Confectio Gari Pompeiani. Procedimiento experimental para la elaboración de salsas de pescado romanas

Abstract

The present work publishes for the first time the results of an experimental process carried out in cooperation between the Universities of Cádiz and Seville. This process, involving the participation of archaeologists and experts in biochemistry, has been effected in the chemical engineering department of the University of Cádiz and has focused on the characterization and reproduction of the famous Graeco- Roman salted fish sauce known as garum (liquamen), of a solid by-product of this sauce (hallec) and of a secondary, lesser quality, sauce known in Latin as muria. The philo- logical analysis of ancient recipes (confectio gari) and the analysis of the residues collected in the so-called bottega or Garum Shop, in Pompeii, have permitted their artisanal re- production in the laboratory. The physical aspect and ali- mentary features of these products coincide with those de- scribed in the ancient sources and with the organic residues under analysis.