[Sca-cooks] hypotrimma (was originals and redactions)

[A]

The Liddell and Scott Greek Lexicon defines it as "a dish compounded of 
various ingredients pounded up together" and gives the Latin equivalent, 
"moretum."  The Romans loved to use Greek names to make foods sound 
fancier, just as English-speaking people sometimes do with French.  The 
"hypo-" prefix doesn't always mean "under," but can mean modify the word 
to mean "just slightly" or "a little" - as here, combined with the noun 
"trimma," which means "something that's been rubbed or beaten" 
(apparently from some form of "tremo," which means "tremble or shake").  
Hope that more-or-less answers the first question...

As for exactly what this hypotrimma stuff is, my guess is that it would 
be a paste or a spread - the dates and cheese would probably give the 
most substance to it.  It is possible, I guess, to beat the ingredients 
into something thin enough to be called a sauce, especially if you're 
stingy with dates and cheese and use more of the liquid ingredients; but 
I'm willing to put my trust in the lexicon (usually quite accurate about 
whether something is sweet, savory, main dish, sauce, etc), which calls 
it a "dish."  That suggests to me that it's served on its own, maybe 
eaten on bread; or else, perhaps, to accompany something like roasted 
meat, but not covering it like a sauce (if that makes sense).

Let me dig through some of my books and see if I come across any 
clues....hope the etymology stuff is helpful, at any rate. :)


Vittoria
(who used to be on this list a year or two ago, and has returned, after 
a move from the West Kingdom to the East...)

t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net wrote:

>The first question which pops into my mind is, "What is the translation of
>"hypotrimma."   (One possibility is "under three years.")
>
>Bear
>
>
>  
>
>>Hypotrimma. Pepper, lovage, dry mint, pine nuts, raisins, Jericho
>>date, sweet cheese, honey, vinegar, fish sauce,oil, wine, defrutum or
>>caroenum
>>[Apicius, Book I, Chapter XIX]
>>
>>First, what it this? It was in a chapter with sauces. But some
>>chapters contain a variety of dishes, or the occasional dish that is
>>different slips into a chapter. So, is it a sauce, a spread, a savory
>>snack? If a sauce, what sort of dish should it accompany? It doesn't
>>say...
>>
>>Anahita
>>    
>>