Apicius: A Critical Edition with an Introduction and English Translation

In this new edition and translation of Apicius, a collection of recipes from early Rome, Grocock and Grainger have thoroughly reassessed the text in light of previous editions and interpretations. The recipes have been tested, as much as possible, to ensure that the material makes culinary as well as linguistic sense. Grocock and Grainger argue in their introduction that the text is not the product of a particular gourmet but a collection of recipes transmitted among professional cooks. Their commentary investigates the world of Roman cookery and its literature. Latin and English are printed in parallel throughout the text and in the supplementary source, The Extracts of Apicius by Vinidarius. The text includes a detailed glossary. Distributed in the US by The David Brown Book Company. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Apicius is the sole remaining cookery book from the days of the Roman Empire. Though there were many ancient Greek and Latin works concerning food, this collection of recipes is unique.
Apicius is the sole remaining cookery book from the days of the Roman Empire. Though there were many ancient Greek and Latin works concerning food, this collection of recipes is unique. The editors suggest that it is a survival from many such collections maintained by working cooks and that the attribution to Apicius the man (a real-life Roman noble of the 2nd century AD) is a mere literary convention. There have been many English translations of this work (and, abroad, some important academic editions), but none reliable since 1958 (Flower and Rosenbaum). In any case, this edition and translation has revisited all surviving manuscripts in Europe and the USA and proposes many new readings and interpretations. The great quality of this editorial team is that while the Latin scholarship is supplied by Chris Grocock, Sally Grainger contributes a lifetime's experience in the practical cookery adaptations of the recipes in this text. This supplies a wholly new angle from which to verify the textual and editorial suggestions. This volume supplies a fully referenced parallel text (Latin and English) of Apicius and of the excerpts from Apicius done by Vinidarius. There is an extensive introduction discussing both the art of cookery in the later Empire and the origins of this text, together with a new hypothesis as to its true date. There are then long appendixes discussing the vexed question of the true nature of the Roman store sauces, garum and liquamem. There is also a full bibliography and extensive discussion of the meaning of technical terms found in the text. This book will set a new standard for Apician studies.
Apicius is the sole remaining cookery book from the days of the Roman Empire. Though there were many ancient Greek and Latin works concerning food, this collection of recipes is unique. The editors suggest that it is a survival from many such collections maintained by working cooks and that the attribution to Apicius the man (a real-life Roman noble of the 2nd century AD), is a mere literary convention. There have been many English translations of this work (and, abroad, some important academic editions) but none reliable since 1958 (Flower and Rosenbaum). In any case, this edition and translation has revisited all surviving manuscripts in Europe and the USA and proposes many new readings and interpretations. The great quality of this editorial team is while the Latin scholarship is supplied by Chris Grocock, Sally Grainger contributes a lifetime’s experience in the practical cookery of adaptations of the recipes in this text. This supplies a wholly new angle from which to verify the textual and editorial suggestions.