratified into three parts: at the top - fish oil (it is better to remove it, i.e. it is rancid), in the middle - the original first-class garum, at the bottom - solid protein particles. In the photo it seems that there is a lot of the bottom sediment, in reality it is not enough, it was he who quickly rose during the transfer ...

Garum is well stored and does not deteriorate in non-sterile containers, including hermetically sealed containers - be it a three-liter jar with a tin lid or a liter plastic bottle.

After straining, I tasted the garum without heat treatment in its pure form and diluted in half with water - no diarrhea, no vomiting ... Microbiologically, garum is a safe product, at least what I have prepared.

Now, I think, it will be clear to you why a good garum was expensive. First, good garum requires raw materials from good fish and herbs. Its production is long lasting. The primary fermentation process lasts 2 - 3 months, half a year of settling, again straining to separate the garum and haleks, settling the already strained garum to remove the fat accumulated at the top and solid protein particles at the bottom.

But garum is worth all the effort!

And what should a Russian peasant do with 8 liters of Roman happiness?

They say that garum goes well with oysters ... There are no oysters in Russia or Siberia, and those that do exist are viciously biting with one price tag. If you only have ear and fried fish in your diet, it will be difficult for garum to find a large-scale place in your diet. Garum will be in demand for a more varied fish cuisine.

Definitely, without any doubt, soak the fish for smoking in the garum. For example, smoked mackerel after a night of standing with garum is simply amazing in taste (I put the gutted mackerel on my back, raised my head higher in the basin, and poured the garum into my belly).

Garum is ideal for steeping fish for frying. I tried it on crucian carp. All praised. The crucian carp cleaned from scales, offal, removed the head and fins (the crucian carp were large, it was not rational to fry the head, and so three fish could hardly enter at a speed). Poured 100 ml of garum for 3-4 fish, pepper it. After 15 minutes, he rolled it in flour, and in a frying pan ...

Garum can be seasoned (correctly said to salt) all fish dishes, especially minced fish for dumplings cutlets - they get their piquancy.

Garum can be used to fill meat for frying and stewing. It took me 4 tablespoons of garum (100 ml) for a pan of onion stew, so the garum has every chance of ending quickly.

Poured oil into the pan, put horse meat slices, a large chopped onion, 4 tablespoons of garum, a tablespoon of dried garlic. When fried, this had a peculiar fishy smell, but only near the frying pan. But ... The wife, who can hardly bear the smell of fish, came from the street and did not feel the fishy smell in the kitchen (we have no hood). Before the end of frying, in five minutes I added coarsely ground pepper and coriander, which completely blocked the fishy smell from the garum.

The frying pan with horse meat stewed on garum was emptied at Christmas dinner instantly ... Nobody said: "Ugh, how it stinks ..."

If you love fish and tolerate its smell in the kitchen, you can salt buckwheat porridge, vegetable stews, etc. with garum. - a satisfying and topical thing in the post.

I tried to fill the meat for pilaf with garum ... While the pilaf is hot, the taste is ordinary, but the cooled pilaf gives off fish ...

In short, you can and should experiment.

***

I'm starting to wonder why the Romans loved garum so much. Those who have tried salted jerky meat - horse meat or goose, I am sure noted for themselves that salted jerky meat has a really narcotic attraction ... :-)

Guys, if you want to get unlimited power in the family - salt (this is a separate conversation) horse meat or goose, and wither. Split into small homemade pieces only for good behavior and on holidays. My wife, children of all ages are already shaking when they eat dried horse meat or goose ... All are obedient, polite and silk.

Digress ... why am I writing this? I believe that garum contains the same biologically active substances that stimulate appetite as jerky, the taste of which is familiar and familiar to many, because it also ferments protein.

***

Yes, in essence, garum is a highly biologically active product that is on the same level with tissue preparations and such a mythical preparation ASD-2.

Tissue therapy was for a time actively used in animal husbandry in the USSR.

