Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook
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The anonymous author of Kanz al-fawid fi tanwi al-mawa’id compiled more than 800 recipes. Current scholarly consensus favors the idea that the work showcases the food of fourteenth-century Mamluk Egypt, a claim based on both the language of the surviving manuscripts as well as the ingredients mentioned.
This translation by Arabic scholar and culinary historian Nawal Nasrallah is based on efforts of previous scholars to compile definitive versions of the text based on four manuscripts; Nasrallah has added to that work thanks to access to a fifth manuscript.
As with many works from antiquity which survive in manuscript forms, issues of transcription by different scribes present sometimes confusing instructions. Nasrallah is clear and deliberate in her efforts to unravel mistakes such as writing khall (vinegar) for hall (sugar syrup), informed by a wide knowledge of contemporaneous recipes.
Among the distinctive qualities of Treasure Trove is its frequent use of measurements, for which Nasrallah provides modern equivalents. Medical benefits are often assured, as is access to ice. The author is sometimes moved to share poetry, including lines by three different authors on the pleasures of cold dishes. And there are occasional stories about the origins of dishes, many of which featured demanding nobles and inventive cooks.
An extensive glossary of nearly 300 pages includes Arabic characters and is supplemented by an appendix on people and places mentioned in the text.
Impressively comprehensive.
Paperback. Color photographs throughout.
