Apicius, a Critical Edition With an Introduction And English Translation (Hardcover)

~ Christopher Grocock (Author), Sally Grainger (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

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.

About the Author

Christopher Grocock is a teacher of Latin; he was Project Direct at Bede's World Museum in Jarrow; he has edited for the OUP Historia Vie Hierosolimitane of Gilo of Paris as well as work by the Venerable Bede (forthcoming); he has contributed many papers to learned journals and conferences on medieval Latin studies. Sally Grainger is the author of The Classical Cookbook (with Andrew Dalby) for the British Museum. She is a leading reconstructionist cook and has produced classical and medieval meals for countless conferences and public gatherings.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Prospect Books (UK) (June 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903018137
• ISBN-13: 978-1903018132
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #421,077 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth every penny, November 18, 2007

By	C. Muusers (Kortenhoef, Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's true that there are editions that cost less. But despite the steep price, it is worth every penny.
The cooperation between Latin scholar Grocock and recreatonal cook Grainger has resulted in a book that can be used for serious research as well as creating your own Roman meal. To do that however, you'll have to have some experience in interpretating recipes that give no amounts, cooking times or oven temperatures. If you want to have a ready-made Roman cookbook, I'd advise Cooking Apicius: Roman Recipes for Today, also by Sally Grainger. But then you won't have ALL the recipes, and you'll miss out on the thirty recipes from the 'Extracts of Apicius' by Vinidarius (5th century), who used another redaction of 'De re coquinaria'.
Worthwile extras: a glossary, original sources on Apicius, cooking and luxury dining, named recipes in Apicius, an article on garum and liquamen, and a concordance of recipes with earlier editions.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Over-priced retranslation of Apicius, February 10, 2007

By	Caius Fabius "caiusfabius" (Oklahoma United States) - See all my reviews

No wonder they didn't want to release this into the open market. The publisher is way too proud of the packaging. Releasing this at a more reasonable price would have at least doubled or tripled the sales! The work is excellent, with many new insights on Roman cooking by two noted scholars in the field. The new and fresh look, the background data, the recipes themselves, are all worthy of your time, but the price of the book has kicked it out of the hands of the casual cook and put in into the price range of severely dedicated hobbiests and scholars, a great disservice to the many readers who have an interest in this subject. There are several almost as good works for a much more reasonable price. I'd wait for a used or discounted version, unless you are really into the subject! I confess, I am happy to own the book, but I did NOT and would not pay full cover price for this work!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Big dissapointment for history buffs & culinary students., October 8, 2009

By	Benjamin Armstrong - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I was expecting more for the price. I guess the publisher had to charge for the labor.

Did it really take expert linguists that long to translate this:"Put some turnips into a jar with honey and savory. They should keep in a cool dry place." The recipes aren't specific, and most of them should be, because they are dealing with aged and preserved foods.

You'd be better off with a cheaper version of modifed ancient recipes. I would also suggest a book on how to pickle vegetables.