Title: fd-Arabs-msg
Subject: Foods of the medieval Arabs.
Author: Edited by Mark S. Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: Arab, food, Saudi Arabia, desert, nomad, Islam

fd-Arabs-msg - 3/2/14

Foods of the medieval Arabs.

NOTE: See also the files: E-Arab-recip-art, fd-Morocco-msg, fd-Turkey-msg, ME-revel-fds-art, murri-msg, fd-Jewish-msg, hais-msg, Islamic-Pudng-art, Islam-alcohol-msg.

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NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

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Thank you,
    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 21:12:45 -0700
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org, "Cindy M. Renfrow" <cindy at thousandeggs.com>
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Memos from a Mastic Marathon....

I must be the only one here who purchased "Medieval Arab Cookery" and
actually read it :-)

>  >What is "blattes de Bysance"?
>
>This was the topic of a long discussion on rec.food.historic back in '99.
>Some folks confused this with cochineal. 
>
>a.k.a. onycha
>    "the fingernail-like operculum or closing flap of certain snails
>    of the murex family, such as the Onyx marinus, Strombus lentiginosus,
>    or Unguis Odaratus (Tifereth Yisrael, Chomer Bakodesh 2:67; Cf. Ben
>    Sirah 24:15, Dioscorides, De Materia Medica 2:10). This emits a very
>    pleasant smell when burned."
>
>Cindy

Nope, they weren't using snail trap doors in their cooking. The
recently published book "Medieval Arab Cookery" corrects this error.

Here's how the error came about:
In editing the manuscript of Baghdadi's cookbook, Dr. Da'ud Chelebi
came across the term "atraf al-tib". He did not understand the phrase
and therefore assumed it was a scribal error, amending it to read
azfar al-tib, which lead to Arberry's mistranslation as "blattes de
Bysance", "Byzantine cockroaches" or as "perfumed nails" of the onyx
(the sea creature).

Here is how it was corrected:
In fact Atrab al-tib was the correct phrase. It is a spice blend
which appears in Kitab al-wusla ila al-habib fi wasf al-tayyibat wa
al-tib, "The Book of the Bonds of Friendship or a desctiption of good
dishes and perfumes", sometimes called The Book of the Link of the
Beloved".

Here's the list of ingredients in Maxime Rodinson's essay "Studies in
Arabic Manuscripts", from his analysis of "Wusla ila al-Habib", on p.
132 of "Medieval Arab Cookery":

lavender
betel
bay leaves
nutmeg
mace
cardamom
cloves
rosebuds
beech-nuts
ginger
pepper

Here's the list of ingredients as translated by Charles Perry, on p.
484 in "Medieval Arab Cookery"

spikenard (note difference in translation between Rodinson and Perry
- i've used both lavender and spikenard in recipes, so i don't have
an opinion, although i lean toward Rodinson)
betel
laurel leaf
nutmeg
mace
cardamom
cloves
rose hips (note difference in translation between Rodinson and Perry
- i believe Rodinson here)
common ash (again note difference in translation between Rodinson and
Perry - i think i believe Rodinson here)
long pepper (Rodinson leaves this out)
ginger
pepper

As for the discussion of using cochineal to color food, i find none
in any recipes in "Medieval Arab Cookery", however, *madder* is used
to color a fish dish, "The Making of Good Sahna", in a recipe from
"Wusla ila al-habib", on p. 484 of "Medieval Arab Cookery"

Anahita

Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 21:25:35 -0700
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Memos from a Mastic Marathon....

Phlip wrote:
>On many of the Arabic recipes, there was the suffix,
>"iya", as in: Burinya, Tuffahiya, Madira, Raihaniya,
>Rutabiya, Labaniya, Hisrimiya, Halawiya, Rummaniya,
>Sumaqiya, Limuwiya, Mamquriya, Hubaishiya,
>Mishmishiya,
>Narenjiya, Masliya, Isfankiya, Rukhamiya, Itriya,
>Muhallibiya, Anbariya, Mishmishiya, Safarjaliya,
>Narenjiya, Fahtiya, Burniya, Basaliya, Raihaniya,
>Nurjisiya, Nujumiya, Buraniya al-Qar, Khudairiya,
>Makhfiya, Dinariya, and Rutabiya.
>
>Does this suffix have a particular meaning? Most of
>the above are some variant of lamb or red meat, but I
>think there were others which weren't, with that
>suffix. Also, was wondering if the "ija" in
>"Mudaqqaqat Sadhija" might be a variant of the "iya".
>Margali says that "iya" means "in the style of" much
>as the French "a la" does. Is that it, or is it an
>indicator of something else?

