Latest news with #fishsauce
Fox News
2 days ago
- Science
- Fox News
Ancient Romans' favorite sauce reveals fishy secrets after 1,800 years
Ancient Romans had a big appetite for a certain kind of fish sauce – and a new study is revealing exactly what went into it. Researcher Gonçalo Themudo published his findings in the journal Antiquity on July 2. The research centered around garum, a fermented fish sauce that Ancient Romans enjoyed as a popular condiment. Themudo, a biologist based in Portugal, was able to recover DNA from the fish remains in an ancient garum-making vat at Adro Vello, an archaeological site in Galicia, Spain. At the bottom of the vat, researchers uncovered small, fragmented fish bones – mostly vertebrae – that were remarkably well-preserved. They were 1,800 years old and heavily processed during fermentation, yet the DNA in the bones was still intact enough to study. Themudo successfully recovered and sequenced the genetic material, with the results confirming the ancient sauce was primarily made from sardines. "We knew from other sources and from the morphological identification that these should be sardines," Themudo told Fox News Digital. "But there was always a possibility the morphology was wrong because these were based on loose and very small vertebrae bones." "Romans most likely liked its rich flavor and versatility as a condiment – and prices seem to have matched their fondness for it." The recovery of viable DNA was unexpected. Themudo said he was "really doubting" it. "It was a real surprise when we got some positive results for the presence of DNA and then when we were able to match it to sardine DNA," he said. The sauce was exported widely across the Roman Empire, meaning the local sardines were probably being used to season dishes far away. Themudo said that garum was "full of glutamates, giving it a rich umami or savory taste, similar to what you get in modern fish sauces, broths, shellfish, mushrooms or some cheeses." "Romans most likely liked its rich flavor and versatility as a condiment – and prices seem to have matched their fondness for it," Themudo noted. "It could be used as fish broth and used to season meat or fish during preparation of meals." He also compared garum to soy sauce — or, to be more accurate, the fish sauce commonly enjoyed in Southeast Asian cuisine today. "It would probably also have a strong fish smell," he said. "It could be used as fish broth and used to season meat or fish during preparation of meals." The study also underscores the value of ancient DNA research, Themudo stressed. DNA molecules degrade over time, breaking into ever-smaller fragments due to chemical and physical damage, particularly in fermented products, Themudo said. "Think of [DNA] as narrow and extremely long sheets of paper filled with the letters A, C, G and T," Themudo said. "Someone takes those sheets of paper and starts tearing them in half, and then takes each half and tears those, and so on. As time passes, the pieces of paper become [so] small that they become unreadable." The discovery also shows that, even in difficult conditions, ancient DNA can survive — and be deciphered. "This study not only proves that we can extract and sequence ancient DNA from fermented fish remains," he said. "It also opens new avenues to the study of population dynamics of these fish species through time."
CTV News
16-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Rotting fish-sauce plant whose stench torments Newfoundland town will be cleaned up
Bottles of the fish sace produced at a long-abandoned plant in St. Mary's, N.L., are shown strewn outside the building on Thursday June 12, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sarah Smellie ST. MARY'S — A coastal Newfoundland town besieged for decades by the fetid stench wafting from an abandoned fish-sauce factory has finally received good news. Steve Ryan, the mayor of St. Mary's, N.L., said he nearly broke down in tears when officials with the Newfoundland and Labrador government told him the province would foot the bill to clean up the festering site. The promise brings residents close to the end of a decades-long ordeal that has kept them indoors on beautiful days, lest the smell get in their hair and clothes. 'I get emotional just talking about it,' the 53-year-old said, shaking his head outside his grocery store a few minutes from the town. 'It's an everyday thing with the smell — people can't do normal stuff, like have a barbecue on their deck or hang out their laundry,' he added. 'It gets into your nose, it gets into your mouth, it just gags you.' The decaying Atlantic Seafood Sauce Company Ltd. building sits on the shoreline of the town of about 300 people, just steps away from the ocean. It first opened in 1990, bringing about two dozen much-needed jobs to the area, Ryan said. But the owner abandoned it about a decade later, after extended legal battles about food safety complaints. More than 100 oozing vats of fermenting fish remain in the crumbling building. Liquids from the 11,500-litre tanks once ran into the harbour through a broken drain pipe, but the federal fisheries department demanded the run-off system be sealed with concrete, Ryan said. Now the fluids pool in the plant, creating a putrid stew roughly 30 centimetres deep, Ryan said. On a warm Thursday afternoon last week, the odour inside the building was dense and wet, as if it could be squeezed through the fingers of a fist. It was a good day, Ryan said. In the late summer and fall, when the winds are blowing just right, the smell engulfs the nearby houses, school and baseball field. St. Mary's is a quiet, picturesque town on a sparkling ocean inlet, just minutes away from a whale-watching beach popular with tourists and locals. It would be a perfect spot for a few B&Bs, but the smell discourages anyone from trying to attract visitors, Ryan said. 'How would you advertise?' he asked. 'Look what we have as our view and our smell?' But now there is hope. A spokesperson with Newfoundland and Labrador's Department of Environment and Climate Change confirmed Friday the province has told the town to issue a request for proposals for a consultant to plan and oversee the plant's cleanup. Money for the remediation work has been set aside in the provincial budget. Ryan credited former premier Andrew Furey for taking an interest and setting the funds aside. International media attention helped too, he said. 