Fish sauce from the Mediterranean

Fish sauce is the secret sauce of many delicious meals in Southeast Asia today. There are many versions of fish sauce. Before there was fish sauce that we are familiar with today, food cultures around the world had many similarities, including salty condiments like fish sauce.

Currently, European cuisine uses salt for cooking mostly. We have never even heard of or found the use of fish sauce in cooking, but there are still some eating traditions from civilization that remain until today. There is still fish sauce produced in Spain (Flor de garum) or southwestern Italy (Colatura di alici). It is seen that there is still local fish sauce production following the pattern of the Romans and Greeks in ancient times. It might be due to the different proportions of salt and fish used and the fermentation time, resulting in a fish sauce that is different from what Asians are used to.

which is made by fermenting small fish with salt to form an amber flavoring, since the 7th century BC? The Romans

themselves, since ancient times, had something called "garum" which is the same thing as the "garos" of the Greeks. There were also many other forms, such as "liquamen" which is mixed with fish sauce and is of lower quality than garos. There were also “Muria”, “Allec” and “Haimation” which are different from the fish that were produced. Other condiments “garum” were popular to mix with wine or vinegar in those days.Evidence of the discovery of salty water produced by this fish can be found in many countries, including Tunisia, Spain, and even Morocco, all of which are countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to having a pleasing taste, it is also a food preserver and a low-cost source of protein, especially for the poor.

Fish sauce was widely popular during Roman times in the 1st century AD. It has been discovered that more than 350 cookbooks use fish sauce as a flavoring. Even dessert menus cannot escape the influence of this seasoning. We can only wonder what the smell and taste will be like. Some food historians have experimented and replicated recipes by mixing fish sauce with wine, vinegar, honey, herbs, and spices. Fish sauce from this traditional production method will have a less salty taste than today's fish sauce. Even some chefs have found ways to use fish sauce in the ancient way by using it to add flavor and dimension to food.

Although fish sauce was not as popular as the wine or olive oil industries, it was considered a good business scale at the time. Fish sauce factories have been discovered mainly on the Mediterranean coast, whether in southern France, Spain, Portugal or northern Africa. There is evidence that during the reign of Augustus in Spain, the highest quality fish sauce was produced, with a production capacity of up to 1 ton, which was considered a lot for that era.

Why has this delicious and best-selling fish sauce disappeared from Europe? According to food historians, there are two reasons for this.

- The first is that "salt" is listed as a high tax, affecting the production of fish sauce, which requires a large amount of salt.

- The second is that “pirates” controlled the seas after the fall of the Roman Empire. Fish sauce-producing ports lacked protection from the Roman Empire, putting people at risk of being attacked or killed. The area became too dangerous to make fish sauce.

Some believe that fish sauce traveled from Europe via the Silk Road to Asia and was then transported to Southeast Asia. Some believe that local people used to make fish sauce before. Both assumptions may be correct if additional evidence is discovered in the future. Finally, fish sauce has become famous as a food in Southeast Asia today thanks to travel between continents and tourism of people who come to exchange knowledge of local culture and are interested in trying delicious food prepared with fish sauce.

Dannylion. "เปิดตำนานน้ำปลา." True ID, 13 May 2021, food.trueid.net/detail/ZwQ6eRm6z0Mo. Accessed 19 Aug. 2023.

Henesy, Declan. "Fish Sauce in the Ancient World." World History Encyclopedia, 16 Oct. 2018, www.worldhistory.org/article/1276/fish-sauce-in-the-ancient-world/. Accessed 19 Aug. 2023.

Prichep, Deena . "Fish Sauce: An Ancient Roman Condiment Rises Again." Npr, 26 Oct. 2013, www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/10/26/240237774/fish-sauce-an-ancient-roman-condiment-rises-again. Accessed 19 Aug. 2023.