The oldest recipe collection in the world
The invention of gastronomy did not take place in the Egypt of the first pharaohs, nor in the ancient Chinese civilization on the Yellow River, nor in the early Indus culture. Based on what we know today, it occurred in the 18th century BC in Babylon under King Hammurabi. The evidence that allows us to speak of actual “haute cuisine” in the palace and temple kitchens of the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers is truly impressive. The Yale Culinary Tablets are the oldest collection of recipes in the world. They are, so to speak, a cookbook in cuneiform tablets, from which we can deduce the existence of a fully developed gastronomic culture with specialized chefs, some of whom used exquisite ingredients, and a variety of preparation methods.
There are various reasons why this happened in this place and at this time. For one thing, Babylonia is located in the “Fertile Crescent” region, often referred to as the “cradle of human civilization.” This is where humans settled down: they not only domesticated plants such as wild grains, enabling them to practice agriculture. After hunting down the local gazelle population, they tamed wild animals such as dogs, sheep, goats, wild boars, and aurochs for the first time. The “hydraulic culture” of the region also benefited enormously from the Euphrates and Tigris. The rivers provided drinking water and protein through fishing and mussel beds, and they brought goods, people, and ideas. Above all, they make the surrounding land fertile through periodically recurring floods.
The world as a restaurant for the gods
Not a bad start, but it would be another thousand years before gastronomy was born in the advanced civilizations of Mesopotamia. Then, in the 18th century BCE, King Hammurabi succeeded in reuniting the various kingdoms of the region. The charismatic ruler, who was to become immortal as the king of justice with the code named after him, turned the former small town of Babylon into the preeminent metropolis of the Ancient Orient. It was a new city for a new god named Marduk. In his honor, enormous temples were built to serve as his dwelling place.
Hammurabi, like no ruler before him, embraced the central role prescribed for him by his culture: providing the gods with food and drink. According to a central Mesopotamian creation myth, the creation of humankind was solely due to the necessity of providing the gods with food and drink. In fact, the name Babylon comes from Babili, the gate of the gods. In other words, Babylon was the local pub for Marduk and his lesser gods.
The birth of gastronomy
It was this cultic function of eating and drinking in Babylon that led to the birth of gastronomy around 1750 BC. Even though a large part of the food was not consumed but sacrificed in rituals by the priestly caste in the enormous temple complexes, the cooking in the palace of the king, who was accepted into the circle of the gods by virtue of his function, was hardly less elaborate. And it is also the cultic function of food that ensured that at least 25 recipes from the temple and palace kitchens of Babylon were preserved on three cuneiform tablets. This was the knowledge of rulers and priests, not a guide for cooks who could not read.
But what was cooked for gods and kings almost 4,000 years ago? Twenty-one of the 25 recipes handed down on tablet 4644 are prepared with meat, including beef, lamb, goat, pork, venison, and wild fowl. Four are vegetarian. Often these are combinations of meat with vegetables and grains softened in broth. Fats play an important role, and onions and their relatives garlic and leeks are almost omnipresent. Salt, herbs, and spices are also used. From these and other sources, we know that freshwater and saltwater fish as well as turtles were consumed. In addition, there were various types of grains, vegetables, mushrooms, and, of course, fruits such as apples, figs, dates, grapes, and pomegranates.
Cooks and preparations 4,000 years ago
We know of around 20 types of cheese, 100 soup variations and 300 types of bread. The chefs of the time were skilled in drying, smoking and fermenting food. Fruit was preserved in honey. Food was prepared in milk, clarified butter and vegetable fats such as olive or sesame oil. Honey, raisins, or boiled-down grape juice were used as sweeteners. Beer was served on simple occasions, while precious wine from the north was served on important occasions.
None of the (exclusively male) cooks, who were called “Nuhatimmu” and were renowned experts, are known to us by name. However, the cuneiform inscriptions mention the local origin of foreign recipes twice. In terms of style, all recipes, most of which are only two to four lines long, are extremely sober. Nevertheless, as the French Assyriologist Jean Bottéro writes, it is “a cuisine of striking richness, refinement, sophistication, and artistry. All the characteristics of Mesopotamian cuisine point to a serious interest in food on the part of the guests, which we can certainly call gastronomy.”
In the ancient Orient, “haute cuisine” emerged as food and drink for the gods. For thousands of years, it remained associated with the Orient. However, according to all we know, one of Hammurabi’s subjects was a man named Abraham. Although he was inspired by many of his king’s legislative initiatives, he rejected his idolatry. The birth of luxury and the criticism of it have the same roots.
The dish: Lamb stew
As in all episodes of the series “The History of Culinary Art in 100 Dishes” (more about the project here), we would like to present a dish in more detail. The “lamb stew” can be found on tablet 4644. According to Jean Bottéro, the translation of the recipe is: “No other meat is used. Take water, add fat, dodder as desired, salt to taste, onion, samidu, coriander, leek, and garlic, and place on the fire. Add kisimmu pressed from the fire. Cut the meat and serve.” Laura Kelley interprets dodder as wild licorice, samidu as a type of flour, and kisimmu as a cheese or yogurt-like dairy product.
Image rights:
Featured image: Austen Henry Layard: Artist’s impression of Assyrian palaces, from a sketch by James Fergusson. In: The Monuments of Nineveh, Vol. 2, 1853. Source: British Museum.
Cuneiform tablet: Yale University Library, Yale Babylonian Collection.
Codex Hammurabi: Musée du Louvre, Paris, photographer: Rama
Plaster reliefs of a banquet scene, royal kitchen, and soldiers: The British Museum.
Lamb stew: Stefan Pegatzky/Time Tunnel Images
Literature:
Jean Bottéro: The Oldest Cuisine in the World. Cooking in Mesopotamia. Chicago 2011.
Laura Kelley: Some Mesopotamian Ingredients Revealed. On silkroadgourmet.com 2010.
Stefan M. Maul: Bier und Wein für die Götter (Beer and Wine for the Gods). In: Damals. Das Magazin für Geschichte und Kultur 7, 2008, pp. 26-31.