'To be forgotten about for so long, and all of a sudden now … being successful in getting this cleanup funded,' his voice trailed off and he shook his head again. 'Over the past 10 years, we've dealt with two or three ministers, two or three premiers, a couple of federal ministers that ... were in no way helpful, they probably held us up,' he added. Ryan wouldn't say how much he expects it to cost — he doesn't want to jeopardize the town's chances of getting a good price the province can afford, he said. But previous assessments indicate it may exceed $1 million. It's a price tag far out of reach for the volunteer council in a town with just a few hundred tax payers, he said. The municipality voted to take ownership of the site earlier this year, he said. It was the only way the province could then step in and help clean it up. Once the work is done, he hopes the council will put the plant site up for auction and another business will step in. But they'll have to have a clear exit plan so the situation doesn't happen again, he said. In the meantime, residents know the smell will likely get worse as the site is torn apart before it gets better, Ryan said. 'We have no issue with that,' he said. 'This has got to be done.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025. Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rotting fish-sauce plant whose stench torments Newfoundland town will be cleaned up
ST. MARY'S — A coastal Newfoundland town besieged for decades by the fetid stench wafting from an abandoned fish-sauce factory has finally received good news. Steve Ryan, the mayor of St. Mary's, N.L., said he nearly broke down in tears when officials with the Newfoundland and Labrador government told him the province would foot the bill to clean up the festering site. The promise brings residents close to the end of a decades-long ordeal that has kept them indoors on beautiful days, lest the smell get in their hair and clothes. "I get emotional just talking about it," the 53-year-old said, shaking his head outside his grocery store a few minutes from the town. "It's an everyday thing with the smell — people can't do normal stuff, like have a barbecue on their deck or hang out their laundry," he added. "It gets into your nose, it gets into your mouth, it just gags you." The decaying Atlantic Seafood Sauce Company Ltd. building sits on the shoreline of the town of about 300 people, just steps away from the ocean. It first opened in 1990, bringing about two dozen much-needed jobs to the area, Ryan said. But the owner abandoned it about a decade later, after extended legal battles about food safety complaints. More than 100 oozing vats of fermenting fish remain in the crumbling building. Liquids from the 11,500-litre tanks once ran into the harbour through a broken drain pipe, but the federal fisheries department demanded the run-off system be sealed with concrete, Ryan said. Now the fluids pool in the plant, creating a putrid stew roughly 30 centimetres deep, Ryan said. On a warm Thursday afternoon last week, the odour inside the building was dense and wet, as if it could be squeezed through the fingers of a fist. It was a good day, Ryan said. In the late summer and fall, when the winds are blowing just right, the smell engulfs the nearby houses, school and baseball field. St. Mary's is a quiet, picturesque town on a sparkling ocean inlet, just minutes away from a whale-watching beach popular with tourists and locals. It would be a perfect spot for a few B&Bs, but the smell discourages anyone from trying to attract visitors, Ryan said. "How would you advertise?" he asked. "Look what we have as our view and our smell?" But now there is hope. A spokesperson with Newfoundland and Labrador's Department of Environment and Climate Change confirmed Friday the province has told the town to issue a request for proposals for a consultant to plan and oversee the plant's cleanup. Money for the remediation work has been set aside in the provincial budget. Ryan credited former premier Andrew Furey for taking an interest and setting the funds aside. International media attention helped too, he said. "To be forgotten about for so long, and all of a sudden now … being successful in getting this cleanup funded," his voice trailed off and he shook his head again. "Over the past 10 years, we've dealt with two or three ministers, two or three premiers, a couple of federal ministers that ... were in no way helpful, they probably held us up," he added. Ryan wouldn't say how much he expects it to cost — he doesn't want to jeopardize the town's chances of getting a good price the province can afford, he said. But previous assessments indicate it may exceed $1 million. It's a price tag far out of reach for the volunteer council in a town with just a few hundred tax payers, he said. The municipality voted to take ownership of the site earlier this year, he said. It was the only way the province could then step in and help clean it up. Once the work is done, he hopes the council will put the plant site up for auction and another business will step in. But they'll have to have a clear exit plan so the situation doesn't happen again, he said. In the meantime, residents know the smell will likely get worse as the site is torn apart before it gets better, Ryan said. "We have no issue with that," he said. "This has got to be done." This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2025. Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press
Wall Street Journal
13-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
7 Actually Great Cookbooks From Food Brands, From Fishwife to Tito's Vodka
A few years ago, when 'The Red Boat Fish Sauce Cookbook' landed on my desk, I wasn't expecting much more than an ad for a condiment. But here was a cookbook that told the story of Cuong Pham, an immigrant from Vietnam in Northern California, and the company he founded, inspired by the flavors of his mother's cooking. The recipes were as personal and considered as the narrative. This influential title made me look at branded cookbooks with new eyes. And this genre has since become one to take seriously.
