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 read in many literary works of that time.
Seneca and called it "the ichor of decaying fish", with which his contemporaries "poison themselves". This sauce was part of almost all dishes of Roman cuisine, most fully described by Apicius in cookbook"De Re Coquinaria" (c. 400 AD) was such a sought-after condiment of the era that it completely replaced salt in many regions. In particular, instead of "salting the dish", Apicius often writes: "If the dish is insipid, add garum, if it is salty, a little honey." Not a single dinner party, not a single feast was complete without a 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 was especially established in Pompeii.
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 ate it, both the nobility and the common people.
"Garum" was known back in the Neolithic era, it was prepared by the tribes that inhabited northwestern France (modern Brittany), and then improved by the Celtic Druids, who distributed this sauce to warriors as energy supplement(doping) before the fight. Molva (sea pike) was used to prepare the sauce. And only much later, garum began to be used as a gas station for not very fresh meals 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 after filtering went to the table of the poor and was called liquamen (liquid) or allec.
It should be noted that the garum did not sink into oblivion along with the Ancient Roman Empire. This sauce was mentioned in the gastronomic treatise of the Greek physician Antim "De observatione ciborum" (6th century AD) when describing a 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 The inventories of the monastery in Bobbio (in the Piacentine Apennines) record the purchase of two vessels with garum in the market in Genoa for the needs of the brethren. In addition, the production of garum was in the Adriatic basin, in Istria (Cassiodorus letter, VI century AD) and in Byzantium.
In the Middle Ages, the monks from Amalfi showed interest in this recipe, who in August usually salted sprats in wooden barrels with cracks between the boards. Such barrels were placed on props. Under the influence of the sun, the sprat secreted juice, which flowed through the slots of the barrels. The monks quickly realized that this juice could be used as a condiment and sold it to locals and other monasteries. Then they guessed to filter it, passing it through a woolen cap.
There is a similarity of this sauce in Italy and today it is a strained anchovy liquid - colatura di alici di Cetara, a traditional product of the Campania region, produced on the Amalfi coast, in Cetara. Until now, in the town of Cetara on the Amalfi Riviera, the art of making this delicious amber-colored dressing has been preserved, which was passed down from generation to generation, from father to son.
In Cervia, where people fished and mined sea salt from time immemorial, the production of such a seasoning was also established. The wooden boxes in which the fish are stored are arranged 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 containers, 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, taking it out 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 leave to infuse for at least 3 months. Usually the sauce is ready by the end of November or beginning of December. The result is an 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 cannot but be liked. It is quite expensive: 40 ml of this nectar costs 10 euros, and it is enough for a couple of dishes, but it is worth it. They fill them with pasta dishes and salads based on seafood.
In Italy, you can also find garum armoricum - a dietary supplement in capsules, the effectiveness of which has not been proven.
English title: fish sause
Latin name: Liquamen
French title: La sauce de poisson
A similar recipe for making fish and oyster sauces exists today among the peoples of Southeast Asia. Currently, "derivatives" from the real garum sauce are Thai fish and oyster sauces. In the same row Worcestershire sauce or Worcestershire sauce.
Synonyms or other names:
garum (Greco-Roman, the oldest), Nyokmam (Vietnamese from the Phu Quoc and Phan Thiet regions), settsuru, ikanago shoyu and ishiru (Japanese from sardines and squid), nampla (Thai), nganpyi (Myanmar), nampa (Lao), padek (Lao, Isan), tyktrei and tikuti (Cambodian), patis (Filipino), yuilu and syayu (Chinese), ekchot and chotkal (Korean).
Fish sauce is one of the leading ingredients in Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Korean, Filipino and many more oriental cuisines world, and, of course, in Thai.
It is applied in the form:
- the actual sauce for ready meals;
- ingredient for combined and complex sauces and seasonings;
- a component of other recipes. Often serves as a substitute for salt.
Europeans hardly get used to such a seasoning because of the pronounced characteristic smell. Fish sauces from different nations and manufacturers vary in color. 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 - a product made from fermented (fermented with salt) fresh fish different types. As a result of a long fermentation period, a clear, salty liquid (fish juice) is obtained. The main ingredient was small fish, usually anchovies, of which there were too many, and it was problematic to clean and butcher them. Although ancient garum recipes used mackerel, tuna, eel and many other fish. There were many recipes. Some used only the blood and entrails of the fish. Some species contained wine, honey, vinegar.
Caught small fish, leftovers big fish they were laid out in huge vats, the bottoms of which were densely covered with crushed aromatic herbs. Coarse salt was poured on top, the vats were closed with wooden lids and exposed under the sun for several months. In some descriptions, the fish was fermented in stone baths. On certain days, the contents were stirred until it turned into a homogeneous mass, which was filtered, vinegar was added or not added, and poured into small clay amphorae.
