Beer-making usually involves boiling the water at some point; the alcohol, the acidity and the fact that it is stored in bottles, barrels or other closed/covered containers, serve to somewhat prevent the brewed product from becoming infected with disease-causing pathogens.
It does indeed, but it’s so overpowered by the tamarinds that the fish taste is somewhat hidden.
The Thai fish sauce mentioned, and also “nuoc mon” from Vietnam, would be more like what Jonnus Q Roman ate, from the sounds of garum. Note that these two sauces don’t have any spices in them, at least not in SEA. And they’re nothing like soy at all.
Adam Hart Davis (great bloke) made, among others, a TV series for the Beeb called ‘What the Romans did for us’ - one week it was dedicated to cooking and it covered, or was in agreement with most of what people have said above; a couple of things in there that I haven’t seen mentioned in this thread (unless I’ve overlooked them):
-The Roman fish sauce wasn’t just used in savoury dishes (although there was less of a distinction between the concepts of sweet and savoury dishes anyway) - there are surviving recipes for things like a sort of baked pear dessert that includes garum as a flavouring.
-In Britain, there are plants and animals that we today consider native, but are in fact naturalised introductions brought in by the Romans; rabbits and Ground Elder are the two examples that spring immediately to mind.
Otters’ noses! Wolf Nipple Chips! Get 'em while they’re hot. They’re lovely!
Actually, I saw spleen for sale not very long ago in the supermarket; frozen cubes of pink stuff in a bag marked ‘pork melts’. Haven’t tried it yet, but I probably will at some point; no better or worse really than, say, liver.
I believe that making beer gets you a lot more clean potables than boiling water. Basically, it’s an energy problem. Thje only mobile energy source was wood; moving that was a real problem.
Onna stick!
C.M.O.T. Derleth
All addressed to some chap named Brian, who never could get his declensions right.
Sure; the programme title was an intentional reference to that famous scene.
A year or so ago I read a brief article in one or another of the popular science magazines. It concerned archeological study of medieval English cesspits. According to that article, the medieval poo in question contained materials indicating the medieval English ate a lot of preserved herring.