Apicius

Food as historical-social documentation is fast becoming one of my favorite subjects to dally in, and this book takes the title. It has been argued as civilization's first real, official "cookbook," and it's completely fascinating. You get a glimpse into the mechanics of the spice trade and migration of ingredients a la Waverly Root's Food Encyclopedia, as well as insight into what the Romans thought would render food safe. It's a fascinating document in the way the Ancient Chinese forensic show more manual The Washing Away of Wrongs is fascinating--a sort of window into historical and cultural modes of epistemic and moral codification. If you're into this stuff as I am, check it out. Similar food anthropology excavation stuff, albeit in entirely different contexts, comes up in Harvard essays deconstructing post-WWII Betty Crocker cookbooks, and museum entries on pioneer cookbooks, etc. I just totally get off on this sort of thing. show less

Who would have thought that a Roman cookery book would have come down through the ages when so much other great literature has been lost? I see that my copy was awarded as a school prize for ancient history - no doubt my choice raised eyebrows.
This book is worth a look for any cook - and a number of the recipes are feasible. The principal problem for the modern cook is reproducing those great staples of the Roman kitchen - liquamen (or garum) and defrutum. When I first followed these recipes show more I substituted anchovy sauce for liquamen but that really did not capture the taste of the original. Now that Asian travel has broadened our minds and palates, I suggest that nam pla (Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce) is a much more realistic substitute - the method of manufacture follows that of the Romans fairly closely. Similarly, it is now fairly easy to buy a substitute for defrutum - reduced unfermented grape juice. Fench or Californian bottled verjus is readily obtainable. The nam pla and verjus can be combined to make the Romans' table condiment - oenogarum.
The recipes show that the Romans liked their food highly spiced and seasoned. Apart from the ubiquitous liquamen, defrutum and vinegar, various pungent herbs and spices were all pressed into service: lovage, asafoetida, thyme, rue, pennyroyal, etc.
The determined Roman gourmet may find her local butcher's eyebrows raised at some of the requests for these recipes: cow's udders, wombs and dormice (glires) do not commonly adorn the carnal remains on the display shelves. show less

Translating Street-Latin isn't the easiest thing to do and this translation by Barbara Flower Elisabeth Alföldi-Rosenbaum was, for its time, a worthy attempt. It is however, rooted in the time that it was translated and as time goes by, it becomes more and more obvious how poor the translation really is. Just as the perception of 'authenticity' is deeply rooted in the time of interpretation and as more information is gained, so our perception changes. It would do to remember that when this show more book was translated, people thought it was authentic for vikings to have horned helmets!

A greated deal of authenticity should be expected from translation, than interpretation, however Street-Latin does require a greater level of interpretation than would be required of classical texts. As a consequence, although a valiant attempt at the time, this translation is showing more and more inaccuracies. show less

I was thrilled to receive Christopher Grocock and Sally Grainger's new comprehensive translation of the Apician cookbook, "Apicius, a Critical Edition". It is a masterwork.

I was also pleased to receive Grainger's "Cooking Apicius". Grainger is both a scholar and an excellent cook of Ancient Roman food. Her book is written in a friendly, personal, and sometimes chatty manner, and contains many Britishisms, but, then, she is British, after all.

Her discussions of various ingredients and cooking show more techniques were quite informative. I have cooked from the Flower/Rosenbaum translation, and also own Andre Dalby & Sally Grainger's "Classical Cookbook", "Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome" by Patrick Faas, "Roman Cookery: Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens" by Mark Grant, "A Taste of Ancient Rome" by Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa. I have found all these books instructive, but I enjoy working out the recipes myself and making my own decisions on what substitutes to use here in the US.

At the same time, I always appreciate hearing how another cook interprets a recipe, and I very much appreciated Grainger's explanations throughout of her decisions to make certain interpretations or use particular ingredients. Also of great use are her experiments making garum and liquamen.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in cooking recipes from the Apician cookbook. And it is especially useful to those who are shy of starting out from the original recipes themselves, which can be rather vague. show less