Similar vats for fish sauce were also found during excavations in Spain and even in Chersonese:
During the cooking process, the mixture smelled so much that at some point the garum sauce was forbidden to be prepared near large cities. In addition to anchovies and red mullet, mackerel, tuna and mackerel began to be added to the garum sauce. The composition of aromatic herbs also changed, it could be sage, mint, thyme, dill, coriander and others.
Below is a translation and transcript of an authentic garum recipe:
The most complete description of the preparation of garum is presented by the writer Gargilius Martial (3rd century AD), it is not found at all in Apicius, probably due to the fact that then everyone already knew the recipe. According to Martial, 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, after which - a layer of large fish, cut into pieces. Sprinkle everything with coarse salt for 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 rod, starting from the seventh day, and so on for 20 days. The name of the fish is not indicated, it is assumed that under small fish bops, red mullet or anchovies were meant, and under large - mackerel, mackerel or tuna. When the whole salting turned into a solid mass, a large basket of frequent weaving was lowered into the vat, and a thick liquid, garum, was gradually drawn into it. Garum was poured into jugs (up to 0.5 m) with a narrow neck and one handle, 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 a mackerel, salted it with gills and blood in an earthenware jug, and after two months they punched the bottom in the jug and let the liquid drain. Due to the spread of a fetid smell, the production of sauce in the cities was forbidden to everyone, except for special factories - offitsin.
Some of the best varieties of garum 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.
Enough recipes for chocolate-covered ice cream and cheese sweets - let's talk about ancient Roman cuisine! Among the ancient Romans, one strange sauce was unexpectedly popular, which they used more often than salt, and which was made throughout the Roman Empire.
It was called "garum", it was made from fermented fish. The Romans liked its salty taste, and they poured it over almost any dish.
What is a garum?
Some of the linguistic vicissitudes that 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, while in others liquamen was a separate sauce. The thick remaining after filtering was called "allek", but often the whole mixture was called the word "garum".
The garum recipe has varied a lot, and we also suggest using different types of fish, although in the video above we use only the main option - the notorious mackerel innards.
Precisely because garum was prepared in different ways, it is difficult for us to understand which version of the sauce was most often eaten by the Romans. However, this cannot prevent anyone from preparing an approximate analogue of garum at home.
This sauce was so popular that poems were written about it - albeit in a rather critical tone: for example, according to Martial, young Romans were seriously afraid that a girl ate garum before a date. Although garum is similar to modern fish sauces, most tasters cite its flavor as surprisingly subtle and note that it brings out the flavor of the food well.
As is always the case when reconstructing ancient customs, we cannot get an accurate picture even after gathering all available information. However, the recipes below will give you an idea of what this most popular ancient Roman sauce tasted like. If you decide to cook it, try adding it to one of the dishes from the book of ancient Roman recipes by Patrick Faas.
Classic garum
Author Laura Kelly took nine months to make the authentic garum, but that's a little longer than ancient sources suggest. The recipe can be modified to use pre-fermented mackerel, and then it will take less time (you can use the whole mackerel, you can only the insides - sources differ on this). Researcher Robert Curtis also offers another, more detailed recipe.
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BuzzFeed10/11/2013The amount of fish should be adjusted according to need, as old recipes will most likely end up with a lot more sauce than you need if you follow the old recipes exactly.
Ingredients:
Mackerel (can be replaced with anchovies, sardines or any other oily fish)
. Sea salt
. Spicy herbs (optional; preferably dried)
. earthen vessel
Recipe:
Prepare 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 recipe, containing proportions and preserved by a 10th-century compilation called Geoponics, recommends using one part salt to eight parts fish. You can add herbs.
Leave the mixture to ferment under the hot sun for two months (different authors write about different terms, usually from a month to six months, although some argue that 20 days is enough). Stir to help the fish dissolve, and then strain the liquid that forms on the surface. Ideally, the sauce should be clear, but it doesn't have to be.
Quick garum
Most modified garum recipes advise 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”.
The culinary researchers at Ancient World Alive offer readers a wealth of ancient recipes. To get garum, they recommend straining salted fish broth.
Recipe:
Boil the fish in sea salt water until the liquid thickens (crush the fish if needed). Five minutes before done, add grape juice and oregano, strain and bottle.
Very fast garum
The Nova science show website has an excellent list of Roman recipes, including "modern garum". The author of the recipe recommends evaporating a quart grape juice, dissolve 2 tablespoons of anchovy paste in it and add oregano.
Purchased garum
Of course, you can always cheat - and this is not such a bad idea, because our recipes for garum are still, in the end, 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 even prepared in a manner similar to the original garum.
Original article: .
The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.
Among 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 which may not be to everyone's liking. Italian garum sauce is a great example of this type of condiment. Its history spans 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 Tasty food, therefore, devoted his whole life to the development and creation of new culinary delights. Many of his recipes became the basis for modern European dishes- including garum. old recipe sauce is based on the use of the main ingredient - small fish- anchovies or anchovies, which, due to their size, were not considered suitable for food and were used as animal feed. Apicius learned how to extract fermented fish juice from fish, from which an exquisite and rather expensive sauce was obtained.
