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+---- Thread: Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog (/showthread.php?tid=21673)
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Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - Epictetus - 03-12-2013
Yes, I'm thinking of sourdough. Here is the thread I made when I did the grape juice bread. I basically handled it like one would a sour dough. I just wasn't sure what stage of the process "to prove" applied to.
Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - Vindex - 03-14-2013
Proving bread usually means to let it rest after mixing the ingredents (the key to good pastry too).
I understand that a bread maker's/pastry maker's hands need to be cool and not too warm otherwise it affects the ability of the yeast as an active ingredient. Over handling is also to be avoided. I usually let bread rest with a dampened cloth over it in the coolest place I can find but not the fridge, and certainly away from a warm kitchen. I am more used to using "modern" ingredients though so will certainly bow to those making such old recipes.
Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - Kegluneq - 03-14-2013
Quote:Proving bread usually means to let it rest after mixing the ingredents (the key to good pastry too).Huh. Most recipes (taken from flour packets, I have to admit) say to leave it in a warm place - my house has no shortage of cool places at least! Next time I try (spelt flour with modern yeast, rather than the more authentic sourdough) I'll leave it for longer in a cool place.
I understand that a bread maker's/pastry maker's hands need to be cool and not too warm otherwise it affects the ability of the yeast as an active ingredient. Over handling is also to be avoided. I usually let bread rest with a dampened cloth over it in the coolest place I can find but not the fridge, and certainly away from a warm kitchen. I am more used to using "modern" ingredients though so will certainly bow to those making such old recipes.
My inability to make fresh bread that isn't a brick/soggy on the inside is rather depressing for me!
Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - Vindex - 03-14-2013
Like I said, happy to be wrong but I certainly haven't had soggy middled bread for a while. It's very sunjective I suppose. depends on how cool I think cool is as opposed to your warm! :wink:
Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - Kegluneq - 03-18-2013
Quote:Like I said, happy to be wrong but I certainly haven't had soggy middled bread for a while. It's very sunjective I suppose. depends on how cool I think cool is as opposed to your warm! :wink:Paul Hollywood (he of Great British Bake Off fame) doesn't specify a temperature at all so clearly I'm over thinking things - he does say it can be left for several hours though. There's a supplement in today's Telegraph by him which also gives a basic method for making sourdough which I'm tempted to follow at some point, although I should probably try to master bread first...
Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - Alanus - 03-18-2013
Quote:Worcestershire sauce seems closer to the original Asian ketchups, in that they are a mix of ingredients for flavour with the fish sauce providing a salty distinctive base. I think Thai fish sauces like Nam Pla are closer to the original garum, although I've not been brave enough to try them in anything other than a stir fry so far.
I wish I could find the source, but someone did a study on garum and determined it was heavily laced with monsodium glutimate (MSG)... not particularly healthy; and along with lead piping may have been one of the reasons Roman genes kinda shriveled. :whistle:
Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - Vindex - 03-18-2013
Quote: There's a supplement in today's Telegraph by him which also gives a basic method for making sourdough which I'm tempted to follow at some point, although I should probably try to master bread first...
Bother. Missed that!
Alan - was it garum or the fish sauce the study was done on? I think MSG as an additive is relatively new (turn of the 1900s). I've just added the recommended "garum" from the blog and boy does it make a difference to spelt! Much better than soy sauce and although my spelt was softened in strong chicken stock, the subtle change with only a tablespoon of "garum" was very obvious. (Recipe was spelt, canneli beans and diced, salt pork - yummy!)
Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - Alanus - 03-18-2013
Hello, Moi
I once made a "repro" garum from asian fish sauce and anchovy paste. It was EXCELLENT! I used it on "scrooched eggs" and steak... just like we use Worcestershire.
illy:
Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - Vindex - 03-18-2013
Garum isn't as tangy as W sauce, though, is it?
I only ever use Worcestershire sauce on cheese on toast and in Bloody Marys. I am NOT puting garaum in/on either of those!
(and the only use for celery IMHO is to stir said Bloody Mary... :woot: )
Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - Alanus - 03-19-2013
I like my homemande garum because of the anchovy paste.
illy: I LOVE anchovies. While in Sicily, I learned how to make "pizza arabica," a pizza topped with fresh tomato sauce, parmasan cheese, anchovies, and capers... the last being the "arabica" part, I think. Supposedly, capers came over from Arab Tunisia, only about 40 miles from Sicilia.
illy:
Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - Vindex - 03-31-2013
Just had Parthian chicken and chick peas, recipes from the Pass the Garum blog and although I had to improvise a few ingredients, I really do think garum, or the fish sauce recommended by the blog, makes SUCH a difference to the expected tastes.
The date paste, too, really does add another dimension, particularly with the chicken , and at long last I am actually enjoying cooking again. :-)
Another bonus is that the house smells of delicious herbs and tantalising new smells.
Certainly an easy recipe to follow and certainly worth eating.
Pass the Garum - Roman Food Blog - PassTheGarum - 04-03-2013
It's hard not to approach garum/liquamen with certain preconceptions, but really, I think it gets an un-deserved reputation. I LOVE that you are all trying it and discovering how great it can be!
For one, it's not very fishy, but rather a savoury surprise with hints of meat and cheese. It brings the many beautiful herbs and spices in Roman cooking together. It is often said that the Romans over-spiced their food, attempting to hide any bad tastes. I disagree. I find that adding liquamen to a dish helps bring out each ingredient, leading to a journey of flavours.