> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.taras-grescoe.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The ancient art of making Roman garum, Pt. 1. - URL: https://www.taras-grescoe.com/the-ancient-art-of-making-roman-garum-pt-1/ - Published: 2021-01-23T05:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2025-01-23T15:55:39.000Z - Author: Taras Grescoe - Tags: Lost Supper *Updated for the contemporary kitchen.* For the last four years, I’ve been researching and writing a book about the anthropology and archaeology of food—*The Lost Supper: Searching for the Future of Food in the Flavors of the Past*. It’s a deep dive into what the *past* of food can tell us about what we’ll be eating in the *future*, an especially important subject I think, given the precipitous decline of diversity in animal breeds, crop landraces, and plant varieties. It’s going to be published by Greystone in Sept. 2023. I decided early on that I was going to take the spirit of experimental archaeology to heart, and try to recreate as many of these historic, and prehistoric, foods as I could in my own kitchen. I’ll be sharing what I’ve discovered in my travels, but also how the experience has changed what I and my family eat. [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) It took four months of fermentation, but I made my own garum (or more accurately, liquamen), a fish sauce, possibly of Phoenician origins, that was widely used in the ancient world. I can now confirm it was under the supervision of Sally Grainger, world's leading authority on the subject, author of *The Story of Garum*. Here's how I did it... ![](https://lostsupper.blog/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f37594a1f-d557-47b5-ae18-8e8b82c1b7b6_900x1200-jpeg.jpg) I started with small, whole sardines, purchased frozen from a Portuguese grocery store in [#Montreal](https://twitter.com/hashtag/Montreal?src=hashtag%5Fclick&ref=taras-grescoe.com). They were frozen, so I let them thaw—they’re small, sprats as the British call them, so thawing didn’t take long. ![](https://lostsupper.blog/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff33764af-ba31-44bc-b152-91ea4c0ce187_900x1200-jpeg.jpg) Then I added salt, "Pope's Salt" from Cervia in Italy, to be exact, but any sea salt will do: 20% of the weight of the fish, or 77 grams. ![](https://lostsupper.blog/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fec12a3d3-55db-4195-8ae5-0a9cebe88083_510x680-jpeg.jpg) I salted the fish after a couple of cuts with a sharp knife to expose the viscera... ![](https://lostsupper.blog/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f7cd93821-56c8-4225-8c5e-09c14c3c1c18_1200x900-jpeg.jpg) The challenge was replicating Mediterranean summer temperatures in Canadian climate. Solution was suggested by my friend Fernando Medrano of Vancouver: Use a seedling mat, also known as a plant propagator, with a thermostat. The ideal temperature turned out to be around 31 degrees C (that’s 87.8 F for you stubborn Imperialists). ![](https://lostsupper.blog/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff77f5820-efe2-47e8-ab42-3a28357ab229_900x1200-jpeg.jpg) The salted sardines were placed in a Mason jar (Kilner jar to those in the UK). I closed it, and put it on top of the heated mat in one of those insulated Coleman camping coolers to maintain a constant temperature. Then I put the cooler in a corner of the apartment... ![](https://lostsupper.blog/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ff554a507-dce5-48e0-869c-260f65fbd196_640x427-jpeg.jpg) Ancient recipes call for 3 months' fermentation (in open vats, under the Mediterranean sun); modern Asian fish sauces are fermented for 12 months+. I let mine go for about 3.5 months, with shakes of the jar every couple of days to keep everything mixed. ![](https://lostsupper.blog/content/images/2024/01/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2f513a4d8a-9912-438a-991c-90d1d00b26ab_1200x948-jpeg.jpg) How did it turn out? All will be revealed, cricket. Watch this space for Pt. 11: The Garum Strikes Back.