You can cook garum at home today. Of course, the procedure now does not take a year, as described by Apicius, a little more than a month is enough. But in any case, to implement the recipe, it will take patience and time.
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
Preparation time - 1.5 months
About fish
Reading forums and discussions on the topic of cooking garum, you can often find reviews about the pungent fishy smell. In fact, in ancient Rome there really was such a “problem”: the recipe meant preparing the sauce in large clay vats in the sun, they were poorly protected from external influences, and, moreover, 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 stink 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 the rotting of fish, 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 process of decay.
- To prepare garum, you will need a large ceramic container. It must be thoroughly washed, without traces of foreign products. Finely chopped herbs are laid out at its bottom - not all at once, but a small part. Then the fish is placed on top of the herbs.
- This sequence of layers is repeated several times until all products are used up. The topmost layer is salt, which should not be spared, since the success of preparing 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 the secreted juices and a layer of air.
- 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 the lid is closed again. This procedure is repeated three times - that is, the sauce is infused for three weeks.
Getting juice
Obviously, not all the mass obtained as a result of fermentation is used for the Roman garum sauce itself. Bones, air bubbles and tissues of fish, sprigs of herbs - all this should not be in the finished dressing. Therefore, the recipe includes not only the infusion of the fish-herbal mixture.
- In the fourth week, the garum mixture must be strained to remove solid particles. The process is not too easy, because the fishy smell (not the smell of rotten meat, but the smell of fish) is still present, and if one of the family members does not tolerate the fishy aroma, it is better to do this in his absence. You can filter the mixture using a colander with small cells.
- The filtered mass will resemble a puree-like substance, which is poured into a glass jar and infused under closed lid approximately 1.5 weeks.
- After this time, the mixture will separate into two parts: the bottom will be a transparent liquid, and the top will be what gave the consistency of the puree. For the sauce, you need the lower part of the mass. It is expressed with gauze, preferably several times, since the suspension from the upper layer, which is a very nutritious and fat-rich mass, still gives off bitterness and is generally unsuitable for food.
- Ready fish juice can be flavored 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, it can also be found on supermarket shelves. True, in the latter case, the composition of the seasoning will include all kinds of preservatives and flavor enhancers, so there is no need to talk about compliance with the recipe.
- 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.
- It is believed that the sauce goes well with meat and poultry. They can also flavor salads and seafood dishes.
- It sounds strange, but garum is still used in the preparation of 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 may be disappointing. In order not to waste products, it is better to purchase a sample in a supermarket - for testing, even if it does not quite correspond to tradition.
Bon Appetit!
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Culinary Reenactment
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 in Russian home conditions, many photos and videos. I dare say that, most likely, this is the first experience of cooking garum in Russia at home ...
As I understood, in reality no one made it in Russia, because neither then (2011), nor now (2015) did I find a single article with photographs of the preparation stages and photographs of the real final product - garum.
On several sites, this photo of ... oyster sauce is given as an example of supposedly garum
Elsewhere, as an example of garum, a photo of the base raw materials of Thai "nam pla" fish sauce from this article "What Thailand smells like" is given. In Asia, spicy herbs are not used for fish sauce and it does not stand for two or three months, but for almost a year
***
The idea was intriguing...
Orthodox fish eat a lot, Siberians living on the rivers eat it a lot. So, uneviscerated fish is a multi-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 dangerous to give to cats and dogs. In short - just throw away ...
And at the end of 2011, one kind person 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 region of the 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, spines, fins and skin were collected in plastic bags and frozen in the freezer. First you need to pour unfrozen fish with coarse salt at the rate of 150 grams (200 grams can also be used) per 1 kg of fish waste.
Although, as they say, 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 and the bones do not undergo fermentation for 2 months.
Fish heads, gills, tails, giblets, skin, fins are ideal raw materials for garum
Fish waste for garum can be accumulated starting in the fall. Before freezing, they need to be sprinkled 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 have settled in November, frozen and salted raw materials for garum can be stored in bags in the refrigerator.
I emphasize that 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.
After frosts of more than -10º C were established in November, I transferred the fish from the bags and the freezer to 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, after pouring it with salt at the rate of 150 g per 1 kg of fish waste. The flask stood in the vestibule (this is a cold wooden extension to the house).
Instead of stone containers for cooking garum, a stainless steel flask with a wide neck is ideal ... In it, we accumulate all the fish waste in autumn and winter
In five months, a little less than half of the flask was accumulated ... Therefore, for the sake of completeness of the historical reconstruction, I decided to "body up" the full flask.
To do this, I bought five kilograms of sprat and pollock on the cheap, and asked relatives who live on the Ob to help with a bucket of fish - after a while they brought dace, scavengers and bream. The latter for the Ob fishermen are third-rate fish, they either throw the bream back, or bury the fish under a bush of pepper or tomato as fertilizer.