***

Tissue therapy - the use of canned tissues and preparations from them (tissue preparations) for therapeutic purposes and to increase the productivity of animals. To prepare tissue preparations according to the method of V.P. Filatov, the spleen, liver, muscles or other animal tissues and aloe are kept for 4-5 days at t 2-4 ° C, then they are homogenized. There are other known methods for preparing tissue preparations. According to V.P. Filatov's assumption, pharmacological are formed in tissues under unfavorable, but not killing environmental conditions. nonspecific substances. actions (biogenic stimulants). They activate fiziol. processes and thereby accelerate the growth of animals, increase the resistance of the organism.

Tissue preparations are used for some non-infectious and infectious diseases of the agricultural sector. animals, to stimulate growth and enhance feeding in the form of whole tissues and extracts, minced meat, suspensions, ointments and powders. They are prescribed subcutaneously, internally (implantation, injection), externally (applications, powders, ointments) ...

Veterinary encyclopedic dictionary

***

In Asian fish sauces, a high protein content (up to 10% in the highest grades), this protein contains all the essential amino acids; there are many B vitamins, especially B12, pantothenic acid (B5), riboflavin (B2) and niacin (B3). Phosphorus, iodine, iron and calcium are present.

But the value of garum as an adaptogen lies not only in this, but in special biologically active substances. The fact is that the tissues of a living organism or plant, falling into unfavorable conditions, begin to secrete some adaptive substances (biogenic stimulants), the nature of which is still not fully understood. In our case, this is a period of severe stress on the fish falling into the net until it dies. Since the garum is not subjected to heat treatment, these substances are preserved. Probably, fermentation also generates new biologically active substances.

Regular use of diluted garum on an empty stomach may well have a tonic and immunostimulating effect. Who would check it?

And garum tastes better than ASD-2.

I think, for the sake of science, such an experiment can be started, the more I have become sick more often - they will bring Thai, Egyptian viruses, and African Ebols to Russia from resorts - no immunity will be enough ... I will try to eat garum on an empty stomach on a tablespoon in the morning before eating.

After six months of the experiment, I will write how it all ended ...

***

Is it necessary?

There is no Garum in Russia ... Maybe it's easier to buy Asian fish sauces?

Samples of original Asian fish sauces, but they are not sold in Russia ...

Actually, only some Asian fish sauces are present on Russian markets (I found sauce from two manufacturers in Tomsk).

Comparative tasting with garum shows that they are at least 2 times diluted with water, from which preservatives, monosodium glutamate and sugar color, etc. are added to them for safety. They are clearly adapted to the taste of Russians.

You can season food with them, but their therapeutic effect on the body is almost nonexistent, unlike your home garum.

So I think it's worth the effort and getting a bucket of true garum.

***

Anyone who has questions about the garum - write to this mail:

***

Garum (historical background)

Garum (this: ancient Greek γάρον) is the famous fish sauce, the main delicacy of Ancient Rome, admiring reviews of which can be read in many literary works of that time, although Seneca called it "the blood of decaying fish", which his contemporaries "poison themselves" with ... This sauce was included in almost all dishes of Roman cuisine, most fully described by Apicius in the cookbook "De Re Coquinaria" (c. 400 AD), and was such a popular seasoning of the era that in many regions it completely replaced salt. In particular, instead of "salt the dish" Apicius often writes: "If the dish is bland, add garum, if salty - a little honey." Not a single dinner party, not a single feast was complete without garum, and every self-respecting merchant considered it a matter of honor to have it on sale. It was produced throughout the empire, but its production and export in Pompeii was especially established.

"Garum" was known back in the Neolithic era, it was prepared by the tribes inhabiting northwestern France (modern Brittany), and then improved by the Celtic Druids. Molva (sea pike) was used to make the sauce.

