00:00All right, let's blast through ancient history at warp speed, because today, I'm uncovering two
00:04flavor legends from the Roman Empire, Silphium and Garum. Get ready for science, drama, and some
00:09mind-blowing facts. Let's go. First up, Silphium. Imagine a plant so valuable it was literally
00:14worth its weight in silver. Silphium, native to Cyrenaica, that's modern Libya, was used in
00:20everything, food, medicine, even as a love potion. Pliny the Elder, Theophrastus, Dioscorides,
00:25Every ancient scientist raved about it. Need a digestive aid? Silphium. Need a contraceptive?
00:31Silphium. Want to spice up your dinner and your love life? You guessed it. Silphium.
00:36But here's the twist. By the first century CE, Silphium vanished. Why? Over-harvesting,
00:40climate change, and massive demand. 99% of modern botanists agree. True Silphium is extinct. No
00:47living specimen. No exact DNA match. A 2021 nature plant study scoured related species. No dice.
00:53Some people use asafoetida as a substitute, but chemically it's just not the same.
00:58Silphium resin got its face on coins, and its price? Worth its weight in silver, says Pliny.
01:04Now meet Garum, the Roman umami bomb. Garum was a fermented fish sauce, the ketchup of the ancient
01:09world. How'd they make it? Layer fish and salt, leave it to ferment for months. Yes, really. The
01:14result? A sauce packed with glutamates. Think Asian fish sauce meets soy sauce, Roman style. Garum
01:19factories dotted Spain, North Africa, Italy, you name it. Archaeologists found Garum amphorae all
01:24the way from Pompeii to Britain. A 2019 study in the Journal of Archaeological Science analyzed these
01:29jars. Yep, they found amino acids, salt, fish oils. Nutritionally, Garum was a powerhouse. Up to 20%
01:36protein by weight, loaded with omega-3, calcium, and B vitamins. Yet this, 80% of Roman households used
01:43Garum every day based on amphora finds. Modern recreations, yup. Products like Silphium Garum X use
01:49ancient recipes with modern tweaks. From a science perspective, Silphium is history. Every
01:54Silphium you see today is a substitute. No modern equivalent, no living sample. Ancient texts hint
02:00at crazy unique plant chemicals, but the real stuff is lost. A 2023 review in Frontiers and Plant
02:06Science calls Silphium's extinction a textbook case of over-exploitation. As for Garum, food scientists
02:12have got it down. Studies in food chemistry show Garum's fermentation creates tons of glutamic
02:17acid. The key to that mouth-watering umami. Plus, it's safe. Fermented in enough salt to block out
02:23the bad bacteria. So, here's the bottom line. Silphium and Garum were the flavor powerhouses
02:29of Rome. One lost forever, one reborn through science. But even with all our studies, the ancient
02:34world still keeps a few secrets. The assembly of public facts can be imperfect. This video was created
02:40by Leprove.com, comma source of Silphium Garum. Remake of Roman Salsa. Smash subscribe for more science
02:47and a snap!
