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.
Sources
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/what-is-garum-rome-fish-sauce (nationalgeographic.com)
- https://exarc.net/issue-2023-3/at/garum-sardiniae-tabula-rediscovering-ancient-taste-roman-cuisine (exarc.net)
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- https://www.unrv.com/culture/garum.php (unrv.com)
- https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/10/26/240237774/fish-sauce-an-ancient-roman-condiment-rises-again (npr.org)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garum (en.wikipedia.org)
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/recoving-the-recipe-for-garum-180978846/ (smithsonianmag.com)
- https://cibiantiquorum.com/garum/ (cibiantiquorum.com)
- https://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/10/26/240237774/fish-sauce-an-ancient-roman-condiment-rises-again (npr.org)
- https://scienceinsights.org/what-is-garum-ancient-romes-favorite-condiment/ (scienceinsights.org)