[Sca-cooks] Re: ancient Roman cookery

[Terry Decker]

Silphium (AKA sylphium, silphion, laser, laserpicium, etc.) is an extinct 
member of the genus Ferula, unless one takes the opinion that it is Ferula 
tingitana.  The plant is dipicted on the back of Cyrenian coins.  If 
silphium is F. tingitana, it is making a comeback in North Africa and is not 
total extinct.

There is a question as to whether or not laser was originally attributed to 
silphium and then transferred to asafoetida, or whether it was always used 
for asafoetida.  In either case, I gather that asafoetida was considered a 
poor substitute for silphium.

I also doubt lemongrass is a proper substitute for silphium.

Gernot Katzer provides some interesting information on the subject.

http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?Silphion.html

Bear


> On Sep 29, 2005, at 12:47 PM, Aurelia Coritana wrote:
>
>> Serena, thank you so much for the roast recipe! It looks yummy.  Since 
>> laser is extinct, lemongrass is a pretty good substitute for  those 
>> (many) recipes that call for laser.
>
> I'm sure it would work, but if I may ask, how close does it come? I  know 
> asafeotida is a common substitute used in period when Cyrenacian  sylphium 
> vanished, but it's not clear [to me] whether it's actually  similar or 
> merely another strong-flavored root or resin. What _is_  clear, however, 
> is that lemongrass and asafeotida are really  different (asafeotida tastes 
> a bit like garlicky musk). What's the  rationale for lemongrass? I ask 
> only because it's an ingredient  substitution I've never heard of until 
> now, and I've been doing Roman  food for a while myself.
>
> Hey, I even _like_ lemongrass more than I like asafeotida, although  the 
> latter is great with fish dishes ;-).
>
> Adamantius