Like so many languages other than English, Arabic has masculine and
feminine gender for words, a terminology which confuses people, let's
say, blue and red color, and "iya" is the feminine, err, i mean red,
ending so that nouns and adjectives agree in gender, i mean color.

In the titles of food dishes it seems to be an adjective. In certain
names, it means it features a particular ingredient: as Thumiyya,
which means "Garlicy", that is featuring garlic, and "Tuffahiya"
which is "Apple-y", that is featuring apples. Rummaniya would feature
Pomegranates, Sumaqiya would feature sumac, Safarjaliya would feature
quinces, Labaniya would feature laban, sort of yogurt-cream cheese,
etc.

Or i suppose once could use "-like", as Mishmishiya, which is meat
balls shaped like apricots, thus "apricot-like". And "Bustaniyya",
which is "Orchardy", that is "Orchard-like", the Persian dish I
cooked that had almonds, pears, and peaches, all from the orchard.

Of the two Mishmishiya dishes with different ingredients, one
features apricots, fitting my first "definition", and the other,
well, there it is as an example of my second "definition".

Anahita

Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005 20:24:37 -0400
From: Lee Sebastiani <valeriavictrix at mac.com>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Has anyone translated these new recipes into
	English?
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

I could probably manage the French, but.............

Thanks!

--Lee Sebastiani

Link: http://www.slowfood.com/eng/sf_sloweb/fuori_guscio/8fuori_EN.html

  From the archives to the kitchen. A translators recipes

Lilia Zaouali

For five centuries, the secrets of the imperial cuisine of Ottoman Turkey escaped the curiosity of scholars. The reason? They were hidden away in a neglected fifteenth-century manuscript whose real value had been underestimated. Careful reading of the document - wrongly believed to be a mere translation of the celebrated thirteenth-century Arab cookery manual Kitb al-Tabkh by al-Baghdadi - brought to light as many as 82 recipes. The first part of the manuscript  in fact consist of a translation from Arabic to Turkish of the recipes of al-Baghdadi, but the ones from no. 74 onward are the personal contribution of the translator turned author, Mehmed bin Mahmoud of Azerbaijan. This part of the document thus bridges gaps in documents on the cooking of the Ottoman empire in its period of greatest splendor.

By Stefane Yerasimos, a lecturer
at the Paris-VIII University and author of numerous books on Turkey and
the Ottoman Empire.

A la table du Grand Turc Editions
Actes Sud, from the Orient Gourmand / Sindbad series , Arles
2001

22.8 euros

Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005 21:02:37 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Has anyone translated these new recipes into
	English?
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

I don't find it listed as being translated into
an English or American edition.

It can be ordered from Amazon Canada.

Johnnae

Lee Sebastiani wrote:
> I could probably manage the French, but.............
> --Lee Sebastiani
>
> Link: http://www.slowfood.com/eng/sf_sloweb/fuori_guscio/ 
> 8fuori_EN.html
>
>  Stefane Yerasimos,
> A la table du Grand Turc Editions
> Actes Sud, from the Orient Gourmand / Sindbad series , Arles
> 2001
> 22.8 euros

Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2005 22:53:44 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] A Baghdad Cookery Book in 2006
To: "mk-cooks at midrealm.org" <mk-cooks at midrealm.org>,	Cooks within the
	SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

I am reminded that I have a number of forthcoming books
to mention. Time to play librarian.
I have already mentioned Ann Hagen's combined edition.

Also Coming in 2006

A Baghdad Cookery Book
by Muhammad Ibn Al-Hasan Al-Baghdadi, a new translation by Charles Perry

Al-Baghdadi's Kitab al-Tabikh was for long the only medieval Arabic
Cookery book known to the English-speaking world, thanks to A.J
Arberry's path-breaking 1939 translation as `A Baghdad Cookery Book'
which was re-issued by Prospect Books in 2001 in Medieval Arab Cookery.
For centuries, it has been the favourite Arab cookery book of the Turks.
The original manuscript is still in Istanbul, and at some point a
Turkish sultan commissioned a very handsome copy which can still be seen
in The British Library in London. In the twentieth century the Iraqui
scholar, Daoud Chelebi, produced a modern transcription which served as
the basis for Arberry's translation. Charles Perry has re-visited the
manuscript and discovered many possible errors and amendments that
affect the interpretation of these essential recipes for the
understanding of medieval Arab cookery. He has produced a new Enlish
translation incorporating these ammendments and fully annotating his
variations with the 'authorised' version. Scholars will now have a
definitive text on which to work. They will also have this text in an
inexpensive and handy format, just the thing for a learned lady's
handbag. 128p (Prospect Books February 2006)

