Garum
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Garum is a type of thin Roman fish sauce, consisting of fermented whole fish . The flavor was essentially salty fish. Used interchangeably, garum is sometmes called Liquamen, which is specifically a brine, which garum was added to. [1]
The process of making garum also created other Roman fish sauces, including allec[2]
, a cheaper version of garum, and Salsamentum, "whole salted fishes".
Contents |
Ancient sources
Making garum
The ancient Roman process of making garum is markedly similar to the same process that is still being used to make Nuoc-nam in Southeast Asia.
Garum factories, "the only large-scale factory industry in the ancient world" [3]
where most often found near the sea to take advantage of the fishing industry, and to distance the factories' infamous stench of rotting fish.
Notable factories were located in southern Spain, and near the Black Sea.
Either the whole fish, or fish guts were be placed in a vessel along with a quanity of salt, and allowed to ferment for a period of time, depending on the type of fish, and quality of the sauce, usually between one to three months. The resulting sauce called alec, was strained at least once, leaving a thin, clear liquid. This brine was the garum.
Major Types of Garum
If garum was needed immediately, the fish was boiled, and not allowed to ferment at all, but this type was considered very inferior to the ancients.
Modern substitutes
While not common, most modern versions of garum can be found most often in Asian markets, names including nam pla in Thai, tuk trey in Cambodian, and nuos nam or nuos-nam in Vietnamese. In modern day Italy, there is a variation of garum made called collata that is available.
When a fish sauce substitute cannot be found, either salt or a mixture of salt and anchovy heated in olive oil, and then mashed up can suffice. Researchers warn however that anchovies, or anchovy paste alone is not an appropriate substitute.
References
- Dalby, A. et al., The Classical Cookbook (J. Paul Getty Museum, 1996), ISBN 0-89236-394-0, pp. 19-22
- Faas, Patrick. Trans. by Whiteside, S., Around the Roman Table (Palgrave Macmillian 2003) ISBN 0-312-23958-0, pp. 142-146
- Ricotti, E., Dining As A Roman Emperor (L'Erma di Bretschneider 1995) ISBN 88-7062-901-5, pp. 11, 12
Footnotes
- ↑ The translator J.D. Vehling was of the opinion that liquamen was in fact a catch all term for broth or stock, and not necessarily a synonym for garum.
- ↑ Also known as hallec or alex
- ↑ Dalby, pp. 19
