Take fish, salt in vats, leave in sun for months: why ancient Romans loved fermented fish sauces like garum

If you slipped back through time to taste a dish from the Roman Empire, you’d likely be sampling some fermented fish sauce.

Surviving Roman recipes add this to anything from barley porridge to a sweet custard made with pine nuts, olive oil, wine, honey and pepper.

Although it is often referred to as garum, the exact meaning of this term is surprisingly uncertain.

A fish sauce by any other name

Fish sauce is called garum, liquamen,…

© La Conversation - mardi 29 juillet 2025