In the pharmacy I bought three packs of sage, thyme, mint (some of its stocks were also in the house) in the store I bought 5 large bags of a mixture of Provence herbs, 100 g of bay leaf, 50 g of allspice, hot peppercorns and ground coriander. I also had about a liter of a mixture of dried dill, parsley and coriander (I dried it myself). All these spices are quite enough for a flask of fish waste. However, it is permissible to put more herbs.
Since in the Roman Empire garum was made at different times of the year, I can assume that dried herbs were also used for its production when there was no season for their growth in the gardens of Italy and Spain. So my use of dried herbs does not distort the original technology of garum production.
If you have the opportunity to get fish for a whole flask in the summer, then, of course, you can use fresh herbs. But my harvesting went in the winter and ended in March. In this case, dried herbs are the only option. Provence herbs, thyme, sage, mint, dill, parsley, coriander leaves and ground seeds, bay leaf, allspice and hot peppercorns
And the process started...
At first, the old frozen layer of already salted fish waste was well sprinkled with herbs:
Then he laid small river fish and capelin (I didn’t cut or gut them), cut into pieces of pollock, bream and scavengers, sprinkled the fish with salt in the already mentioned proportion with broken bay leaves, peppercorns, Provence herbs, mint, thyme, sage, etc. P. And so to the top...
Technologically and ideally for the fermentation process, fish waste with giblets and small fish should be placed at the very bottom, pieces of large fish should be at the top, guess why.
Sprinkle salt on top...
For the preparation of garum, I used coarse salt - as the cheapest. For 38 liters of raw materials per flask, it took me about 6 kg. I suppose fine iodized salt can also be used.
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, waste from squid, cut into large pieces of bream and scavengers ...
Attention: for the preparation of garum, you need to use only raw, not thermally processed fish waste and fish.
I can assume that for effective fermentation it is important to find fish giblets in the container, probably, it is the digestive enzymes and bile contained in them that start the process of lysis of fish flesh. I say this so that there is no person who would think of making an "elite" garum only from gutted fish. Read ancient recipes - the presence of giblets, gills and fish blood in the base raw materials of an elite garum is a must. So that...
March 25 in Tomsk is not the Spanish sun, and there are not Mediterranean temperatures. What to do? Greenhouse for cucumbers and peppers to help us! There I put out a flask with garum at the end of April (before that, as I already wrote, it was in the entrance hall). In late April - early May, in our greenhouse, the temperature already begins to warm up to + 20–25 º C and above during the day.
In the conditions of Siberia, a greenhouse is an ideal place for the maturation of garum. The author put out the flask for fermentation 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 the senets
View of the unmixed garum on June 8. The raw fish has already noticeably melted and turned brown. It has a mild fishy smell with herbs without a deadly stench...
The flask stood in the greenhouse with the lid loosely closed, so that the flies would not climb in. Once a week, the garum was stirred with a wooden stick, which was constantly there.
An important note, fish bubbles were not fermented like that, neither in 2012, nor in 2015, when I made garum directly ... So, you can throw them away, otherwise they float, and only take up space in the flask.
View of the garum after mixing on 8 June. All the time the fish was fermenting, the wooden stick was in the flask. Pay attention to the photo - fish bubbles were not fermented like that, neither in 2012, nor in 2015, when I made garum right ... in the kitchen.
In these containers at the Nuoc Mam factory, the Vietnamese make their fish sauces
About the smell and rotting in the production of garum...
Garum is not prepared as a result of putrefaction by putrefactive bacteria, garum is prepared by fermentation, when the enzymes found in the tissues of the fish, as well as digestive enzymes and offal bile, melt the tissues of the flesh, destroying proteins and fats. The fish does not dry out. A large amount of salt absolutely (!) Prevents decay processes.
That is why, I repeat, for garum you need to use only raw fish and its waste, because tissue enzymes are destroyed from cooking and frying.
Therefore, oddly enough, the flask with the preparing garums, even in the summer in a 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 spilled garum over the edge while stirring.
So, if you carefully 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 weary of the "unbearable stench". None of my neighbors for the whole summer of 2012 knew by smell that I was preparing garum.
Interestingly, the smell of garum was of no interest to the flies. I did not observe flies near the flask at all. Weird...
The deadly stench from vats of fermenting fish (tourists who have visited Vietnam write about this) is a consequence of technological violations, when the containers are not washed from the remnants of past raw materials, when the raw materials are splashed around with stirring (this can be clearly seen in the photo from Vietnam) and the outer 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. Garum at the same time did not climb over the edge. The gas emitted was most likely carbon dioxide - there was no smell of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, or other stench. I can assume that it was the destruction of glycogen in fish meat. After about two weeks, the emission of gas bubbles ceased. At the same time, every week the garum became more and more noticeable - the fish pieces melted and softened ...
