A closer look
Imagine walking into a banquet in ancient Rome: roasted peacock, sweet wine, dancers between courses. Now add one unsettling detail—the Romans loved fish sauce so much, they poured it on everything. Called 'garum,' it was fermented anchovies left to rot in the sun until liquified. To modern noses, it might smell like trash day, but Romans considered it exquisite. Traders shipped barrels across seas, fueling a culinary obsession. Oddly, today we still mirror this: think of Southeast Asia’s fish sauce, Worcestershire in your Bloody Mary, or anchovy paste in Caesar dressing. Different continents, same acquired taste. The story reminds us cultural 'delicacies' often start as sensory dares, then transform into identity. Every nation’s cuisine has at least one 'how can you eat that?'—and that’s the beauty of table history.
