Hárshegyi Piroska: Kereskedők Sallában 2. (Zalalövő öröksége 4. Zalalövő, 2006)
price list painted on the wall of a house in Pompeji: "My fine soldier, a drink of wine costs one as here, for two ases you can drink a better one, and you can drink Falernum wine for four ases." In Emperor Diocletian's decree, in which he set a price ceiling, 1 sextarius of wine (0.547 1) cost between 2-30 denariuses depending on the quality, which was really expensive. Various wines of the Aegean were also appreciated like the Rhodos the Kos and the Knidos ones, which were often used as medicaments as well. Oils R omans used oils pressed from various plants, just like we do. Olive oil was the most common one in various qualities. Scientific analyses have demonstrated that, for example, sesame oil was another important trading commodity Oil could have many uses: it was burned in lamps, rubbed into the skin during massage in the baths, in body hygiene, and at the preparation of food. In the Roman period, the most significant olive tree plantations were in Apulia in the Istrian peninsula and on the territory of the modern Spain. These plantations often became so important in the economic life that the emperors privatized them. According to Diocletian's price decree, the highest quality olive oil cost 40 denariuses, while the inferior ones cost 6 denariuses. Fruits of the sea T he components of the Mediterranean kitchen, which are somewhat strange to us, are dishes and seasonings prepared from fish and spices. Apicius's classical cook-book provides the most obvious illustration what popular and indispensable raw materials these ingredients called garum, liquamen, salsamenta, muria, hallex etc. were in the classical period. The common background of the diverse names is that they all were kinds of fish sauce. Many ways of preparation and spicing are known. Salsamenta is actually the same as modern canned fish made with the drying, salting and smoking of fish. The so-called garum or liquamen was made first of all of the interior organs of fish (mackerel, tuna, etc.), which were soaked in large basins filled with salted water for 2-3 months. Muria and hallex were prepared from their remains mixed with vegetables and medicinal herbs. Fish sauce producing workshops existed in the Black Sea region already in the 7 th century BC, and they appeared in the Iberian Peninsula in the 2 nd century BC. The first written source came from the Roman Manilius.
