A bowl with the garum. Even the Martial poet leaves us a recipe to prepare this sauce
The garum was the fish-based sauce with which the Romans flavored an infinite number of dishes (see:https://www.pilloledistoria.it/1787/storia-antica/garum-liquamen-salsa-preferita-dai-romani).
In the Urbe garum could be found of different quality, even very expensive, since the ways to make it, and the results from the point of view of flavor and gastronomic yield, were varied.
The famous poet Marco Valerio Marziale (38 or 41-104 AD) describes the following method:
“Use fatty fish such as sardines and mackerel, to which must be added, in a third portion, the entrails of various fish.
You need to have a well-pitched tub, with a capacity of about thirty liters.
At the bottom of the tub, lay another layer of dried, strong flavored herbs such as dill, coriander, fennel, celery, mint, pepper, saffron and oregano.
Arrange the entrails and small whole fish on this bottom, while the larger ones should be cut into small pieces.
Spread a layer of salt two fingers high on top.
Repeat the layers up to the rim of the container.
Let it sit for seven days.
Stir frequently for a few more days.
Eventually you will get a rather thick liquid, which is garum.
It will keep for a long time. ”
A condiment more or less similar to garum it was already present in Phoenician and Greek cuisine, but the first to make massive use of it were the Romans.