Other than coins, the closest thing we can get to experience the ancient days is through food! So when I came across this recipe of 'Globi', I wanted to make this. Originally mentioned by Cato the Elder, his instructions in 'De Agri Cultura' mention only briefly what the ingredients are to be used, but not by how much. And thus all the recipes online are only a guesstimates. The original ingredients are spelt, cheese, honey, poppy seeds, and lard. Since the Roman diet would've been expanded from the Cato's Republican time to the later imperial era where more foreign ingredients were included in the cuisine, I took some liberty in making my Globi! Ingredients: Whole wheat flour- 90g (where would I get spelt in this day and age!) Cheddar- 30g (I might've cheated here by using a non-native cheese) Crushed Cardamom (to give it some flavour)- a pinch, (these would've been imported from the far-off Tamil kingdoms during the early days of the empire) Honey Canola oil Rosted poppy seeds salt Rose petals for decoration (although I still ate them ) It tasted a bit tough on the inside, with a slight saltiness from the cheese, however the roasted poppies with the honey glaze on the crispy outside complimented by giving sweetness, although not by much if you had used modern sugar!
Although I haven't really had Garum, I've had "fish" sauce in Vietnam and the Philippines which I assume is very close to what the Romans and Greeks used. Smells bad, but tastes good in combination with other dishes.
Quite a coïncidence this thread was resurrected just when we had diner at the house of an Indian friend. The opening poster already mentioned an Indian link for this Roman sweet treat with the cardamon. But the differences between different world parts may seem even smaller if you look at this picture: These are traditional north-Indian sweets eaten often on the occasion of Diwali feast. The white balls are called Rasgulla. The brown balls are not Globi in India, but Gulab Jamun. And they are made with curdled milk, which makes a sort of cottage cheese, flour, rosewater syrup and cardamon. To keep things numismatically legal, a coin from the region of origin:
Spelt is carried in some groceries as part of the Bob's Red Mill brand. Amazon sells that and several other brands including some in 25 pound bags in case you become a real fan.
