Cooking Apicius
I love cooking many different types of cuisines but cooking from Apicius is definitely my passion. The 2 book sources I like the most are:
B. Flower and E. Rosenbaum, The Roman Cookery Book: a Critical Translation of the Art of Cooking by Apicius for use in Study and the Kitchen (London, 1958)
and
C. Grocock and S. Grainger, Apicius : A Critical Edition
I hope you enjoy this cuisine as much as I do. I am always keen to learn more, so if I have made any gross errors or you have any suggestions or knowledge please feel free to contact me.
Strips of chicken breats
Lamb, leek and coriander
Tuna and haddock in Sauce for young grilled tuna
Short paper on Apicius for an SCA class
APICIUS REVEALED : Roman Cookery by Duke Alaric
When considering any cuisine the hardest part is where to begin and what sources of information to trust. The body of knowledge that has come down to us as “Apicius” is no exception. Whose translation of the Latin do you trust? Whose redaction of the recipes do you trust? Where does the legend of Marcus Gavius Apicius end and a collection of recipes begin? Who where the “target audience” for the recipes? Who wrote the book and why?
So many questions and most if any can not be definitely defined.
Translations
The two I like/ trust the most are:
B. Flower and E. Rosenbaum, The Roman Cookery Book: a Critical Translation of the Art of Cooking by Apicius for use in Study and the Kitchen (London, 1958)
C. Grocock and S. Grainger, Apicius : A Critical Edition
They both have a good balance between scholarly discourse and practical kitchen application ( Though Cooking Apicius and The Classical Cook Book maybe better sources of modern redacted recipes, both are co-authored by Sally Grainger)
Marcus Gavius Apicius
Marcus Gavius Apicius was a gourmand from the first century AD. He is said to have influenced Tiberius’ son Drusus to reject young cabbage as a too common a food. According to Claudius Antistius c AD 200, apparently the banquets that Apicius ran where wasteful, licentious, drunken orgies.
During his life he spent a large fortune on food and when he realised he could not continue his extravagant life style choose to commit suicide rather than living a more moderate life style.
By living the life he did, exorbitant life style and extravagant food became known as Apician.
The Book
Is believed to be written by several authors over the centuries and can best be described as a collection of recipes written down by cooks to be used by cooks. This is believed to be so as very few have exact amounts of proportions, but most are a list of ingredients to remind the cook what to add and a method to cook it. Also the choice of vernacular (words used) would more indicate working class rather than the elite.
The Book itself is divided into Ten Books which covers a wide range of food types, from the parochial like 1.10 How to Make Salted Meat Sweet to the extravagant 8.5.1 Fried Veal or to the weird (by our standards) 8.9 Stuffed Door mice.
N.B. 1.10, 8.5.1 and 8.9 refer to Book, Recipe, Variation of Recipe in the text of Apicius
Where to Begin
As with any cuisine, Roman cooking has a stock standard list of ingredients, condiments, sauces etc … there is even a list in the book on what should be available to every house hold. The primary ingredient is fish sauce or Garum. Whole chapters are dedicated to its Greek origins and how it evolved over the centuries of its use (oldest mention in 3rd century BC as garos to its far descendant as modern Thai fish sauce), there is certainly no consensus and still is a debated subject about exactly what it was. Grocock and Grainger contend that Garum, liquamen and muria are fairly interchangeable and at a practical level I agree. Here I would suggest further reading if you are interested about the pros and cons about the history of fish sauce.
Note on using Garum, treat it like salt, if you need a pinch add a few drops, if you need a handful add a goodly amount. Do not use like wine or BBQ sauce.
What to make before starting
Garum: It is fairly easy (if smelly) to make your own, how ever Thai Fish Sauce is a good substitute if you remember the Garum was made from fish to salt ratio of about 8:1 and Thai Fish Sauce ratio is closer to 3:1. Just watering it down does not work very well. However a very Roman way is to add defrutum / sapa (Sweet wine or grape juice reduced to a 1/3 of its original volume) till the original salt balanced is reached. This basically how the compound sauce Oenogarum is made (Garum + reduced wine + other spices, herbs, etc..).
Garum, liquamen and muria: Thai Fish Sauce mixed with defrutum
Defrutum / sapa: Made from reducing sweet wine or sweet grape juice (must) to 1/3 of its original volume.
Oenogarum: Garum + Defrutum (depending on whether you believe the dish calls for a more savoury or sweet Oenogarum make it up in 3 different ratios of Garum to defrutum for example 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2.
N.B. Of course only make these if required by recipes selected but Garum in one form of the other is in about 80% of the recipes.
How to Select Recipes
The best way is to read through the recipes in the translated text and make a note of the recipes that inspire you or you find interesting. Trim this down to ten or so dishes to test out. During testing I invite 4-5 people over (more if you can and are willing to cook for so many), who I know have varying tastes in food and ask for feed back on what worked /interesting/ vile/ what with modification can be improved. I usually only serve 3-4 new dishes at a time , so it usually takes several of these dinners to cover all the recipes for a feast. Do not be afraid to try something a little (or more than a little different), you may be surprised at how well they taste.
