You think you’re obsessed with Sriracha? Or that truffle oil is the height of bougie condiments? Bless your heart. The ancient Romans would laugh you out of the Colosseum. Their everything-sauce, their ketchup, their liquid gold was a little something called garum, and it was made from fermented, rotten fish guts. And they were OBSESSED. 🤢
Welcome to the most unhinged culinary era in history. For centuries, the entire Roman Empire was in a chokehold for this funky, salty, fishy sauce. They put it on everything. And when we say everything, we mean everything. It was the ultimate flex, the status symbol of the ancient world, and it smelled so bad that its production was literally banned within city limits. Let’s get into it.
Imagine this: you take a bunch of small fish—sardines, anchovies, mackerel—and you don’t even bother to gut them. You just chop them up, guts, blood, bones, and all, and throw them into a giant vat. Then you layer them with obscene amounts of salt (like, 15% of the total weight) and just… leave it. You let this fish-and-salt slurry sit out in the hot Mediterranean sun to ferment and basically rot for several months. The fish’s own digestive enzymes do the heavy lifting, breaking down the flesh into a liquid. What you’re left with is a brownish, watery sauce that is pure, concentrated umami. And it stank to high heaven.
This wasn’t just some weird niche thing. Garum was a massive industry. Archaeologists have found the remains of huge garum factories all over the former Roman Empire, from Spain to Portugal to North Africa. Some of these factories employed over 50 people, just to manage the production of rotten fish sauce. The demand was insane.
So, what did they do with this funky fish juice? The better question is, what didn’t they do with it? Garum was the ultimate flavor enhancer. It was used as a salt substitute, a dip, and a base for more complex sauces. Romans would mix it with wine, vinegar, honey, or olive oil to create custom flavor profiles. They’d drizzle it on everything from grilled meats to steamed vegetables. It was so fundamental to their cooking that it appears in almost every recipe that survives from the era.
But it wasn’t just for the savory dishes. Some sources say they even put it on their DESSERTS. Yeah. Let that sink in. Your sweet little honey cake? Needs more fish guts.
Garum Quality
Description
Modern Equivalent
Flor de Garum
The first, finest liquid pressed from the fish. The good stuff.
A $500 bottle of vintage wine.
Liquamen
The standard, everyday garum. Still good, but not top-shelf.
Your trusty bottle of Heinz Ketchup.
Haimation
Made purely from the blood of tuna. A delicacy.
That weird, expensive hot sauce you only use a drop of.
Allec
The sludgy, leftover fish paste at the bottom of the barrel.
The last dregs of the ketchup bottle that you can’t get out.
So if garum was so popular, why aren’t we all drizzling rotten fish guts on our pizza today? The fall of the Roman Empire, basically. Two things killed the garum game:
1.Taxes: In the Roman Empire, salt was cheap and plentiful. After the empire collapsed, new rulers slapped heavy taxes on salt, making the production of garum way too expensive.
2.Pirates: Without the mighty Roman navy to protect the seas, pirates took over the Mediterranean. Coastal factories became prime targets for raids, and it was just too dangerous to run a massive, stinky, and very profitable fish sauce operation on the coast.
And so, the garum era slowly faded away. It survived in a few small pockets, and its modern descendant, colatura di alici, is still made in Italy today. But the empire-wide obsession with fermented fish guts was over.
So next time you’re feeling a little extra for putting hot sauce on everything, just remember the Romans. They were in their rotten fish guts era for hundreds of years, and honestly, we have to respect the commitment. It was unhinged, it was smelly, but it was a flavor explosion that defined an empire. 🔥
1.NPR - "Fish Sauce: An Ancient Roman Condiment Rises Again" A great starting point that explains what garum was, how it was made, and how it compares to modern fish sauces. It also covers why this beloved condiment disappeared. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/10/26/240237774/fish-sauce-an-ancient-roman-condiment-rises-again
2.Wikipedia - "Garum" For a deep dive into the different types of garum, the history of its production, and its use across different ancient cultures. This is where you can get all the nerdy details. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garum
3.Eater - "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Garum" This article connects the ancient practice to the modern culinary world, explaining how chefs today are reviving garum and using it in innovative ways. It also has some great descriptions of the production process. https://www.eater.com/22867421/garum-fermented-fish-sauce-mushroom-noma-koji
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