Ancient Romans used fermented fish sauce called garum as their primary condiment on nearly every dish—so valuable it was traded empire-wide and some varieties cost more than perfume.
Notes on verification
Extensively documented in classical texts and Roman archaeological studies [2026-08-28 re-verified orphan: promoted with 5 independent source(s)] [2026-08-29 audit re-verified: 7 independent source(s)]
Sources
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/what-is-garum-rome-fish-sauce (reverify-primary)
- https://exarc.net/issue-2023-3/at/garum-sardiniae-tabula-rediscovering-ancient-taste-roman-cuisine (corroboration)
- https://romanempiretimes.com/garum-the-unami-of-ancient-rome/ (corroboration)
- https://www.unrv.com/culture/garum.php (corroboration)
- https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/10/26/240237774/fish-sauce-an-ancient-roman-condiment-rises-again (corroboration)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garum (audit-corroboration)
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/recoving-the-recipe-for-garum-180978846/ (audit-corroboration)
- https://cibiantiquorum.com/garum/ (audit-corroboration)
- https://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/10/26/240237774/fish-sauce-an-ancient-roman-condiment-rises-again (audit-corroboration)
- https://scienceinsights.org/what-is-garum-ancient-romes-favorite-condiment/ (audit-corroboration)