After the capture of Armorica, the Romans adopted this "elixir" from the enslaved peoples (as, indeed, everything else) and began to use it as a broad-spectrum medicine (garum armoricum): from loss of strength and depression, from headaches , purulent infections, diarrhea and dog bites, it was given to soldiers before long campaigns and battles, and the doctors of the emperor Claudius (AD 43) called it a product that has hundreds of useful properties.

In addition, the well-known magic drink of the Gauls from the cartoons about Asterix and the film of the same name with Gerard Depardieu is nothing more than garum. Subsequently, as a result of the Punic Wars, the Romans learned and adopted from Magna Graecia (the so-called southern Italy), among other things, the habit of using garum as a seasoning for meat and vegetable dishes. Since the II century. BC. Garum is becoming increasingly popular. The dish is an integral part of the table of the ancient Romans, and it is used not only as a sauce, but also as an appetizer. The cost of such a sauce, however, was very high: according to Pliny the Elder, "there was no liquid other than perfume, which would have cost more: for two congias (about 6.5 liters) of first-class garum, they paid a thousand sesterces."

The most complete description of the preparation of garum is presented by the writer Gargilius Martial (3rd century AD), Apicius does not find it at all, probably due to the fact that then everyone knew the recipe anyway. According to Marcial, you need to take a large vat, put a dense layer of chopped aromatic herbs (thyme, coriander, dill, fennel, celery, sage, mint and oregano) on the bottom, then a layer of whole small fish, then a layer of large fish, cut into pieces. Cover everything with coarse salt about two fingers. Repeat the operation as many times as desired. Close the vessel with a wooden or cork lid and leave to stand in the sun for two to three months, stirring once a day with a wooden spoon or twig, starting from the seventh day, and so on for 20 days. The name of the fish is not specified, it is assumed that the small fish meant bops, red mullet or anchovies, and the large fish meant mackerel, mackerel or tuna.

When all the saline turned into a solid mass, a large basket of frequent weaving was lowered into the vat, gradually a thick liquid - garum - was collected in it. Garum was poured into jugs (up to 0.5 m) with a narrow neck and one pen, on which the name of the sauce, the type of fish, the name of the manufacturer and the year were written in ink. This method subsequently underwent many variations in order to create different varieties of garum, the number of which, according to Pliny, increased to infinity. To prepare one of the best varieties, they took the insides of mackerel, salted it with gills and blood in an earthen jug, and two months later punched the bottom of the jug and let the liquid drain. Due to the spread of the fetid odor, the production of sauce in the cities was prohibited to everyone except for special factories - officin.

Some of the best garum varieties produced in Pompeii were:

Garum Excellens (from anchovies and tuna offal)

Garum Flos Floris (from different types of fish - mackerel, anchovies, tuna, etc.)

Garum Flos Murae (from moray eels)

A special high grade of garum was called in everyday life simply "liquid" - Liquamen.

Garum was also subdivided into "pure" (sometimes wine, vinegar or water was added) and "lean" (from fish with scales). Halex, or allec - solid remnants of fish sauce or garum that had not gone through all the stages of processing - was sold at an affordable price and was intended for plebs, peasants and Roman soldiers.

According to Roman law, everyone had the right, without paying any taxes, to fish in the sea, so the production of garum was an extremely profitable business, which even freed slaves opened. In addition, given the abundance of officialines in Pompeii, which vied with each other to advertise their wares as top-notch mackerel garum, the sauce was often counterfeited. the fish declared on the amphora was replaced by another, less valuable, just as in our days in Italy they often sell a herring shark under the guise of a swordfish, which is much cheaper. It is not for nothing that experts recommend buying a swordfish cut into pieces only on those days when a shark's head is displayed in a fish store.

