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Md-Cu-Islmc-Wd-msg - 2/25/12

Reviews and comments on "Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World: A Concise History with 174 Recipes" - by Lilia Zaouali.

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Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 07:48:10 -0700 (PDT)

From: Meisterin Katarina Helene <meisterin02 at yahoo.com>

To: "sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Book Question

David Brown/Oxbow Books has this book on sale... is it a good book or average?

'Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World: A Concise History with 174 Recipes' - by Lilia Zaouali

List Price: US$ 40.00 * Our Price: US$ 16.98 *

Link: http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/81345/MID/10121

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meisterin Katarina Helene von Sch?nborn, OL

Shire of Narrental (Peru, Indiana) http://narrental.home.comcast.net

Middle Kingdom

http://meisterin.katarina.home.comcast.net

Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:13:07 -0400

From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>

To: Meisterin Katarina Helene <meisterin02 at yahoo.com>, Cooks within

the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Book Question

It's not bad, although at one time it was much cheaper to start with.

We described it on the list back in June 2007 as

Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World: A Concise History with 174

Recipes *by Lilia Zaouali **Publication Date:* October, 2007 *University

of California Press ****ISBN:* 0-520-24783-3 *ISBN13:*

978-0-520-24783-3 ** Trade Cloth *Pages:* 242 *Price:* $24.95 (USD)

Retail (Publisher)

Vinegar and sugar, dried fruit, rose water, spices from India and China,

sweet wine made from raisins and dates--these are the flavors of the

golden age of Arab cuisine. This book, a delightful culinary adventure

that is part history and part cookery, surveys the gastronomical art

that developed at the Caliph's sumptuous palaces in ninth- and

tenth-century Baghdad, drew inspiration from Persian, Greco-Roman, and

Turkish cooking, and rapidly spread across the Mediterranean. In a

charming narrative, Lilia Zaouali introduces the great medieval cooks

and cookbooks, discusses the origins of dietary obsessions and

prohibitions, tells of Arab merchants who traveled to China to obtain

sugar, coconuts, and spices four centuries before Marco Polo, considers

the food of Ramadan, and much more as she brings to life Islam's vibrant

culinary heritage. The second half of the book gathers an extensive

selection of original recipes drawn from medieval culinary sources along

with thirty contemporary recipes that evoke the flavors of the Middle

Ages.

Urtatim noted that "Charles Perry was not thrilled about this book. He

said it rather jumps from al-Baghdadi to the 20th century without covering much in between. And the author didn't seem to understand that the history of

what was in between was also significant."

Later in Jan. 2008 she wrote upon seeing it-- "The book begins with a

brief but informative Foreward by Charles Perry.

The primary text is divided into three sections:

Part One: Cultural Background and Culinary Context

Part Two: The Medieval Tradition

Part Three: Contemporary North African Cuisine

The first sixty pages is divided into two parts, "Crossroads of the

World's Cuisines" and "Materials, Techniques, and Terminology". These

include, among other things, a brief overview of known Arabic

language culinary texts, ingredients, and cooking techniques, and

includes some useful photos of extant cookware and serving dishes,

although only a rather limited number.

Part Two consists of 143 recipes from four sources, three not yet

available in English, one only recently available - "Annals of the

Caliphs' Kitchens: Ibn Sayyar Al-warraq's Tenth-century Baghdadi

Cookbook" (Islamic History and Civilization) by Nawal Nasrallah.

Zaouali includes 24 recipes from this vast source, which i assume she

translated herself.

While not the masterwork of scholarship that "Annals of the Caliphs'

Kitchens" is, Zaouali's book also does not cost $195, but merely

$24.95. And it is definitely useful for the SCAdian cook, especially

since it includes recipes not in any other book."

Johnnae

Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:30:06 -0700

From: Ursula Whitcher <ursula at tutelaries.net>

To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Book Question

<<< Part Two consists of 143 recipes from four sources, three not yet

available in English, one only recently available - "Annals of the

Caliphs' Kitchens: Ibn Sayyar Al-warraq's Tenth-century Baghdadi

Cookbook" (Islamic History and Civilization) by Nawal Nasrallah.

Zaouali includes 24 recipes from this vast source, which i assume she

translated herself.

While not the masterwork of scholarship that "Annals of the Caliphs'

Kitchens" is, Zaouali's book also does not cost $195, but merely

$24.95. And it is definitely useful for the SCAdian cook, especially

since it includes recipes not in any other book." >>>

Several of the recipes in Zaouali's book are in my standard

medieval-food rotation now (including medieval hummus with salted

lemon and feta pies).

--Ursula Georges.

Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:15:15 -0700

From: lilinah at earthlink.net

To: Meisterin Katarina Helene <meisterin02 at yahoo.com>, Cooks within

the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Book Question

On Apr 26, 2011, at 10:48 AM, Meisterin Katarina Helene wrote:

<<< Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World: A Concise History with 174

Recipes >>>

Johnnae quoted some salient parts from my various comments and review.

While the hardcover edition of the book for $40, the site linked

offers it for $16.98.

There is also a paperback edition, available from Amazon for $13.01

(lists for $18.95)

I am rather shocked that the price has gone up $15 in 4 years. In my

opinion, it is in no way worth $40, but it is definitely worth the

paperback price or the discounted price.

I will add, if anyone is just looking for some new recipes from

medieval Arabic language sources, this is a good book. If one is

seeking deep scholarship along with the recipes, this book is not the

one. The introductory section adds little to what has already been

written in a number of books - although if one owns none of them, it

is definitely useful.

If someone is looking for *just one* book on medieval Arabic language

cooking to have in their library, then I would highly and strongly

recommend Medieval Arab Cookery, since it includes 3 (or is it 4)

complete cookbook texts, plus many very informative and helpful essay

on a wide variety of related topics. I notice that Oxbow Books (the

linked-to site) has Medieval Arab Cookery for $50, rather than the

list price of $75. I would say to the list in general, if the topic

is of interest, and you don't have this book, THIS is the book to

get, not Zaouali.

On the other hand, if anyone wants to have as expansive a library as

they can on the topic of medieval Arabic language cooking and already

owns Medieval Arab Cookery, then Zaouali is a useful addition.

Finally, I recommend

http://www.bookfinder.com/

which is a meta search engine for finding used - and new - books.

Urtatim [that's err-tah-TEEM]

the persona formerly known as Anahita