Ancient Roman Jellyfish for the Black Banquet

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Subtitles: Jose Mendoza | IG @worldagainstjose

PHOTO CREDITS

#tastinghistory #ancientrome

[lucasprzybyla]

I like to think Max's local butcher/fishmonger has a mild reaction of dread every time he sees Max walk in at this point

[BludgeonedDEATH]

“History is not written by the winners, it’s written by people who write things down”
Absolutely positively beautiful prose, Max, I love it 😭

[CaptainRiterraSmith]

This dinner sounds like a real life psychological horror movie.

[chadwickhurlburt]

Have mercy, that banquet must have been the most terrifying dinner experience in all of history. That is some 5-star horror movie stuff. I would have been terrified forever afterward. Little wonder they stabbed him to death later. I suppose it happened so much later because it took them that much time to build up the courage to do it.

[franzfanz]

The Max described that dinner made my pulse start to race. I can only imagine how stressful it would have been to be one of the senators there.

[Lauren.E.O]

Just about any famous Roman emperor throwing a banquet and inviting you is more of a threat than an honor, tbh.

[Morgan-Le-Fail]

I think this is the first Tasting History I've seen in which you visibly seemed to be choking back a gag reflex. Domitian is out here terrorizing from beyond the grave.

[OneThreeEight]

I had heard that "That was so good, I couldn't tell what I was eating" was a high compliment in Roman times, because it implied a high-status dish, using a lot of expensive spices, so it tasted like the spices, and not the original food. (Presumably using food exotic enough that your guests were unfamiliar with it was also considered a high accomplishment.)

[generalpenultimo]

Domitians "It's just a prank, bro" is on a whole other level 😂

[phelpysan]

His hand absolutely quaking trying to put the jellyfish in his mouth 😭

[MummaQuan]

“It’s a lot of textures, none of them are good” 😂😂😂
You’re brave for even trying this! And all for our education & entertainment. Thank you!

[lhfirex]

I've eaten jellyfish when I lived in Japan, but it wasn't served at a creepy Roman imperial banquet, so I have to say the atmosphere wasn't very interesting.

[edelinet]

I'm ethnic Chinese and have eaten jellyfish salad numerous times at wedding banquets, and the texture was always delightful - slippery yet crunchy. I'd never considered before how it was cooked, and this vid has made me really curious. I found out that for the salad recipe, the dried jellyfish is shredded into strips, soaked overnight, rinsed, briefly blanched in boiling water, then plunged into icy water and drained. That's it. The texture will then be crunchy yet jelly-like, and can be mixed with seasonings and other ingredients to make a yummy salad. I think it was the cooking for 20-25 minutes that gave the jellyfish that awful rubbery texture.

[buffster]

Well, that sorts my Halloween theme for this year. :D Thanks Max! Think I'll skip this particular dish based on that review, but using cuttlefish ink and charcoal to blacken the dishes sounds fun. If anyone has other ideas for my meal plan please reply below! I'm currently thinking:
Drinks: Elderberry/ juniper berry/ blackberry cordial with tonic water and/or gin. Champagne cocktails coloured with the same cordial options.
Starter: caviar on charcoal crackers (or just with black spoons and the back of our hands)
Main: squid ink pasta with squid ink egg sauce, indigo tomatoes and charcoal cheese, served with a Dark Roden lettuce salad in balsamic and black pepper dressing.
Dessert: dark chocolate and black treacle cake with blackberry compote
Followed by coffee and dark chocolate mints.

[preethychandran]

Oh you poor man!! Why would you do that to yourself?? You are so committed. Love that. Thank you! And this episode was fantastic!! The way you narrated it and your expressions! Filled with suspense. It was a great episode. Keep it up Max!

[seanirby]

I LOVE the slightly deadpan, slightly horrified, "It's a LOT of texture." Our host's sincerity makes it all the better. Thank you for making this, trying it, and then actually having a bit more to prove your point.

[lorettashepherd.]

Poor Max. I really felt for him as he took that first bite. I gagged out of sympathy for him. The things this wonderful man goes through to teach us and entertain us. Thank you as always Max and may your next recipe be more palatable and favorable to you and to us all.

[Touhou-jg]

My husband is a college prof, and he loves the ocean with all of his heart.

I've often had silly, lighthearted debates with him about if jellyfish are animals or not, and as you started to bring up he jokingly told me to not start arguing with him again.

We both had a good laugh, and he thought the ancient agreement to say they were a combination of land, sea, and air was very fair. Loved the video, and loved the idea of this dish!

[obiwan-in-a-pudding]

That's so goth. I wanna host a dinner party like this

[lordbarristertimsh]

Mr. Miller, I have heard of "dinner and a show" or "themed parties" but Domitian really went above and beyond with that Black Banquet.