Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2020

Recipe from Antiquity The Persian Bird’s Conquest

By Yvonne Yiu

bustle that ensues following his cry: “When he sings his song of dawning everybody jumps out of bed – smiths, potters, tanners, cobblers, bathmen, corn-dealers, -turning shield-makers; the men put on their shoes and go out to work although it is not yet light.” (Arist., Birds 488-92). Furthermore, cocks fulfilled a number of symbolic and ritual functions, for instance as sacrificial an- imals or as love tokens from the adult male (erastes) to the younger male (eromenos). Not least, cockfighting was a very popular sport. However, the “Persian bird’s" actual con- quest, which enabled it to become the most common bird in the world with a current population estimated at around 23 billion by the FAO, paradoxically did not begin until it found a place on the dinner menu.

It is difficult to determine when, exactly, Picentine and sala cattabia Apiciana on A PLATE. Clay. Dm. 26 cm. Roman, 3rd-5th cent. A.D. CHF 3,200. A GRATER. Bronze. L. 14 cm. Etruscan, 5th-3rd cent. B.C. CHF 1,800. A KNIFE. Bronze, iron. L. 14.7 cm. Roman, chicken eggs and meat became a significant 1st-3rd cent. A.D. CHF 1,800. A SPOON. Silver. L. 9.5 cm. Roman, 2nd-4th cent. A.D. CHF 2,800. nutritional factor in the Mediterranean. An- drew Dalby assumes that in the course of “Those were terrible times for the Athenians. native to Southeast . The earliest conclu- the Classical Period chickens rapidly sup- The fleet had been lost in the Sicilian Expe- sive evidence of domestication comes from planted the less productive goose, which dition, Lamachos was no longer, Nikias was the Bronze Age Indus Culture and dates from had been the farmyard egg-layer in dead, the Lacedaemonians besieged Attica," ca. 2500-2100 B.C. By the 8th century B.C. at since prehistoric times. (Food in the Ancient the Scholiast explains, pointing out that that the latest, the domestic chicken had spread to World, 2003, 83). The may also have is why Peisetairos and Euelpides in the com- Mesopotamia, and representations of cocks on played a pioneering role in the consumption edy Birds, with which won the pottery and metalwork from Laconia, of chicken meat. The research group led by second prize at the City in 414 B.C., and Corinth attest to its presence in Greece by Lee Perry-Gal observed a marked increase decide to leave and to build a city 600 B.C., well ahead of the political expansion in chicken remains in archaeological layers in the sky with the help of the birds. Thanks of the Achaemenid Empire. Nevertheless, it is from the at Levantine sites to its strategic location, Peisetairos argues, quite possible that the growth of the Persian and suggested that with the emergence of the this city with the “beautiful and great name” sphere of influence from the 6th century B.C. Hellenistic koine, in which Greek culture and Nephelokokkygia (Cloudcuckoocity) can sep- onwards contributed to the spread of this spe- language became defining factors, older ta- arate the gods from the people and block the cies of bird. In the ancient Persian faith of Zo- boos prohibiting the consumption of chicken passage of sacrificial smoke, thus starving the roastrianism, which was promoted by Darius I meat were abandoned, making it possible for gods into submission. This would restore the and his successors, the cock was considered a the domestic chicken to become an important birds to their original rule, for “it was not the sacred animal that, with its crow, dispelled the source of food. (Earliest Economic Exploita- gods but the birds who governed and reigned demons of the night and exhorted believers to tion of Chicken, PNAS 2015, doi.org/10.1073/ over men in olden times.” To prove this, he pray. Since the cock’s crow was an important pnas.1504236112). cites the example of the cock who “was the part of their daily ritual, Zoroastrians ensured first monarch and ruler of the Persians, long that there were always domestic chickens close It could be that chickens were bred on a large before all those Dariuses and Megabazuses – to their homes and considered it a particular- scale in Egypt as early as the 4th century B.C. so that in memory of that rulership he is still ly meritorious act to make a gift of cocks. (F. In his Historia animalium (6.2), Aristotle ob- called the Persian bird. That is why even now Zeuner, A History of Domesticated Animals, served: “In some cases, as in Egypt, eggs are he struts about like the Great King, wearing 1963, 443-50; I. Mason, Evolution of Domes- hatched spontaneously in the ground, by be- his headgear erect.” (483-7). ticated Animals, 1984, 298-302; F. Simoons, ing buried in dung heaps." Diodorus Siculus Eat not this Flesh, 1994, 154; Cock, in: En- amplified on this in his description of Egypt: Expressions such as the term “Persian bird” cyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 5, fasc. 8, 878-882). “And the most astonishing fact is that, by used by Aristophanes, or the variant “Persian reason of their unusual application to such cock” employed by the slightly older poet Crat- The cock’s usefulness as a timekeeper that matters, the men who have charge of poultry inus (Athenaios, Deipnosophistae 374d), re- roused the sleeper before daybreak was also and geese, in addition to producing them in flect the eastern origin of the domestic chicken valued in . The Greek word for the natural way known to all mankind, raise (Gallus domesticus), which is thought to have cock, alektryon, means “awakener", and Pei- them by their own hands, by virtue of a skill descended from the jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) setairos paints a vivid picture of the sudden peculiar to them, in numbers beyond telling;

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2020

for they do not use the birds for hatching Interestingly, chicken farming appears to tbsp finely chopped dried onions and driz- the eggs, but, in effecting this themselves have depended more heavily on a wealthy zle the dressing over the salad. Sprinkle artificially by their own wit and skill in an clientele than other branches of agriculture. with immediately before serving. astounding manner, they are not surpassed Columella points out: “It is only worth while by the operations of nature.” (Bibliotheca to go to these expenses and to this trouble Picentine Bread historica 1.74.1). These hatcheries may have in places near the city, or in other locations (After Pliny, Naturalis historia 18.27) resembled those described by René-Antoine where the prices of hens and their produce Ferchault de Réaumur in his treatise The are high.” Similarly, he recommends fatten- Art of Hatching and Bringing Up Domestick ing “the largest birds for the more sump- Fowls, published in 1750. “These ovens,” he tuous feasts; for thus a worthy recompense noted, “which Egypt ought to be prouder of attends one’s trouble and expense.” (RR 8.4, than of her pyramids, are not buildings that 8.7). If one compares the prices listed in the, strike the eye by their loftiness.” Rather, it admittedly much later, Edict on Maximum was their length and internal structure that Prices issued in 301 A.D. by Emperor Diocle- rendered them remarkable: Numerous in- tian, it is indeed striking that chicken meat cubation chambers, each large enough for and eggs were rather expensive products. 4-5,000 eggs to be spread out on the ground The maximum price for a chicken was fixed were built along a narrow central corridor. at 60 denarii; as such it was cheaper than a Above them, in a second row of chambers, goose (unfattened 100 denarii, fattened 200 dung was burnt in order to produce the re- denarii) but significantly more expensive quired incubation temperature. (14-17). Such than pork or beef (12 resp. 8 denarii for 1 “Picenum,” Pliny notes, “still maintains its hatcheries, which are still operated in Egypt libra/326 g). An egg was priced at 1 denar- ancient reputation for making the bread today, albeit using lamps to regulate the tem- ius, the same amount as 1 libra of dessert which it was the first to invent, alica (spelt perature, have the advantage that the chicks grapes. By comparison, an unskilled worker semolina or groats) being the grain em- can be hatched without a reduction of the earned about 25 denarii per day and a skilled ployed. The flour is kept in soak for nine hens’ laying performance. (O. Thieme et al., worker received 50-75 denarii in addition to days, and is kneaded on the tenth with rai- The Oldest Hatcheries are Still in Use, in: food and lodging per day. The various chick- sin juice, in the shape of long rolls; after Aviculture-, June 2012). en dishes in De re coquinaria, a compilation which it is baked in an oven in earthen of recipes attributed to the gourmet Apicius, pots until they break. This bread, how- In the Roman Empire, chickens were gen- were more likely to be intended for the law- ever, is never eaten until it has been well erally kept on a smaller scale. According to yer, who was allowed to charge 250 denarii soaked, which is mostly done in milk or Columella, writing in the 1st century A.D., for opening a case and another 1,000 denarii mulsum ( sweetend with honey).” For “200 head are the limit which should be for pleading it. the sourdough starter mix 200 g spelt sem- acquired, as this number requires the care olina with 200 g water using your fingers of only one person, provided, however, Aliter sala cattabia Apiciana in order to inoculate the mixture with Lac- that an industrious old woman or a boy be (De re coquinaria 4.1.2) tobacillus sanfranciscensis. Ferment for set to watch over those that stray further nine days in a warm place (28-35 °C) stir- afield.” One cock was allocated to every ring occasionally. On the 10th day, make five hens. The hen houses were built fac- a dough by kneading together the start- ing south-east, equipped with perches and er, 300 g spelt flour, 100 g raisin juice (or nesting places and protected against natu- grape juice) and 1 tsp salt. Form long rolls ral enemies. The attention paid to animal and prove for several hours until doubled welfare by Columella is quite remarkable. in volume. Bake at 250 °C for 20 minutes, For instance, he recommended that dust switch off the oven and bake a further 10 and ashes should be made available for the minutes. chickens to bathe in, and that they should be allowed to roam freely during the day. Even those birds that were kept in closed precincts “should have a spacious portico to which they can go out and bask in the sun.” It is, therefore, all the more surpris- For the salad dressing, mix 1 tsp celery ing that he has no qualms about recom- seeds, 1 tbsp each of dried pennyroyal, mending brutal methods for the castration dried mint and grated ginger, a handful of of cocks using “a red-hot iron” and for fat- fresh coriander, 50 g raisins, 1 tsp honey tening hens by shutting them up in a place and 3 tbsp each of vinegar, oil and wine “which is very warm and has very little in a mortar. Soak Picentine bread in pos- light” in “narrow coops or plaited cages” ca (water with a dash of vinegar), squeeze that are so small that the birds “cannot turn out gently and line a large bowl with it. around” and force-feeding them pellets Cut 300 g fried chicken breast, 150 g Ves- made of barley-meal. (De re rustica 8.2- tine cheese (smoked goat's cheese) and 1-2 7). This “slavery of fat”, as Varro terms the cucumbers into thin slices. If you like it cramming of hens (De re rustica 3.9), had a wholly authentic, you can also pre-cook long tradition with the Romans, and it was and chop 100 g of goat’s sweetbreads. already described in a very similar manner Roast 25 g pine nuts. Place these ingredi- by in the mid-2nd century ents on top of the bread, sprinkle with 2 STATUETTE OF A COCK. H. 8.3 cm. Clay. Greek, early B.C. (De agri cultura 89). 5th cent. B.C. CHF 900

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2019

Recipe from Antiquity The Art of the Mageiros

By Yvonne Yiu

ing, cutting, roasting and cooking. Parodying Book 9 of 's , the play describes ’s encounter with Polyphemus. The one-eyed giant accuses the hero and his com- panions of theft and drives them into his cave to them, “to no other god but me and my stomach here, the greatest of divinities." The “cook from hell" (Aidou mageiros) expert- ly handles the equipment required to perform the sacrifice: the sphageion, a large vessel used to collect the blood, the double axe (pelekys) with which the victim is killed, and the sacri- ficial knife (machaira), with which the meat is cut up. His expertise also extends to the cook- ing of the food. With the joyful anticipation of a gourmet, he roasts the tender pieces on the fire, “a hot feast from the coals" and throws the tougher limbs into the cauldron to “boil them meltingly tender.” (Euripides, Cyclops 243-6, 335, 394-404). Lentils, poached fish and mulberry sauce. A BOWL. Dm. 25.5 cm. Clay. Western Greek, 4th cent. B.C. CHF 1,700. A PLATE. Dm. 12.5 cm. Clay. Attic, 400-375 B.C. CHF 600. A BOTTLE. H. 21.5 cm. Glass. Roman, 1st-2nd cent. A.D. CHF 2,900. A SMALL BOWL. H. 4.3 cm. Glass. Roman, 1st-3rd cent. A.D. CHF 2,600. Cratinus's Odysseis (before 423 B.C.), a frag- mentarily preserved parody on the same “No one who does wrong to a cook (magei- professionalisation set in, possibly initially at theme, lists not only the cooking techniques ros) ever escapes completely unharmed. Our popular sanctuaries where local people lent a of the Cyclops, but also the sauces in which art has an aura of sanctity about it, I suppose. helping hand to the visitors who came to sacri- he dips the meat: “In return for which, I shall With the table attendant (trapezopoios) you fice to the gods. For example, it was said of the you, ‘O trusty comrades mine’ and toast can do what you like,” the cook Sikon notes people of , “that they used to supply the you, and boil you, and grill you over char- with some satisfaction after hearing that the services of mageiroi and table-attendants to all coal, and roast you, and into sea water/brine bad-tempered old man, Knemon, fell into a who came to Delos for the sacred rites.” (Athe- (alme), and vinegar brine (oxalme) and well after refusing to lend him a cooking pot. naeus, Deipnosophistae 172f). By the Classical brine (skorodalme) I will dip you, and the one (Menander, Dyskolos 644-7). Period, the professional profile of the magei- that looks to me the tastiest of the lot, I will ros had taken on its definitive shape. It was so gobble him down, my good soldiers!” (Ath. The close ties between the art of cookery and self-evident which tasks he specialised in that 385c-d/Edmonds, Cratinus Fr. 143). the performance of sacred rites – something could even use them for their trick the cooks of Middle and New Attic Comedy questions. , for instance, recounts a Polyphemus’s Sauces liked to preen themselves with – lead back discussion he had with Euthydemus: “Well, he (Ath. 385c-d/Edmonds, Cratinus Fr. 143) to the origin of the profession of the mageiros asked, do you know what is each craftsman’s that first becomes tangible in written sources special piece of work? Whose proper task is it of the 5th century B.C. In Ancient Greece, the to slaughter and skin, and after cutting up the slaughter of an animal was always performed joints to and roast? – That of the magei- in conjunction with an act of sacrifice. Certain ros, I said. – Now, if one does one’s proper pieces of the beast were burned as an offer- work, he said, one will do rightly? – Certainly. ing to the gods and then the remaining meat – And is it, as you say, the mageiros’s proper was cooked and eaten. In Homeric and Archaic work to cut up and skin? Did you admit this or times, the men of a household (oikos) were re- not? – I did so, I replied, but pray forgive me. sponsible for these tasks and in the case of state – It is clear then, he proceeded, that if someone Alme: Filter sea water and boil for a few they were performed by the priestly slaughters the mageiros and cuts him up, and minutes to purify it. Alternatively, dis- nobility. The and Odyssey describe how then or roasts him, he will be doing his solve 4 g sea salt in 100 ml water. Ox- heralds () fetched the animals, sacri- proper work. – O ! I exclaimed, there alme: Mix equal amounts of vinegar and ficed them and prepared the meal while dis- you give the finishing touch to your wisdom!” alme. This sauce was used not only for tributors (daitroi) shared out the meat to those (, Euthydemus 301c-d). meat, but also for fish: “A large fish was present. (Il. 3.116-8, 18.558-9, Od. 17.331-5). now served in oxalme, [and one of the Scholars assume that the persons who carried In his play Cyclops (411/408 B.C.), Eu- guests] observed that any fish dish served out these duties did so only from time to time, ripides draws a gruesomely grotesque picture in oxalme was very tasty." (Ath. 385b). on specific occasions, and not as their main of a mageiros who skilfully executes the tasks Skorodalme: Crush 4 cloves of garlic and occupation. Gradually, however, a degree of described in the Platonic dialogue – slaughter-

