Liquamen

Liquamen was the ketchup of ancient Rome. This fermented fish sauce showed up in nearly every recipe from Apicius to street food stalls across the empire. The original took months of sun-fermented fish guts, but this shortcut version boils anchovies with oregano and salt, strains the liquid, and finishes with grape juice for sweetness.

Reducing the liquid by a third concentrates the salty, savory umami punch that made liquamen indispensable in Roman cooking. The grape juice at the end isn’t random. Ancient Romans frequently balanced fish sauce with defrutum (reduced grape must), and this small addition rounds out the sharp salinity.

Strain it well through a fine tea strainer. You want a clear, amber liquid, not a cloudy paste. It keeps for weeks in the fridge.

Chef Tips

• Use oil-packed anchovy fillets for the best flavor. Salt-packed anchovies work too but rinse them first or the sauce will be overly salty
• Boil at a true rolling boil to break down the anchovies completely. They should dissolve into the liquid
• Strain twice for a cleaner, smoother sauce. One pass catches the solids, the second catches the fine sediment
• Start with small amounts when adding liquamen to dishes. It’s intensely savory and a little goes a long way

Variations

• Closer to garum: Let the strained sauce sit in a sealed jar in a warm spot for a week before using to develop deeper fermented flavors
• Southeast Asian parallel: Compare this to Thai fish sauce or Vietnamese nuoc mam for a fascinating cross-cultural tasting
• Use in modern cooking: Add a splash to pasta sauces, salad dressings, or braises anywhere you’d reach for Worcestershire or Asian fish sauce