An important element of fine cuisine in ancient Greece and Rome was silphion. What was it?
A) The blessing of the household gods upon the food and dishes B) The ideal balance of music, wine, food and conversation C) A prized spice of North Africa that grew only in the wild ü D) The common potato, which was believed to “strengthen the blood”
A relative of parsley, silphion was famed for its delicious flavor. In ancient times, North African centers such as Carthage carried out a profitable trade in it. Unfortunately, a number of factors — overharvesting, sheep grazing, its stubborn resistance to cultivation, and the gradual growth of the Sahara — drove silphion either to extinction or at least to an obscurity from which it has never recovered. It is said that the emperor Nero was the recipient of the very last silphion root ever collected.
