[Sca-cooks] Re: ancient Roman cookery

[Barbara Benson]

Greetings,

OK, here is what one of my books has to say about the issue.

>From Around the Roman Table by Patrick Faas (p155 - 156):
*****
Laserpithium, or silphium as the Greeks called it, is extinct, and
this is the Romans' fault, The herb used to grow abundantly in North
Africa, in the province of Cyrenaica (Libya). It was the country's
main export, and became a national symbol, appearing on coins and
reliefs. The plant itself was eaten, the stem boiled or roasted, but
the juice extracted from the roots was more important. It was called
laser.

Sadly the plant could not be cultivated, and had to be gathered in the
wild. It was worth its weight in gold. Apicius, who was generally
happy to pay considerable sums for his food, provides a cooking tip to
make a little laser go a long way. He stored it in pine nuts, which
absorbed its flavour. When a recipe called for laser, Apicius used the
flavoured pine nuts.

With full-scale plunder of laser for Roman gourmets the herb became
increasingly scarce. For some decades it appeared to have died out,
but then one more plant was found. Rather than leave it alone in the
hope it might propagate itself, it was picked and sent to Rome, where
it was given to Nero. The last laser plant vanished into the fat
emperor's belly.

>From that point on the Romans fell back on substitutes. Silphium
parthicum grew in Persia and Armenia. Pliny suggests that this variety
was greatly inferior. It still exists, known as ferula asafoetida. An
extract is made from the root juices and can be bought from Indian
grocers as a liquid, paste or powder under the name asafoetida or
heeng. It is a popular ingredient in India, Afghanistan and the Middle
East, but its strong, garlicky aroma has never appealed to northern
European palates.

Asafoetida - which means 'stink root' - has a penetrating flavour. The
tiniest amount enriches a dish, while too much makes it inedible. It
is not used in Italy, where it failed to become an accepted substitute
for the real thing. Modern Italians use garlic where Apicius called
for laser. In a way garlic has always been a laser substitute. Even
when laser was still available, it was too expensive for the poor, who
used garlic (Plin, N.H. XIX-xv).

*****

I have never taken a poll regarding what people thought about the
accuracy of this source. It does not have a bibliography, but
frequently cites sources within the text (as seen above). Most of the
things that he discusses and addresses seems to jive with the other
sources that I have read - so I am inclined to give it weight.

I have some Asafoetida sitting on my shelf, but have not had the
opportunity to play with it yet. It appears to me, that if you cannot
get it then garlic is a perfectly appropriate substitute.

It also would not surprise me if it is indeed making a comeback from
some lost lonely plant that survived out in the wild. Where did you
see info regarding that Bear?

Glad Tidings,

--Serena da Riva