The smell of garum at this stage is moderately fishy, peculiar, the smell of spicy herbs is felt. It does not emit a deadly stench.
Summer in 2012 was quite normal. It showed that for the full fermentation of fish and the preparation of garum, the heat of Italy or Spain is not necessary. Enough of the Siberian sun and greenhouses.
On June 23, I decided to finish the fermentation process. I thought that if you tighten it, the garum will go rancid. As it turned out later, this was not the case. Garum could be kept until August, however, it makes no sense to stand it for more than 3 months - by this time, even in Siberia, the tissues of the fish will soften to a state of slurry. Now I can say that punctuality up to a certain day is not needed when fermenting garum.
He dragged the flask onto the platform of the yard, removed large heads and ridges, including the giant head of a pike. After that, through an iron sieve, the garum was drained from the bones of the scales, fins, etc.
Garum before straining. In this photo, the garum has not dried up. The heads of large fish were simply pulled out, including the head of that huge pike in the first photo.
This is how much solid waste (heads, bones, scales) turned out after straining a jar of base garum through an iron sieve
Close up view of solid waste from garum. Reading the historical background (it is below), you might think that this is the halex, which was then sold to the poor. This is waste for disposal ... Even the homeless cannot eat these stinking bones. What is khaleks, I understood later...
From a full flask with base raw materials, almost 20 liters of pureed garum were obtained with a pronounced fishy and spicy smell without an unpleasant stench:
From a 38-liter flask, I got a little less than 20 liters of puree-like garum of the first stage of readiness.
After that, he poured this substance into three-liter jars, rolled them up with tin lids, and lowered them into the cellar for aging and stratification.
I believe that it is better to stand the garum sauce for at least six months, or even a year - during this time a good stratification occurs. I had these jars for 2.5 years, the Vietnamese, as they say on the net, stand their fish sauce for a year and even three years ...
At first I thought, when reading about garum, that garum is a total puree-like mass, but such a garum, when added to food, stinks terribly and gives food a strong bitterness (from rancid fish oil and not only from it)
This puree cannot be called 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 the halex. Oxidized proteins and fats give it a bitter and unpleasant taste, but this thing is rich in proteins and fats, high in calories and nutritious. In short, for the Roman plebs and the soldiers will go ... In Tomsk they were not, so I sent the chalex to the compost heap for fertilizer
Actually the famous and original garum is a brown translucent liquid, which is located at the bottom of the cans in the above photo.
My "guess" was confirmed by this photo later found on the net:
View of the original factory garum. Apparently Made in Italy
The upper part is a protein-fat puree with particles of spices and is called chalex. Eating it is difficult, but possible. The Japanese and Chinese eat fermented fish. From childhood, you can get used to everything ...
Rancid fish oils and oxidized proteins give an unpleasant bitterness to food if added in large quantities. But the most unpleasant thing is that when cooking it gives a strong fishy smell that is not acceptable to everyone even with a small addition.
But ... For the first year I filled them with gutted fish before smoking. Spicy chales very gently salted fish meat, gave a moderate taste of seasonings, and when hot smoked, it flowed out with fat and juice - smoked mackerel salted with chales is perfect. Therefore, those who smoke a lot of fish can safely leave three liters of chalex.
If you get 18 liters of base garum, the chales will be about 9 liters when strained. If we do not have mass smoking of fish, khales can be fed to pigs (carefully, very salty) and then only at the first stage of fattening, otherwise the fat and meat will have a fishy smell later.
And who does not have cattle - pour chalex into a compost heap - this is a good nitrogen fertilizer. And fish for smoking is still better to salt with true garum.
How to drain the stratified garum? I did this through a tube from a dropper - accuracy is important here, and not the speed of pouring, due to which mixing of garum and chalex can occur. At the same time, the garum flowed into my sieve, covered with a thick viscose cloth (sold as a rag for wiping in household stores) - a handy thing for filtering anything.
Since the ancient Romans did not have glass jars and dropper tubes, they defended the garum in these amphorae. Its narrow bottom was carefully beaten off (pierced?), and then the transparent garum was carefully drained.
And so, here he is a garum ...
Garum has a mild fishy smell and a very spicy pleasant taste, as if you were eating good dried fish y. Of course, garum is very salty.
After the first straining, the garum should be allowed to settle in the cold. This time it split into three parts - fat at the top, solid particles at the bottom, and in the middle - actually already garum, I think, already of an extra class of quality.
This jar is with garum of the third stage of readiness. Garum is strained from chalex 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 lower 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 those hermetically sealed - be it a three-liter jar with a tin lid or a liter plastic bottle.
After straining, I tasted garum without heat treatment in pure form and diluted by half with water - no diarrhea, no vomiting ... Microbiologically, garum - safe product at least what I have prepared.
