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Today's Case


Roman Spice Called "Laser"

Re: "laser"
From: Bunny
Date: 11/24/2021, 8:57 AM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com

On 11/23/2021 8:15 PM, Bunny wrote:

Hi Phaed:

You mentioned that you might be able to help me with the “modern” 
translation of some of these Ancient Roman spices. 

The one spice that I am totally mystified (& see in recipes over 
& over again) is called “Laser”.

I have found a couple of different possible  names, but since I am 
not sure about these sources, I would absolutely prefer a different opinion!!!

Hi Bunny,

"Laser", or "laserpitium", or "laserwort", was the extract of a wild giant fennel plant called "silphium". It apparently only grew in one place, the ancient Greek city of Cyrene, which was near present-day Shahhat, Libya. It could not be cultivated and it was so popular that it was harvested to extinction many centuries ago. The only substitute, and a poor one at that, is a spice from the Middle East called "asafoetida." Some supermarkets and health food stores have asafoetida, and you can order it online from Amazon.com.

I thoroughly researched and wrote a detailed article about silphium a few years ago. See this page: 8-7-2017

You can also find a few bits about it on these sites:

The Mystery of the Lost Roman Herb

Britannica

Phaed



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