Oldest Cookbook in the West | APICIUS | Ancient Roman Mussels
Fried Peacock? Flamingo Tongue? Stuffed Dormouse? I decided to hold off on the more adventurous recipes in Apicius De Re Coquinaria, the oldest cookbook in the west, and opted for a simple steamed mussels using some classic Roman ingredients.
Help Support the Channel with Patreon:
Follow Tasting History with Max Miller here:
Instagram:
Twitter:
LINKS TO INGREDIENTS**
Colatura di Alici:
Summer Savory:
LINKS TO SOURCES**
The Roman Cookery Book by Barbara Fowler & Elisabeth Rosenbaum:
Cooking and Dining In Imperial Rome by Apicius:
Food: A Cultural Culinary History by Ken Albala (Audiobook):
**Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links, so each purchase made from this link, whether this product or another, will help to support this channel with no additional cost to you.
MAKING GARUM EPISODE
IN MITULIS (MUSSELS)
ORIGINAL FOURTH CENTURY RECIPE (From Apicius De Re Coquinaria)
lN MITULIS: liquamen, porrum concisum, cuminum, passum, satureiam, vinum, mixtum facies aquatius et ibi mitulos coques.
“ Mix liquamen, chopped leek, cumin, passum, savory, and wine, dilute the mixture with water, and cook the mussels in it.”
MODERN RECIPE
INGREDIENTS (Amounts are approximate)
- 2 lbs of Live Mussels
- 1 tablespoon Liquamen/Garum/fish sauce
- ⅛ cup of Passum or Vin Santo or fortified sweet wine
- 1 cup of chopped leek
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp dried savory (I’ll link to that in the description as well)
- ¼ cup of white wine
- About ¾ cup Water (Or substitute more wine)
METHOD
1. Wash the mussels and make sure that all are alive
2. Combine all ingredients except the mussels in a large pot. Depending on the pot, there should be about 1/2 inch of liquid at the bottom. Add more wine or water if necessary. Set over medium high heat until simmering.
3. Add mussels to the pot and cover and let steam for 5 minutes.
4. Once the mussels have opened, remove from the heat and serve. Any mussels that have not opened should be discarded.
Photo Credits
Apicius Manuscript - By Bonho1962 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
De Re Coquinaria - Wellcome Library / CC BY (
Carthage - damian entwistle / CC BY-SA (
Peacock - Jatin Sindhu / CC BY-SA (
Boar Mosaic - By Jerzy Strzelecki - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
Sea Urchin - Filip Maljković from Pancevo, Serbia / CC BY-SA (
Dormouse - Zoë Helene Kindermann / CC BY (
Music Credits
Music: Feather Duster by Shane Ivers -
#tastinghistory #ancientrome #apicius #derecoquinaria #foodhistory
Roman Spiced Wine Conditon Paradoxum | The World That Was
This week, made some spiced wine recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud, AND by Apicius! This wine is fairly simple to make, and has a delightful warmth to it - thanks to the spices in it, making it a great drink to have for Saturnalia!
The full recipe will be posted on my Blogspot!
Check out my Patreon!
Music: Lyra Et Cythara - Synaulia
My Blogspot:
My Tumblr:
My Twitter:
Making Hippocras at Home | Medieval Spiced Wine
Using spices that I'd never heard of, I recreate the Hippocras recipe from The Forme of Cury. Served hot or cold, this spiced wine is a treat year round.
Follow Tasting History with Max Miller here:
Instagram:
Twitter:
Reddit: r/TastingHistory
Help Support the Channel with Patreon:
LINKS TO INGREDIENTS & TOOLS**
Conical Coffee Filter:
Cinnamon Sticks:
Galangal:
Cloves:
Long Pepper:
Grains of Paradise:
Nutmeg:
Marjoram:
Cardamom:
Spikenard:
LINKS TO SOURCES**
The Forme of Cury:
To The King's Taste by Lorna J. Sass:
The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan:
The Trial of Gilles de Rais by George Bataille:
**Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links, so each purchase made from this link, whether this product or another, will help to support this channel with no additional cost to you.
MENTIONED LINKS
The Four Humors:
HIPPOCRAS
ORIGINAL 14TH CENTURY RECIPE (From The Forme of Cury)
Pur Fait Ypocras Treys unces de canell & iii unces de gyngenuer, spykenard de spayn le pays dun denerer, garyngale, clowes gylofre, poeurer long, noiez mugadez, maziozame, cardomonij de chescun i quart’ douce grayne & de paradys, flour de queynel, de chescun dm unce de toutes soit fait powdour, &c.
To Make Hippocras: Three ounces of cinnamon and three ounces of ginger, spikenard of Spain the size of a denier (or small french coin). Galangal, cloves, long pepper, nutmeg, marjoram, cardamom, a quarter ounce. 1/10th ounce Grains of paradise and powdered cinnamon, etc.
MODERN RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Bottles Red or White Wine
- 1 ounce (28g) of cinnamon sticks
- 1 ounce (28g) of fresh ginger slices
- ¼ Teaspoon spikenard root
- 1 Teaspoon galangal
- 1 Teaspoon cloves
- 1 Teaspoon Long pepper
- 1 Teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 Teaspoon Marjoram
- 1 Teaspoon Cardamom
- ½ Teaspoon Grains of Paradise
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
METHOD
1. Pour the wine into a large pitcher. Grind your spices and mix them into the wine. Cover the container and let sit for 1 to 2 days.
2. Pour the wine into another pitcher through a coffee filter or jelly bag to remove any spices*. Serve wine warm, cold, or at room temperature.
*The remaining spices can be used in stews, sauces, or to make soap.
PHOTO CREDITS
Apicius: By Bonho1962 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
Roman Wine: Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany / CC BY-SA (
Sangria: Evan Swigart from Chicago, USA / CC BY (
Weinachtsmarkt: Chistiane Tubbesing, Göttingen / CC BY-SA (
Gluhwein Boot: BKP / CC BY-SA (
#tastinghistory #hippocras #hypocras #spicedwinerecipe