Like many cuisines today, the Ancient Romans used condiments: mainly garum and defrutum. Garum is a fermented fish sauce, similar to that used in Southasian cuisine that adds an umami and/or savory flavor to dishes. Defrutum is a reduced grape syrup that was used to sweeten food. Funny enough, the sauces were on opposite sides of the spectrum, representing elements of sweet and salty.
Garum had a far outreach, being used by Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians, and Arabs. Although it was highly regarded, the process of making it wasn’t so pleasant. The sauce itself is made out of fermented fish guts, which made the process of making it quite unpleasant. In fact, common folk were banned from making it because the fermentation process smelled so bad. Despite the unsavory parts of it, garum was a significant industry, as it was traded from Britain to the Black Sea. Not only known for its flavor, garum was also an excellent source of nutrients and protein. Its ubiquitous presence made it so that people of all classes could enjoy it.
Defrutum was mainly used by the Romans, as they had an adamant appreciation for grapes. Their main philosophy when it came to food was to waste nothing, which can explain a bunch of their strange food. The grapes used in defrutum were actually remnants of the wine-making process. The main rule of thumb was to reduce the grapes to ⅓ of the original volume, so there weren’t many variations. Actually, there were some recipes that were considered deadly by modern standards, as some recipes called for a lead-lined pot.
Although ancient cuisine is considered strange by modern standards, its rich history will always provide many chefs with some food for thought!
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