Garum
(Fish Sauce)

Origin: Roman      Period: Traditional

Original Recipe

Liquamen et Garum (from Bassus' Geoponica 20.46:1-6)

Cassianus Bassus was a seventh century author who wrote the Geoponica (Country Matters) Bassus drew heavily on the work on another agricultural compiler, Vindonius Anatolius (4th century) and the ultimate sources of the Geoponica include Pliny, various lost Hellenistic and Roman-period Greek agriculture and veterinary authors, the Carthaginian agronomist Mago, and even works passing under the name of the Persian prophet Zoroaster. During the 10th century Bassus' Geoponica was included into another work (also called the Geoponica which was compiled for the Byzantine emperor of Constantinople, Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. As a result there has been considerable confusion as to what Cassianus Basssus wrote and what he did not. The recipe given below is derived from Bassus' original work and not the later volume often mis-attributed to him. This text is of note as it gives the largest number of different methods we have for making that most important of all Roman condiments, the fish sauce: liquamen and garum. If also gives a recipe (recipe 5) for a quick form of garum that anyone can make at home and that's the main recipe I will redact here. The translation of the appropriate section of the text follows below:

Translation

Geoponica 20.46:1-6 (this is based on the translation found in Curtis, Robert I., Garum and Salsamenta; E.J. Brill, 1991, pg 12-13)

1. The so-called liquamen is made in this manner: the intestines of fish are thrown into a vessel and salted. Small fish, either the best smelt, or small mullets, or sprats, or wolffish, or whatever is deemed to be small, are all salted together and, shaken frequently, are fermented in the sun.

2. After it has been reduced in the heat, garum is obtained from it in this way: a large, strong basket is placed into the vessel of the aforementioned fish, and the garum streams into the basket. In this way, the so-called liquamen is strained through the basket when it is taken up. The remaining refuse is alex.

3. The Bythinians prepare it in this manner: it is best if you take small or large sprats, but if not, wolffish, or horse-mackerel, or mackerel, or even alica, and a mixture of all, and throw these into a baker's kneading trough, in which they are accustomed to knead meal. Tossing into the modius of fish two Italian sextarii of salt, mix up thoroughly in order to strengthen it with salt. After leaving it alone for one night throw it into a vessel and place it without a lid in the sun for two or three months, agitating it with a shaft at intervals. Next take it, cover it, and store it away.

4. Some add to one sextarius of fish, two sextarii of old wine.

5. Next, if you wish to use the garum immediately, that is to say not ferment it in the sun, but to boil it, you do it this way. When the brine has been tested, so that an egg having been thrown in floats (if it sinks, it is not sufficiently salty), and throwing the fish into the brine in a newly-made earthenware pot and adding in some oregano, you place it on a sufficient fire until it is boiled, that is until it begins to reduce a little. Some throw in boiled down must. Next, throwing the cooled liquid into a filter you toss it a second and third time through the filter until it turns out clear. After having covered it, store it away.

6. The best garum, the so-called haimation, is made in this way: he intestines of tunny along with the gills, juice and blood are taken and sufficient salt is sprinkled on. After having left it alone in the vessel for two month at most, pierce the vessel and the garum, called haimation, is withdrawn.

Note: Garum or Liquamen (salted fish sauce) is a critical ingredient in Roman cooking and most modern cooks will use Eastern Fish sauce (such as Thai Nam Pla) when redacting Roman recipes (I do this myslef). But, ultimately, it's much more satisfying (and authentic) if you've made your own. So here are some recipes and ideas for this most basic of Roman cooking ingredients. This ingredient is critical in Roman cookery as it provides both saltiness and umami (the full mouth feeling of fatty fish and some foods, the reason we put Worcestershire sauce and anchovy paste in many dishes).

The large industrial factories making garum would probably have used one of the first two methods, which are laborious and time-consuming and recipe 5 was almost certainly used by home cooks and it's this recipe that will be reproduced here.

Ingredients:

500g whole small fish (eg smelt, sprats, anchovies, sardines)
400g sea salt
1 tbsp dried oregano, crumbled
1 tbsp sapa (made by boiling down red grape juice until its 1/3 of its original volume)

Method:

Rinse the fish well under running water (but do not clean or gut them) then add the whole fish to a pan along with the salt, oregano and sapa. Add just enough water to the pan to cover the fish by about 4cm.

Bring the mixture to a boil and allow to boil for 15 minutes (the fish should start to remember a rather disgusting pulp). Crush the fish with the back of a wooden spoon and continue to boil until the liquid starts to thicken (about 20 minutes).

Take off the heat and first pass the mixture through a coarse strainer. Keep the liquid and discard the fish pieces. Now pass through a fine sieve (once again keep the liquid). Finally pass the fish liquid several times through a double layer of muslin or cheese cloth. Keep straining in this manner until the liquid is completely clear. You will end-up with a liquid that's can range in colour from pale yellow to deep amber (the colour will depend on the type of fish used).

Transfer to a clean jar and store in the refrigerator (because of it's high salinity this sauce will keep for years). You only need a little as it's very salty. Despite the rapidity with which it's made this still gives you quite a pleasant version of garum and is well worth making. The main advantage of this over Eastern fish sauces is that it contains herbs, which would have been added to Roman garum.

If you are feeling more adventurous, then I have recently been sent a method for making a version of real, fermented, garum. Now this was traditionally made by fermenting fush or fish pieces in the sun in North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean where you are guaranteed sunshine and constant temperatures for a long time. That's not guaranteed elsewhere in the world, so this recipe uses a yoghurt maker so you can keep a constant fermentation temperature of 40°C.

You will either small, whole, fish (or just the guts) — I've made this after cleaning line-caught mackerel and it works well with the guts, and gill pieces but whole fish work equally well.

Weigh the fish or fish pieces then weigh out salt equivalent to 1/5 the weight of the fish (so, if you have 500g fish you will need 100g salt). Err on the side of caution with the salt. It's much better to have to much than too little.

Layer the fish in a bowl, add a layer of salt and then a layer of fish. Continue this way until all the fish and salt have been added. Allow to sit for 1 hour then stir thoroughly to make certain the salt and fish are completely combined.

Transfer to a yoghurt maker set to 40°C. Using a scrupulously clean spoon stir the mixture thoroughly during the first day then cover and allow to ferment naturally for at least 5 days. During this time the fish flesh will dissolve completely and you will be left with only the bones. Allow to sit and separate then transfer the top (garum) layer with a clean, sterilized ladle into a clean jar.

Garum should always be clear and if the mixture turns cloudy or turbid discard it. Also the longer you can leave the mixture to ferment the better it will be. Real garum is fermented over a period of months rather than days so if you can leave the mixture for a few weeks before bottling it will be even better.

Oenogarum. Garum is also an essential component in another Roman condiment, oenogarum which was made from a 1:1 mixture of fish sauce with sweet white wine that's been boiled to reduce its volume to about 60% of the original volume.

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