Long pepper: Long pepper is a spice popular throughout history, only losing favor in recent centuries when black pepper came to dominate Western cuisine. It has a similar flavor to black peppercorn but with a bit more heat and a lot more complexity. It truly is superior to black peppercorn in every way except in its availability at the grocery stor

Passum: Used in many Ancient Roman recipes, passum was a wine made from semi-dried grapes; a raisin wine. It is very sweet and can be replaced by sweet wines such as Vin Santo or ice wine. For a less expensive alternative, a sweet Riesling or Moscato will do the trick.

Garum: This ingredient is a must for nearly every Ancient Roman recipe. It’s a fermented fish sauce that was often used in place of salt, but its flavor cannot be compared to salt and cannot be reproduced by anything other than fermented fish sauce.

Lovage: A mildly sweet herb used in ancient and medieval cooking, lovage can be found in some gardens but is not common today and, like rue, has been used as an abortifacient. Celery leaf can be used as a substitute.

Asafetida (Asafoetida): Still used in Indian cuisine under the name hing, this ingredient is infamous for its pungent odor, which transforms to a smooth leek and garlic flavor during the cooking process. It was used during the Roman Empire as a replacement for the famous ingredient silphium, which was thought to have gone extinct in the first centu

Hyssop: A popular medieval herb still commonly used in tea, hyssop has a flavor that is a combination of mint and anise.

Sandalwood powder: Sandalwood was used to color food red in the Middle Ages, though today it is more often used in cosmetics.

Of the innumerable dishes that humans have eaten throughout history, we know of only a fraction, and it’s because somebody took the time to record the recipe.

Savory: Savory is an herb common in historic recipes and comes in two varieties, summer and winter. Recipes rarely call for either specifically, so it is chef’s choice. Both varieties offer a robust and peppery taste to a dish—the summer variety has a tinge of heat that the earthier winter variety does not, though winter savory carries a hint of pi