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2019

mix with 2 tbsp sea water. This sauce may past this alley. Every passer-by will instant- how he cooked 14 different types of fish and be an archetype of skorodalia, a garlic ly stand open-mouthed at the door, nailed to crusteacans: “First I got some prawns. I fried sauce popular in modern Greece. Skoro- the wall, speechless until one of his friends all these in a . Next a fine shark: I baked dalia: Soak 4 slices of white bread in - runs along with his nostrils bunged up and the middle piece and boiled the rest after the ter, squeeze out excess liquid and puree drags him off.” (Ath. 290b/Edmonds, Hege- mulberry sauce had been prepared. Then I together with 4 cloves of garlic, 4 tbsp sippus Fr. 1). carried in two huge heads of greyfish. These oil, 2 tbsp vinegar and ½ tsp salt. I flung into a mighty stewpot, lightly adding (phake) green herbs, cumin, salt, water, and some oil. Although the Cyclops acts like an accom- (after Ath. 290d/Edmonds, Hegesippus Fr. 1) […] A nice dish is boiled squid stuffed, as are plished mageiros in the plays by Cratinus and the lateral fins of the cuttle gently roasted Euripides, he is, of course, a mageiros only […].” In the wake of this aristeia in the battle- in the figurative sense. Indeed, a professional field of the kitchen, the mageiros concludes cook never makes an appearance in Old Attic with smug satisfaction: “What’s left? Nothing Comedy and it is only occasionally that the else! This is my entire art!” (Ath. 293a-e/Ed- protagonist is said to display the skill of a monds, Sotades Fr. 1). mageiros. For example, the chorus comments on Dikaiopolis’s preparations for the Choes Poached Fish in Mulberry Sauce festival, saying: “See, how he knows his busi- (after Ath. 293b/Edmonds, Sotades Fr. 1) ness, like a cook (mageirikos)! How well he understands the way to prepare a good din- ner!” (Aristophanes, Acharnians, 1015-7). When, however, in Middle and New Attic Soak 300 g lentils overnight and cook in Comedy the focus of the plays shifted from 6-8 dl stock until done (about 15 minutes). politics to the representation of daily life, the The Stoic Chrysippus of Soloi recommend- professional cook could step into the lime- ed the addition of onions; the Presocratic light. Conceited and verbose, the mageiros philosopher liked his soup typically enjoyed delivering lengthy speeches with plenty of coriander seeds; in a come- highlighting his attainments, much to the de- dy by Antiphanes it was served with sliced spair of the host, who exasperatedly tried to sausage and the young men of Athens interrupt the flow of words: “Mince the meat, spiced it up with a dash of vinegar. These not my eardrums!” or groaned in resignation: young men should be avoided, a mageiros “Lord! What with your dishes and kandau- warns his apprentice, when they “get up a loi and skins, the pleasure is gone before the subscription dinner and put into the urn Poach the fish for ca. 8 minutes in a broth feast begins.” (Ath. 386a, 516c/Edmonds, what money they can find” in order to pay made of 3 dl water, a handful of fresh Alexis Fr. 172-3). for the food and drink. At such a dinner herbs, ½ tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp salt and you “get beaten […] and have to work all 1 tbsp . To make the mulberry In the cities, mageiroi offered their services night. If you ask them for a little fee one sauce, gently simmer 200 g mulberries on the marketplace and were hired by per- says ‘first bring me the pisspot. The lentil and 1 tbsp honey until the desired con- sons who wished to sacrifice or hold a ban- soup lacked vinegar.’ You ask again. ‘You sistency is reached. quet. Competition was fierce and thus they will be the first cook to get a good hiding,’ had no qualms about reviling each other. he says.” (Ath. 158b, 160d, 292d/Edmonds, “When taking on a mageiros,” one host re- Diphilus Fr. 43) lates, “I heard all the insults they said against each other in competing for work: one does The food the cooks of Attic Comedy were not have a discerning nose for a cooked dish, most passionate about was fish. Themagei- another has a foul palate, another has pol- ros in Philemon’s Soldier, for instance, is luted his tongue on unseemly desires for fla- propelled before the audience by an intense vourings, or ‘too much vinegar’, ‘too much urge to relate a tour de force of culinary salt’, ‘burns the meat’, ‘too sweet a tooth’, minimalism: “A desire has come over me to ‘can’t stand the smoke’, ‘is afraid of the fire’.” come out and to declare to and heaven (Ath. 661f/Edmonds, Poseidippus Fr. 1). Con- how I prepared this dish! What a tender fish versely, the cooks in Attic Comedy liked to I had! And how I served it! Not drugged with brag about their culinary feats. The mageirios cheeses nor in a flowery presentation. But in The Brothers by Hegesippus, for instance, when baked it was just like it was when boasts: “Whenever I chance to be working at alive.” This sublime dish engendered a feed- a funeral feast, as soon as they come from ing frenzy amongst the guests: “The first of the carrying-out procession dressed in black, the diners who discovered the pleasure to I take off the lid of the pot and make them be found in the stewing-pot jumped up and turn from tears to laughter. Such a pleasant ran off in a circle with the dish in his hands sensation runs through their bodies, as if they and the others chased hard on his heels. were at a wedding. – Just by serving lentil They screamed out loud, for some of them soup and ? – They are a sideshow grabbed a bit and others got nothing.” (Ath. for me. But if I get my way and arrange the 288d/Edmonds, Philemon Fr. 79). By con- kitchen as I want today, then you will see trast, the mageiros in Locked Up Women by the Sirens at it once again. With a savour Sotades prepares a fish menu of epic dimen- A COMIC ACTOR, POSSIBILY A COOK. H. 8.7 cm. like that, no one will be able simply to walk sions. In a lengthy monologue he explains Bronze. Greek, 4th cent. B.C. CHF 14,500

12 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2019

Recipe from Antiquity Food for War and

By Yvonne Yiu

of peace, cannot resist such a temptation and sends a slave to Dikaiopolis to buy one of the eels. However, his request is roundly rejected: “No way, not even if he gave his shield to me. Let him shake his crests – he can only get salt fish; and if he makes a fuss, I’ll call my market wardens here!” (966-968).

The contrast between the warrior’s wretched fare and the culinary delights made possible by peace culminates in a series of rapid ex- changes in which Dikaiopolis and Lamachos give packing instructions to their slaves, the former because he has been invited to a feast, the latter because he has received a summons to join a military expedition: “L: Bring me -flavoured salt and onions. D: Fresh fish for me; I am fed up with onions. L: A fig leaf with some stale salt fish. D: For me a fig leaf filled with fat; I’ll cook it there. […] L: Councillors’ Sardines. A BLACK-GLAZE CUP. Dm. 21.6 cm. Clay. Attic, 4th cent. B.C. CHF 2,600. Thrion. A CUP ON Bring me my round shield with the Gorgon A LOW FOOT. Dm. 21 cm. Clay. Attic, 2nd half of 5th cent. B.C. CHF 4,500. Greek City Paste. A BLACK-GLAZED on the front. D: Bring me a round flat-cake PLATE. Dm. 12.5 cm. Clay. Attic, 400-375 B.C. CHF 600. A BEGGAR. Bronze. H. 4.4. cm. Alexandrian, 2nd-1st with cheese on top.” (1097-137). Even before cent. B.C. CHF 1,400. A MINIATURE BEAKED JUG. H. 2.7 cm. Bronze, lead. Macedonian, 7th cent. B.C. CHF 100 Lamachos returns from battle nursing his “Spectators, don’t be angry with me if I pre- of Babylonians (426 B.C., lost), the charge be- wounds and Dikaiopolis staggers back from sume to speak to the Athenians about the ing that the play insulted and slandered the the feast supported by two attractive girls, city when composing comedy. Even comedy Polis. Hence, when Dikaiopolis speaks out the chorus has no doubt about who has cho- knows what’s just, and I will say some things courageously against the war with Sparta, be- sen better. Disregarding traditional notions of that may be hard to take but are still just.” ginning with the words quoted above, he does courage and honour, the Acharnians follow (Acharnians 498-502). This observation, made so with his head on the chopping block. The Dikaiopolis in the triumphal exodos, singing: by Dikaiopolis in Acharnians, highlights a sig- Acharnians are furious with him for having “‘Hail to the champion!’ – that’s you, and your nificant aspect of the plays written by Aristo- made a private Thirty Years’ Peace with the wineskin!” (1233-34). (450/444-ca. 380 B.C.), the most im- Spartans, but he succeeds in convincing them portant dramatist of Attic Old Comedy. With that the blame for the war should be shared by While most of the foods mentioned in the ver- hilariously absurd plots, witty dialogues that Spartans and Athenians alike and that the war bal exchange between Lamachos and Dikai- are abundantly spiced with obscene jokes, is not serving their interests. Rather, he argues, opolis require no further elucidation, the fig dance, song and music, Aristophanes provid- Athenian war profiteers are obstructing the leaf dish (thrion) was already thought to merit ed his audience with sidesplitting entertain- peace process to the detriment of ordinary peo- explanation by the scholiasts, some of whom ment, whilst at the same time addressing some ple. The war supporter Lamachos has to admit even provided recipes in their commentaries very serious social and political issues. Aris- defeat. Venting his frustration, he exclaims: on the comedies of Aristophanes. Fig leaves tophanes wrote his first comedies during the “Oh democracy, this is intolerable!” (509-625). stuffed with a variety of fillings appear to early years of the Peloponnesian War, which have been quite widespread in ancient Greece, broke out in 431 B.C. Punctuated by several The first thing Dikaiopolis does, now that but the scholiast discussing Acharnians 1101 short phases of peace, it dragged on until 404 the laws of peace apply to him, is to set up a assumes that Dikaiopolis ate the traditional B.C. when Athens surrendered, leaving Sparta marketplace that is also open to the enemies Athenian version. supreme. A vehement opponent of the war of Athens: "These are the boundaries of my and of the politician Kleon (d. 422 B.C.) whom market. Here all the Spartans and their south- In Knights (424 B.C.) Aristophanes hurls vi- he regarded as a corrupt warmonger, Aristo- ern allies may do business, and the Megarians cious invective at Kleon. The powerful poli- phanes used his comedies, which were per- and Boeotians." (719-721). Shortly afterwards, tician is thinly disguised as the slave Paphla- formed in front of a huge audience, to express a Megarian arrives and sells his two daugh- gion who ruthlessly dupes his senile master, his political views. To this end, he employed a ters, who are disguised as piglets, for a bundle Demos (Greek: citizen of the Polis). The ac- rich pictorial language in which motifs of food of garlic and a cup of salt, while a Boeotian tor may even have worn a caricature mask: and eating play a prominent role. exchanges poultry and eels for an Attic syco- “And don’t be scared – it won’t look just like phant. The famous Kopaic eels, a delicacy that him; because they are afraid, none of the To oppose the war was a dangerous under- had not been available since the outbreak of mask-makers would make a close likeness. But taking, and legal action was initiated against the war, are hailed with particular enthusi- he will still be recognized; the audience are Aristophanes by Kleon after the performance asm. Even Lamachos, a hardboiled opponent no fools.” (230-3). In this comedy, the thrion

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2019

Dikaiopolis’ demou thrion Councillors’ Sardines and bitter is the grief he’s given the Megarians. (Scholion on Acharnians 1101) (After Knights 677-8) P: (adds cheese) Oh Sicily, there is no hope for you. T: What a fine place will now be grated up! P: (takes honey) Now let me pour in this: honey from Athens. T: Hey, you! I beg you use another honey! Don’t use Athenian; it will cost far too much!” (242-54).

Polemos’s Greek City Paste (After Peace 242-54)

“Ordinary thrion: an Athenian dish into Grill the sardines over hot coals (ca. 5 which go pig and kid lard, flour, milk and minutes on each side). Serve with plenty the yolk of an egg to bind it. Wrapped in fig of chopped chives and coriander leaves. leaves, it makes a most delicious food ac- cording to Didymos.” Knead together 50 g jumped the railings everywhere. I ran ahead of lard, 200 g flour, 50 ml milk and 1 egg yolk. them, got to the marketplace, and bought up Form small lumps, roll up in fig leaves and all the chives and coriander; then I gave them simmer in honey water for 20 minutes. The all away for free to please the Councillors, fig leaves are fairly tender and give the dish who need seasoning for their sardines. […] I’ve a fragrance not provided by vine leaves. won the Council to my side with just an obol’s Put 150 g sautéed leek, 1-2 cloves of garlic, worth of coriander.” (642-82). 40 g grated cheese and 1 tsp honey in a also makes an appearance, this time as the em- mortar and grind to a paste. blem on Demos’s signet ring: “Tell me, what The comedy culminates in a competition as to was your seal? - A fig leaf of cow fat (demou who can offer Demos the most delicious dishes. But when wants to pound the ingre- boeiou thrion), well cooked.” (953-4). This is a Paphlagion and the sausage-seller bring him dients, he notices that he is missing a pestle. pun, as the word for fat (demos) is the same as barley cakes, pea soup, fish, boiled meat, offal, He sends his slave first to Athens and then to the name of the signet owner. Moreover, the wine, flat-cakes and a hare and then ask him Sparta, but, alluding to the death of Kleon and fact that this fig leaf is “well-cooked” gets a to decide “which man serves you and your di- Brasidas, the slave reports that both the Athe- surprising twist at the end of the play: Paphla- gestion best”. A look inside the hampers points nians and the Spartans “have lost their pes- gion’s opponent, a sausage-seller, boils down Demos in the right direction. The sausage-sell- tle”. (259-88). Annoyed, Polemos goes indoors Demos who, thus rejuvenated, goes “back to er’s hamper “is empty; I gave everything to to make another pestle, whilst Trygaios, as- the old way of life” and eagerly embraces a you”, while Paphlagion’s is “full of good stuff. sisted by the farmers, rapidly sets to work and thirty-year peace (personified by two sexy Look at this large flat-cake that he put aside to succeeds in freeing the goddess Peace. Amidst girls). (1320-1408). keep – and he cut me a tiny slice!” Found guilty great rejoicing, Peace is welcomed with a of embezzlement, Paphlagion is dismissed and sacrifice and in his to her Trygaios Indeed, the motif of eating, usually linked to sent to “sell sausages all by himself, beside the conjures up a vision of a reconciled Greece, greed and excess, pervades the entire comedy. city gates, mixing up dog and donkey mince symbolized by a bustling market where – as Thus, Paphlagion is beaten up by the knights like he did politics.” (1151-1225, 1398-9). in Acharnians – goods from regions that had who have remained true to traditional Athe- previously waged war with each other are of- nian values because, they tell him, "you eat Even though Knights won the first prize at the fered for sale: “Blend all us Greeks together up public funds before it is your turn” (258). festival, it did not sway public opinion once again, starting afresh with the essence The fact that Kleon was permitted to dine in enough to oust Kleon from power. However, of friendship. May our marketplace be filled the Prytaneion after the victory of Sphak- two years later, in 422 B.C., he fell in the Bat- with good things – from Megara, garlic, early teria (424 B.C.) is heavily criticized: “I de- tle of Amphipolis, as did the Spartan general cucumbers, apples, pomegranates. And may nounce this man; he runs into the City Hall Brasidas. The death of these two proponents we see men coming from Boeotia with geese, with empty stomach and comes out full up. –­ of an aggressive war policy paved the way ducks, pigeons, wrens, great baskets of Kopa- And he takes things he’s not allowed – bread, for the Peace of Nicias, which was conclud- ic eels.” (996-1005). meat, and fish – a privilege not even granted ed only a few days after the performance of Perikles.” (280-3). A similar degree of moral Peace (421 B.C.). In this comedy, the war-wea- Imprint decay can be witnessed in the behaviour of ry protagonist Trygaios, like Dikaiopolis in the other generals: “No general from those Acharnians, searches for a way to make peace Publisher times would ever beg someone like Kleon’s on his own. He flies up to heaven on a giant Jean-David Cahn Authors Malzgasse 23 Jean-David Cahn father for state-sponsored meals; but now, if dung beetle to negotiate with the gods, but CH-4052 Basel Martin Flashar they don’t get free meals and seats of honour, finds that they have left their house to Po- www.cahn.ch Ulrike Haase the generals say that they won’t fight.” (571- lemos (Greek: war, conflict), who sets about ISSN 2624-6368 Gerburg Ludwig Rolf Andreas Stucky 6). Not surprisingly, the way to the Council- preparing a paste from the Greek cities in a Editors Yvonne Yiu lors’ favour goes through their stomachs. The huge mortar: “P: (puts leeks in the mortar) Oh Jean-David Cahn sausage-seller wins them over by barging into Prasians, thrice wretched, five times wretched Yvonne Yiu Photos Niklaus Bürgin their meeting and yelling: “‘Know that since and a thousands times, this is the day you die! Design and Layout Ulrike Haase war broke out, I’ve never seen sardines sold T: Well, folks, no worries for us yet. That is a Michael Joos cheaper.’ […] The Councillors stood up and Spartan problem. P: (adds garlic) Oh Megara, Translations Printer Bronwen Saunders made a great fuss over the sardines. […] They Megara, you will be completely ground and Rösch Printservice GmbH Yvonne Yiu shouted for the Prytanes to dismiss them, then pounded to a paste. T: Good god! How great

