Cous-cous, or "Punic pula" as Cato used to call it, that can still be eaten in several restaurants near Trapani, is a tasteful recipe invented by Carthaginians.
A precious Punic sauce is the "garo", the Roman "garum" extracted by the guts and tail of many different fishes (it depends on the quality), to season meat, fish, lamb and chicken.
Punics were really good in using those sauces in order to appetize those who were already replete.
Petronius ordered a big plate having four little statues on the corners oozing "garo" at Trimalcione's dinner.
Pliny told that the "garo" was made of a little fish soaked in salt, dissolved and squeezed.
Later it was prepared with mackerel. Today it is prepared with tuna fish or sturgeon's eggs.
Seneca called "sanie" garo's sauce while Martial named it "fece".
The tasting of the wine was generalized.
To avoid getting drunk before drinking Carthaginians ate a little quantity of raw cabbage, because they thought it kept away the devils contained in the wine (Ateneo, II, 26).
Greeks on the contrary believed they could avoid the negative effects of the wine by being crowned with flowers or ivy (Plutarco, op. disp. Conviv.III, I).
Raisin wine was invented by them.
Magone described the recipe of the "passum", the raisin wine.
People collected the first clusters rejecting those which were grown musty, then they put them under the rays of the sun, protecting them from the dew and covering them during the night.
When the clusters were finally dry (raisin wine), they were put into ajar and covered with the must.
After six days they were sqeezed and the juice was collected. Afterwards it was pressed adding some fresh new wine dried under the rays of the sun for three days.
Finally, the wine was sealed into clay vases, to be opened after twenty or thirty daiy of fermentation.