The Culinary Crescent: A History of Middle Eastern Cuisine PDF
Preview The Culinary Crescent: A History of Middle Eastern Cuisine
Falafel, hummus and doner kebabs; couscous, stuffed vine leaves and marzipan – the delicacies of the Middle East have long since found their way onto menus in the West, while spices such as cloves, cardamom, saffron and cinnamon that were once beyond most people’s means are today familiar ingredients in every well-appointed kitchen. But how much do we really know about Middle Eastern cuisine? In this book, the renowned Islamic scholar Peter Heine explains, among other things, why Muslims never eat pork, but are not infrequently partial to a glass of red wine. He goes on to describe the kinds of dishes that were prepared in the Thousand and One Saucepans of the Ummayads, Abbasids, Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals and how almsgiving came to be considered part of good etiquette at table. The author recounts tales of the great Middle Eastern chefs and cooks, both male and female, of the distribution of different vegetables and fruit across the region and the routes by which they were brought to Europe, and of how the supply of halal produce worldwide has now become a multi-million pound industry. Since Heine is also an avid gourmet, this unique cultural history is garnished with over a hundred recipes, including everyday dishes for the modern kitchen, classic preparations from the annals of Mughal and Abbasid cookery, and lavish confections that conjure up the culinary delights of Paradise. Peter Heine THE CULINARY CRESCENT A History of Middle Eastern Cuisine Translated by Peter Lewis First published in English in 2018 by Gingko Library 4 Molasses Row London SW11 3UX First published in German as Köstlicher Orient by Peter Heine, © 2016 Verlag Klaus Wagenbach, Berlin English language translation copyright © Peter Lewis 2018 Cover illustration: Julie August from a photo of an Uzbek mosaic © Konstantin Kalishko / depositphotos The rights of the author has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotation in a review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher. A CIP catalogue record for the book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978–1–909942–25–7 eISBN978–1–909942–26–4 Layout by Denise Sterr Typeset by Mitchell Onuorah in Minion Pro and Gill Sans Printed in Spain www.gingko.org.uk @gingkolibrary Prologue No Pork, no Alcohol Why no pork? Ritual slaughter The proscription against alcohol Blood Yet more rules Preferred dishes The culinary promises of Paradise Rules for fasting and meals for religious festivals Secular festivals Religious minorities in Islamic societies A Thousand and One Saucepans – Cooking Among the High and Mighty Hospitality The Umayyads The Abbasids The Ottomans The Safavids The Mughal emperors Cookbooks and Kitchen Practices Professional chefs Modern professional chefs Amateur cooks Cookbooks Arab cuisine Ottoman cuisine Persian cuisine Mughal cuisine Modern cookbooks Itinerant Ingredients – The Flow of Commodities to and from the East From the Far East and the West to the Islamic world Grains Sugar cane Citrus fruits Bananas Water melons Spinach Aubergines From the Middle East to Europe Alcohol Apricots Coffee Marzipan Saffron Sorbets Tomatoes and Peppers – Western Influences on Middle Eastern Cooking Shifts in international trade American plants in the cuisines of the East Potatoes Tomatoes Peppers/chillies Maize (Sweetcorn) Jerusalem artichokes Cacao Tea Doner Kebabs and Falafels – Middle Eastern Cuisine in Europe Doners and falafels Poultry Blancmange Rosewater Traces of Middle Eastern cuisine in British food The growth in popularity of Middle Eastern food in Britain Sweets Old and New – Modern Middle Eastern Cuisine Practical and technical innovations in households large and small Eating at table Modern preservation techniques Changes in gastronomy First restaurants Modern restaurants Your Food – Our Food: The Role of Politics and Economics Politics and economics Culinary identities Dolma in Iraq The dispute over hummus and falafel Chefs for Peace Other conflicts over the origins of foods New forms of gardening
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