Story of Garum

Sally Grainger is an independent scholar with degrees in ancient history and archaeology. She is a food historian, chef and experimental archaeologist. She has worked with many university institutions and museums helping to interpret the foodways of ancient societies. She has published widely in food history, and jointly with Andrew Dalby she wrote the acclaimed Classical Cook Book, and with her husband Dr Christopher Grocock she edited and translated the recipe text known as Apicius. She continues to collaborate with archaeologist in research into the various ways in which ancient fish sauces were made, traded and consumed.

"A well-written, detailed, and insightful study on fermented fish sauce production and trade in the ancient classical world. Grainger combines her training as an historian and archaeologist along with her experience as a food historian and chef to provide a unique blend of expertise. She challenges some existing interpretations and assumptions about garum (e.g. that garum tasted rotten or bad) and suggests new ways to address the topic.[...]Lastly, while it is primarily written for an academic audience, I would also recommend the book as a good read for anyone with an interest in ancient foodways." - Andrea Yankowski, Ethnoarchaeology

• Introduction; 1. Fish sauce in Classical literature; 2. Fish sauce in the consumption literature: a literary and archaeological chronology; 3 Fish sauce in culinary, medical and veterinary sources; 4. Fish sauce from Papyri in Greek speaking Egypt; 5. Fish sauce in the late Roman, Byzantine and medieval world; 6. Fish sauce from an Archaeological perspective; 7. Fermented fish sauce in South East Asia; 8. Modern fish sauce experiments; 9. Fishing in the Mediterranean; 10. The infrastructure of fish sauce manufacture; 11. Fish bones as evidence of sauce; 12. Fish sauce amphorae as functional vessels; Afterword