Black soup
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The Spartan melas zomos, or black soup, was a staple soup made of boiled pigs' blood, pork, and vinegar. It is thought that the vinegar was used as an emulsifier to keep the blood from clotting during the cooking process.
According to legend, a man from Sybaris, a city in southern Italy infamous for its luxury and gluttony, said he understood why the Spartans were so willing to die after having tasted their black soup.
No recipe for the Spartan black soup has survived, but blood soups are still eaten in various countries today.
[edit] See also
- Blood sausage, a wide variety of sausages containing blood
- Maasai tribesmen also consume cow's blood, sometimes mixed with milk
- Svartsoppa, Swedish (Scanian) soup made with goose blood
- Czernina, Polish soup made with duck blood
- Dinuguan, Filipino stew made of pig's blood, pork, chili, and vinegar
[edit] References
- Clauss, Manfred (1983) (in German). Sparta. Eine Einführung in seine Geschichte und Zivilisation (Sparta. An Introduction to its History and Civilisation). C.H. Beck, München (Beck'sche Elementarbücher). pp. 166. ISBN 3-406-09476-7.