Now, I think, it will be clear to you why a good garum was expensive. First, a good garum requires raw materials from good fish and herbs. Its production is long. The primary fermentation process lasts 2 - 3 months, half a year of settling, again straining to separate the garum and chalex, settling the already strained garum to remove the fat accumulated at the top and protein solids 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 none in Russia and Siberia, and those that are, bite viciously at the same price tag. If your diet contains only fish soup and fried fish, 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 fish for smoking in garum. For example, smoked mackerel after a night of standing with garum is simply amazing in taste (put gutted mackerel on its back, raised its head higher in the pelvis, and poured garum into the belly).
Garum is ideal for soaking fish for frying. I tried it on carp. Everyone praised. Carp cleaned from scales, giblets, removed the head and fins (carp were large, it was not rational to fry the head and so three fish per speed barely entered). I poured 100 ml of garum on 3 - 4 fish, peppered it. After 15 minutes, rolled in flour, and in a frying pan ...
Garum can be filled (correctly say salt) everything fish meals, especially minced fish for dumplings cutlets - they get their piquancy.
Garum can be seasoned with meat for frying and stewing. It took me 4 tablespoons of garum (100 ml) in a pan of stew with onions, so the garum has every chance of running out quickly.
I poured oil into the pan, put slices of horse meat, a large chopped onion, 4 tablespoons of garum, a tablespoon of dried garlic. This, when fried, had a peculiar fishy smell, but only near the pan. But... My wife, who hardly tolerates the smell of fish, came in from the street and did not smell the fishy smell in the kitchen (we don't have a hood). Before the end of frying, I added coarsely ground pepper and coriander for five minutes, which completely blocked the fishy smell from garum.
The frying pan with horsemeat stewed on garum was empty at Christmas dinner instantly... No one said: "Ugh, how it stinks..."
If you like fish and tolerate its smell in the kitchen, you can salt buckwheat porridge, vegetable stews, etc. with garum. - a satisfying and relevant thing in the post.
I tried to season 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.
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I'm beginning to wonder why the Romans loved garum so much. Those who have tried cured salted meat - horse meat or goose, I'm sure, noted for themselves that dried salted 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 pieces at home only for good behavior and on holidays. Wife, children of all ages are already shaking when they eat dried horse meat or goose ... All are obedient, polite and silky.
I got distracted ... why am I writing this? I believe that garum contains the same biologically active substances that stimulate appetite as dried meat, the taste of which is familiar and familiar to many, because protein fermentation also occurs in it.
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Yes, at its core, garum is a highly biologically active product, standing on the same level as tissue preparations and such a mythical drug ASD-2.
Tissue therapy was actively used in animal husbandry in the USSR.
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tissue therapy- the use of canned tissues and preparations from them (tissue preparations) with therapeutic purpose and to improve animal productivity. 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. Known and other methods of preparation of tissue preparations. According to the assumption of V.P. Filatov, pharmacological agents are formed in the 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 in some non-contagious and infectious diseases of page - x. animals, to stimulate growth and enhance fattening in the form of whole tissues and extracts, minced meats, suspensions, ointments and powders. They are prescribed subcutaneously, orally (implantation, injection), externally (applications, powders, ointments) ...
Veterinary Encyclopedic Dictionary
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Asian fish sauces have 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 nicotinic acid (B3). There is phosphorus, iodine, iron and calcium.
But the value of garum, as an adaptogen, is 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 for the fish when falling into the net until it dies. Since garum is not exposed 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 the taste of garum is better than ASD-2.
I think that for the sake of science, you can start such an experiment, especially since I began to get sick more often - they will bring Thai, Egyptian viruses, and African ebola to Russia from resorts - no immunity is enough ... I'll try to use garum on an empty stomach in a tablespoon in the morning before meals.
After six months of the experiment, I will write off how it all ended ...
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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 the Russian markets (I found a 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. They are clearly adapted to the taste of Russians.
You can season their food with them, but their healing effect on the body is almost none, unlike their homemade garum.
Therefore, I think it's worth the effort and getting a bucket of true garum.
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If you have questions about garum - write to this mail:
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Garum (historical note)
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 ichor of decaying fish", with which his contemporaries "poison themselves" . This sauce was part of 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 that era that in many regions it completely replaced salt. In particular, instead of "salting the dish", Apicius often writes: "If the dish is insipid, add garum, if it is salty, a little honey." Not a single dinner party, not a single feast was complete without a 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 was especially established in Pompeii.
"Garum" was known back in the Neolithic era, it was prepared by the tribes that inhabited northwestern France (modern Brittany), and then improved by the Celtic druids. Molva (sea pike) was used to prepare 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 a breakdown and depression, from a headache, purulent infections, diarrhea and dog bites, it was given to soldiers before long campaigns and battles, and the doctors of Emperor Claudius (43 AD) called it a product with hundreds of useful properties.