N.B. The recipes that follows are from Apicius, Grocock & Grainger
A Sample Menu
27 from the Extract of Apicius. A Simple Lamb Recipe: cut little chunks of from a skinner lamb, wash carefully and put in a pan. Add oil, liquamen, leek and coriander chopped with a knife. When it has begun to boil, stir it quite often and serve.
4.2.34 Patina of Peach: clean fairly fir peaches and cut into pieces, boil them and arrange in a dish, dribble a little oil over the top and serve with cumin sauce.
1.29 Cumin sauce: pepper, lovage, parsley, dried mint, folium, malabathrum, plenty of cumin, honey, vinegar and liquamen. (There are several other cumin sauces but this is my favourite) This is for the peaches.
4.2.2 Another Patina, omelette style: roast pine nuts and broken nuts and pound them with honey, pepper, liquamen, milk and eggs; add a little oil.
3.21.1 Fried or Parsnips: Fried and served with Oenogarum
3.6.3 Another recipe for cucumbers: (boil them in) pepper,pennyroyal*, honey or passum, liquamen and vinegar. Sometimes silphium is added.
5.3.1 Peas: cook them; when they have been skimmed, put in leek, coriander and cumin. Pound pepper, lovage, caraway, dill, green basil; pour on liquamen, flavour with wine and liquamen. Bring it to heat. When it is simmering, stir it. If any thing lacks, add it and server.
10.1.13 Sauce for grilled young Tuna: pepper, lovage, oregano, green coriander, onion, de-seeded raisins, passum, vinegar, liquamen, defrutum, oil and cook it. This sauce is also suitable for boiled fish. If you wish, add honey too.
8.9 Dormice: Stuff the dormice with pork forcemeat and also with the flesh from all parts of the dormouse, pounded with pepper, pine nuts, laser and liquamen. Sew them up and arrange them on a tile and put them in the oven or cook them, stuffed, in a clibanus.
6.2.22 Another Recipe: roast the bird, pound pepper, lovage, celery seed, roasted sesame seed, parsley, mint, dried onion, date, honey, wine, liquamen, vinegar, oil and flavour with defrutum. (N.B. I believe any bird will do)
Glossary
Clibanus: Portable baking oven.
Craticular: Portable stove / grill
Folium: mean leaf but is unclear witch leaf.
Laser: Also known as asafoetida, maidenly known as ‘hing’, ‘devil’s dung’ and ‘food of the gods’ is available as a resin or gum from a plant native to Afghanistan.
Malabathrum: Believed to be the leaf of cinnamon.
Oil: Olive oil
Passum: Raisin wine, Muscat wine is a reasonable substitute.
Patina: A type of cooking dish it also refers to certain type of food cooked in the dish, which was usually held together by eggs but not always.
Silphium: Laser/ asafoetida was a substitute for this spice and replaced it entirely when it became extinct.
*Pennyroyal is an abortive (please use with care, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennyroyal )
When considering any cuisine the hardest part is where to begin and what sources of information to trust. The body of knowledge that has come down to us as “Apicius” is no exception. Whose translation of the Latin do you trust? Whose redaction of the recipes do you trust? Where does the legend of Marcus Gavius Apicius end and a collection of recipes begin? Who where the “target audience” for the recipes? Who wrote the book and why?
So many questions and most if any can not be definitely defined.
Translations
The two I like/ trust the most are:
B. Flower and E. Rosenbaum, The Roman Cookery Book: a Critical Translation of the Art of Cooking by Apicius for use in Study and the Kitchen (London, 1958)
C. Grocock and S. Grainger, Apicius : A Critical Edition
They both have a good balance between scholarly discourse and practical kitchen application ( Though Cooking Apicius and The Classical Cook Book maybe better sources of modern redacted recipes, both are co-authored by Sally Grainger)
Marcus Gavius Apicius
Marcus Gavius Apicius was a gourmand from the first century AD. He is said to have influenced Tiberius’ son Drusus to reject young cabbage as a too common a food. According to Claudius Antistius c AD 200, apparently the banquets that Apicius ran where wasteful, licentious, drunken orgies.
During his life he spent a large fortune on food and when he realised he could not continue his extravagant life style choose to commit suicide rather than living a more moderate life style.
By living the life he did, exorbitant life style and extravagant food became known as Apician.
The Book
Is believed to be written by several authors over the centuries and can best be described as a collection of recipes written down by cooks to be used by cooks. This is believed to be so as very few have exact amounts of proportions, but most are a list of ingredients to remind the cook what to add and a method to cook it. Also the choice of vernacular (words used) would more indicate working class rather than the elite.
The Book itself is divided into Ten Books which covers a wide range of food types, from the parochial like 1.10 How to Make Salted Meat Sweet to the extravagant 8.5.1 Fried Veal or to the weird (by our standards) 8.9 Stuffed Door mice.