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2019

Recipe from Antiquity Vegetarianism in Ancient Greece

By Yvonne Yiu

tive than conventional forms of sacrifice and prayer. (R.G. Edmonds, Redefining Ancient , 2013, 77-79). In their quest for pu- rity, the Orphics avoided killing beings that were endowed with a soul, and this evidently affected both their choice of diet and the na- ture of their sacrifices. Plato (ca. 428-348 B.C.) described this aspect of the Orphic way of life (orphikos bios) in his Laws: “Indeed, we may see that the practice of men sacrificing one an- other survives even now among many peoples; and we hear of the opposite practice among others, when they dared not even taste an ox, and the offerings to the gods were not living creatures, but rather cakes of meal and grain steeped in honey, and other such pure sacri- fices, and they abstained from meat as though it were unholy to eat it or to stain the altars of the gods with blood. Rather, those of us men who then existed lived what is called an Orphic A PYTHAGOREAN DINNER: “After the walk they took a bath, then went to their mess: not more than ten people ate life, keeping wholly to inanimate (apsychon) together. When the fellow-diners met, there were and offerings of incense and frankincense. Then they began food and, contrariwise, abstaining wholly from dinner, so as to finish before sunset. They had wine, barley cakes and wheat bread, relishes and cooked and raw veg- things animate (empsychon).” (782c-d). etables.” (Iamblichos, De vita Pythagorica 98). THREE PLATES AND BOWLS. Clay. Dm. max 32 cm. Roman 3rd-5th cent. B.C. Together with two other Roman plates: CHF 3,200. A BLACK-GLAZED PLATE. Clay. Dm. 12.5 cm. Attic, 400-375 B.C. CHF 600. A BLACK-GLAZED BOWL. Clay. Dm. 10.2 cm. Western Greek, 4th cent. B.C. CHF 600. Orphic teachings and cult practices appear to have exercised a considerable influence “Can you really ask what reason animals could only be eaten if the animal had on Pythagoras and his followers. Points of had for abstaining from flesh? For my part I been sacrificed with the appropriate religious contact are particularly evident in their di- rather wonder both by what accident and in ritual. Generally a mageiros who united the etary regulations, for like the orphikos bios what state of soul or mind the first man who roles of priest, butcher and cook was hired for the Pythagorean way of life demanded absti- did so, touched his mouth to gore and brought this task. (A. Dalby, Siren Feasts, 1996, 8-9, nence from animate food and sacrifices. Fur- his lips to the flesh of a dead creature, he who 22-23). Through the practice of animal sac- thermore, both sects also prohibited the con- set forth tables of dead bodies and ventured to rifice the eating of meat was elevated to the sumption of eggs and beans. “Verses such as call food and nourishment the parts that had status of a sacred meal. This sacramental as- these are quoted from ,” a source as a little before bellowed and cried, moved and pect was further underscored by the belief that late as the Byzantine Geoponika points out: lived.” (Plutarch, Moralia 12.993a-b). Open- by partaking of an animal which had been “Fools! Withhold your hands from beans! ing his discourse De esu carnium with these dedicated to a god, the devotee entered into a and: To eat beans is as much as to eat your emphatic words, Plutarch (ca. 45-125 A.D.) union with the deity. (J. Haussleiter, Der Vege- parent’s heads.” (2.35). Whilst there is a logi- could clearly take it for granted that his read- tarismus in der Antike, 1935, 13, 17). Thus, to cal connection between abstinence from eggs ers knew that Pythagoras (ca. 570-496 B.C.), refrain from eating meat was far more than a and vegetarianism – according to Plutarch whom we more readily associate with the geo- purely dietary decision. Rather, it amounted the egg, in “Orpheus’s and Pythagoras’s opin- metrical theorem bearing his name, was one to the rejection of a religious practice that was ions” was imagined “to be the principle of of the founders of the vegetarian way of life of fundamental importance to Greek society. generation” (Quaestiones convivales 2.3.1) – in ancient Greece. In the half-millennium that (J.N. Bremmer, Initiation into the Mysteries of the prohibition of eating beans fuelled wild separated Pythagoras from Plutarch, and also the Ancient World, 2014, 70, 79). speculation amongst authors both ancient in the ensuing centuries until Late Antiquity, and modern. According to Porphyry (ca. 233- vegetarianism remained a controversial topic In ancient Greece the first people to practice 305 A.D.), for instance, “in the beginning, the that left its mark in numerous textual sources. vegetarianism appear to have been the Orphics, creation of the universe and the making of the devotees of a religious movement named living things was in a state of disorder, and The usual fare of the ancient Greeks consisted after the mythical Thracian singer Orpheus many seeds were sown in the ground. They of the sitos, i.e. staple foods made from cere- which can be traced back to the 6th century rotted together, and little by little birth re- als or legumes, and the opson, literally “what B.C. Orpheus was thought to have invented sulted.” As “men were born from the same one eats with bread”. These relishes included ritual purifications from unholy deeds (ka- stock whence beans flourished,” it was, Por- vegetables, cheese, eggs, fish and occasion- tharmoi) and was regarded as the supreme phyry suggests, thought equally necessary to ally also meat. With regard to vegetarianism founder of teletai, rituals which might perfect abstain from the eating of beans as of human it was significant that the meat of domestic relations with the gods and were more effec- flesh. (Vita Pythagorae 44).

14 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2019

The Orphics and Pythagoreans also shared tus Empiricus (ca. 106-201 A.D.) added that 7.308a) and various authors poked fun at the belief in the transmigration of souls (me- the Pythagoreans “say that there is a certain Plato for his alleged love of dried figs and tempsychosis). This doctrine was, however, community (koinonia) uniting us not only . In their cheerful irreverence, these an- only rarely adduced by early ancient authors with each other and with the gods, but even ecdotes give us an exaggerated impression of to account for a vegetarian choice of diet. Dio- with the irrational animals. For, there is one how some may have reacted to the deviation dorus (1st century B.C.), for instance, states spirit pervading the whole kosmos, like soul, from the dietary norm that vegetarianism in dispassionately: “Pythagoras believed in the and which makes us one with them.” (Adver- ancient Greece clearly was. transmigration of souls and considered the sus mathematicos 9.127). Also related to the eating of flesh as an abominable thing, saying theme of justice was the conviction that who- Plato’s Favourite Food that the souls of all living creatures pass after soever acted fairly towards animals would, as death into other living creatures.” (Bibliotheca a matter of course, be even kinder to his fellow historica 10.6.1). In contrast, later authors human beings. “Do you not find here a won- took the dramatic potential of this notion to derful means of training in social responsibil- extremes. Plutarch, in his strident condemna- ity? Who could wrong a human being when tion of meat-eating, declares: “You ridicule a he found himself so gently and humanely man who abstains from eating mutton. But disposed toward other non-human creatures?” are we to refrain from laughter when we see Plutarch asks his readers (EC 995f-6a), and you slicing off portions from a dead father or Iamblichos relates that Pythagoras “instruct- mother and sending them to absent friends ed the legislators among the civil servants to and inviting those who are at hand, heaping abstain from living creatures, because, if they Dried figs and olives. TWO PLATES. Clay. Wes- their plates with flesh?” (EC 12.997e-f). The wished to act with perfect justice, they must tern Greek, ca. 330 B.C. Dm 13.4 cm, CHF 1,800. opponents of the vegetarian way of life were do no wrong to fellow-creatures.” (VP 108). Dm. 14.2 cm, CHF 2,000. not at loss for an answer, however. Porphyry’s “Observing Plato one day at a costly ban- meat-lovers, for example, argue: “If indeed These views by no means met with unani- quet taking olives, ‘How is it,’ he [ souls are inserted in bodies, they will be much mous approval. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), for the Cynic] said, ‘that you the philosopher gratified by being destroyed. For thus their example, taught that there was an essential who sailed to Sicily for the sake of these return to the human form will be more rapid. and not just a gradual difference between the dishes, now when they are before you do The bodies which are eaten will not produce souls of humans and animals. Whereas plants not enjoy them?’ ‘Nay, by the gods, Dio- any pain in the souls. Hence, they will rejoice have life and animals have life and percep- genes,’ replied Plato, ‘there also for the when they can leave the animal bodies.” (De tion, only human have both characteristics most part I lived upon olives and such like.’ abstinentia ab esu animalium 1.19). along with rationality (logos). For this reason, ‘Why then,’ said Diogenes, ‘did you need to Aristotle regarded humans as the most perfect go to Syracuse? Was it that Attica at that For Pythagoras and his followers, other rea- living beings and concluded that “plants exist time did not grow olives?’ Again, another sons seem to have counted for more in their for the sake of animals and animals for the time he was eating dried figs when he en- choice of a vegetarian diet. The Pythagore- good of man, the domestic species both for countered Plato and offered him a share of ans strove to attain a clear and tranquil mind his service and for his food, and most of the them. When Plato took them and ate them, that best enabled them to pursue their studies wild ones for the sake of his food and in order he said, ‘I said you might share them, not by observing a regular daily routine in which that they may furnish him both with clothing that you might eat them all up.’” (Diogenes physical well-being was promoted by walks, and with other appliances. If therefore nature Laertius, Vitae philosophorum 6.25). sports and baths. Much attention was paid to makes nothing without purpose, it follows nutrition, for as Iamblichos (ca. 240-320 A.D.) that nature has made all the animals for the Pythagorean Barley Cakes observed, “a well-ordered diet makes a great sake of men.” (Politeia 1.3.7). (after Pliny, Naturalis historia 18.14) contribution to the best education.” For this reason, “Pythagoras banned all foods which Whilst Aristotle’s views were certainly more are windy and cause disturbance, and recom- in line with general attitudes towards ani- mended the use of those which settle and sus- mals, and not many were willing or able to tain the state of the body. […] For those phi- conform to the dietary ascetism of the Orphics losophers who had reached the most sublime and the inner circle of the Pythagoreans, the heights of knowledge, he ruled out once and wish to lead an at least partially vegetarian for all those foods which are unnecessary and lifestyle evidently existed. Iamblichos not- unjust, telling them never to eat any living ed that Pythagoras allowed “other students, creature, drink wine, sacrifice living things to whose life was not entirely pure and holy the gods or hurt them in any way: they were and philosophic […] to eat some animal food, to be treated with scrupulous justice.” (De vita though even they had fixed periods of ab- Pythagorica 106-7). stinence.” (VP 109). Furthermore, Plato, who did not categorically proscribe the eating of Roasted barley, linseed and coriander seed. THREE BASE RING WARE CUPS. Dm. max 16.7 cm. Clay. This last idea shows clearly that Pythagorean meat in his texts, seems to have placed great Eastern Mediterranean, Late Bronze Age, 1475-1225 vegetarianism went beyond a purely utilitari- importance on moderation in eating and B.C. Each cup CHF 1,600. an care for the self and was interwoven with drinking, and various anecdotes suggest that the overarching themes of justice and right the philosopher and his students may have Moisten 400 g barley with water, leave living. Cicero (106-43 B.C.) pointed out that observed an almost vegetarian diet. The poet it to dry for a night and roast the next according to Pythagoras “all kinds of living Theopompus of the 5th century B.C. mocked day. Mill together with 60 g linseed, 10 g creatures have a right to the same justice. […] Plato's students in his comedy Hedychares: coriander seed and some salt. Knead with It is, therefore, a crime to injure an animal, “And stand ye there in order, my fasting band ca. 250 ml water, form flat cakes and bake and the perpetrator of such crime must bear of mullets, entertained, like geese, only on over hot ashes. his punishment.” (De republica 3.19). Sex- boiled greens.” (Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae

CQ 15 Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2019

Recipe from Antiquity Citrus Fruit in Antiquity

By Yvonne Yiu

The first citrus species to spread in the Medi- terranean was not the lemon, however, but a fruit that is much less familiar today, namely the citron (C. medica). Its large, yellow fruit, which can grow up to 25 cm in length and 4 kg in weight, has an uneven skin, a thick, white mesocarp (albedo) and relatively little pale greenish-yellow pulp. The “Median ap- ple”, as the citron was called before the term citrium became more popular in the Imperial Period, was first described by Theophrastus (ca. 371-287 B.C.), a pupil of Aristotle who is often considered the father of botany for his works on plants. In his Historia Plantarum he wrote: “This tree has a leaf similar to that of the strawberry tree, but it has thorns like those of the pear or whitethorn, which however are smooth and very sharp and strong. The ‘apple’ is not eaten, but it is very fragrant, as also is the leaf of the tree. […] It bears its ‘apples’ at all seasons; for when some have been gath- ered, the flower of others is on the tree and it is ripening others.” According to Theophrastus Citrons and a lemon. A BLACK-GLAZED CUP. Dm. 21.6 cm. Clay. Attic, 4th cent. B.C. CHF 2,600 the fruit was used to protect clothes from be- ing moth-eaten, to sweeten the breath and as “Do you know the land where the lemons blos- (C. x aurantium), the lime (C. x aurantifolia) an emetic or laxative that was “useful when som, where oranges grow golden among dark and the pomelo (C. maxima) did not reach one has drunk deadly poison”. (4.4.2-3). leaves, a gentle wind drifts from the blue sky, the Mediterranean until the late 10th centu- the myrtle stands silent, the laurel tall, do you ry A.D., in the wake of the Islamic conquest. It was only several centuries later that the fruit know it? It is there, it is there I long to go with The sweet orange (C. x sinensis) was intro- itself was described, first by Dioscurides (ca. you, my love.” (J. W. v. Goethe, Wilhelm Meis- duced in the 15th-16th centuries A.D., prob- 40-90 A.D.): “The fruit is oblong, wrinkled, ter’s Apprenticeship, Vol. 2, Book 3, Ch. 1). ably spreading along trade routes established golden in colour, somewhat oppressively ar- by the maritime republics and Portugal, and omatic and has a pear-shaped seed.” (De - Mignon’s song from Wilhelm Meister’s the mandarin (C. reticulata) was first brought teria medica 1.115.5), and then, in somewhat Apprenticeship may be regarded as the epito- to Europe in 1805 by Sir Alexander Hume, a greater detail, by Galen (ca. 130-210 A.D.): me of the German yearning for Italy that was Fellow of the Horticultural Society of Lon- “The fruit has three parts, the acid part in the a source of inspiration for so many poets and don, who introduced many other ornamental middle [which is inedible and contains the painters of the Classical and Romantic Peri- plants from China, including several vari- seeds], the flesh that surrounds this, and the ods. This longing for the light, colours and eties of the chrysanthemum and the peony. external covering lying around it. This fruit is zest for life associated with the Mediterra- It cannot be said with certainty since when fragrant and aromatic, not only to smell, but nean is as alive today as it was then, and the the lemon (C. x limon) has been cultivated also to taste. As might be expected, it is diffi- vibrant scent of a freshly cut lemon surely in Italy. However, a find made on the Forum cult to digest since it is hard and knobbly.” (De makes many a person here in the grey north Romanum in Rome comprising 13 seeds and alimentorum facultatibus 2.37). of Europe dream of an idealised Italy. a fragment of skin indicates that the fruit was already known in the Augustan Period. Pol- Whereas for Theophrastus the citron was an An Italy in which lemon trees sprout at every len and wood analyses from villas in Pompeii exotic plant that grew in distant Persia and corner, lavishly emitting their perfume for the and Oplontis as well as representations on Media, Dioscurides could say: “Everybody causal passerby to enjoy – “qui tocca anche frescos and mosaics from Pompeii and Rome knows the ones called Median, or Persian, or a noi poveri la nostra parte di ricchezza ed è suggest that as of the 1st century A.D. lemon cedromela, and in citria.” (MM 1.115.5). l’odore dei limoni” Eugenio Montale wrote in trees were increasingly grown in Roman lux- It is possible that the Jewish diaspora fol- 1925 – did not, however, exist in Antiquity. ury gardens, probably mainly as ornamental lowing the First Jewish-Roman War (66-74 Although citrus groves have characterised the plants. (C. Pagnoux et al., The Introduction A.D.) contributed to the spread of the citron Mediterranean landscape for centuries and of Citrus to Italy, in: Veget. Hist. Archaeobot. in the Mediterranean, thereby making it bet- Southern European cuisine without citrus 22 (2013) 421-438. D. Langgut, The Citrus ter known. (E. Isaac, Influence of Religion on fruit is quite unimaginable, they were largely Route Revealed, in: Hort. Science 52 (2017) the Spread of Citrus, in: Science 129 (1959) unknown in ancient times. The bitter orange 814-822). 179-186). The fruit which is called etrog in

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2019

Hebrew played an important role in the Feast were generally affordable – in the Price Edict Add some stock and cook slowly for ca. 10 of Tabernacles in ancient times and continues of Diocletian (301 A.D.) the price specified for minutes. Add the defrutum, citron cubes to do so today. Together with the closed frond two large melons or for ten prime cucumbers and meatballs. Season with pepper, cum- of the date palm (lulav) and twigs of myrtle was 4 denarii – citrons were an expensive in, coriander leaves or seeds, rue, vinegar (hadass) and willow (arawot), it composed the luxury food, with a large citron priced at 24 and liquamen. Thicken with starch, sprinkle ritual bouquet described in Leviticus 23,40. denarii and a small one at 16 denarii. Luckily with pepper and serve. Although the biblical text only speaks of “the for the host wishing to impress his guests with fruit of beautiful trees”, rabbinic texts dating citrons, it was sufficient to use small quanti- The citron continued to be highly regarded from the 2nd century B.C. show that even ties of the fruit due to its strong flavour. for its curative powers and the medicinal uses then, the identification of the citron with this described by Theophrastus were also menti- fruit could look back on a long tradition. As Citron Relish oned by later Latin authors. Galen added that a symbol of the religious and national unity After De re coquinaria 3.5 the citron strengthened the oesophagus and of the Jews, the citron was, from the 1st cen- cleansed the body as a whole, whilst Dios- tury B.C. onwards, often represented on fres- curides noted that it was eaten by women to cos, mosaics, funerary monuments and ritual abate their lusting – the object of their desire objects. In Year 4 of the First Jewish Revolt remains unclear, with some translators assu- (69-70 A.D.) bronze coins with the citron were ming that the citron served as an anaphrodi- minted, and, even more provocatively, during siac, whilst others suggest it was used against the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-135 A.D.) Ro- the food cravings experienced during preg- man coins were overstruck after the original nancy. (AF 2.37; MM 1.115.5). The alleged design had been filed down, so that in some ability of the citron to counteract the effects cases the citron replaced the Roman emperor’s of poison had a fascination all of its own. head. The political clout of the citron was even It inspired Virgil (70 B.C.-19 A.D.) to a pas- physically felt on one occasion, as related by A SMALL BLACK-GLAZED BOWL. Dm 10.2 cm. Clay. sage in the Georgics: “Citron, blest fruit, the Flavius Josephus: Officiating as High Priest Western Greek, 4th cent. B.C. CHF 600. Median tracts produce, of ling'ring savour, in the Temple, King Alexander Jannaeus (r. Cut 30 g citron (the peel, albedo and pulp and of austere juice; than which no plant, 103-76 B.C.) expressed his contempt for the can be used) into very small cubes. Mix with when stepdames, fell of soul, with charms Pharisees by pouring the water over 1 tbsp each of liquamen, vinegar, dried mint and temper'd drugs have mixt the bowl, an his feet instead of onto the altar. At this mock- and mountain sesely (alternatively use fen- antidote more instant can impart, to rout the ery, the incensed “nation rose upon him and nel fronds) and add a pinch of asafoetida (in- venom, ere it reach the heart.” (2.126-130). pelted him with citrons [which they then had stead of the extinct silphium). With much verve, Athenaeus (late 2nd-early in their hands, because] the law of the Jews re- 3rd cent. A.D.) describes experiments using quired that at the Feast of Tabernacles every- convicted criminals that successfully proved one should have branches of the palm tree and Minutal dulce ex citriis the efficacy of the citron as an antitoxin and citron tree.” (Antiquitates Judaicae 13.13.5). After De re coquinaria 4.3.5 goes on to provide the following recipe for an antidote (Deipnosophistae 3.83a-85a): As the citron played such a vital part in Jew- ish religious observance, the probability is Antidote to All Sorts of Pernicious Poison great that the Jews who left the Holy Land Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 3.85a did their utmost to grow the plant in their new homelands. Furthermore, as it was the custom during the period of the Second Tem- ple for children to eat etrogim on the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkah 4.7), it is possible that the increasing willingness of people to eat a fruit once regarded as in- edible, observed by various ancient authors, was also due to Jewish influence.

Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) noted that whilst some people abhorred the citron for its scent and bitter taste, others were fond of it (Na- A PLATE from A GROUP OF FIVE BOWLS AND turalis Historia 13.31) and approximately a PLATES. Dm. 22.5 cm. Red clay. Roman, 3rd-5th “But if any one boils a whole citron with generation later Plutarch (ca. 45-125 A.D.) cent. A.D. Whole group CHF 3,200. its seed in Attic honey, it is dissolved in the commented upon “the great change which has honey, and he who takes two or three fin- taken place with regard to food, relishes and Make defrutum by boiling two litres of gers full of it early in the morning will nev- the whole way of life. Many things which it grape juice down to about one third of its er experience any evil effects from poison.” was not customary to eat are now regarded volume. Cut 80 g citron (only the albedo) as delicacies […]. Thus, even now we know into small cubes, add to the defrutum and Sadly, it seems to be a that a citron many old people who cannot bear the taste again boil down to one third in order to can be dissolved in boiling honey. I tried of melons, cucumbers, citrons and pepper.” produce a sweet and aromatic syrup with it using the best local honey and although (Quaestiones convivales 8.9). It may be a co- almost candied pieces of fruit. Make meat- the citron shrivelled slightly, it showed not incidence that these three “newfangled” fruit balls (isiciola) from 500 g minced pork the slightest intent of liquefying itself. I and vegetables were discussed in immediate and fry them. Chop two leeks finely and would not, therefore, bet my life on the succession by Apicius in the third book of De fry them together with 200 g diced ham. bitter, caramel-like honey surrounding it. re coquinaria. Whilst melons and cucumbers

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2018

Recipe from Antiquity “A Civilised Life is Impossible without Salt!”

Salt in Ancient Rome

By Yvonne Yiu

tation made by Symmachus, that “among all those things the earth yields, we find no such things as salt, which we can have only from the sea.” (QC 4.4).

Salt was, however, produced using many oth- er methods in Antiquity, some of which were already employed in prehistoric times. Salt could be harvested from salt lakes that dried up seasonally – Pliny mentions the Lake of Tarentum which “is dried up by the heat of the summer sun, and the whole of its waters, which are at no time very deep, not higher than the knee in fact, are changed into one mass of salt.” Furthermore, it could be made by evaporating natural brine from springs. “In Chaonia,” for instance, “there is a spring, from which they boil water, and on cooling obtain a salt that is insipid and not white.” Rock salt was also exploited, both in open cast and un- derground mines. “There are also mountains of natural salt, such as Oromenus in India, where it is cut out like blocks of stone from a quarry, and ever replaces itself, bringing Anchovies and sea salt for the preparation of garum and allec. From left to right: A BOWL WITH STAMPED DEC- greater revenues to the sovereigns than those ORATION. Dm. 17 cm. Clay, black glaze. Campanian, 4th cent. B.C. CHF 800. A SALT CELLAR. H. 3.1 cm. Bronze. from gold and pearls. It is also dug out of the Roman, 1st-3rd cent. A.D. CHF 480. A JUG. H. 18.3 cm. Silver. Roman, 2nd-3rd cent. A.D. CHF 7,800. A SMALL earth in Cappadocia, being evidently formed BOWL. Dm. 12.2 cm. Clay, black glaze. Campanian, ca. 330 B.C. CHF 240. by condensation of moisture.” (NH 31.39).

“By Hercules,” exclaims in his lates that when Ancus Marcius, the legendary Salt was used in a wide variety of ways in Ro- Naturalis historia, “a civilised life is impossi- fourth king of Rome (r. 640-616 B.C.), founded man cuisine and became so intimately associ- ble without salt! Indeed, so highly necessary the town of Ostia he also built salt works there. ated with the very idea of food that Cicero, in is this substance to mankind, that the plea- (Ab urbe condita 1.33). The aim was to avoid his dialogue on friendship, Laelius de amici- sures of the mind, even, can be expressed by dependence on the Etruscans, who produced tia, could observe: “And the proverb is a true no better term than the word ‘salt,’ such being salt in Veii on the opposite bank of the Tiber. one, ‘You must eat many a modius of salt with the name given to all effusions of wit. All the a man to be thorough friends with him.’" (67). amenities, in fact, of life, supreme hilarity, The salines at the mouth of the Tiber could This metaphor for a long span of time be- and relaxation from toil, can find no word in produce up to an estimated 10,000 tonnes of comes surprisingly concrete on reading Cato our language to characterise them better than salt a year by means of the solar evapora- the Elder’s recommendation that farm hands this.” (31.41). Symmachus, one of the dinner tion of sea water that had been channelled should be issued “a modius [ca. 8.7 litres] of companions in Plutarch’s Quaestiones convi- into large basins. (S.A.M. Adshead, Salt and salt a year per person.” The salt ration is men- vales, likewise stresses the importance of salt, Civilization, 1992, 29). This method is also tioned in the section on “relish for the hands” arguing that “there would be nothing eatable described by Pliny: “The usual [salt], and the and thus numbers amongst those foods that without salt […] salt is the most desirable of most plentiful, is made in salt pools by run- added some variety to labourers’ otherwise all relishes. For as colours need light, so the ning into them sea water not without streams fairly bland diet: pickled windfall olives, ripe tastes need salt.” (4.4). of fresh water, but rain helps very much, and olives that were unsuitable for oil production, above all much sunshine, without which it the residues from the manufacture of garum Salt was, however, much more than a taste- does not dry out.” (NH 31.39). Why fresh wa- (allec), vinegar, a sextar (ca. 550 ml) olive oil bud tickler. Not only was it essential for the ter and rain were necessary remains puzzling, per month and the above-mentioned modius preservation of foodstuffs and a component but possibly they were used to wash out the of salt. (De agri cultura 58). of many medicinal formulations, but it also bitter magnesium salts also contained in sea played a significant role in animal husband- water. (Adshead 31). Sea salt was produced in Some of this salt was surely used to season ry as well as in numerous artisanal processes. countless other salt works along the Mediter- food such as the cabbage salad so highly rec- Accordingly, it was of great importance to en- ranean coast, and its predominance, also in ommended by Cato in his chapter on the me- sure a constant supply of salt. Titus Livius re- the minds of men, is reflected by the asser- dicinal value of cabbage:

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2018

Cato’s Cabbage Salad (AC 157) allec, was given to Cato’s farm hands as a then they take and stop them and lay them by. relish. Viewed today with a mixture of fas- Some indeed pour two sextarii of old wine on cination and revulsion, this “liquid of a very a sextarius of fish.” (20.46). exquisite nature” was, according to Pliny, “prepared from the intestines of fish and var- Both in the Geoponika as well as in other an- ious parts which would otherwise be thrown cient sources, the fish from which the garum away, macerated in salt; so that it is, in fact, is made are not gutted. Occasionally the in- the result of their putrefaction.” The highly testines of other fish are even added. This is sought after garum sociorum that was made crucial for the successful fermentation of the from mackerel could fetch exorbitant prices fish as the innards contain large quantities similar to those commanded by precious un- of proteolytic enzymes that break down the guents. But many other fish – mostly small proteins into water-soluble amino acids and ones – were also used to produce garum. “Fi- peptides in a process called autolysis: the fish nally,” Pliny observes, “everything became a is literally liquified. Besides helping to draw luxury, and the various kinds that are now out the liquid from the fish, the salt supresses made are infinite in number.” There was even the growth of undesirable bacteria. As a re- a kosher garum “prepared from fish with- sult, the clear, amber-coloured sauce has an out scales [for] the sacred rites of the Jews.” almost unlimited shelf-life. (O. Mouritsen et “If you eat cabbage chopped, washed, dried, (NH 31.43-44). Nonetheless, ordinary garum al., Garum revisited, in: International Jour- and seasoned with salt and vinegar, nothing seems to have been generally affordable. In nal of Gastronomy and Food Science 9 (2017) will be more wholesome.” Pompeii, for instance, garum containers were 16-28; S. Grainger, Roman Fish Sauce, in: found throughout the city in the houses of Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery, 2010, However, the salt ration was so large that it both wealthy and poor or average citizens, as 121-131). was, in all likelihood, also used to preserve well as in the many taverns. The Price Edict foodstuffs. In addition to the salting and cur- of Diocletian (301 A.D.) paints a similar pic- Garum and allec (based on Geoponika ing of meat and fish, salt was used to pickle ture, the price for fish sauce being approx- 20.46) vegetables, and in his agricultural treatise De imately that of oil. (R. Curtis, In Defense of re rustica Columella provides numerous reci- Garum, in: The Classical Journal 78 (1983) pes including one for pickled onions: 232-240).

SaltColumella’s was also Pickledan indispensable Onions ingredient for Garum was manufactured mainly in large the(RR manufacture 12.10) of the ancient Romans’ fa- production centres (cetariae) located espe- cially in southern Spain, North Africa and the Black Sea. These factories were remark- ably uniform in design with a central patio, storage facilities, rooms for cleaning fish and fermentation vats made of cement set into the floor and sealed with opus signinum or carved into the rock. (A. Trakadas, Evidence for Fish Processing in the Western Mediterranean, in: Ancient Fishing and Fish Processing, ed. T. Lacking the heat of the Mediterranean sun, Bekker-Nielsen, 2005, 47-82). Many fami- garum and allec can still be made with the lies, however, produced their own fish sauce aid of an incubator. Take 1 kg fresh ancho- in small quantities for home use. The Roman vies and 150 g sea salt, place a layer of fish Egyptians Syra and Psias, for instance, wrote in a container, sprinkle liberally with salt, to their son Ision that they would prepare it continue until all the ingredients are used for his homecoming. (P. Oxy. 1299). The most up, ending with a layer of salt (photo on detailed instructions on how to make garum left). Incubate for 7-10 days at 40 °C, stir- “Choose Ascalonian or Pompeian onions are recorded in the Geoponika, a Byzantine ring occasionally. Once the fish have more […] put them in a jar together with thyme text of the 10th century A.D. that stands in the or less dissolved (photo on right) strain or savory and pour a liquid consisting of tradition of the Roman agricultural treatises through a sieve to remove the bones. Then three parts vinegar and one part strong and has close links to numerous ancient texts. filter through a cloth to separate the gar- brine over them. Place a small bundle of That in one of the four garum recipes the ratio um from the residues (allec). savory on top of the onions to keep them of fish to salt is given is of particular interest: submerged.” “But the Bithynians prepare it in this man- ner: they indeed take small, or large mendole, To make strong brine hang a small basket of which are more eligible; but if they cannot get salt in a vessel filled with rain-water. Keep them, anchovy or scad or mackerel […]; and refilling the basket until the salt no longer they throw them into a baking-trough […], dissolves. The brine is ready for use if a and having applied two Italian sextarii salt piece of sweet cheese floats on it. (RR 12.6). to a modius of fish, they mix them well [this is a ratio of 1:8 or 15 per cent salt]. Having Salt was also an indispensable ingredient for suffered them to lie during one night, they the manufacture of the ancient Romans’ fa- put them into an earthen vessel, and they set vourite condiment: the fermented fish sauce this in the sun during two or three months, garum, also called liquamen, whose sediment, stirring them with a stick at stated periods;

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2018

Recipe from Antiquity The World’s Oldest Alcoholic Beverage

By Yvonne Yiu

common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees and gorillas (HCG ancestor), who lived about 7-21 million years ago. Due to a single mu- tation, an AHD4 emerged that was able to oxidise ethanol forty times better than the same enzyme of the preceding common ancestor (HCGO ancestor, before the diver- gence of the orangutans). As the appearance of this ethanol-active ADH4 occurred at approximately the same time as the major climatic shift known as the Middle Miocene Climatic Transition, Carrigan et al. suggest- ed that it might represent an adaptation to changing environmental conditions. In the Middle Miocene, the replacement of forests by grassland ecosystems coincided with a wave of extinctions, and the fossil record reveals that hominids, too, experienced se- lective pressures which may have led to in- creased terrestrialism. As overripe fruit that has fallen to the ground has a higher ethanol Neolithic rice wine after a find in Jiahu with grapes (left) and hawthorn berries (middle) as well as mead (right). Four content, the transition to a terrestrial mode silex tools, from left to right: A POINT. H. 13.5 cm. France, Middle Palaeolithic, Magdalenian, ca. 120,000-40,000 B.P. of life may have led to a greater consump- CHF 1,800. A KNIFE OR A SICKLE BLADE. L. 18.2 cm. North-East Germany, Late Neolithic, ca. 3500-2200 B.C. CHF 2,500. A SICKLE BLADE. L. 14 cm. Europe, Late Neolithic, ca. 4400-2200 B.C. CHF 2,900. A LEAF POINT. L. 8.3 cm. tion of ethanol by the HCG ancestor, so that France, Late Neolithic, ca. 3000-2200 B.C. CHF 1,200 the improved ability to metabolise ethanol would have provided a selective advantage. Humans have experimented with countless rous anthropoids might have been character- (PNAS, 2015, 458-463). psychoactive substances during the past ised by the regular ingestion of low levels of millennia. Amongst these, alcohol – or to ethanol from fermenting fruit. Possibly those The long path leading from a possible prefer- be more precise, ethanol – with its imme- primates who developed the ability to local- ence of hominids for fermenting fruit to the diately noticeable, pleasant effects, such as ise fruit crops by following the scent of etha- intentional production of alcoholic beverag- cheerfulness, the enhanced ability to com- nol and who could metabolise the calories it es by humans remains largely in the dark. municate and interact with others and the contained enjoyed a selective advantage. The However, it seems reasonable to assume that reduction of inhibitions and anxiety, is by resulting strong attraction to the smell and human experimentation with alcoholic fer- far the most popular and widely used agent. taste of ethanol might have been retained mentation started out with simple processes, The production of alcoholic beverages from by humans despite a significant increase in such as the fermentation of honey water or locally available sources of sugar is an al- dietary diversity and the easy availability of palm sap, the former yielding mead and the most universal phenomenon, which can be beverages with a high ethanol content due to latter palm wine. These beverages can oc- encountered in human societies of every lev- the development of human-directed fermen- cur naturally without human intervention, el of complexity. Since ancient times, these tation. The excessive consumption of ethanol as both palm sap exuding from injuries in beverages have played an important role in would then represent a “maladaptive co-op- the bark and honey which is diluted by wa- defining the social status of group members tion of ancestrally advantageous behaviours”. ter, following a storm, for example, rapidly and in the enactment of rituals that mark (Addiction, 2002, 381-388). begin to ferment. The encounter with such major life events. natural phenomena may have provided the Some aspects of Dudley’s controversial hy- incentive to reproduce these processes. Cave The human preference for alcohol appears to pothesis recently received support from the paintings reveal that honey was collected in be rooted deep in our prehistory. The ques- field of palaeogenetics. In order to deter- the Mesolithic Period and possibly as early tion of when and in what form humans first mine since when our ancestors were able as the Palaeolithic Period (cf. CQ 2/2018) and began to ingest alcohol has been the subject to metabolise ethanol, the team headed by it is indeed possible that the first mead was of in-depth medical research with the aim Matthew A. Carrigan “resurrected ances- produced at about the same time. Soft, juicy of reaching a better understanding of the tral ADH4 (alcohol dehydrogenase class 4) fruits such as grapes and berries would also mechanisms leading to addiction and other enzymes from various points in the ca. 70 have been suitable for early fermentation alcohol-induced illnesses. Within this con- million years of primate evolution” and test- experiments. text, the biologist Robert Dudley developed ed them for their ability to oxydise ethanol. the hypothesis that alcoholism might be an Remarkably, nearly all the ADH4 were inac- Since when cereals were used to make beer- “evolutionary hangover”. He suggested that tive against ethanol. The situation, however, like beverages has been the subject of lively for about 40 million years the diet of frugivo- changed dramatically in the time of the last debate since the 1950s. This question is also

14 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2018

Mead it is all the more remarkable that “where al. assume that to enable the yeast to exploit cereals were not locally available, unusu- the starch contained in the rice, it was first al efforts were expended by groups relying saccharified either by mastication or malt- predominantly on hunting and gathering to ing. (PNAS, 2004, 17593-17598). obtain them from distant sources or to ex- pend considerable efforts to cultivate them mainly in predomesticated forms”. Hayden et Neolithic Rice Wine al. therefore suggest that beer was a presti- after a Find in Jiahu (China) gious luxury food that was consumed during feasts of a competitive nature and that the increased demand for brewed beer “was like- ly a major motivating factor for cultivating and domesticating cereals in the Near East.” They do, however, concede that similar ar- guments could be put forward for breadmak- ing. (Journal of Archaeological Method and After harvesting the honey, soak the combs Theory, 2013, 102-150). in water for 1-2 days. Strain the honey wa- ter through a sieve and pour into a bottle. Evidence that Hayden and his team were cor- As the fermentation process releases large rect in assuming that the technical and social amounts of carbon dioxide, to not close the prerequisites for the production and con- bottle tightly as it may otherwise explode. sumption of beer were present in the Natufi- Unfiltered rice wine with hawthorn berries (left) and grapes (right). The mead can be drunk young but storing it an culture was published in October 2018 by for a couple of months improves its flavour. the research team led by Li Liu. Their analy- To malt the rice, soak 100 g of germinable sis of starch granules from residues in three rice in water overnight. Rinse well and linked with the controversy over whether it stone “mortars” from a Natufian burial site in then place the jar upside down in a sieve was the desire for bread or for beer that was Raqefet Cave in Israel revealed that the gran- so that the excess water can drain off but the driving force behind the incipient domes- ules showed various forms of damage indic- the rice stays moist. Repeat twice a day tication of cereals in the Epipalaeolithic Peri- ative of the beer-making process. Thus, the until the roots are a few millimetres long od in the Near East. These issues were recently oldest alcoholic beverage for which there is (about two days). Dry the rice to stop ger- addressed by Hayden et al. in an archaeolog- archaeological proof is a wheat/barley-based mination and crush in a mortar. ical assessment of brewing technology in the beer, which was brewed some 13,000 years Natufian culture (ca. 12,000-9500 B.C.). On ago and which predates the appearance of To saccharify the rice, add 300 ml wa- the basis of ethnographic observations, the domesticated cereals in the Near East by sev- ter and heat slowly until the mixture is researchers surmised that the Natufian proto- eral millennia. (Journal of Archaeological too hot to touch with your fingers but is brewers would have been able to discover the Science: Reports, 2018, 783-793). not yet simmering (ideally 50-75 °C). Af- three steps necessary for beer production by ter about two hours it should taste fairly means of “natural variations or accidents in Further evidence that cereals were used very sweet and can be left to cool. food preparation and consumption”. These early on to produce alcoholic beverages steps are firstly the germination of the grain comes from the early Neolithic village Jia- Mix the rice water with 200 ml mead and to produce the enzymes that transform starch hu in Henan Province in China. The chem- 200-300 g crushed grapes or hawthorn into sugar, secondly the process of mashing ical analysis of ancient organic substances berries. The fruits of the hawthorn species in which the crushed grain is mixed with wa- absorbed into pottery jars dating from the found in Europe are not as fleshy as those ter and heated in order to create optimum 7th millennium B.C. performed by a research of the Chinese hawthorn, so it might be conditions for saccharification, and thirdly team directed by Patrick E. McGovern sug- more appropriate to use cornelian cherries the inoculation with the yeasts that carry out gested that the vessels contained a beverage or sloes. Pour into a bottle taking care not the fermentation. “Mortars" made of stone or composed of rice, honey and a type of fruit. to shut it tightly so that the carbon dioxide chiselled into the bedrock were recovered at The chemical findings could in part be sub- can escape. The mixture ferments power- numerous Natufian sites. Hayden et al. argue stantiated by archaeological observations. fully and two of my batches did indeed that particularly the long, narrow types could The earliest finds of domesticated rice in explode. The rice wine can be drunk af- have conceivably been used in brewing. The northern China, for example, were also made ter 1-2 weeks or stored for a longer period cereals would first have been pounded in the in Jiahu. Furthermore, the seeds of grapes of time. Before serving, strain through a “mortars”. Then the brewers would have add- and Chinese hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifi- muslin cloth. ed water and heated it to the required tem- da) could be identified in the Neolithic levels perature by adding hot stones. The yeasts of Jiahu. Both these fruits are rich in tartaric necessary for fermentation might have been acid, the biomarker indicating the presence air-borne or introduced either from previ- of a fruit component in the beverage. Al- ous batches of beer or from other foods, for though direct chemical evidence of alcohol example acorns, that had been processed in was lacking due to its volatility and sus- these “mortars”. ceptibility to biodegradation, fermentation of the mixed ingredients could be inferred Having evaluated cereal finds made in Epi- because of the yeast contained in the honey palaeolithic and Pre-Pottery sites, Hayden and on the skins of the fruit. Once the juice et al. reached the conclusion that cereals had been exuded from the fruits or the honey constituted a minor element in Late Epipa- diluted, the yeasts would inevitably have ini- laeolithic diets. Against this background, tiated the fermentation process. McGovern et

CQ 15 Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2018

Recipe from Antiquity Liquid Gold

Honey Collecting and Beekeeping in the Stone Age

By Yvonne Yiu

loric density, honey must have been a highly sought-after food. On the other hand, the idea of pleasurably savouring a comb of warm lar- vae would seem rather foreign to us, even if, since the beginning of this year, the European Union’s new Novel Food Regulation has per- mitted insects as food for human consump- tion. Bee brood, however, is a good source of protein, fat, several essential minerals and B-vitamins and is still eaten today in consid- erable quantities by various foraging peoples such as the Tamang of Nepal, the Onge of the Andaman Islands and the Efe of the Ituri For- est in the Congo. Primates, too, have a great liking for honey and larvae – indeed to such an extent that they have developed specialised tools for honey dipping, i.e. the harvesting of honey in nests that are not easily accessible. Prehistoric power bars with honey and pine nuts. Back: A CORE (“LIVRE DE BEURRE”). L. 30.4 cm. Stone (silex). Chimpanzees, for instance, use a long stick as France, Late to Final Neolithic, ca. 3000-2200 B.C. CHF 4,600. Left: AN AXE BLADE. L. 20.4 cm. Stone. Europe, Neo- lithic, ca. 5500-1800 B.C. CHF 2,200. Right: AN AXE BLADE. L. 16.3 cm. Stone (silex). Rügen (Northern Germany), a probe to gather information on the location Nordic Neolithic, ca. 4000-2000 B.C. CHF 3,400. of a nest in the interior of a tree or under the ground. The stick used to collect the honey is “When the honey season starts we first do ing these artworks is often difficult. It is gen- shorter and modified more extensively than a religious ceremony before entering the erally accepted, however, that the oldest pre- the probe, with the bark removed and brush forests. We recall the ancestors and spirits served depiction of people gathering honey is tips produced on one or both ends by chewing of the forest, the clan deities. We ask their located in the Cuevas de la Araña in Bicorp, the stick to loosen the fibres. (J. Lapuente et protection and blessings. We ask pardon of Spain, and was created in the Late Mesolithic al., American Journal of Primatology, 2016, the bees and the forest since we are going Period (ca. 6000 B.C.). To the right of a de- doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22628). One would expect to take their honey. For us honey eating is a tailed hunting scene in which numerous per- that early humans engaged in similar forms serious, solemn thing. We don’t talk when we sons slay a herd deer using bows and arrows of behaviour and Alyssa Crittenden goes so eat honey.” – possibly an indication that collecting honey far as to suggest that even Australopithecines was also regarded as a hunting activity – two knew how to harvest honey and bee brood. Since time immemorial, humans have collect- figures climb up a vertiginous rope ladder in These nutritious foods may, she argues, “have ed the honey of wild bees and many indig- order to reach a wild nest clinging to a rock been a crucial energy source to help enlarging enous groups in Africa, Asia, Australia and face. They carry baskets in which to place the the hominin brain.” As such, they would have South America still pursue this activity today. honeycombs and the figure closest to the nest played a significant role in shaping the course The words quoted above, in which members is surrounded by a swarm of agitated bees. of human evolution. (Food and Foodways, of the Kattunayakan, a South Indian trib- It is less clear whether there are cave paint- 2011, doi.org/10.1080/07409710.2011.630618). al people, express their profound reverence ings referring to the practice of honey gath- for nature, bees and the honey produced by ering from the Palaeolithic Period, but some Opportunistic honey hunting is thought to them, may serve as a mirror for the emotions scholars have interpreted various patterns in be the earliest form of interaction between associated with the collecting and consump- a side chamber of the famous cave in Altami- humans and bees. Based on ethnological evi- tion of honey by people in prehistoric times. ra, which was decorated in several phases dence it is assumed that this activity, in which (Interview by Mari Marcel Thekaekara, New between ca. 34,000-15,000 B.C., as ladders, hunters raided a bees’ nest when they found Internationalist, 2.9.2009). honeycombs and a swarm of bees. (E. Crane, one and harvested the honeycombs from it The World History of Beekeeping and Honey without taking steps to preserve the bees, was The inner life of our ancestors will remain Hunting, 1999, 37-38). practiced by only a few – mostly male – indi- forever elusive, but cave paintings nonethe- viduals within a group. Such a practice is only less provide a tantalising glimpse of how they Ethnographic and primatological observa- possible in the long term if the human pop- perceived themselves and the world around tions suggest that not only honey but also bee ulation density is low and the groups move them. Prehistoric representations of bees, brood was most probably consumed by early through a fairly large area to find food, al- honey combs and honey gathering have been humans and hominids over a period of sever- lowing the bee population to recover from the preserved in many countries, most notably in al million years. It is easy for us to appreciate inroads made into it. Over time, early humans Spain, India and South Africa, although dat- that due to its sweetness, fragrance and ca- would probably have developed strategies for

14 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2018

Comb with Honey and Bee Brood ed were comprised of rounded pots that were Neolithic Period. Such techniques include the interpreted as cooking vessels and which often reclosing of openings made to collect honey contained traces of dairy and adipose fats. On from cavity-nesting bees, creating artificial one of the fragments from Çayönü Tepesi bio- cavities in trees, rocks or walls, combating markers for beeswax as well as for mammalian pests and marauding animals and encourag- animal fat were found. This combination may ing the growth of melliferous plants in the vi- be due to the re-use of the vessel over time, cinity of hives. (Crane, 127 ff.). Furthermore, but it is also quite conceivable that honey was clearances made in the course of the Neolithic used to sweeten foods containing meat or milk colonisation of previously densely wooded products. (R.P. Evershed et al., Nature, 2008, areas would have encouraged the expansion A spring delicacy for immediate consump- 528-531; M.S. Copley et al., Journal of Archa- of bee-favourable habitats with a wide variety tion. eological Science, 2005, 485-503, esp. 491). of shrubs, herbs and flowers. (S. Needham/J. Evans, Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 1987, finding hives with greater success. These may Neolithic Farmer's Breakfast 21-28). That beekeeping was also actively have included revisiting known nest sites, lis- practiced within settlements is suggested by tening for the humming sound made by bee two artificially hollowed-out tree trunks that colonies, studying the flight path of bees and are interpreted as log hives and were found observing the behaviour of animals which eat standing upright next to the wall of a house in bees or bee products, for instance apes or the the Lake Village of Arbon-Bleiche 3 (Canton honeyguide bird. The latter engages in a cu- Thurgau, Switzerland) which was inhabited rious interaction with humans and possibly for just 15 years between 3384-3370 B.C. The also animals such as the honey badger. With hives were probably covered with a stone slab conspicuous movements and repeated cries, or a wooden board and an opening at ground the honeyguide seeks to attract the attention level would have served as flight entrance. of a “hunting partner” and then leads him to (A. de Capitani et al., Die jungsteinzeitliche a hive. After his partner has broken it open Seeufersiedlung Arbon Bleiche 3, 2002, 212 and has taken his share, the bird feeds on the f.). As they are made of perishable material, left-over insects and hive fragments. (Crane, Put one handful of grain per person, for such hives as well as the woven skeps were 44, 54-55). instance einkorn, barley or emmer, into preserved only in exceptional circumstances. an earthenware pot and cover with plenty Ethnographic observations further suggest of water. Cook gently overnight in the Prehistoric Power Bars that a system of nest ownership might gradu- embers. Pour off any excess water in the Finds from Bilancino and Grotta Paglicci ally have evolved. Nest sites in rocks are gen- morning. Add enough milk to cover the (Italy), Pavlov and Dolní V stonice (Czech erally inhabited by bees for extended periods grain, sweeten with honey, add dried fruit Republic) and Kostenki () reveal that of time, even if the combs are repeatedly har- if desired and reheat briefly. grinding starchy plants intoě flour using vested, and at some point in time people will pestle-shaped stones was a widespread have realised that a hive remained more reli- In Central Europe beeswax was found on practice even 25-30,000 years ago. (A. ably productive if a certain quantity of brood potsherds from Linearbandkeramik sites oc- Revedin et al., La prima farina, 2015). The and honey was left behind. A hive would thus cupied by the earliest farmers of Austria and ingredients of this sweet, protein-rich bar become a valuable asset and may have been Germany, for instance Brunn am Gebirge have all been found at Palaeolithic sites, al- marked as someone’s property by a pile of (5500-5400 B.C.) and Niederhummel (5360- beit not together. Such a compact, energy- stones or a sign cut into the bark of a tree. 5220 B.C.). Further finds dating from the 6th packed food would certainly have been (Crane, 107-110). There are hardly any con- mill. B.C. were discovered in Poland, speci- ideal to take along on a foraging or hunt- indications as to when such a practice mens from the 5th mill. B.C. were found in ing trip. might have commenced, but as this custom is the Chasséen settlements in Saône-sur-Loire found in recent hunter-gatherer groups, it is and finds from the 4th mill. B.C. were made certainly possible that it preceeded the devel- in the Lake Village sites in the French Jura. opment of agriculture in the Neolithic Period. Although almost 1,200 vessels from Ireland, and Fennoscandinavia were exam- An extensive survey of Neolithic pottery ined, no conclusive evidence for beeswax was shards by M. Roffert-Salque et al. (Nature, found there. It has therefore been suggested 2016, 226-230) has demonstrated that bee that the 57th parallel North marks the ecolog- products were exploited continuously and in ical limit to the natural occurrence of honey- places also extensively by early farming soci- bees in the Neolithic Period. eties in Europe, the Near East and North Af- rica from the 7th mill. B.C. onwards. As small The fact that a significant number of shards quantities of beeswax, which is composed of a containing beeswax residues date from the Knead together 150 g einkorn flour, 100 g highly constant, chemically easily identifiable period in which farming societies began to liquid honey, 100 g pine nuts and 50 g suite of lipids, are always present in honey, develop inevitably raises the question wheth- lupine flour. Add a little water if neces- the wax can serve as a biomarker for honey, er the finds reflect an incipient domestication sary. Form the dough into bars. Light a fire which, consisting mainly of water-soluble process. Archaeological evidence is extreme- above a large, flat stone. After about 30 sugars, does not survive in the archaeologi- ly scant, but it is indeed possible that those minutes push the wood and embers aside, cal record. The oldest evidence for beeswax nest-tending and beekeeping techniques brush the soot off the stone with a leafy came from Çayönü Tepesi and Çatalhöyük, documented by ethnographers which require twig and bake the bars on the stone for both Neolithic sites of the 7th mill. B.C. in only a minimal modification of the existing 5-10 minutes turning them occasionally. Anatolia. Most of the assemblages investigat- environment were already employed in the

CQ 15 Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2018

Recipe from Antiquity The Cooking Animal On the Origin of Cooking and the Dawn of Humankind