Vesuvius volcano crater

An interesting story is connected with the name of one of the main producers of garum in Pompeii - Umbricius Scavrom, who invented the popular garum variety - Scavr. Over the past years, staff from the Campania Applied Research Laboratory have studied his home. During the excavations, 7 vessels were found, at the bottom of which there was a garum. Scientists have found that the last sauce prepared in Pompeii was made entirely from a fish common in the Mediterranean - the big-eyed bop, or minke. In addition, it was thanks to this fish found in the garum that it was possible to confirm the exact date of the eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed Pompeii, previously known only from two letters from Pliny the Younger to Tacitus, where he describes the events he witnessed:

Earlier, in 2006, a sunken in the 1st century AD was found off the coast of Valencia. e. Roman ship with one and a half thousand amphorae with garum. The sailing vessel had a length of 30 m and a displacement of 400 tons. The sauce was so important to trade that it was delivered to any province, no matter how far from the metropolis. Since at one time the sailors did not bother to close the amphora hermetically, archaeologists could not find even the remains of a fish delicacy. In addition to amphorae, precious to historians, the ship carried lead for the water supply systems of Rome and copper. It was mixed with tin to obtain bronze, from which everything was made in the Roman Empire - from tools to household items.

It should be noted that the garum did not disappear into oblivion along with the Roman Empire. This sauce was mentioned in the gastronomic treatise of the Greek physician Antimas "De observatione ciborum" (6th century AD) when describing the typical Roman sauce enogaro (wine and garum), in the 8th century. AD merchants from Comacchio traded garum along the Po river, in the 9th century. AD Inventory records of the monastery in Bobbio (in the Piacentino Apennines) register the acquisition of two vessels of garum on the market in Genoa for the needs of the brethren. In addition, garum production was in the Adriatic basin, in Istria (letter of Cassiodorus, VI century AD) and in Byzantium. There is a similarity to this sauce in Italy and today - it is a strained liquid from anchovies - colatura di alici di Cetara, a traditional product of the Campania region, produced on the Amalfi coast, in Chetara. In Italy, you can also find garum armoricum - a dietary supplement in capsules, the effectiveness of which has not been proven.

Garum sauce is an amazing product. It is considered to be one of the most ancient sauces in the world, which was popular in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Garum (this: ancient Greek γάρον) is the famous fish sauce, the main delicacy of Ancient Rome, admiring reviews of which can be found in many literary works of that time.

Seneca called him "the blood of decaying fish", with which his contemporaries "poison themselves". This sauce was included in almost all dishes of Roman cuisine, most fully described by Apicius in the cookbook "De Re Coquinaria" (c. 400 AD), and was such a popular seasoning of the era that in many regions it completely replaced salt. In particular, instead of "salt the dish" Apicius often writes: "If the dish is bland, add garum, if salty - a little honey." Not a single dinner party, not a single feast was complete without garum, and every self-respecting merchant considered it a matter of honor to have it on sale. It was produced throughout the empire, but its production and export in Pompeii was especially established.

