Food for Thought

Residents across the Middle East are always on the lookout for a tasty dish of Hummus, but was it always like that? What about falafel? Tehina? What was the founder of Islam, Muhammad’s favorite dish? And why does Middle Eastern rice have lentils in it? That, and much more, can be learned about at the A World of Flavors exhibition which opened at Jerusalem’s Museum for Islamic Art. The show takes an overarching look at the evolution of cuisine across an expansive hinterland, stretching from Iraq in the East to Spain in the West, from the advent of Islam in the 7th century CE up to the Ottoman Empire, with the odd reference to the present day. The exhibits take in a broad array of visual aesthetics, including dishes of all sizes, shapes, quality, hues, and functions, as well as artwork and, amazingly, copies and originals of ancient cookbooks.
A millennium elapsed after the dawn of the Islamic Era. Back then, unlike today’s information era, aka the digital era, it was generally a matter of international trade and other links, and the odd military conquest or two, to facilitate the circulation of new ideas from foreign lands.
As the Islamic Empire spread across the Middle East and North Africa, and into Spain, the incoming culture began to make inroads on local lifestyles that naturally included eating habits. Curators Adi Namia-Cohen and Limor Yungman decided, wisely, to provide the visitor with some global and culinary bearings from the outset. In the first display section, there is a large map on a wall showing the area around the Mediterranean and east to Iraq. The tastefully designed geographic spread gives a basic idea of what dishes came from where and when. Yungman, who has a Ph.D. from France in food history, says “The exhibition opens with the map that tells the story of the Arab conquests, from the 7th century [CE], through six raw ingredients – rice, saffron, cinnamon, orange, sugar and eggplant”. The idea was to offer the visitor as varied an ingredient base as possible. “There are spices, fruit, and a vegetable”, Yungman continues, “They are the markers of this cuisine, and they spread to other places in the wake of this conquest”.
There are other fruits in the display mix – such as dates – which, according to the Koran, the prophet Muhammad promoted as a healthy, nourishing, and satisfying bite. It was also an inexpensive snack. Islam originated from a largely arid land where palm trees were probably one of the few items of vegetation that thrived. Camel’s milk and grain were also easily available in the Arabian Peninsula and were generally used to make porridge.
Meanwhile, over on the upper crust side of society, rulers had their own court cooks, with the head chef entrusted with ensuring that the head of state not only enjoyed his repasts but also got himself plenty of wholesome nutrition. Interestingly, women who were taken to serve in royal courts as slaves also found work in the kitchen, and some of them even attained key positions. There was also more to being a chef than just creating attractive and flavorful dishes. The cooks served as gastronomic cultural agents and played an active role in court cooking contests, gastronomy-themed poetry, and cookbooks