N.B. 1.10, 8.5.1 and 8.9 refer to Book, Recipe, Variation of Recipe in the text of Apicius
Where to Begin
As with any cuisine, Roman cooking has a stock standard list of ingredients, condiments, sauces etc … there is even a list in the book on what should be available to every house hold. The primary ingredient is fish sauce or Garum. Whole chapters are dedicated to its Greek origins and how it evolved over the centuries of its use (oldest mention in 3rd century BC as garos to its far descendant as modern Thai fish sauce), there is certainly no consensus and still is a debated subject about exactly what it was. Grocock and Grainger contend that Garum, liquamen and muria are fairly interchangeable and at a practical level I agree. Here I would suggest further reading if you are interested about the pros and cons about the history of fish sauce.
Note on using Garum, treat it like salt, if you need a pinch add a few drops, if you need a handful add a goodly amount. Do not use like wine or BBQ sauce.
What to make before starting
Garum: It is fairly easy (if smelly) to make your own, how ever Thai Fish Sauce is a good substitute if you remember the Garum was made from fish to salt ratio of about 8:1 and Thai Fish Sauce ratio is closer to 3:1. Just watering it down does not work very well. However a very Roman way is to add defrutum / sapa (Sweet wine or grape juice reduced to a 1/3 of its original volume) till the original salt balanced is reached. This basically how the compound sauce Oenogarum is made (Garum + reduced wine + other spices, herbs, etc..).
Garum, liquamen and muria: Thai Fish Sauce mixed with defrutum
Defrutum / sapa: Made from reducing sweet wine or sweet grape juice (must) to 1/3 of its original volume.
Oenogarum: Garum + Defrutum (depending on whether you believe the dish calls for a more savoury or sweet Oenogarum make it up in 3 different ratios of Garum to defrutum for example 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2.
N.B. Of course only make these if required by recipes selected but Garum in one form of the other is in about 80% of the recipes.
How to Select Recipes
The best way is to read through the recipes in the translated text and make a note of the recipes that inspire you or you find interesting. Trim this down to ten or so dishes to test out. During testing I invite 4-5 people over (more if you can and are willing to cook for so many), who I know have varying tastes in food and ask for feed back on what worked /interesting/ vile/ what with modification can be improved. I usually only serve 3-4 new dishes at a time , so it usually takes several of these dinners to cover all the recipes for a feast. Do not be afraid to try something a little (or more than a little different), you may be surprised at how well they taste.
N.B. The recipes that follows are from Apicius, Grocock & Grainger
A Sample Menu
27 from the Extract of Apicius. A Simple Lamb Recipe: cut little chunks of from a skinner lamb, wash carefully and put in a pan. Add oil, liquamen, leek and coriander chopped with a knife. When it has begun to boil, stir it quite often and serve.
4.2.34 Patina of Peach: clean fairly fir peaches and cut into pieces, boil them and arrange in a dish, dribble a little oil over the top and serve with cumin sauce.
1.29 Cumin sauce: pepper, lovage, parsley, dried mint, folium, malabathrum, plenty of cumin, honey, vinegar and liquamen. (There are several other cumin sauces but this is my favourite) This is for the peaches.
4.2.2 Another Patina, omelette style: roast pine nuts and broken nuts and pound them with honey, pepper, liquamen, milk and eggs; add a little oil.
3.21.1 Fried or Parsnips: Fried and served with Oenogarum
3.6.3 Another recipe for cucumbers: (boil them in) pepper,pennyroyal*, honey or passum, liquamen and vinegar. Sometimes silphium is added.
5.3.1 Peas: cook them; when they have been skimmed, put in leek, coriander and cumin. Pound pepper, lovage, caraway, dill, green basil; pour on liquamen, flavour with wine and liquamen. Bring it to heat. When it is simmering, stir it. If any thing lacks, add it and server.
10.1.13 Sauce for grilled young Tuna: pepper, lovage, oregano, green coriander, onion, de-seeded raisins, passum, vinegar, liquamen, defrutum, oil and cook it. This sauce is also suitable for boiled fish. If you wish, add honey too.
8.9 Dormice: Stuff the dormice with pork forcemeat and also with the flesh from all parts of the dormouse, pounded with pepper, pine nuts, laser and liquamen. Sew them up and arrange them on a tile and put them in the oven or cook them, stuffed, in a clibanus.
6.2.22 Another Recipe: roast the bird, pound pepper, lovage, celery seed, roasted sesame seed, parsley, mint, dried onion, date, honey, wine, liquamen, vinegar, oil and flavour with defrutum. (N.B. I believe any bird will do)
Glossary
Clibanus: Portable baking oven.
Craticular: Portable stove / grill
Folium: mean leaf but is unclear witch leaf.
Laser: Also known as asafoetida, maidenly known as ‘hing’, ‘devil’s dung’ and ‘food of the gods’ is available as a resin or gum from a plant native to Afghanistan.
Malabathrum: Believed to be the leaf of cinnamon.
Oil: Olive oil
Passum: Raisin wine, Muscat wine is a reasonable substitute.
Patina: A type of cooking dish it also refers to certain type of food cooked in the dish, which was usually held together by eggs but not always.
Silphium: Laser/ asafoetida was a substitute for this spice and replaced it entirely when it became extinct.
*Pennyroyal is an abortive (please use with care, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennyroyal )
