SC - Definition

[Peters, Rise J.]

Peters, Rise J. wrote:
 =

> fra nicol=A2 difrancesco kindly described liquamen/garum, to which on f=
irst
> reading my reaction is ... ugh.  Does it taste better than it sounds?

I dunno. How does it sound? If it sounds unpleasant, then I suspect you
are reacting badly to an unfamiliar process you don't understand. How
are you on soy sauce? Worcestershire sauce? Hard Genoa salami or Polish
summer sausage? All of these are made using techniques common to
themselves and to liquamen.

If you've ever eaten Thai, Vietnamese or even some Chinese cooking, then
you have probably tasted something very close to liquamen =


> And
> how does it taste in recipes that otherwise sound fairly sweet (like th=
e
> ground nuts, eggs, pepper & honey in the recipe challenge)?

Actually, not bad. Mostly it's a more flavorful way to add salt. The
other flavors (there are some oils and acids there too) probably aren't
immediately identifiable when added to other foods. If, for instance,
you were to fry pancakes in bacon fat, you probably wouldn't immediately
think of eating bacon. In the same way, very few Roman dishes seasoned
with liquamen scream of fish, and almost everything in Apicius calls for
it.

Adamantius