History of Garum
The original Roman garum was not an attractive condiment. Let’s face it, to the average, easy going modern man’s stomach, there are few things more repulsive than the thought of a splash of fermented fish guts over the patatas, which was basically garum. Even for the intestine-loving Romans, the odour of garum during the fermentation process is said to have been so foul that the common people were even forbidden to make it in their own homes. Nonetheless, it was a favourite with everyone from the highest courts to the lowest cottages, and it was smeared with wild abandon on everything from sea urchins to stuffed flamingos and dormice.
This is hardly surprising when you consider that this is a civilisation whose idea of a good appetiser before a meal, and for that matter a sexual stimulant, was to place a live fish in front of you and watch in rapt amazement (and a growing hard-on) as it took on all the beautiful colours of the rainbow as it slowly, and presumably painfully, suffocated. These are also the people who popularised bulimia in order to extend feasting and orgies deep into the night. No, there’s no doubt about it, they knew how to throw a good party 😉
But were they also good cooks? It’s fair to say they weren’t bad, and with Roman-inspired delicacies currently enjoying something of a revival, there’s never been a better time to wow the inevitable summer influx of diners with toga-themed parties, authentic nibbles and some tingling gastronomic anecdotes.
As crazy as it may sound, Garum was indeed the king of the kitchen. It was as common among Greek and Roman gourmets as the fine Maldon salt is today and was used by farmers as generously as today’s teenagers use tomato ketchup – for anything and everything.
Like Maldon salt, Atlantic sea salt and the common table variety garum had their own culinary hierarchy. The spiciness of this fishy sauce varied depending on how much blood and guts were included in the base alongside the meat and salt. Mackerel, the basis of real garum, was considered the best. The second type was muria, which was made from tuna, and the third type, the “poor man’s liquamen”, was made from any old flap found at the bottom of the net.