An interesting fact - the ancient Romans first used garum sauce only as a medicine, a healing elixir for many ailments, ranging from headaches and insect bites to numerous digestive disorders. Only a few centuries later, the inhabitants of Ancient Rome began to use garum sauce for its intended purpose. Garum sauce was so popular that absolutely everyone, both nobility and ordinary people, consumed it.
"Garum" was known back in the Neolithic era, it was prepared by the tribes inhabiting northwestern France (modern Brittany), and then improved by the Celtic druids, who distributed this sauce to warriors as an energy supplement (doping) before the battle. Molva (sea pike) was used to make the sauce. And only much later they began to use garum as a dressing for not very fresh dishes in order to hide their taste caused by storage in the heat.
Then the Romans, having tasted the taste of this sauce properly, began to add it as a seasoning to their favorite dishes. Its liquid part, which drained and became garum, an expensive delicacy, was intended for the patricians, and what remained during filtration went to the table for the poor and was called liquamen (slurry) or allec.
It should be noted that the garum did not disappear into oblivion along with the Roman Empire. This sauce was mentioned in the gastronomic treatise of the Greek physician Antimas "De observatione ciborum" (6th century AD) when describing the typical Roman sauce enogaro (wine and garum). In the VIII century. AD merchants from Comacchio traded garum along the Po river, in the 9th century. AD Inventory records of the monastery in Bobbio (in the Piacentino Apennines) register the acquisition of two vessels of garum on the market in Genoa for the needs of the brethren. In addition, garum production was in the Adriatic basin, in Istria (letter of Cassiodorus, VI century AD) and in Byzantium.
In the Middle Ages, monks from Amalfi showed interest in this recipe, who in August usually salted sprat in wooden barrels with gaps between the boards. Such barrels were placed on props. Under the influence of the sun, the sprat secreted juice, which flowed through the cracks of the barrels. The monks quickly realized that this juice could be used as a condiment and began selling it to local residents and other monasteries. Then they guessed to filter it by passing it through a woolen cap.
There is a similarity to this sauce in Italy and today - it is a strained liquid from anchovies - colatura di alici di Cetara, a traditional product of the Campania region, produced on the Amalfi coast, in Chetara. Until now, in the town of Cetara on the Amalfi Riviera, the art of making this delicious amber dressing has been preserved, which has been passed down from generation to generation, from father to son.
In Cervia, where from time immemorial they fished and mined sea salt, the production of a similar seasoning was also established. The wooden boxes in which the fish are stored are designed in such a way that, under the influence of salt and the sun, the fish secretes juice, which flows through the cracks. This juice is collected in a container, then carefully poured so that the sediment remains, and the valuable liquid rises to the top. This liquid is stored at 12-15 ° in well-ventilated rooms, exposed to the sun so that the water evaporates and the concentration increases. A month after such procedures, the last, final stage of processing begins: the juice is filtered through caps made of linen or wool, poured into oak barrels and left to infuse for at least 3 months. Usually the sauce is ready by the end of November or early December. The result is amber nectar with a rich, rich taste, the taste of the sea itself. It is a pure protein that is easily absorbed by the body. It is rich in calcium, phosphorus and iron, but the most important thing is its wonderful taste and aroma, which one cannot but like. It is quite expensive: 40 ml of this nectar costs 10 euros, and it is enough for a couple of dishes, but it's worth it. They dress it with pasta dishes and seafood-based salads.
In Italy, you can also find garum armoricum - a dietary supplement in capsules, the effectiveness of which has not been proven.

English name: Fish sause
Latin name: Liquamen
French name: La sauce de poisson

A similar recipe for making fish and oyster sauces exists today among the peoples of Southeast Asia. Currently, Thai fish and oyster sauces are "derivatives" of real garum sauce. In the same row Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce.
Synonyms or other names:
garum (Greco-Roman, the most ancient), nyokmam (Vietnamese from the Phu Quoc and Phan Thiet regions), settsuru, ikanago shoyu and isiru (Japanese from sardines and squid), nampla (Thai), Nganpyayi (Myanmar), nampa (Lao), padek (Laotian, Isanian), Tyktrei and Tykuti (Cambodian), Patis (Filipino), Yulu and Syayu (Chinese), Ekchot and Chotkal (Korean).

Fish sauce is one of the leading ingredients in Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Korean, Filipino and many other oriental cuisines of the world, and, of course, in Thai.
It is applied in the form:
- the actual sauce itself for ready meals;
- an ingredient for combined and complex sauces and seasonings;
- a component of other recipes. Often serves as a substitute for salt.

Europeans find it difficult to get used to this seasoning because of the pronounced characteristic smell. Fish sauces differ in color from different nations and manufacturers. It is believed that light varieties are more elite than dark ones.
Garum sauce has a specific smell and pleasant taste and goes well with meat, fish and vegetable dishes.

