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(, translating to "anchovy drippings") is an Italian
JSTOR
/ref> The recipe for garum was recovered by a group of
(, translating to "anchovy drippings") is an Italian fish sauce
Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, P ...
made from anchovies
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...
, from the small fishing village of Cetara
Cetera or cetara is a plucked string instrument played in Corsica. It has sixteen, or sometimes eighteen, metal strings, running in paired courses, with a body similar to the mandolin, but larger, and is plucked with a plectrum made of horn o ...
, Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
. The sauce is a transparent, amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...
-colored liquid, produced by fermenting salted anchovies inside ''terzigni'', small chestnut barrels. The fish used in the sauce are harvested from the Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi Coast ( it, Costiera amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline in southern Italy overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno. It is located south of the Sorrentine Peninsula and north of the Cilentan Coast.
Celebrated worldwide ...
between March 25 (Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
) and July 22 (Feast of Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
).
History
The origins of ''colatura di alici'' date back toancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
, where a similar sauce known as garum
Garum is a fermented fish sauce that was used as a condiment in the cuisines of Phoenicia, ancient Greece, Rome, Carthage and later Byzantium. Liquamen is a similar preparation, and at times they were synonymous. Although garum enjoyed its grea ...
was widely used as a condiment. David Downie, "A Roman Anchovy's Tale" in ''Gastronomica'' vol. 3 (2003) pp. 25-2JSTOR
/ref> The recipe for garum was recovered by a group of
Medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
monks, who would salt anchovies in wooden barrels every August, allowing the fish sauce to drip away through the cracks of the barrels over the course of the process. Eventually the process spread across the region and was perfected by using wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
As ...
sheets to filter the fish sauce. One common way this fish sauce has been used is in a dish called ''spaghetti alla colatura di alici'', which includes small amounts of the fish sauce with spaghetti, garlic, and olive oil.
See also
* * *References