Table Of Contentcalifornia studies in food and culture
DARRA GOLDSTEIN, EDITOR
1.Dangerous Tastes: The Story ofSpices,by Andrew Dalby
2.Eating Right in the Renaissance, by Ken Albala
3.Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health,by Marion Nestle
4.Camembert: A National Myth, by Pierre Boisard
5.Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism,by Marion Nestle
6.Eating Apes, by Dale Peterson
7.Revolution at the Table: The Transformation ofthe American Diet, by Harvey Levenstein
8.Paradox ofPlenty: A Social History ofEating in Modern America,by Harvey Levenstein
9.Encarnación’s Kitchen: Mexican Recipes from Nineteenth-Century California:
Selections from Encarnación Pinedo’s El cocinero español,by Encarnación Pinedo,
edited and translated by Dan Strehl,with an essay by Victor Valle
10.Zinfandel: A History ofa Grape and Its Wine, by Charles L.Sullivan,
with a foreword by Paul Draper
11.Tsukiji: The Fish Market at the Center ofthe World, by Theodore C.Bestor
12.Born Again Bodies: Flesh and Spirit in American Christianity, by R.Marie Griffith
13.Our Overweight Children: What Parents, Schools, and Communities Can Do to Control
the Fatness Epidemic, by Sharron Dalton
14.The Art ofCooking: The First Modern Cookery Book, by The Eminent Maestro
Martino ofComo,edited and with an introduction by Luigi Ballerini,translated and
annotated by Jeremy Parzen,and with fifty modernized recipes by Stefania Barzini
15.The Queen ofFats: Why Omega-3s Were Removed from the Western Diet and What We
Can Do to Replace Them, by Susan Allport
16. Meals to Come: A History ofthe Future ofFood, by Warren Belasco
17.The Spice Route: A History, by John Keay
18. Medieval Cuisine ofthe Islamic World: A Concise History with 174 Recipes, by Lilia
Zaouali,translated by M.B.DeBevoise,with a foreword by Charles Perry
19. Arranging the Meal: A History ofTable Service in France,by Jean-Louis Flandrin,
translated by Julie E.Johnson,with Sylvie and Antonio Roder;with a foreword to
theEnglish-language edition by Beatrice Fink
20.The Taste ofPlace: Food, Culture, and the Pleasures ofTerroir,by Amy B.Trubek
21.Food: The History ofTaste, edited by Paul Freedman
TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk
medieval cuisine of the islamic world
TThhiiss ppaaggee iinntteennttiioonnaallllyy lleefftt bbllaannkk
medieval cuisine
islamic world
OF THE
a concise history with 174 recipes
LILIA ZAOUALI
translated by m.b. debevoise
foreword by charles perry
university of california press
berkeley los angeles london
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution to this book provided
by the General Endowment Fund ofthe University ofCalifornia Press Foundation.
University ofCalifornia Press,one ofthe most distinguished univer-
sity presses in the United States,enriches lives around the world by
advancing scholarship in the humanities,social sciences,and natural
sciences.Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and
by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions.For
more information,visit www.ucpress.edu.
University ofCalifornia Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles,California
University ofCalifornia Press,Ltd.
London,England
English translation © 2007 by The Regents ofthe University of
California
Originally published in Italian as L’Islam a tavola. Dal Medioevo a oggi.
© Gius.Laterza & Figli SpA,Roma-Bari.2004.All rights reserved.
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zaouali,Lilia.
[Islam a tavola.English]
Medieval cuisine ofthe Islamic world :a concise history with 174
recipes / Lilia Zaouali ;translated by M.B.DeBevoise ;foreword by
Charles Perry.
p. cm.
“Translated from both the original French version and the pub-
lished Italian edition ofthe book”—Pref.to the American edition.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn978-0-520-24783-3 (cloth :alk.paper)
1.Cookery—Arab. 2.Arabs—Food—History. 3.Cookery,
Medieval. 4.Cookery,Islamic. I.Title.
TX725.A65Z3613 2007
641.5939’49—dc22 2006100930
Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica
16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on New LeafEcoBook 50,a 100% recycled fiber
ofwhich 50% is de-inked post-consumer waste,processed chlorine-
free.EcoBook 50 is acid-free and meets the minimum requirements of
ansi/astm d5634–01 (Permanence ofPaper).1
contents
Foreword/ ix
charles perry
Translator’s Note/ xxi
m.b. debevoise
Preface to the American Edition/ xxiii
lilia zaouali
PART ONE: CULTURAL BACKGROUND AND CULINARY CONTEXT / 1
Crossroads ofthe World’s Cuisines / 3
Materials,Techniques,and Terminology / 49
PART TWO: THE MEDIEVAL TRADITION / 61
Cold Appetizers / 63
Bread and Broth / 68
Sweet-and-Sour Dishes / 76
Roasts,Meatballs,and Sausages / 86
Meat,Poultry,and Vegetable Stews / 92
Fish / 96
Cheese and Other Dairy Dishes / 106
Soups / 111
Pasta / 115
Couscous / 121
Rice and Omelets / 125
Sauces / 129
Pastries and Jams / 131
Cheeses,Fermented Condiments,and Wine / 138
PART THREE: CONTEMPORARY NORTH AFRICAN CUISINE / 143
Meat and Poultry / 147
Fish,Sauces,and Vegetables / 160
Soups,Pasta,and Couscous / 168
Desserts and Condiments / 176
Notes/ 185
Glossary/ 195
Index ofRecipes/ 201
General Index/ 207
foreword
CHARLES PERRY
Islam has the richest medieval food literature in the world—there are more
cookbooks in Arabic from before 1400 than in the rest ofthe world’s lan-
guages put together,making possible the wide scope ofthis volume.In most
cultures throughout history,cooking has been taught by apprenticeship,ei-
ther at one’s mother’s knee,in the case ofhome cooks,or in a professional
kitchen, for chefs. The medieval Arabs were peculiar in writing recipes
down,compiling them into cookbooks,and cooking from them.
This practice seems to have been a legacy ofancient Persia.When the
Arabian armies conquered Iran in the seventh century, they found the
Sasanian court full ofconnoisseurs.Someone there had actually written a
tale (Khusrau i Kavatan u Retak E)that was in effect a handy list ofsophis-
ticated gourmet opinions so the reader wouldn’t make a fool of himself
when mingling with the upper crust.
The tale was translated into Arabic,ofcourse.The caliphs ofBaghdad
followed Persian court practice in many things,and above all where food
was concerned.The Persian kings had organized cooking contests among
their boon companions? So would the caliphs.They fattened chickens on
hempseed before slaughtering them? Likewise in Baghdad.
The Persian aristocrats had saved their favorite recipes in personal cook-
books (not that they necessarily did any cooking themselves),and Baghdad
followed this custom as well.The oldest surviving Arabic cookbook,Kitab
al-tabikh,was compiled in the tenth century by a scribe named Ibn Sayyar
al-Warraq from the recipe collections ofeighth- and ninth-century caliphs
and members oftheir courts.
ix
