SC - Garum

[Melissa Martines]

     I made some garum for the Roman Feast I did at our local May Tourney.
     I used mackerel (3.5 pounds cut into chunks), a lot of salt (6 pounds) 
     oregano, coriander and cumin.
     
     I let it steep two weeks in the back of my car (I used a plastic beer 
     fermenter for this) which sits in the sun most days (I went for two 
     weeks since the Tennessee sunshine in March is probably not as 
     powerful as the Italian).
     
     Then, I began stirring it.  It does make a nice, clear, oily liquid.  
     And, thanks probably to the salt, it never smelled (for which my lord 
     was very grateful when I moved it into the house).
     
     The overwhelming taste of the stuff was salt.  There was an undertaste 
     of fish, and the herbs left a pleasant aftertaste.
     
     Everyone who tried it liked it -- the Baroness particularly liked it 
     on the hardboiled egges in the salad :).
     
     In my research, I concluded that when recipes call for it, they are 
     actually after the salt taste.  The fish oil (very rich in nutrients) 
     is an added benefit without a lot of added taste.
     
     Morgan