Defrutum: Difference between revisions
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#REDIRECT [[Grape syrup#Greco-Roman]] {{R from merge}} |
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{{Redirect|Carenum|the genus of beetle|Carenum (genus)}} |
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'''Defrutum''', '''carenum''', and '''sapa''' were reductions of [[must]] used in [[Ancient Roman cuisine]]. In [[Ancient Greek cuisine]], they were referred to as both ''siraion'' (Greek: σίραιον ) and ''[[epsima]]'' (Greek: έψημα).<ref>[http://www.tlg.uci.edu/lsj/#eid=96993&context=lsj], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus</ref><ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D14%3Achapter%3D11], Pliny to Elder, on Perseus</ref> They were made by boiling down grape juice or must (freshly squeezed grapes) in large kettles until it had been reduced to two-thirds the original volume, ''carenum''; |
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half the original volume, ''defrutum''; and one-third, ''sapa''. The main culinary use of defrutum was to help preserve and sweeten [[wine]], but it was also added to [[fruit]] and [[meat]] dishes as a sweetening and souring agent and even given to food animals such as suckling [[pig]] and [[duck]] to improve the taste of their flesh. Defrutum was mixed with [[garum]] to make the popular condiment oenogarum and as such was one of Rome's most popular condiments. [[Quince]] and [[melon]] were preserved in defrutum and [[honey]] through the winter, and some Roman women used defrutum or sapa as a [[Cosmetics|cosmetic]]. Defrutum was often used as a food preservative in provisions for Roman troops.<ref name="Brighton">{{cite video|title=Tales of the Living Dead: Poisoned Roman Babies|publisher=Brighton TV for National Geographic|people=Director: Chris Warren|medium=television|date=2004}}</ref> |
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==Greco-Roman use== |
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One of the earliest attestations comes from the fifth century BC physician [[Hippocrates]], who refers to epsima, the Greek name for the condiment.<ref>Jacques Jouanna ''Greek Medicine from Hippocrates to Galen: Selected Papers'', 2012, p. 190. {{ISBN|978 90 04 20859 9}}</ref> The fifth-century BC Athenian playwright [[Aristophanes]] also makes a reference to it. |
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''Defrutum ''is mentioned in almost all Roman books dealing with [[cooking]] or household management. [[Pliny the Elder]] recommended that defrutum only be boiled at the time of the [[new moon]], while [[Cato the Censor]] suggested that only the sweetest possible must should be used. |
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[[Bronze]], [[copper]], and [[lead]] kettles were known to have been used. Geochemist [[Jerome Nriagu]] published an article in the ''[[New England Journal of Medicine]]'' in 1983 hypothesizing that defrutum and sapa may have contained enough leached [[Lead(II) acetate|lead acetate]] to be of danger to those who consumed it regularly.<ref name="Nriagu1983">{{cite journal|last1=Nriagu|first1=Jerome O.|title=Saturnine Gout among Roman Aristocrats. Did lead poisoning contribute to the fall of the Empire?|journal=New England Journal of Medicine|date=17 March 1983|volume=308|issue=11|pages=660–663|doi=10.1056/NEJM198303173081123|pmid=6338384}}</ref> |
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A 2009 [[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]] documentary produced a batch of historically accurate defrutum in lead-lined vessels and tested the liquid, finding a lead level of 29,000 ppb, a staggering 2,900 times higher than the current US drinking water standards of 10 ppb. These levels are easily high enough to cause either acute [[lead toxicity]] if consumed at once in large amounts or chronic lead poisoning when consumed in smaller quantities over a longer period of time (as defrutum was typically used).<ref name="Nriagu1983"></ref> |
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However, the use of leaden cookware, though popular, was not the general standard, and copper cookware was used far more generally and no indication exists as to how often sapa was added or in what quantity. John Scarborough, a pharmacologist and classicist, criticized the conclusions drawn by Nriagu's book as "so full of false evidence, miscitations, typographical errors, and a blatant flippancy regarding primary sources that the reader cannot trust the basic arguments."<ref name="Scarborough84Lead">{{cite journal|last1=Scarborough|first1=J|title=The myth of lead poisoning among the Romans: an essay review.|journal=Journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences|date=October 1984|volume=39|issue=4|pages=469–75|doi=10.1093/jhmas/39.4.469|pmid=6389691}}</ref> |
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==Modern-day usage== |
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''Sapa'' or ''[[vincotto]]'' is commonly used in Italy, especially in [[Emilia Romagna]], [[Marche]], [[Calabria]], and [[Sardinia]], where it is considered among the traditional flavors. |
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In Sardinia, the ''saba'' from grape must, from the fruit of [[Opuntia|prickly pear]] or more rarely from [[arbutus]], is used in the preparation of traditional sweets and cakes. |
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The ancient Greek name ''epsima'' (Cypriot Greek: έψημα) is still used to refer to the condiment, which is still made in Cyprus. |
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In Greece, it is called ''[[petimezi]]'' and in Turkey ''[[pekmez]]''. |
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==See also== |
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* [[Arrope]] |
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* [[Petimezi]] |
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* [[Pekmez]] |
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* [[Vincotto|Vino cotto]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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==Further reading== |
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*Ilaria G. Giacosa; <cite>A Taste of Ancient Rome</cite>; University of Chicago Press; {{ISBN|0-226-29032-8}} (paperback, 1994) |
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*Pliny the Elder; <cite>Natural History</cite>; tr. H. Rackham; Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library); {{ISBN|0-674-99432-9}} (cloth, 1956) |
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*Marcus Porcius Cato; <cite>On Agriculture </cite>; Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library); {{ISBN|0-674-99313-6}} (hardcover, 1979) |
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* |
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==External links== |
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*[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/wine/leadpoisoning.html James Grout, ''Lead Poisoning'', part of the '' Encyclopædia Romana''] |
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[[Category:Grape dishes]] |
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[[Category:Roman cuisine]] |
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[[Category:Toxicology]] |
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[[Category:Lead poisoning]] |
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Latest revision as of 08:28, 3 January 2020
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