ISBN 1903018420. Paperback. Not yet published - advance orders taken.
Price US $19.95
http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/45389

Johnnae llyn Lewis

Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2005 23:02:43 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] A Baghdad Cookery Book in 2006
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>,
	"mk-cooks at midrealm.org" <mk-cooks at midrealm.org>

Turns out that those of us who subscribe to PPC will be receiving this
as a special issue of the journal.

Tom Jaine wrote:

In early September we will be publishing a new translation by Charles
Perry of Al Baghdadi's 'Kitab al-Tabikh', under the title of A Baghdad
Cookery Book. The format will be the same as Petits Propos Culinaires
(PPC), the price will be GBP10.00, the ISBN 1-903018-420. This will in
fact be a special issue of PPC, i.e. PPC no.79, but will also be
commercially available as a stand-alone book. PPC subscribers are of
course getting it at a bargain price. Charles Perry has been to Istanbul
to inspect the manuscripts of Al Baghdadi's masterwork (hitherto
available in Arberry's translation which we reprinted in Medieval Arab
Cookery of 2001) and he has come up with a more accurate, and more
nuanced, version. This will be a big day for Arabic food history.

The rest can buy it next year I guess.

Johnnae

Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:45:09 -0400
From: Johnna Holloway <johnna at sitka.engin.umich.edu>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Indian Books was Partial Mughal Cookbook
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Ok I admit I googled the title and I have been happily caught up in
browsing a few Indian bookstores
and now I have a list to ponder over. Lots of odd things like this  
edition--

*Royal Dishes of Baghdad/translated from Arabic by A.J. Arberry. *Delhi,
Global Vision, 2003, xviii,120 p., (pbk). ISBN 81-87746-59-9.

https://www.vedamsbooks.com/index.htm  seems slightly higher but it's
very easy to browse.
Also http://www.alltimebooks.com/shop/
http://www.bookshopofindia.com/

Johnnae

Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 18:30:04 -0700
From: lilinah at earthlink.net
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Boiled, Stuffed and Roasted Chicken Recipe
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Aislinn asked:
>  Is there any cooking technique like this during the Middle Ages in the
>  Arabic countries? I haven't tried this recipe, although it sounds like a
>  terrific way to make sure the chicken is cooked at feast. This would even
>  work for Saxon-style cooking over a campfire, boiling the chicken first
>  then skewering it and toasting the outside.
>
>  Boiled, Stuffed and Roasted Chicken Recipe
>
>  Boiling the chicken first produces a moist and succulent chicken.The
>  stuffing is like having an extra meal out of the chicken!  Experiment with
>  your favourite spices. Imperial ounces are used for this. This recipe
>  comes from A New Book of Middle Eastern Food.

Many recipes in the Arabic language cookbooks and among the Ottoman
Turkish recipes call for two stage cooking, but i don't recall any
three stage recipes... i need to go look.

For red meat, most of the time the cut up meat is browned first in
melted fat from the tail of the fat tail sheep. Then liquid is added
and the meat is boiled/simmered. Other meats may be added. Some
recipes call for sheep meat cut up with a later addition of sheep
meatballs. Some recipes include both sheep and chicken meat.

For chicken, i don't recall chicken being browned first. Several
recipes call for boiling the chicken until done, then cutting it up
or jointing it, and then frying it in butter or oil. Then it is
finished with a sauce.

In a limited number of dishes the meat is roasted, but this seems a
bit more "rustic" or what may be done on particular holidays. For the
urbane and sophisticated, it should have plenty of tasty ingredients
and generally a sauce.

There are some stuffed chicken recipes, and sometimes they involve
inserting the stuffing between the skin and the meat...

I'll have to look through my books to see if there are any that are
actually roasted after boiling.
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita

Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 19:09:55 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Daniel And elizabeth phelps " <dephelps at embarqmail.com>
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Extreme Cuisine; Arabian

An article of possible interest that you will not see referenced in Saudi Aramco World 
http://www.livescience.com/43884-medieval-arabs-ate-lizards.html

<the end>

Edited by Mark S. Harris	fd-Arab-msg	 of