[SunkenCiv]

• Pompeii 'fast food' bar unearthed in ancient city after 2,000 years [2019]
• 200,000 fish bones suggest ancient Scandinavian people were more complex than thought [2016]
• Sunken haul of Roman fish sauce found off Italy [2015]
• How a Ship Full of Fish Helped Recreate an Ancient Fish Sauce [2012]
• Roman Shipwreck Discovered Near Aeolian Islands [2010]
• Fish Sauce Used to Date Pompeii Eruption [ garum / liquamen] [2008]
• Waiter, There's a Fish in My Wine! [2005]

[wastoute]

We have a town in Virginia, Kilmarnock, that boasts “that’s the smell of money.” I suppose if it’s money for you maybe it is. When it ain’t money for you it’s a stench.

[BobL]

May not be a bad skill to learn, considering...

[dainbramaged]

Being downwind from a pulp mill on a hot day is no picnic, either.

[rdl6989]

Here’s a video showing how fish sauce is made today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gul4c7jAagU

[Joe 6-pack]

The Supersizers... is an excellent BBC series primarily focused on culinary history.

In the episode Supersizers Eat: Ancient Rome, they indulge in some garum.

[READINABLUESTATE]

If this is anything like padaek, (Lao fish sauce) I understand.

[texas_mrs]

In my town, we have our dairies and feed lots for beef cattle. Often city dwellers will move here and then bitch about the smell. Go figure.

[Honest Nigerian]

In Mike Duncan’s podcast series “The History of Rome” he gives a very detailed explanation of what garum is (and what it is not), how it is made, etc. Was very fascinating.

[TXnMA]

Aaaaah! Fish sauce!

The owner of our favorite Thai restaurant is a cute little lady -- with whom I have an ongoing contest. She knows I love her "secret" hot sauce -- and she keeps on trying to make it too "hot" (spicy) for me.

Last time I was there, she personally served me a fresh dish of her "special sauce" -- and it was great! At the end of the meal, she came out to see how I'd fared with her sauce. So, I praised it highly, and then, picked up the dish -- and took a healthy sip.

Her eyes opened widely, and, she exclaimed, "This time, I put Ghos' Peppah in him!"

TXnMA     ;-)
  

[Manly Warrior]

And here I thought some British dude invented Worcestershire sauce just a few hundred years ago....

[wildbill]

The S. E.Asian countries all use a “fragrant” fermented fish sauce that will give garum a run for the money. I used to frequent a restaurant where a group of Asian businessmen met in a private room for lunch. When the Nuoc Cham came out, I saw the rest of the restaurant diners begin to order their checks and leave, those closest to the private area first.

The Quality of Fish Sauce

An article on a Vietnamese website describes the fermentation process in detail: As soon as fishing boats return with their catch, the fish are rinsed and drained, then mixed with sea salt—two to three parts fish to one part salt by weight. They are then pressed into large earthenware jars, lined on the bottom with a layer of salt, and topped with a layer of salt. A woven bamboo mat is placed over the fish and weighed down with heavy rocks to prevent the fish floating when the water inside them is extracted by the salt and fermentation process. The jars are covered and left in the sun for nine months to a year.

The flavor takes time to develop, as the article goes on to explain: From time to time, they are uncovered to expose the mixture to direct, hot sunshine, which helps to ‘digest’ the fish and turn it into a fluid. Periodic ‘sunning’ produces a superior fragrant fish sauce with a clear, reddish-brown color. Eventually, the liquid is removed from the jars, preferably through a spigot on the bottom so that it passes through the layers of fish remains. Any sediment is removed and the filtered fish sauce is transferred to clean jars and allowed to air in the sun for a couple of weeks to dissipate the strong fishy odor. It is then ready for bottling. The finished product is 100 percent, top-grade, genuine fish sauce.

[colorado tanker]

One of my daughters spent a lot of time in Thailand with local folks. She says making fish sauce really stinks.

It's tasty, though!

[waterhill]

Who has the cooking thread ping list?