By Yvonne Yiu

(Kleiber’s Law), there are limits to how much it can rise. Aiello and Wheeler therefore con- sidered the possibility that the expansion of the metabolically “expensive” brain was made possible by the compensatory reduction in the relative mass of another “expensive” or- gan. Their research revealed that the mass of the human gut was lower than expected and that “the energetic saving attributable to the reduction of the gastro-intestinal tract is ap- proximately the same as the additional cost of the larger brain.” Furthermore, they observed that evolutionary changes in the shape of the human rib cage provided further evidence in support of a gradual reduction in gut size. In light of this, Aiello and Wheeler proposed that Smoked horse meat surrounded by SILEX HAND AXES from the Lower to Middle Paleolithic, ca. 600,000-40,000 B.P. From left to right: L. 11 cm, CHF 1,500, L. 1.3 cm, CHF 2,000, L. 14.6 cm, CHF 1,800. there was “a coevolution between brain size and gut size in humans,” and, based on data “My definition of man is, ‘a cooking animal.’ lan, for instance, “cooking transforms nature gathered from the study of primates, suggest- The beasts have memory, judgment, and all the and, by doing so, elevates us above that state, ed that a higher quality diet would have made faculties and passions of our mind, in a certain making us human.” (Cooked. A Natural His- the reduction in gut size possible. degree; but no beast is a cook,” James Boswell tory of Transformation, 2013, 53). noted in his diary on 15 August 1773, remem- According to Aiello and Wheeler there were bering a witty conversation with friends on Sweeping statements like those found in Pol- two major periods of brain expansion, the first the “definition of human nature.” (A Journal lan’s book are best met with a degree of scep- correlating with the appearance of the genus of a Tour to the Hebrides, 1785, 16). ticism. Remarkably, however, the anthropolo- Homo around 2 million years B.P. (eg. H. ha- gists Leslie C. Aiello und Peter Wheeler reached bilis with a brain size of ca. 650 cc) and the The question of what distinguishes human be- similar conclusions in their “Expensive Tissue second, in which brain size increased to its ings from animals has fascinated people since Hypothesis” (Current Anthropology 36 [1995] modern level, coinciding with the appearance time immemorial. A multitude of characteris- 199-211). This hypothesis rapidly found wide- of archaic H. sapiens roughly 0.5 million years tics such as our upright posture and gait, the spread acceptance and it remains to be seen B.P. Anatomical comparisons revealed that ability to make and use tools, the capacity for whether the criticism voiced in recent research the areas of the brain responsible for think- empathy, compassion and ethical behaviour (e.g. A. Navarete et al., Nature 480 [2011] 91- ing, planning, memory and language profited as well as the belief in God have been pro- 93) will prevail. Aiello and Wheeler started out most from brain growth. Aiello and Wheeler posed. In his influential book, The Descent of from the observation that, in comparison to suggested that the first marked increase in Man, Charles Darwin placed particular em- other animals, humans have a high degree of brain size could have been due to an increased phasis on man’s having learned to control fire encephalization. Indeed, the average human consumption of meat and that “for the second and so developed the ability to cook: “He has has a brain that is 4.6 times larger than ex- increase the introduction of cooking may have discovered the art of making fire, by which pected for the average mammal. Furthermore, been an important factor.” Somewhat tenta- hard and stringy roots can be rendered digest- they noted that the human line experienced tively they also proposed that “the exploitation ible, and poisonous roots or herbs innocuous. a “phenomenal increase in brain size in the of high-quality foods” would have “required This last discovery, probably the greatest, ex- past 2 million years.” Whilst the austalopithe- more complex behaviours,” which in turn cepting language, ever made by man, dates cines, who lived some 3.5 to 1.8 million years “could have acted as one of the selection pres- from before the dawn of history.” (1871, 137). B.P., had a brain size of ca. 400-500 cc, which sures for the observed increase in brain size.” roughly corresponds to that of a chimpanzee, In the wake of Claude Lévi-Strauss’s struc- modern humans have a brain that is approxi- In his book with the somewhat sensation- turalist analysis of the of indigenous mately three times larger, with an average vol- alist title Catching Fire. How Cooking Made tribes in South America, Mythologiques I, Le ume of 1400 cc. The metabolic cost of such a Us Human (2009), the primatologist Richard Cru et le Cuit (1964), cooking has been ac- large brain is considerable. Although the brain Wrangham in principle agrees with Aiello corded a significance of similar magnitude accounts for a mere 2 per cent of a modern and Wheeler’s reasoning, with one important by cultural historians, who interpret the an- human’s body mass, it consumes ca. 16 per difference. According to Wrangham, the con- tithetical relationship between the raw and cent of the energy needed by the body at rest. sumption of cooked foods was not a cultural the cooked as symbolical of the opposition of As an animal’s basic metabolic rate stands in a innovation contemporaneous with the early nature and culture. According to Michael Pol- precisely defined relationship to its body mass H. sapiens. Rather, he argues, the origin of

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2018

cooking lay in the far distant past, leading to mately half a dozen further early sites have surfaces were covered with a series of par- the appearance of H. erectus some 1.8 million been discovered, but it is assumed that the allel cut marks, inviting the conclusion that years B.P. With a brain volume of ca. 1100 cc, ability to maintain fires over longer periods the surplus meat may have been preserved by H. erectus had a significantly larger brain than of time and to create fire developed around or cutting it into strips and then drying it in the H. habilis and his rib cage was already less after ca. 400,000 B.P. (Cf. J.A.J. Gowlett, 2016, open air or smoking it. (H. Thieme, The Lower prominent, indicating a smaller gastro-intesti- doi: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0164; M. Chazan, Cur- Palaeolithic Art of Hunting, in: The Hominid nal tract. The transition from H. habilis to H. rent Anthorpology 58 [2017] S351-S359). Individual, ed. C. Gamble, 2005, 115-132). erectus, moreover, was marked by the “largest reduction in tooth size in the last six million A particularly vivid picture of the use of In addition to roasting and smoking there are years of human evolution.” This, in particular, fire by early humans is provided by an ar- a multitude of techniques with which food Wrangham interprets as a clear sign that H. chaeological site dated to ca. 400,000 B.P. in could be cooked before the introduction and erectus did not eat raw food, but cooked it, Schöningen, Germany. One day in late sum- habitual use of ceramic cooking pots in the making the food considerably easier to chew. mer or possibly already early autumn, a hunt- Neolithic Period. These include cooking in ing expedition by a group of early humans fire pits, on hot stones, in embers or in clay, The benefits of cooking are manifold. Amongst closely related to H. erectus met with extraor- and the heating of liquids in containers made other things, it increases the digestibility of dinary luck. Armed with wooden throwing from organic materials such as wood or leath- foods, thereby providing the body with sig- spears measuring between 1.8 and 2.5 m in er by the addition of hot stones. These simple nificant energetic gains; it destroys toxins and length, and with a range of up to 60 m, they methods can be employed not only to cook pathogens, making foods safer to consume; succeeded in killing a herd of wild horses. in a manner that highlights the food’s natu- and it dramatically reduces the time actu- Prior to this find, it had been assumed that ral taste but also to create refined dishes with ally spent chewing. A chimpanzee devotes only H. sapiens was capable of the systematic complex aromas. Thus, it is indeed possible more than six hours a day to masticating his hunting of big game animals, because such a that cookery could qualify as an art even as food whereas humans spend between a fifth sophisticated operation required a high degree early as the Palaeolithic Period. to a tenth of this time eating. Freed from the of organisational ability, an advanced level of constraint of chewing for hours on end, they abstract thinking and probably also verbal Rabbit Baked in Clay could use the time saved for other activities. communication. Some of the meat from the Wrap the rabbit meat in herbs and leaves, Furthermore, cooking as an essentially com- at least 20 horses slaughtered that day was coat with clay, cover with glowing embers munal activity led to a more sophisticated presumably eaten straight away. The remains and bake for ca. 40 minutes. group structure characterised by mutual shar- of at least four hearths and a charred wooden ing and the division of labour. Broadly speak- artefact that was interpreted as a spit indi- ing, Wrangham argues that the men out hunt- cate that the meat was roasted. Furthermore, ing relied on the women in the encampment a number of working “anvils”, mostly radius to gather and cook staple foods, so that they bones of bison, were found, whose flat dorsal would not go hungry if they made no kill, while the women trusted that the men would Schöningen-Style Smoked Horse Meat share the meat with them if the hunt was suc- cessful. This behaviour differs sharply from that of non-human primates, where adults do not share food with one another. Thus, accord- ing to Wrangham, “cooking made us human,” not only because it provided the physiological conditions necessary for the development of the “brilliant human mind” but also because it “made possible one of the most distinctive features of human society: the modern form of the sexual division of labor.”

From an archaeological perspective, there is a certain reluctance to embrace such delib- erations, not least because there is very lit- tle evidence from the Palaeolithic Period for the use of fire for cooking. It is fairly certain that the opportunistic interaction with fire Build a smoking rack by tying together dates back a million years and it is possible three long sticks and spreading them out that this behaviour may have appeared much to form a tripod. Attach three twigs to its earlier. Fire foraging, the search for natural- sides. Cut the horse meat into strips, hang ly occurring fires with the hope of benefiting them over twigs and place them on the twig from additional nutritional resources such as triangle. Make a fire. Once the flames have birds’ eggs, rodents, lizards and other small died down, place the rack over the embers animals, as well as invertebrates, is document- and smoke the meat for 12-18 hours. Add ed for various species of animals and it is as- wood to the fire when necessary. For a tast- sumed that early humans also engaged in this ier version, cure the meat in brine for 12 activity. The oldest evidence indicative of the hours (80 g salt per litre of water) and then controlled use of fire was excavated in East soak in a marinade of your choice for a Turkana and in Chesowanja in Kenya and is couple of hours before smoking. dated to ca. 1.4 million years B.P. Approxi-

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2017

Recipe from Antiquity “Vita vinum est” Making and Drinking Wine in Ancient Rome

By Yvonne Yiu

From left to right: A FLASK. H. 20.3 cm. Glass. Roman, 2nd-3rd cent. A.D. CHF 1,200. A LARGE BOTTLE. H. 22.2 cm. Glass. Roman, 2nd-4th cent. A.D. CHF 2,800. Lora, resinous wine, vinum familiae, leucocoum. A SLENDER BEAKER. H. 8 cm. Glass. Roman, 3rd-4th cent. A.D. CHF 1,300. A BEAKER. H. 9.5 cm. Glass. Eastern Gothic, 6th cent. A.D. CHF 1,200.

At his notorious dinner party (cf. CQ 3/2017), However, Trimalchio’s bon mot “wine is life” Cato’s vinum familiae (AC 104) Trimalchio, who had a penchant for the su- also holds true for Roman society in a much Pour 200 ml must, 40 ml sharp vinegar, 40 ml perlative, surprised his guests by bringing in broader sense. Pliny the Elder observes: “And sapa (the defrutum described below will “some glass jars carefully sealed with gyp- if anybody cares to consider the matter more also do) and 1 l fresh water into a con- sum [and] with labels tied to their necks, carefully, there is no department of man’s life tainer. Stir with a stick thrice a day for five inscribed, ‘Falernian of Opimius's vintage, on which more labour is spent [than viticul- consecutive days. Then add 25 ml of old 100 years in bottle’.” As his guests were por- ture].” (Naturalis historia, 14.137). Indeed, vi- sea-water. Seal the container ten days later. ing over the labels, “Trimalchio clapped his ticulture was one of the mainstays of Roman hands and cried, ‘Ah me, so wine lives lon- agriculture and wine and wine-based drinks ger than miserable man. So let us be merry. such as lora (piquette) and posca (water with Wine is life (vita vinum est).’” (Petronius, wine vinegar) were drunk by all social classes, Satyricon, 34). probably on a daily basis. Cato the Elder rec- ommends seven quadrantals of wine (183 li- This invitation to enjoy the fleeting moment tres) for each farmhand per year. “Give the and take a stand against death – personified chained slaves an additional amount propor- by a silver skeleton with movable limbs that tioned to their work,” he adds. “It is not ex- Trimalchio placed on the table shortly after- cessive if they drink ten quadrantals of wine wards – by drinking reflects an attitude wide- (262 litres) per person in a year.” (De Agri Farmhands, however, were only given this ly embraced in Roman culture. Numerous cultura, 57). wine after they had drunk lora during the epitaphs which claim that visiting the baths, three months following the vintage (AC 57). eating well, drinking wine and indulging in The wine drunk by ordinary people was of Lora was made by soaking the pomace in carnal love are the essence of life bear vivid modest quality and was usually consumed water for a day and pressing it again. (Colu- testimony to this. The perhaps most famous during the course of the year following its mella, De re rustica, 12.40, NH 14.86). example is the epitaph for Tiberius Claudius production. Generally, it was not worth aging Secundus: “Bathing, wine and love ruin our it: Cato recommends producing 1715 litres of In contrast, the higher strata of society had bodies, but bathing, wine and love make life “wine for the familia to drink through the the pleasure of drinking exquisite . worth living. (Balnea vina Venus corrumpunt winter,” a quantity that “will last you until The best were said to come from Caecuba corpora nostra set vitam faciunt b[alnea] v[i- the ; whatever is left over af- and those from Falernum numbered second na] V[enus]).” (CLE 1318). ter the solstice will be a very sharp and excel- amongst the “grand crus”. The third place was lent vinegar.” (AC 104). awarded to wines from the Alban Hills and

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the Sorrentine Peninsula, and the fourth to his illness prevents him from “mix[ing] snow 90 amphorae, i.e. 0.13 g/l – are, however, the Mamertine wines. (NH 14.61-66). Pliny with his wine” or “reviv[ing] the chill of his so small that their aroma is hardly per- maintains that noble wines (nobilia vina) drink – mixed as it is in a good-sized bowl ceptible. Defrutum was not only used to could only be made from grapes growing at – by chipping ice into it.” (Epistulae Mora- fortify wine but was a popular ingredient the very top of vines that were trained up les, 78.23). The drunken sculptor Habinnas, in Roman cookery. trees, usually elms or poplars (NH 17.199). who, as a grotesque parody of , This made the vintage a dangerous task: “In barges into Trimalchio’s dinner party, imme- Campania the vines espouse the poplars, and diately calls for wine and hot water: “vinum et Resin, salt and seawater were also frequently embracing their brides and climbing with caldam poposcit”. (Sat. 65). And Marcus Ter- used to improve wines. Cato suggests adding wanton arms in a series of knots among their entius Varro prided himself on a special table 1.8 g powdered resin per litre of must: “Place branches, rise level with their tops, soaring in his aviary which “is so arranged that cold it in a basket and suspend it in the jar of aloft to such a height that a hired vintager and warm water flows for each guest […] by must; shake the basket often so that the resin expressly stipulates in his contract that the the turning of taps.” (De re rustica, 3.5.16). may dissolve.” (AC 23). Wine was also given cost of a funeral and a grave be covered!” a resinous flavour by the layer of pitch used (NH 14.10-11). Lucius Columella is of the opinion, which we to coat the vessels intended for storing wine. would certainly subscribe to today, that “the According to Pliny, “the pitch most high- The greatest of all Roman wines, the Opimian best wine [is] any kind which can keep without ly esteemed in Italy” for this purpose came vintage which Trimalchio served to his guests, any preservative, nor should anything at all from Bruttium and was “made from the resin was named not after a wine region or produc- be mixed with it by which its natural savour of the pitch-pine.” (NH 14.127, RR 12.18.5- er but after Lucius Opimius, who was consul in would be obscured; for that wine which can 7). Whereas for us today, resinous wines like 121 B.C. This year saw ideal weather, making please by its own natural quality alone is the wake memories of the Aegean, it was it possible to produce wines of extraordinary most excellent.” (RR 12.19.2). Those whose salted wine which the ancient Romans asso- quality that aged remarkably well. Writing his “must labours under a defect” could, however, ciated with Greece, and particularly with the Brutus in 46 B.C., Cicero could still rely on resort to a multitude of methods to improve it. island of Cos. “The people of Cos,” Pliny re- it being common knowledge that the Opimi- Powdered marble was added to lower the acid- lates, “mix in a rather large quantity of sea- an vintage together with wine from the con- ity level – Cato recommends 0.6 g per litre of water – a custom arising from the peculation sulate of Lucius Anicius (160 B.C.) were the must – and defrutum (reduced must) was used of a slave who used this method to fill up the most excellent wines ever to have been made to increase the sugar content. To improve the due measure, and this mixture is poured into (atqui hae notae sunt optimae), even though keeping properties of an inferior must, Cato white must, producing what is called leuco- they were now past their prime. Assuming that suggests adding 24 ml defrutum per litre of coum [white Coan].” (NH 14.78). Cato pro- Petronius's Satyricon was set in the Neronian must whereas Columella recommends the ad- vides a simple recipe for those who would period, Trimalchio’s Opimian would be more mixture of 20-30 ml defrutum and 0.6 g roast- like to make their own : than 170 years old and utterly undrinkable, an ed salt per litre of must. (AC 23, RR 12.21.1-2). embarrassing blunder exposing the ignorance of this nouveau riche freed slave. Writing some 10-20 years after Petronius, Pliny states that the wines produced during the consulate of Opimius “have now been reduced to the consistency of honey with a rough flavour” and that “it would not be possible to drink them neat or to counteract them with water, as their over-ripeness predominates even to the point of bitterness, though with a very small admixture they might serve as a seasoning for improving all other wines.” (NH 14.55-56). Defrutum with the flavourings , fenugreek and sweet The ingredients for Cato’s Greek wine: 1 l must, 1 ml salt. rush. A BEAKER. H. 9.4 cm. Glass. Roman, 1st-2nd A RIBBED BOWL. Dm. 9.3 cm. Glass. Roman, 1st cent. In the above quote, Pliny mentions the prac- cent. A.D. CHF 2,200. A RIBBED BOWL. Dm. 15.6 cm. A.D. CHF 1,500. tices of diluting wine with water and of adding Glass. Roman, 1st cent. A.D. CHF 3,400. certain substances to improve the wine's qual- Columellas defrutum (RR 12.19-20) Catos Greek Wine (AC 24) ity, both of which were commonly employed “We shall then watch for the waning of “Add to the culleus [540 l] of must two in ancient Rome. The custom of drinking di- the moon and the time when it is under quadrantals [52,4 l] of old seawater or a luted wine was widespread in ancient Greece the earth, and on a calm, dry day, we modius [4,37 l] of pure salt.” For a smaller too, but there are fundamental differences shall pick the ripest possible grapes. These familia, 97 ml seawater or 1 ml salt added between the two cultures. The Greeks mixed we must tread out and before the foot has to a litre of must should suffice. wine and water in a large krater according to a left wine press (ante quam prelo pes exi- specified ratio which was at times the subject matur) the juice must be carried from the of lively debate but generally ranged between On occasion, rather unusual additives were vat to the boiling-vessels.” The must was 2:3 and 1:3. This meant that everybody drank thought to be necessary. “If any creature has boiled in lead vessels until was reduced wine of the same strength. In Rome, however, fallen into the must and died there, such as a by a quarter, a third, or, even better, by each guest could decide for himself how much snake or a mouse or a shrew,” Columella ad- one half. Various herbs and other flavour- water he wanted in his wine as the two were vises, “in order that it may not give the wine ings could be boiled together with it. “The mixed in the drinker’s cup. For a more refresh- an evil odour, let the body in the condition odours […] which are generally speaking ing drink, snow and ice were added, and, sur- in which it was found be burnt and its ash- suitable for wine are iris, fenugreek and prisingly for us, hot water was also frequently es when cool be poured into the vessel into sweet rush.” The quantities recommended used. Seneca, for instance, describes how an which it had fallen and stirred in with a wood- by Columella – 1 Roman pound each for ailing gourmet is pitied by his friends, because en ladle; this will cure the trouble.” (RR 12.31).