Fish sauce is a product made from fermented (fermented with salt) fresh fish of various types. The long fermentation period results in a clear, salty liquid (fish juice). The main ingredient was small fish, as a rule, anchovies, of which there were too many, and it was problematic to clean and cut them. Although ancient garum recipes used mackerel, tuna, eel and many other fish. There were many recipes themselves. In some, only the blood and entrails of fish were used. Some types contained wine, honey, vinegar.
Caught small fish, the remains of large fish were laid out in huge vats, the bottoms of which were thickly covered with chopped aromatic herbs. Coarse salt was poured on top, the vats were closed with wooden lids and exposed to the sun for several months. In some descriptions, the fish was fermented in stone baths. On certain days, the contents were stirred until they turned into a homogeneous mass, which was filtered, vinegar was added or not added and poured into small clay amphoras.

Similar vats for fish sauce were also found during excavations in Spain and even in Chersonesos:

During the preparation process, the mixture smelled so that at some point it was forbidden to cook garum sauce near large cities. In addition to anchovies and red mullet, mackerel, tuna and mackerel were added to garum sauce. The composition of aromatic herbs also changed, it could be sage, mint, thyme, dill, coriander and others.

Below is a translation and decoding of an authentic garum recipe:
The most complete description of the preparation of garum is presented by the writer Gargilius Martial (3rd century AD), Apicius does not find it at all, probably due to the fact that then everyone already knew the recipe. According to Marcial, you need to take a large vat, put a dense layer of chopped aromatic herbs (thyme, coriander, dill, fennel, celery, sage, mint and oregano) on the bottom, then a layer of whole small fish, then a layer of large fish, cut into pieces. Cover everything with coarse salt about two fingers. Repeat the operation as many times as desired. Close the vessel with a wooden or cork lid and leave to stand in the sun for two to three months, stirring once a day with a wooden spoon or twig, starting from the seventh day, and so on for 20 days. The name of the fish is not specified, it is assumed that the small fish meant bops, red mullet or anchovies, and the large fish meant mackerel, mackerel or tuna. When all the saline turned into a solid mass, a large basket of frequent weaving was lowered into the vat, gradually a thick liquid - garum - was collected in it. Garum was poured into jugs (up to 0.5 m) with a narrow neck and one pen, on which the name of the sauce, the type of fish, the name of the manufacturer and the year were written in ink. This method subsequently underwent many variations in order to create different varieties of garum, the number of which, according to Pliny, increased to infinity. To prepare one of the best varieties, they took the insides of mackerel, salted it with gills and blood in an earthen jug, and two months later punched the bottom of the jug and let the liquid drain. Due to the spread of the fetid odor, the production of sauce in the cities was prohibited to everyone, except for special factories - officin.

Some of the best garum varieties produced in Pompeii were:
Garum Excellens (from anchovies and tuna offal)
Garum Flos Floris (from different types of fish - mackerel, anchovies, tuna, etc.)
Garum Flos Murae (from moray eels)
A special high grade of garum was called in everyday life simply "liquid" - Liquamen.

The calorie content of garum sauce is 121 kcal per 100 grams of product.

The chemical composition of garum sauce includes: choline, vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, B12, C and PP, as well as potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper and manganese, iron, phosphorus and sodium.

Among all the variety of sauces in world cuisine, a special place is occupied by specific traditional dressings, which are prepared on the basis of fish or seafood. In most cases, this sauce has a very unusual taste that not everyone may like. Italian garum sauce is a great example of this type of condiment. Its history goes back almost two millennia, since the first mention of the sauce dates back to the 1st century AD and is associated with the name of Apicius, a famous Roman gourmet.

Apicius greatly appreciated delicious food, so he devoted his whole life to the development and creation of new culinary delights. Many of his recipes have become the basis for modern European dishes - including garum. The old recipe for the sauce is based on the use of the main ingredient - small fish - anchovies or anchovies, which, due to their size, were not considered edible and were used for animal feed. Apicius learned to extract fermented fish juice from fish, from which an exquisite and rather expensive sauce was obtained as a result.

You can still make garum at home today. Of course, the procedure now does not take a year, as it was described by Apicius - just over a month is enough. But in any case, it will take patience and time to implement the recipe.

