Garum sauce

If you set yourself a goal and find the oldest sauce recipe that was invented by humanity, then garum sauce or liquamen can easily compete for the palm in this matter. Some researchers and historians believe that garum sauce was the progenitor of an extensive category of fish and seafood sauces. Garum was the first sauce whose recipe was described as early as the 1st century AD. A garum sauce inextricably linked to the name of Marcus Gabius Apitius, the man was a famous Roman foodie who hosted lavish feasts in his home.

Apicius was an unusual man who devoted his entire life to inventing new culinary masterpieces. In addition, the noble Roman Mark Gabiy was the first author of cookbooks and recipe collections. His immortal creation of ten cookbooks under the general title "De arte coquinaria seu de obsoniis et condimentis" or the book "On the Preparation of Expensive (Delicatessen) Dishes" became a bestseller not only of ancient Rome, but also of modern times.

Apicius ended his life, as he believes in a real foodie and connoisseur. Mark Gabius spent his entire fortune on delicatessen treats, and when the Roman citizen had only funds for a modest life and meager food, Appicius committed suicide, justifying his act with a complete unwillingness to be "like everyone else and taste ordinary food. " However, thanks to the life of this extraordinary person and his all-consuming passion for cooking, the world has learned the recipes of many ancient Roman delicacies that have become the basis for most modern masterpieces of European cooking.

Garum sauce was no exception. The recipe for garum sauce was first described in the fundamental work of Appicius. According to the classic recipe, the main ingredient in the garum sauce was fermented fish. Moreover, small varieties of fish were used for garum sauce, which were previously produced to be thrown away or fed to animals. It turned out that from anchovies or hamsa you can get fish juice, on the basis of which Roman garum sauce is still made. For noble citizens of the Roman Empire, garum sauce was made on the basis of tuna, mackerel or mollusks.

It is noteworthy that garum sauce was made and used for food by all classes of Rome. This speaks of popular love and recognition of taste, aroma, as well as the consumer properties of garum sauce. It is noteworthy that during the production of garum sauce, fish were fermented naturally, i. e. in the sun in stone baths. The fetid smell of decaying fish became the main reason that garum sauce was forbidden to be produced in cities, for this special territories or mini-factories were allocated.

The fermentation process took about 3 months, then vinegar, olive oil, spices and spices, as well as vinegar or wine, were added to the resulting fish juice. Currently, analogues of garum sauce are used in cooking. For example, in Italy, garum is made from anchovies. In England, garum sauce was transformed into the famous Worcester or Vorchester sauce. In Asia, fish or oyster sauce is made based on ancient recipes for garum.