Ancient Roman Ingredients

Ancient Roman Ingredients

• jencathen 17 years ago
  Roman Ingredients
  
  For Roman recipes the following native ingredients are used (the closest modern equivalent is also given).
  
  Asafoetida Asafoetida is a gum derived from the sap of the roots and stem of the Ferula asafoetida plant. It has a very pungent aroma though this dissipates with cooking. It can be bought in health-food shops and Indian/Middle-eastern markets either as a liquid essence or as a fine yellow powder. Either are fine for cooking but remember to keep in an air-tight container otherwise its scent will taint other foods.
  
  Caroenum Boiled Must (must is essentially very young wine (at the first stage of fermentation). The closest equivalent would be a sweet young white wine or grape juice. Boil until the volume is reduced by half.
  
  
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• jencathen 17 years ago said:
  Defritum The closest equivalent would be thick fig syrup. However, must sweetened with honey and boiled down to a third of its original volume can also be used
  
  Liebstoeckl This is the plant Levisticum officinalis (lovage) and its dried roots were used as a spice.
  
  Liquamen/Garum Fermented salted fish. This was a common addition to Roman food. The closest modern equivalent would be Nam Pla, Thai fish sauce
  
  Passum A sweet wine sauce. This is made by adding honey to must and boiling until it has thickened.
  
  Puledimu Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium). Ordinary garden mint can be substituted.
  
  
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• jencathen 17 years ago said:
  Sautreia Summer savory Satureia hortensia. The commoner winter savory can be substituted for this.
  
  Silphium Silphium (also silphion and laser) is generally considered to be a form of now-extinct 'giant fennel' and formed the crux of trade from Cyrene (modern Lybia) to the Roman empire. The valuable product was the resin (laser, laserpicium, or lasarpicium) of the plant. It was harvested in a manner similar to asafoetida, a plant with similar enough qualities to silphium that Romans, including the geographer Strabo, used the same word to describe both. The plant became extinct during the first century CE, probably due to a combination of over-collection and over-grazing. The Romans substituted asafoetida, though the taste was deemed 'not as good'.
  
  Spikenard This is the plant, Nardostachys jatamansi, an aromatic plant with small leaves and red-purple flowers. This is used frequently in aromatherapy oils. Must be obtained from a specialized supplier. An alternate is to use equal portions of fennel and lavender a fifth of the final quantity of valerian root (note, valerian is a sedative and some people are very sensitive, use sparingly. Lavender should not be consumed by pregnant women).
  
  
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