The Pharaoh's kitchen: recipes from Ancient Egypt's enduring food traditions

173 Pages·2010·4.228 MB·English

by  Hussein, Amr;Mehdawy, Magda

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The
Pharaoh(cid:2)s Kitchen
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The
Pharaoh(cid:2)s Kitchen
Recipes from Ancient Egypt’s
Enduring Food Traditions
Magda Mehdawy
Amr Hussein
The American University in Cairo Press
Cairo New York
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All photographs by the authors except: pages 10-11, 29, 50, 62-63, 65 by Araldo De Luca
© Archivio White Star; pages 20, 64, 75, 130 courtesy of Abdel Ghaffar Shedid.
Line drawings on page 117 courtesy of Lise Manniche; all other line drawings courtesy of
Asma Adel.
First published in 2010 by
The American University in Cairo Press
113 Sharia Kasr el Aini, Cairo, Egypt
420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018
www.aucpress.com
Copyright © 2010 by Magda Mehdawy and Amr Hussein
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Dar el Kutub No. 4204/09
ISBN 978 977 416 310 4
Dar el Kutub Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mehdawy, Magda
The Pharaoh’s Kitchen: Recipes from Ancient Egypt’s Enduring Food Traditions /
Magda Mehdawy and Amr Hussein.—Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2010
p. cm.
ISBN 978 977 416 310 4
1. Cookery—Egypt Antiquities
2. Cookery, Egyptian
I. Hussein, Amr (jt. auth.) II. Title
641.5932
1 2 3 4 5 6 15 14 13 12 11 10
Designed by Sally Boylan
Printed in Egypt
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Dedicated to the eminent Egyptologist Abd El Halim Nour El Din,
whose support and knowledge were a huge help in putting this book
together. His wise opinions and sound advice have guided us
throughout this project. We cannot thank him enough for his
immense support and passion for knowledge.
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Contents
Foreword ix
Preface 1
1 Food in Ancient Egypt 3
Home and Kitchen 3
Food and Drink in Ancient Egyptian Society 9
Food and Table Manners 11
Special Occasions 12
Food and the Gods 18
2 Bread 25
3 Eggs and Dairy Products 41
4 Meat 49
5 Poultry 61
6 Fish 73
7 Vegetables 87
8 Legumes 101
9 Fruits and Desserts 115
10 Beverages 125
Appendices 133
Food and Language 133
Food and Hieroglyphs in Ancient Egypt 135
Glossary 145
Notes 151
Bibliography 155
Index 159
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Foreword
While ancient Egyptian civilization is best noted for its architec-
ture, its elaborate temples and tombs, and arts and sculpture,
there are other aspects of ancient Egyptian society that have
been far less studied. The culture of food and drink—which entails the meth-
ods of preparation and consumption, kitchen planning and tools, as well as
references in literary and other texts—is among those more obscure facets
of the pharaonic era.
Food and drink are necessities of life and therefore an important area of
research. The habits of the past are of the utmost relevance in the continuing
habits of the present, and our knowledge of the aspects of food and drink still
lacks a great deal of depth. Herein is the importance of this book. Magda
Mehdawy and Amr Hussein’s The Pharaoh’s Kitchen offers a collection of
modern-day recipes that have evolved from pharaonic cooking techniques
and ingredients. Despite the abundant depictions of food and food prepara-
tion found on pharaonic walls and reliefs, the ancient Egyptians did not leave
behind any recipes, making it difficult, if not impossible, to identify the meth-
ods of food preparation and dining etiquette of their civilization.
This book is an absorbing and serious attempt to investigate and develop
the scant information about food and drink that has been passed on to us
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