You will need:

• Raw anchovy - 2 kilograms
• Coarse salt - 500 g
• Rosemary - 150 g
• Dill - 200 g
• Parsley - 200 g
• Peppermint - 100 g
• Fennel - 100 g
• Basil - 200 g
• Cilantro - 150 g
• Thyme - 150 g

Servings - 8

Cooking time - 1.5 months

About fish

Reading forums and discussions on the topic of preparing garum, you can often find reviews about the pungent fishy smell. In fact, in ancient Rome there really was such a "problem": the recipe involved cooking the sauce in large clay vats in the sun, they were poorly protected from external influences, and, in addition, the production technology was often violated, and the vats were not washed well enough after last year cooking. At home, the sauce will not exude an intolerable fish stench for one simple reason: in a clean container, the fish is covered with salt, which is a natural antiseptic. In such a salty environment, bacteria, which are the cause of the smell, do not multiply.

The fermentation process is not fish rot, as many mistakenly believe. It is similar to the fermentation process, that is, under the influence of special microorganisms, the product is transformed, which has nothing to do with the decay process.

1. To prepare garum, you will need a large ceramic container. It must be thoroughly washed, free from traces of foreign products. Finely chopped herbs are laid out at its bottom - not all at once, but a small part. Then fish is placed on top of the herbs.
2. This sequence of layers is repeated several times until all products are consumed. The topmost layer is salt, which should not be spared, since the success of making the sauce largely depends on it. The container should not be filled to the very top: there should be enough space between the lid and the last layer for juices and air.
3. The container with the workpiece is placed in a warm place protected from insects or other harmful environmental factors. After a week, the mixture is gently stirred with a wooden spatula, then closed again with a lid. This procedure is repeated three times - that is, the sauce is infused for three weeks.

Getting juice

Obviously, for the Roman garum sauce itself, not all of the mass obtained as a result of fermentation is used. Bones, air bubbles and tissues of fish, twigs of herbs - all this should not end up in a ready-made dressing. Therefore, the recipe includes not only the infusion of the fish-herbal mixture.

1. In the fourth week, the garum mixture must be filtered to remove any solid particles. The process is not too easy, since the fishy smell (not the smell of rotten meat, but precisely fish) is still present, and if someone from the family does not tolerate the fishy smell, it is better to do it in its absence. Use a fine-mesh colander to filter the mixture.
2. The filtered mass will resemble a puree-like substance, which is poured into a glass jar and infused under a closed lid for about 1.5 weeks.
3. After this time, the mixture will separate into two parts: there will be a transparent liquid on the bottom, and on top - that which gave the consistency of the puree. The bottom of the mass is needed for the sauce. It is decanted with gauze, preferably several times, since the suspension from the upper layer, which is a very nutritious and saturated mass, still gives off bitterness and is generally unsuitable for food.
4. Ready fish juice can be flavored with olive oil, wine vinegar, as well as spices: black pepper, herbs, sesame seeds.

Innings

If the recipe has been fully followed, the finished sauce will have a very tart but pleasant taste with a characteristic fishy aroma. In Italian restaurants, it is always present on the menu, and it can also be found on supermarket shelves. True, in the latter case, all kinds of preservatives and flavor enhancers will be included in the seasoning, so there is no need to talk about compliance with the recipe.

1. Garum is served with various side dishes of rice and vegetables, and is used in the preparation of many dishes as one of the ingredients.
2. It is believed that the sauce goes well with meat and poultry. They can also be seasoned with salads and seafood dishes.
3. It sounds strange, but garum is still used in cooking fish, often replacing salt with it.

It is worth repeating that the sauce is difficult to prepare, so the hostess must correctly assess her strength. In addition, if you have not been able to try something like this before, the result can be disappointing. In order not to waste products, it is better to purchase a sample in the supermarket - to try it, even if it does not quite correspond to tradition.

Enjoy your meal!

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