Garum

La salsa fermentada del Imperio

          Garum was a sauce made from fish viscera fermented in the sun, highly valued in the Roman world for its intense flavor and unique properties.

          Considered an aphrodisiac food, garum was consumed mainly by the upper classes of society. It replaced salt in many preparations, adding a salty and complex flavor. It was also mixed with wine, vinegar, pepper, oil, blood, or water to season meats, fish, and other delicacies.

          Beyond cooking, garum had medicinal and cosmetic uses, and was the subject of intense trade throughout the Empire. Major production centers have been documented in:

• Baelo Claudia (Spain),
• Carthago Nova (Cartagena),
• Pompeii (Italy), and
• Lixus (Morocco),

all of them close to the sea and strategically located for the product’s distribution.

📜 Classical sources

• Apicius, author of the culinary treatise De re coquinaria, mentions garum 42 times, both alone and mixed with other ingredients.
• Marcial, in his Epigrams, makes ironic remarks about the smell of garum and alludes to its supposed aphrodisiac effects.
• Pliny the Elder, in his Naturalis Historia, mentions it as a condiment, a remedy, and a commercial product.

Garum: origin, production, and legacy

📜 Origin

          Garum has its origin in 4th century BC Greece, although it is suspected that it was already used earlier in Mesopotamia. The name comes from the Greek garon (mackerel) and refers to the fish whose viscera were used to make this fermented sauce.

Production

          It was made with the viscera of fatty fish macerated in brine and exposed to the sun. The mixture, often enriched with herbs such as mint or coriander, was stirred several times a day until it acquired a liquid consistency.
          Once ready, it was filtered: the resulting liquid—the liquamen—was the most valued and expensive part, although the rest was also marketed.

Production in Hispania

          Hispania was one of the main production and export centers of garum in the Empire. Among the most notable factories were those of:

• Baelo Claudia (Bolonia, Cádiz)
• Sexi (Almuñécar)
• Carteia (San Roque)
• Málaga (Alcazabilla Street, Carmen Thyssen Museum, Rectorate, Metro)
• Ceuta (Palmeras Promenade)
• Mazarrón (Region of Murcia)
• El Majuelo (Almuñécar)
• Gigia (Gijón)
• Menorca and Mallorca, specialized in export
• Carthago Nova (Cartagena), one of the main export ports

          Archaeological studies indicate that anchovy was the most commonly used fish, followed by sardine, horse mackerel, mullet, rock brotula, mackerel, turbot, and bluefin tuna.