In addition, the notorious magic drink of the Gauls from the cartoons about Asterix and the film of the same name with Gerard Depardieu is nothing but garum. Subsequently, as a result of the Punic Wars, the Romans learned and adopted from Magna Graecia (modern Southern Italy), among other things, the habit of using garum as a seasoning for meat and vegetable dishes. Starting from the II century. BC. garum begins to enjoy ever-increasing popularity. The dish is an integral part of the table of the ancient Romans, and 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, except for perfume, that would cost more: for two congia (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), it is not found at all in Apicius, probably due to the fact that then everyone already knew the recipe. According to Martial, 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, after which - a layer of large fish, cut into pieces. Sprinkle everything with coarse salt for 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 rod, starting from the seventh day, and so on for 20 days. The name of the fish is not indicated, it is assumed that the small fish meant bops, red mullet or anchovies, and the large fish meant mackerel, mackerel or tuna.
When the whole salting turned into a solid mass, a large basket of frequent weaving was lowered into the vat, and a thick liquid, garum, was gradually drawn into it. Garum was poured into jugs (up to 0.5 m) with a narrow neck and one handle, 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 a mackerel, salted it with gills and blood in an earthenware jug, and after two months they punched the bottom in the jug and let the liquid drain. Due to the spread of a fetid smell, the production of sauce in the cities was forbidden to everyone, except for special factories - offitsin.
Some of the best varieties of garum 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 divided into "clean" (sometimes wine, vinegar or water was added) and "lean" (from fish with scales). Halex, or allec - solid remains of fish sauce or unprocessed garum - was sold at an affordable price and was intended for the 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 officines in Pompeii, vying with each other to advertise their product as a first-class mackerel garum, the sauce was often faked, i.e. the fish declared on the amphora was replaced by another, less valuable one, just as today in Italy they often sell a herring shark under the guise of a swordfish, which is much cheaper. Not without reason, experts recommend buying cut into pieces swordfish only on those days when a shark's head is put up in a fish shop.
Vesuvius volcano crater
Interesting story is associated with the name of one of the main producers of garum in Pompeii - Umbricius Scaurus, who invented the popular variety of garum - scaurs. Over the past years, members of the Laboratory for Applied Research in Campania have been studying his house. During the excavations, 7 vessels were found, at the bottom of which there was a garum. Scientists have established that the last sauce prepared in Pompeii was entirely made from a fish common in the Mediterranean - the big-eyed bops, or minke whale. 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 that 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 shipwreck was found off the coast of Valencia in the 1st century AD. e. a Roman ship with one and a half thousand amphoras with garum. The sailing vessel had a length of 30 m and a displacement of 400 tons. The sauce was so important for trade that it was delivered to any province, no matter how far it was from the metropolis. Since at one time the sailors did not bother to close the amphoras hermetically, archaeologists could not even find the remains of a fish delicacy. In addition to the amphoras, precious for historians, the ship was carrying lead for the plumbing 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 sink into oblivion along with the Ancient Roman Empire. This sauce was mentioned in the gastronomic treatise of the Greek physician Antim "De observatione ciborum" (6th century AD) when describing a 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 The inventories of the monastery in Bobbio (in the Piacentine Apennines) record the purchase of two vessels with garum in the market in Genoa for the needs of the brethren. In addition, the production of garum was in the Adriatic basin, in Istria (Cassiodorus letter, VI century AD) and in Byzantium. There is a similarity of this sauce in Italy and today - it is a strained anchovy liquid - colatura di alici di Cetara, a traditional product of the Campania region, produced on the Amalfi Coast, in Cetara. In Italy, you can also find garum armoricum - a dietary supplement in capsules, the effectiveness of which has not been proven.
“My wife once bought a package of small salted fish. On the package it was written how in ancient Rome garum sauce was made from such a fish. It got me interested. What is called, torknulo. And I decided to cook it.
I love fish, my family eats a lot of fish, especially in fasting, and fish is a very waste product. Sometimes heads, fins and giblets occupy up to 30% of the carcass, so there were no problems with raw materials. I looked for a recipe on the Internet, found it in references to the Roman writer Gargilius Martial. I also realized that in reality no one did it in Russia, there are continuous theoretical reprints on the net.
If you buy the right amount of fish or get a lot of raw fish waste, garum can be done right away. From 35 kg of fish (or waste), you can end up with 8–9 liters of garum.
I don't have a fish factory, I wasn't ready to make garum, so I started collecting raw fish waste gradually from the end of October. He put them in a 36-liter stainless steel tank that stood on an unheated veranda. What I collected: fins, tails, heads, giblets from herring, mackerel, pollock and pike. In no case should you put heat-treated fish in the garum, this is a fundamentally important point. Another important detail: the more offal, the better the garum will be prepared, because this sauce is not a product of rotting or fermentation, as some foolishly write, but a fermentation product of fish protein. The enzymes contained in the tissues of the fish and, of course, in the offal (bile, for example), begin to gradually destroy the protein, from which the sauce becomes liquid, more precisely, puree.