CQ 15 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2017

Recipe from Antiquity Disastrous Dinners By Yvonne Yiu

When Trimalchio invited the servants to join the party and Encolpius had to share his couch with aforesaid cook, who “reek[ed] of pickles and sauces,” the bounds of good taste were most definitely overstepped. The friends’ at- tempt to leave failed, however, for no guest was ever let out through the same gate: “‘They come in one way, and go out another.’” Thus, they were obliged to witness the staging of Trimalchio’s funeral before they could flee through the entrance demolished by the fire- men. (70-78).

Although the narrator Encolpius emphasizes his disgust at what he sees and endeavours to dissociate himself from it, his behaviour is also characterized by curiosity, admiration and delight in eating. This ambivalent attitude towards culinary luxury and extravagance in general is typical of Roman society in the Late Rainbow trout with squillas natantis cooked in ius mixtum. A SILVER OINOCHOE. H. 18.3 cm. Roman, 2nd-3rd cent. Republic and Early Imperial Period. A.D. CHF 7,800. A BLACK-GLAZED . H. 9.2 cm. Clay. Campanian, mid-4th cent. B.C. CHF 1,200. From the standpoint of moral philosophy, “It was enough to make you spew. Trimal- hatched under the hen. Good Lord, I’m afraid there can be no question that a life governed chio […] in his repulsive drunkenness or- the chickens are on their way out! However, by the principles of simplicity, moderation dered trumpeters to be summoned to the let’s see if they are still soft enough to eat.’” and frugality – epitomized by the idealized dining-room. Reclining on a mound of pil- Encolpius almost discarded his helping, “as it image of rural life – is to be preferred to the lows, […] he said: ‘Imagine I am dead. Play seemed already to have hardened into a chick- opulence of city life that is dearly bought something nice.’ In harmony, the trumpeters en, but then I heard an experienced guest say: with worries. The fable with which Horace blared out the dead march. […] The city sen- ‘There is sure to be something good in this.’ I ends Satire 2.6 sums up this attitude: A town tinels, thinking that Trimalchio's house was poked my finger through the shell and found mouse visits a country mouse in his humble on fire, suddenly kicked in the door […]. We inside a plump little fig-pecker, coated in pep- hole. Even the best, carefully saved titbits seized this most opportune moment [and] pered egg yolk.” (26, 31, 33). which the country mouse offers his friend took to our heels.” (Petronius, Satyricon, 78). cannot tempt his discerning palate. The town As the banquet progressed and the guests’ mouse suggests that the country mouse ac- Brooding over the series of misadventures initial curiosity was satisfied, the culinary company him to the city and experience first- they had undergone and “discussing how excesses and distasteful behaviour of their hand how wonderful life is there. In a mag- to avoid the storm-clouds ahead,” the three host and his entourage became increasingly nificent townhouse the mice recline on scarlet friends Encolpius, Asclytos and Giton were unbearable. For a moment the merriment of blankets and enjoy the leftovers of a feast delighted to receive a surprise invitation to the guests, which had quite vanished, was re- celebrated the previous evening, when all of a dinner at Trimalchio’s, a freed slave who, as stored by a sweet course composed of cakes sudden Molossian hounds burst into the room a shrewd businessman, had amassed immense and mock fruits that “when disturbed by the and chase them away. “Then says the coun- riches but unfortunately was not as success- slightest touch, began to squirt out ,” try mouse: ‘This life’s no use to me: and so, ful in attaining social refinement. To be able the juice even shooting into their faces. How- farewell! My woodland hole, safe from such to wallow in luxury for an evening promised ever, Encolpius and his friends would have scares will comfort me despite the humble le- to be just the right thing for them. However, preferred “death by starvation” rather than gumes that make up my fare.’” (81-111). following a “most elegant hors d’oeuvre” fea- taste the “preposterous dish” served soon af- turing olives, dormice dipped in honey and terwards. “Placed before us was a fat goose Legumes are also eaten by Horace in the sim- sprinkled with poppy-seed, hot sausages, Syr- surrounded by fish and every kind of bird. Tri- ple dinner described in Satire 1.6. “Then I ian plums and pomegranate seeds, the plea- malchio then announced: ‘My friends, all that return home to a dish of leek, chickpeas and sure of eating was increasingly paired with you see before us here is made out of a single lagana. […] a white stone bears two cups and a disgust. To begin with, Trimalchio simply body. […] my cook has made all these out of ladle; a cheap bowl, two oil-flasks and a sau- teased his guests with the possibility that the pork. There can’t be a more valuable man any- cer stand nearby: all Campanian ware.” (115- food served might be repugnant: When, for where. If you ask him, he’ll make a fish out of 118). Like the country mouse, Horace declares the first course, peahens’ eggs were distribut- a womb, a pigeon out of bacon, […] a hen out that he is satisfied with such a simple life, but ed, Trimalchio cautioned, “‘My friends, I gave of pork-knuckle. So I [coined] a suitable name Satire 2.7 gives reason to doubt the truthful- instructions for these peahens’ eggs to be for him: he’s called .’” (60-70). ness of his avowal. The slave Davus makes

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2017

use of Saturnalian license to accuse his mas- is inferior.’” What a paradoxical dish in which ter of double standards and fickleness, illus- not only the life of the fish but also that of trating this with various examples including its young is sacrificed for the pleasure of eat- that of food and dining: “If by chance you’re ing and in which the dead prawns seem to be not asked out to dinner, you praise your quiet alive! The broth (ius mixtum) in which they are dish of cabbage (securum holus) […] and you cooked contains “fish sauce made with juice call yourself happy and hug yourself that you of the Spanish mackerel” and vinegar, both are not obliged to party […]. But if Maecenas the products of fermentation, a process whose sends you a late invitation at twilight, you proximity to that of putrefaction is under- scream: ‘Where’s the lamp-oil? Quick, are you lined: The Methymnean grape is “vitiated” or deaf?’ at the top of your voice, then off you “corrupted” in order to produce vinegar (ace- scurry (cum magno blateras clamore fugis- to, quod Methymnaeam vitio mutaverit uvam). que).” (2.7.29-35). Furthermore, deliberately impure ingredients A GUTTUS WITH GORGO MEDUSA. D. 10,5 cm. Clay. are added: unwashed sea urchins (inlutos Campanian, ca. 350-330 v. Chr. CHF 1,060 Thus, for Horace, if we believe Davus, the echinos) supposedly ensure a better flavour. prospect of an elegant dinner sweeps away In view of these characteristics, amongst other Cook 150 g chickpeas in salted water until any moral maxims or reservations. However, things, the dish has been interpreted both as they are soft; drain. Finely chop 1 leek and to partake of a sumptuously laden table, even a criticism of Roman law (ius) and as a meta- fry lightly in olive oil. Mix together with that of a cultured man, can be a risky venture. phor for the genre of satire. Be that as it may, the chickpeas and season to taste. For the In Epode 3 Horace relates that Maecenas, in a the lamprey was robbed of its life in vain, for lagana make a supple dough out of 200 g joking mood (iocose Maecenas), took pleasure before it could be eaten, “the wall-hanging flour, 100 ml water, 30 ml olive oil and 5 g in almost poisoning his guests with garlic (cf. over it collapsed heavily onto the dish, drag- salt. Add herbs or finely chopped olives for CQ 1/2017). It is even more perilous to entrust ging down more black dust than the North a more savoury version. Roll out into thin oneself to the cuisine of a vulgarian. The din- wind blows from Campania’s fields.” (41-56). sheets, cut into the desired shape and bake ner at Trimalchio’s is not the only example of for ca. 6-8 minutes at 200 °C. this. Prudently, in Satire 2.8 Horace does not Nasidienus “wept, head bowed, as if his son Fish and crustaceans poached in Nasidie- accompany his friends to the banquet given had met an untimely death.” However, when nius’ ius mixtum (Satire 2.8.45-53) by the parvenu Nasidienus, but listens at a Balatro ended his consolatory speech with The broth in which Nasidienus’ lamprey safe distance to the account of the disastrous the words “‘But as with a general, so a host: and prawns swim sounds rather exotic. dinner in which one fiasco follows another. adversity often reveals his genius, success This is, however, largely due to the elabo- conceals it,’” Nasidienus took courage and, rate choice of words. In fact, its compo- With annoying pedantry, Nasidienus explains to the astonishment of his guests, put on his sition is very similar to that suggested in the special features of each dish and his par- sandals and left the room. Soon thereafter he the six recipes for ius for boiled or roasted asite Nomenatus is entrusted with the task of returned “with an altered countenance, as if lamprey in Apicius’ De re coquinaria (nos. “point[ing] out with his finger anything that to repair [his] ill-fortune by art.” Slaves car- 448-453). All the recipes call for wine, escaped [the guests’] attention”. However, the ried in a “vast dish” with the mangled mem- vinegar, oil, pepper and various herbs. The wordy commentaries exasperate the guests bers (discerpta membra) of a crane, torn-off main difference is that Apicius adds hon- and cast a dubious light on the food that Na- shoulders of hare (armos avolsos), blackbirds ey and dried fruit to his iura, giving them sidienus thus tries to blandish. The Lucanian with their breasts burned off (pectore adusto) the sweet taste so typical of his cookery boar which is served at the beginning of the and pigeons without their rumps (sine clune): style, whereas Nasidienus uses rocket and meal is surrounded by “pungent (acria) tur- a downright culinary massacre. The key word elecampane to create a bitter flavour. As nips, lettuces and radishes” as befitting the “burnt bread” in Balatro’s speech may have re- lampreys are difficult to procure in Swit- belligerent temper of the beast (acris apros; minded Nasidienus of the remaining courses of zerland, I used rainbow trout instead. Epod. 1.31-32). It was “caught when the soft the banquet, which had been forgotten amidst south wind blew (leni fuit austro captus).” the turmoil caused by the falling wall-hang- (6-9). This poetic juxtaposition of fierce and ings. One imagines Nasidienus sneaking off to gentle and turns out to be a caustic intertext: the kitchen and attempting to save what could In Satire 2.2.41-52 the south wind is also be saved, separating what was still edible from invoked, but here its task is to breathe cor- what was hopelessly burnt, in part with his ruption onto the gluttons’ food: “But O [say bare hands. His explanation that the food was I] ye southern blasts, be present to taint the “much tastier” served in this manner, did not, delicacies of the [gluttons]: though the boar however, convince his guests. “In revenge we and turbot newly taken are rank, when sur- fled from him, so as not to taste them, as if feiting abundance provokes the sick stomach; Canidia had breathed on them with a breath and when the sated guttler prefers turnips and more deadly than African serpents.” (58-95). sharp elecampane.” Against this backdrop, it is all the more ambivalent when Fundatius Horace’s simple dinner (Satire 1.6.115) For the broth, bring the following ingre- goes on to relate that he and his friends “were Horace eats a dish of leeks, chickpeas and dients to a boil: 1.5 l water, 250 ml red eating oysters, fish and fowl hiding far differ- lagana (thin pastry sheets which are similar wine, 50 ml olive oil, 50 ml red wine ent flavours than usual.” (27-28). to pasta, or , which were vinegar, 50 ml fish sauce, white pepper, baked, fried or boiled). In Horace’s Satire, a handful of chopped rocket and 1 tsp The pièce de resistance of the dinner is a lam- there are no clues as to how the three ingre- elecampane root. Add sea urchins or fish prey (murena) “stretched out on a dish with dients were combined. However, this tasty stock if desired. Place the fish and crusta- prawns swimming around it (inter squillas chickpea and leek stew with crispbread ceans into the hot, but no longer boiling natantis). ‘This,’ the host said, ‘was caught be- would certainly have pleased him: broth and poach gently for ca. 15 minutes. fore spawning, for after they spawn the flesh

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2017

Recipe from Antiquity “Aërii mellis caelestia dona”

Beekeeping and honey cakes in ancient Rome

By Yvonne Yiu

description of the uncanny, trumpet-like call made by the freshly hatched queen in order to seek out her rivals, and of the dramatic departure of a swarm from the hive!

The texts by Virgil and Pliny bear witness to a profound interest in the bees’ life-cycle and behaviour. Doubtless, much of what was known about bees was the result of direct observation, even if the gender of the leader of a bee colony was not identified correct- ly and fanciful ideas about the non-sexual procreation of bees abounded: “This custom approved of bees may truly waken thy won- der,” Virgil notes, “that they neither delight in bodily union, nor melt away in languor of love, or bear their young by birth-throes; but straight from the leaves, from the scent- Placenta after a recipe by Cato the Elder. A VICTORY. H. 16.5 cm. Bronze. Roman, 2nd half of 1st-2nd cent. A.D. ed herbage gather their children in their CHF 23,800. AN OIL LAMP. L. 12 cm. Bronze. Roman, 1st cent. B.C.-2nd cent. A.D. CHF 18,000. AN AMPHORISKOS. mouths.” (197-201). Furthermore, it was H. 15 cm. Glass. Eastern Mediterranean, 3rd-4th cent. B.C. CHF 4,500. A SMALL BOTTLE. H. 7 cm. Glass. Roman, thought that bees could be generated spon- 1st cent. A.D. CHF 2,200. taneously from the decaying carcass of a “But among them all, the first rank, and our knowledge: “Some are responsible for food bull (bougonia) (Vergil, Georgics, IV, 281-314; especial admiration, ought, in justice, to be and by a fixed agreement keep busy in the Varro, De Re Rustica, III, 16.4; with scepti- accorded to bees, which alone, of all the in- fields, others stay within the walls and […] cism, Pliny the Elder, Hist. Nat., XI, 16, 23). sects, have been created for the benefit of suspend the clinging honey cells. Others are man. They collect honey, that sweetest and appointed to bring up the young, the future The ancient Romans were certainly not lack- most refined and most health-giving of juic- of the race, while others still pack the honey, ing in opportunities to observe the behaviour es. They model combs and wax that serves the purest honey, and stuff the cells with per- of bees, as beekeeping was widely practiced, a thousand practical purposes, they endure fect nectar. Some [are] allotted to be sentries on the one hand because bees “‘produce a toil, they construct works, they have a gov- at the alighting boards.” (158-165). substance which, because it is the sweetest of ernment and individual enterprises and col- all, is acceptable to gods and men alike; for lective leaders, and, a thing that is the most In contrast to Pliny, however, Virgil, who ex- the comb comes to the altar and the honey is remarkable of all, have their own code of perienced both the civil wars that marked the served at the beginning of the feast and for morals (rem publicam habent, consilia pri- demise of the and the begin- the second table,’” and, on the other, because vatim quoque, at duces gregatim et, quod ning of the Pax Augusta, stresses that disci- honey was a profitable source of income: “‘I maxime mirum sit, mores habent).” (Pliny the pline and order reign only as long as the bee have heard [our friend Varro here] tell the Elder, Hist. Nat., XI, 4). colony has a leader: “Their king safe, all are story that he had two soldiers under him of one mind; he lost, they break allegiance, in Spain […]. They were well-off, because, The people of Antiquity were fascinated to plunder the honey-cells themselves have though their father had left only a small villa observe a rationality and virtuousness in the built, and break open the plaited combs.” and a bit of land certainly not larger than behaviour of these “minute creatures” that (212-213). Even civil war is not unknown to one iugerum, they had built an apiary en- was similar to that exercised by human be- the bees: “If they are gone forth to battle – tirely around the villa […]. These men nev- ings, and, in fact, even excelled it. For, as for often high swelling discord rises between er received less than 10,000 sesterces from Pliny goes on to explain in his Historia Nat- two kings, and at once and afar thou may- their honey.’” (Varro, De Re Rustica, III, 16.5, uralis, which he completed in ca. 77 A.D., est foreknow the raging of the multitude and 16.10-11). “they recognize only the common interest the hearts beating fast for war; for a note as (quod nihil novere nisi commune).” (XI, 4). of the hoarse brass of our Mars chides the Correspondingly, the Roman agricultural The great poet Virgil, too, was full of admi- lingerers and a cry is heard that mimics bro- treatises, in which tradition the Georgics also ration for the bees’ “small society” to which ken trumpet-blasts […], they sally from the stand, deal in depth with the techniques of he devoted the fourth book of the Georgics gates; high in air the armies clash and the din beekeeping. Both Virgil and his contempo- (37-29 B.C.). His description of the strict di- swells; gathering they cluster in a great ball rary Varro as well as Columella, who wrote vision of labour practiced in the hive already and come tumbling down, thick as hailstones some 100 years later, provide instructions corresponds closely to our present state of through the air.” (67-80). What a wonderful pertaining to the choice of location, the se-

