california 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