If you live in an apartment, then fish waste can be stored in the freezer or on the balcony until the right amount is collected. Each time I put the fish in a jar, I sprinkled it with coarse salt at the rate of 1 part of salt per 8 parts of fish. Garum salt cannot be spoiled if there is more of it, the sauce will simply be saltier at the exit and it can be added to food in smaller quantities. Actually, thanks to salt, the fish is preserved and does not rot in the summer even under the Spanish sun.
By the end of April, half of the flask turned out, I had to add more fish. I bought several kilograms of capelin, pollock and blue whiting. Relatives brought half a bag of bream. On the Ob, bream is considered a second-rate fish, and if they come across, they are either thrown away or used for fertilizer: they bury them when planting pepper or tomato under a bush; no mullein is needed, the vegetable grows beautifully! I chopped the bream into pieces and put it in a tank, where I sent the purchased fish. Then spices and dried herbs: a few packs provencal herbs”, I bought sage and mint at the pharmacy. And I had a pound of my dried set of dill, parsley, cilantro. I also added a few packets of lavrushka, coriander, black peppercorns and allspice.
(Garum does not need to be cooked only from river fish. And certainly not from one ide. Once my friends brought me a lot of ide and roach. He dried the roach, put the ide on cutlets and dumplings. From the raw remains of all this, I prepared my second garum, the taste of which I did not really like. The ide has a specific taste, and it has passed into the sauce. In the garum, there should definitely be mackerel and capelin, each of these fish is at least 15% of the total mass.)
At the end of April, the tank moved to the greenhouse. Fermentation begins when the mass is heated to a temperature above 20 degrees. A kitchen and a central heating battery will also do; Spanish heat, as it turned out, is not necessary for garum. By June 1, the fish pieces began to clearly and strongly soften. About a week bubbles appeared in the raw material, probably it was carbon dioxide from the fermentation of glycogen. In addition, the raw material has slightly increased in volume: therefore, when filling the container with fish, you need to leave at least 20 cm to the edge so that the garum does not crawl out.
Internet stories that a wild stench begins when cooking garum are nonsense. If you do everything right, then there is no rotting. When the garum stood in a greenhouse, even flies did not fly there, it smelled only next to the flask - fish with spices. The second time I made garum was in September, while the flask stood in the kitchen near the stove for two months, and none of the guests even knew that there was fish in the flask!
By mid-July, the contents of the flask turned into a puree-like mass; it makes no sense to keep raw materials for more than two months. I filtered the mass, and it turned out about 16 liters of primary garum - a brown puree-like mass with a fish-spicy smell. Next, I poured this mass into three-liter jars and put it in the cold in the cellar (you can also in the refrigerator) for six months.
At first I thought that this puree was garum (there is no word about this on the Internet). But it's not. In the cold, stratification begins: what was called chalex in Rome rose up - a dense mixture of proteins and fat, and a transparent liquid of light brown color remained below. This is the garum. I carefully pushed a thin tube through the chalex and carefully drained the garum. Since there were no Roman legionnaires, slaves and poor around me, I did not sell the remaining chalex to them, but sent it to the compost heap (good fertilizer, by the way). Formally, chalex is edible, but it quickly starts to taste bitter (fish oil is oxidized), and it also gives the food a painfully strong taste of fish. For Roman slaves, it may have been suitable, but for free Russians it is better to use only garum.
So the sauce was ready. I tried it raw: the aftertaste is like after a good dried fish, with a subtle flavor of spices. Garum, when properly prepared and salted, is unequivocally harmless even in its raw form, it can be stored for years in a cool place without special preservatives.
The sauce is not difficult to make and is a fun activity. The problem is different: in Russian and in most modern European cuisines, there are very few dishes for this sauce: buckwheat porridge or vegetable stew with a fishy aftertaste in the post is still an amateur. And Russians have not yet been accustomed to Vietnamese and other Asian cuisines, where such sauces are actively used.
I once fried horsemeat with garum; I didn't add any salt, just the sauce. While the meat is hot, the smell of fish is not felt; and tasty. But as soon as the meat cools down, the fried horse meat has a clear fishy taste.
Therefore, the only place where you can safely use it is salting fish intended for frying and smoking.
We cleaned the crucians, left them for 15 minutes in the sauce, rolled in flour, fried. Song!
Smoked mackerel, pre-soaked in garum, is simply magnificent. Gut the mackerel, fill the belly with a mixture of parsley and dill and pour the garum there. It will stand overnight or at least 4–5 hours, then it can be smoked (let the grass remain in the belly). One more song!
Why did I need all this? It was interesting. I have the audacity to say that this was the first historical culinary reconstruction of garum in Russia. I was driven by research and historical reenactment interest. It is a good and rewarding culinary experience. And how much fun brings only the squeamish look of the wife and her cries when she passes by, and you stir the fish in the kitchen in a flask.
