Herbs, spices and ingredients used in Roman Recipes
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3 Images of different herbs and spices: 1 - 2 - 3

Perennial Herbs

• Bay (Laurus nobilis) - A large evergreen shrub or tree. Leaves much used in flavouring sauces and stocks.
• Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) - A hardy perennial 5-8 ft. Leaves useful for flavouring fish dishes.
• Lovage (Levisticum officinale) - Hardy perennial up to 6 ft. Leaves have a strong celery like flavour. Use sparingly. Prefers moist wee drained soil.
• Mint (Mentha) - Perennial with wide spreading roots. Commonly used in flavouring many dishes.
• Nettles (Urticaceae) - Young leaves are good substitute for spinach.
• Pennyroyal(Puleium) - A usefull low growing herb with peppermint flavour.
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• Rue (Ruta) - Evergreen shrub up to 2 ft. Leaves used in salad dressings.
• Sage (Salvia officinalis) - Evergreen shrub up to 2 ft. Needs sunny dry position. Fresh or dried leaves much used in cooking.
• Savory (Satureia) - The winter savory can be used as a spice to add to bean dishes, also in salads, soups and with fish. The Romans used vinegar flavoured with savory as a sauce.
• Thyme(Thymus vulgaris) - A hardy evergreen forming a shrub up to 8" tall. Aromatic leaves used fresh or dried in many dishes.
• Welsh onions - Evergreen perenial herbs, rather like course chives, useful in winter.
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Annual and Biennial Herbs

• Basil (Occimum basilicum) - Half hardy anual will grow in a pot in very warm sheltered position.
• Dill (Anethum graveolens) - Hardy annual, the leaves of which are useful additions to salads and vegetables, also in fish dishes.
• Marjoram, sweet (Origanum marjorana) - Half hardy annual bushy 8". Especially good with pork dishes.
• Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) - Hardy biennial. Contains vitamin C in large quantity. Used fresh or dried in many savoury dishes and for decoration of finished dishes.
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Spices

Spices were essential ingredients in all Roman recipes. No kitchen was complete without a variety of these costly flavourings. Transported by land and sea, with journeys often taking many weeks in leaky boats, the surviving residue would have fetched very high prices, which the status seeking Roman was more than willing to pay.

The number of spices available to the Roman cook was of course limited to those of the then known world, and are all easily obtained today from delicatessen or health food shops.

Most spices in either seed or ground from benefit from a gentle warming in a shallow pan for a few minutes before using. This brings out the flavour - and also fills your kitchen with exciting aromas!

• Caraway (Carum carvi) - An umbelliferous plant, the seeds of which were used in flavouring cabbage dishes, cream cheeses and sauces for meat and fish.
• Coriander (coriandrum sativum) - A spice very often used in Roman dishes. The seeds when crushed in a mortar give off a pleasant aroma.
• Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) - A seed which produces a warm, spicy scent. Still much used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries today. Always warm before using.
• Ginger (Ziongiber officinale) - Comes from a root or rhizome, and used in great quantities by Romans who brought it back from their African colonies.
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• Juniper berries (Juniperus communis) - Highly aromatic and pungent berries, used to flavour patinas, prok and game dishes. Use the dried berries in small quantities and crush with salt before adding to mixture.
• Mustard seed (Brassica nigra and Brassica alba) - Mentioned in many of Apicius' recipes. The black seed contains more of the volatile oil than the white, which contains and acid substance known as 'sinalbin'.
• Peppercorns (Berries of the pepper tree piper nigrum) - The most highly prized of all the spices known to the Romans. Lavishly added to sauces and sprinkled on finished dishes, even desserts.
• Salt, Vinegar and Oil - Although we cannot reproduce exactly the tastes to which the Romans were used, we can make sure that the basic ingredients are as free from twentieth century additives as possible. For this reason pre sea salt, wine or cider vinegar, and olive oil are all essential if you are to recreate Roman meals.
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Substitutes

• For Liquamen - substitutes today would be a very strong fish stock, with anchovies as its main ingredient, anchovy paste or Tanari (Japanese soya bean).
• For Defrutum - substitute tinned grapejuice. (Reduced by rapid boiling.)
• For Passum - sweet Spanish wine can be used instead.
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Other Ingredients

• Muslum - a sweet wine made with any red or white wine to which you add two tablespoons clear honey to 1 bottle wine - can be drunk after the first course throughout the rest of the meal.
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