14 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2017

lection of melliferous plants, the construction he praises that man happy who can “open of hives, the honey harvest and on methods up nets full with the spoils of the woods and Placenta to ensure the bees’ health. In De Re Rusti- countryside in front of the fire place, and […] For the tracta (pastry sheets) knead together ca, Columella recommends that the apiary pull in the leaping fish with trembling line, 60 g semolina, 120 g flour and [100 ml] wa- should be built “facing the sun at midday in and […] take out yellow honey from a ruddy ter. Roll out thinly, cut into tracta and brush winter, far from the noise of men and beasts” jar (flavaque de rubro promere mella cado).” with oil. For the solum (outer sheet) knead but as close as possible to the main building, (Epigrams, I, 55.7-10). Honey was also often together 60 g flour and [35 ml] water. Roll for “in beekeeping perfect honesty is neces- fermented to produce honey wine (mulsum) out thinly to form a circle. For the cheese sary, and since this is very rare, it is better se- and used to sweeten foods and cakes. and honey filling, use 420 g ewe’s milk cured by the intervention of the master.” (IX, cheese which should be fairly young and 5). It is also important that suitable mellifer- In the oldest Roman agricultural treatise, not sour. It can be made according to the ous plants such as thyme, marjoram, savory, which is at the same time the oldest preserved recipe in CQ 3/2016 and used after 3-7 days pines, holm oaks, ivy, fruit-bearing trees, and work in Latin prose, De Agri Cultura, which ripening. Soak the cheese in water three lime trees, but not yew trees which produce a was written by Cato the Elder in ca. 150 B.C., times. Blend together with 120 g honey to bitter honey, should grow close to the apiary. there are several recipes for honey cakes, form a paste. (IX, 4). Furthermore, water should be readi- something that Varro finds quite laughable. ly available, and “it should contain heaps of As his friends make fun of inappropriate sticks and stones” to provide the bees with digressions by other authors, he chips in: easy and safe access. (IX, 5). The hives (vasis “‘Why, are there not many such items in the alveorum) should preferentially be made from book of the renowned Cato, which he pub- cork, fennel stalks or wood. Hives were also lished on the subject of agriculture, such as made from clay, dung or bricks, but Colu- his recipes for placenta, for libum, and for mella advises not to use these materials. Up the salting of hams?’” (I, 2.28). For us today, to “three rows of hives” were placed “one however, these recipes are very valuable and above the other” on a “bank made of stones Columella, too, did not shy away from in- built three feet high” and protected against cluding many recipes in his De Re Rustica. frost and heat by a roof. (XI, 6-7). The cake called placenta thus derided by Var- The honey is harvested a first time “when the ro is frequently mentioned in Latin literature Lay out a circle of ca. 20 cm diameter with solstice is passed and until the rising of the and was not only sacrificed to the gods but oiled bay leaves and place the solum on top Dog-star”, ie. between 21 June and 28 July, also eaten in non-religious contexts. It was of it. and a second time before the autumn equi- often cut into quarters (secta quadra de pla- nox. This honey, which the bees make from centa), for instance in a poem by Martial, in “the dew-drenched flowers of thyme and which he wishes that at the kalends of March, marjoram and savory” is “of the finest quali- during which the Matronalia were celebrated, ty”. The honey which the bees gather after the “there be offered to thee [ie. Venus] at thy fair autumn equinox should be left in the hives as altars many a quarter of parcelled cake (pla- they “are sustained by it” during the winter centa).” (Epigrams, IX, 90.15-18). Indeed, the months. (IX, 14). “The morning should gener- quantities given in Cato’s recipe – 26 Roman ally be chosen for the removal of the honey.” pounds, which is equivalent to almost 9 kg – The bees are calmed by means of smoke and suffice to make a very large cake, of which a a part of the honeycombs are cut out. In sum- quarter would easily make an offering wor- mer, “when the country still provides plenty thy of a deity. It seems that smaller placentae of food,” one-fifth of the honeycombs are left were also baked, for Horace mentions a cer- in the hive; in autumn, “when the winter is tain Porcius, who made himself ridiculous by Cover the solum with tracta and spread on already causing apprehension,” one third is swallowing the cakes whole (ridiculus totas the cheese and honey paste. left. “Old and defective honeycombs should semel absorbere placentas). (Satires, II, 8.24- be removed, and those which are sound- 25). We cannot be certain that all placentae est and full of honey should be left, as also were made in the manner described by Cato, those which contain young bees, so that they but it is highly likely that they were most- may be preserved for propagating a swarm.” ly sweetened with honey. Such a placenta is The still warm honeycombs are broken into mentioned by Horace, who compares himself pieces, thrown into a wickerwork basket or to a priest's runaway slave who is fed up with a loosely woven bag and hung up in a dark eating honeyed placentae and craves plain place. “Care must be taken” that those parts bread (pane egeo iam mellitis potiore placen- of the comb that contain brood are removed tis). (Epistolae, I, 10.10-11). “for they have an ill flavour and corrupt the honey.” The honey that flows out is filled into Cato’s placenta is composed of several lay- earthenware vessels and the foam is skimmed ers of pastry sheets and honey-cheese paste off; it is regarded as honey of the best quality. which are wrapped up in a larger sheet of Subsequently the combs are squeezed out to pastry, placed on bay leaves and baked under- Alternate layers of tracta and paste until produce a second quality honey. (IX, 15). neath a clay baking cover. (De Agri Cultura, both are used up. End with a layer of tracta. 76). The cake has a simple, mild flavour and Fold the solum over the filling. Bake at 180 °C The honey sometimes found its way direct- a pleasant layered structure. In the follow- for ca. 40 minutes. Drizzle the hot cake with ly onto the table, as for instance in Martial’s ing recipe, I have used one-eleventh of the honey. idealized description of country life, in which amounts proposed by Cato.

CQ 15 Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2017

Recipe from Antiquity E pluribus unus: Pesto from the Imperial Period By Yvonne Yiu

veals neither smoked meat nor sides of cured bacon, “but a cheese transfixed by rope of broom through mid-circumference” and “an ancient bundle of .” So our “provident hero” (providus heros) goes to his garden plot, where vegetables grow aplenty. These are, however, not destined for his table, but for the market in the city. For him, red on- ions, chives, cress, endives and rocket which revives “the lagging wish for sexual delights” are good enough. Although “on something of the kind reflecting,” he passes by the aphro- disiac herb and, instead, digs out four heads of garlic and picks some celery leaves, rue and coriander. (51-89).

Back in the house, he calls loudly for a mor- tar, into which he throws the peeled garlic, some salt, the hard cheese and the herbs. “With his right he first the reeking garlic with Moretum with fresh cheese (left), with garlic and hard cheese (middle left), with (midde right) and with pine nuts the pestle breaks, then everything he equally (right). Roman glass from the Eastern Mediterranean, from left to right: A LARGE BOTTLE. H. 19.3 cm. 1st-2nd cent. doth rub i' th' mingled juice. His hand in cir- A.D. CHF 1,400. A JUG. H. 11 cm. 3rd-4th cent. A.D. CHF 2,200. A SQUAT JUG. H. 15.5 cm. 1st-2nd cent. A.D. CHF 8,800. Front: A DATE BOTTLE. H. 5.8 cm. Roman, Sidonian, 3rd-4th cent. A.D. CHF 1,400. cles moves: Till by degrees they one by one do lose their proper powers, and out of many comes a single colour (color est e pluribus “Already had the night completed ten of thought to be juvenilia of Virgil. By means unus): not entirely green because the milky winter's hours, and by his crowing had the of manifold intertextual references it evokes fragments this forbid, nor showing white as winged sentinel announced the day, when the narrative structure of a theoxenia, but from the milk because that colour's altered by Simulus the rustic husbandman of scanty whereas in the literary pre-texts to which so many herbs.” By and by he adds some oil farm, solicitous about the coming day's un- the Moretum alludes the simple country peo- and vinegar, and, having arrived at the de- pleasant emptiness, doth slowly raise the ple, for instance Philemon and Baucis (Ovid, sired consistency, he forms the pesto (more- limbs extended on his pallet low, and doth Metamorphoses, VII, 611-724), prepare a meal tum) into a ball. (90-116). with anxious hand explore the stilly darkness, for their disguised, divine guests, Simulus is groping for the hearth which, being burnt, at driven by the more mundane desire to satisfy Scybale hands him the freshly baked bread length he finds.”1 (Anon., Moretum, 1-7). his own hunger whose onset he fears: tristia which the happy Simulus gladly takes. “Hav- metuens ieiunia. (4). ing now dispelled the fear of hunger,” at least It is approximately the year 20 A.D. and after for this day, the farmer yokes his oxen, drives our three-year-long culinary trip back in time to He takes a measure of grain from the “scanty them to his fields “and puts the ploughshare ancient Egypt (2014), Greece (2015) and Meso- heap” on the floor of his storeroom and grinds in the ground.” (117-122). potamia (2016) we are back in Rome where, it in a quern after having brushed the stone in 2013, we began our gastronomic investiga- and hopper with the tail of the “skin of hairy Amongst the many fascinating details in this tions. We have not yet set foot in the Eternal goat” that he wears. He mixes the sifted flour poem, the enormous quantity of garlic used City but linger a day’s walk away on a modest with tepid water and salt, kneads it, shapes by Simulus is particularly striking. The poet farmstead, curiously observing the snub-nosed the dough into a flat, rounded cake and im- makes the most of its comic potential by de- farmer Simulus (σιμός) and his dung-coloured presses a pattern of squares on its surface. He scribing how the garlic’s acrid smell assails African slave-woman Scybale (σκύβαλον) – places the loaf on the hearth, where Scybale the farmer’s nostrils and makes his eyes wa- political correctness was not an issue at the has cleared a space, covers it with a clay lid ter, so that he “with face and nose retracted time – as they go about their morning routine, and heaps the embers over it (testisque tegit, doth [...] curse his early meal.” The urban Ro- which is minutely described in the 122 verses super aggerat ignis). (16-50). man readers of Moretum would have regard- of the poem Moretum (The Pesto). ed the consumption of garlic as a typically As Ceres alone is not particularly pleasing to rural type of behaviour. In Virgil’s Second The poem was written by an author no lon- the palate (sola palato sit non grata Ceres), Eclogue, for instance, “Thestylis is crushing ger known to us and forms part of the Ap- Simulus looks around for something to go thyme and garlic – tangy herbs – for reapers pendix Vergiliana, a collection of works once with his bread. A glance above his hearth re- wearied by the snatching heat.” (10-11). The

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2017

peasants were pitied for this aspect of their used for medicinal purposes rather than to 1 All excerpts from the poem Moretum are quoted after diet. At the beginning of his Third Epode, flavour foods. Another nineteen centuries the translation by Joseph J. Mooney (1916). Horace exclaims: “If any man, with impious would have to elapse before it could begin its hand, should ever strangle an aged parent, triumphant sweep through the world’s kitch- make him eat garlic, it’s deadlier than hem- ens in the form of Pesto Genovese. lock. O you strong reapers’ stomachs that cull it (o dura messorum ilia)!” (1-4). The poet, With these recipes for moretum, followed by invited to dine with Maecenas, had unknow- brief instructions on how to prepare a lax- ingly eaten a dish thickly laced with garlic ative, Columella brings Book XII and hence that subsequently raged like poison in his in- his treatise as a whole to a close. A rather sides. He execrates his patron: “If ever, my peculiar and abrupt end, one might think at E pluribus...... unus. dear Maecenas, you aspire to repeat the jest, first. But it may not be entirely unfounded I just pray that your girl with her hands ob- that these herb mixtures are assigned such structs your kisses, and takes the far side of a prominent position. One reason why Col- the bed!” (19-22). Even in ancient Rome gar- umella wrote De re rustica appears to be the lic breath was a turn-off in bed, and thus our desire to teach how things were to be done Simulus has to resort to compensatory activ- properly, as customary “amongst the Romans ities such as supporting his garment “with his up to the time which our fathers [could] re- left hand 'neath his hairy groin (saetosa in- member,” before “the ancient practice of the guina)” while grinding with his pestle (98) or Sabine and Roman mistresses of households sinking his plough into the field (122). [had] not only become entirely out of fash- ion but [had] entirely died out.” (XII, Pr., 7, Although the precise descriptions in Moretum 10). For a man of Columella’s conservative give the impression of an authentic glimpse stance, who esteemed the values of the days into everyday country life, there is a conspic- of old, the dish moretum would have had a Moretum (Columella, De re rustica XII,59,1) uous tendency towards comedy and satire particular significance. Crush fresh herbs, e.g. a handful each of which suggests that the amount of garlic Sim- chives, thyme, cilantro, mint and rocket in a ulus puts in his moretum should be taken with In the Fasti which Ovid penned in ca. 8 A.D., mortar. Mix with 250 g fresh slightly salted a pinch of salt. Given his sense of humour, some decades before Columella began work cheese and 1 tbsp. pepper vinegar. Arrange the poet would certainly have been delighted on De re rustica, the poet observes: “‘They in a bowl and drizzle olive oil over it. if he had known that – in an irony of history think no shame to set a dish of herbs, more- – it might seem as if his pungent herb-cheese tum, on the tables of the Mistress [Kybele],’” pesto had provided the model for the motto e and asks the Muse Erato: “‘What is the reason pluribus unum on the Great Seal of the United for this?’” “‘It is said that the people of old States and on the one dollar bill which, inci- subsisted on pure milk and such herbs as the dentally, is also of a green-white colour. earth bore of its free will,’ she said. ‘White cheese is mixed with pounded herbs so Interestingly, in pesto recipes from non-po- that the ancient goddess may know ancient etic sources, garlic is never mentioned as an foods.’” (IV, 367-372). This simple, meatless ingredient. Instructions how to prepare five offering which is at the same time a typically different varieties of moretum are provided in rural food refers to an early, pastoral stage the treatise on agriculture De re rustica libri in the development of society, and also to a duodecim, which was written by Columella seemingly ideal world in which the earth vol- Moretum (Columella, De re rustica XII,59,2) in the Early Imperial Period (1st half of 1st untarily (sponte) nourished its people. Thus, Lightly roast 80 g sesame. Crush in a mortar cent. A.D.) and is thus roughly contemporary the recipes for moretum at the end of De re together with fresh herbs, eg. a handful each with the Moretum. A rich bouquet of herbs is rustica may possibly have been a kind of en- of rocket and chervil. Add 1 tbsp. pepper vi- the starting point for all the recipes: “savory, coded cultural criticism. negar and drizzle with olive oil. mint, rue, cilantro, celery leaves, chives, or if none are available, a spring onion, lettuce leaves, rocket, fresh thyme or catnip, further- more fresh pennyroyal.” These are crushed in a mortar together with [recipe 1] “fresh salt- ed cheese” or [recipe 2] “shelled walnuts” or [recipe 3] “lightly roasted sesame” or [recipe 4] “Gallic cheese or another type of cheese” and “pine nuts, if they are available; other- wise roasted, skinned hazelnuts or almonds.” “A little pepper vinegar” is added to the mix- ture which is then served “in a bowl” with “oil Moretum (Anon., Moretum, 86-116) Moretum (Columella, De re rustica XII,59,3) drizzled over it.” “If fresh herbs are not avail- Crush 80 g hard cheese, e.g. Grana Pada- Cut 80 g mild Gallic (French) semi-hard able,” recipe 5 recommends the use of dried no, ½ head of garlic, 1 tbsp. cilantro seeds, cheese into slices. Crush in a mortar to- herbs. (XII, 59, 1-4). For the modern reader it some rue, a handful of celery leaves and 1 gether with 50 g pine nuts and fresh herbs, comes as a surprise that , which is now- tsp. salt in a mortar to form a paste. Add eg. a handful each of parsley and . adays so popular, is not included in Columel- 1 tbsp. each of vinegar and oil and form Add 1 tbsp. pepper vinegar and drizzle with la’s long list of herbs. Although the Romans into a ball. olive oil. were familiar with this aromatic plant, it was

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2016

Recipe from Antiquity At the King’s Table

By Yvonne Yiu

System, JNES 24 (1965) 230-243). This was sufficient to cover their daily calorie demand but hardly enough to build up reserves. Thus, their very subsistence was dependent on the food provided by their master. This fragile bond, which could make the difference be- tween life and death for the weaker partner, also had an impact on relationships of a more personal nature, as shown by another Old Babylonian letter: “Tell my little Gimil- lum […]: the naditu-woman Awat-Aja sends the following message: ‘[…] You well know the amount of barley which I received be- fore, and which you yourself had sent me. [If we continue] in this manner we will not wrong each other and I will not die of hunger with my household. Just send me the amount of barley which it was customary to send so that I can keep my household provided with food, that cold and hunger should not plague me […]. PS: Have a heart, my dear Gimillum, let me not die of hunger. I was more pleased with you than I was ever with anybody else.’” (Fish, John Rylands Library no. 4). Quails with sebetu-rolls after YBC 8958, i, 1-49. TWO LANCEHEADS. Left: H. 31.6 cm. Bronze. Italic, 6th cent. B.C. CHF 2,800. Right: H. 25.4 cm. Iron. Avarian, 5th-6th cent. B.C. CHF 1,500. AN ARYBALLOS. H. 10.9 cm. Faience. Rhodian, ca. 575-550 B.C. CHF 16,000. TWO LAMPS. Clay. Left: Dm. 8 cm. Eastern Mediterranean, 8th cent. A.D. In a strongly hierarchical society which is CHF 150. Right: L. 8.4 cm. Levant, 3rd-1st cent. B.C. CHF 260. characterised by the power of the master to feed his dependents, the gift of food by the “Tell the Lady : Aplum sends the fol- erence values on the basis of which the value master of masters, the godlike king himself, lowing message: […] The ladies Lamassûm of other goods could be measured. For in- had a compelling symbolic dimension. By and cameAlītum to me in tears, their heads stance, in the Ur III Period (2112-2004 B.C.) giving food, he gave life, and the act of eating bowed. They said: ‘You want to abandon us 1 sila3 (ca. 1 litre) emmer (ziz2) had the same together created a shared identity and bonds Nīš-īnīšu by going to Babylon without leaving us food value as 1 sila3 barley (še). 1 sila3 good beer of loyalty. Correspondingly, the “king’s meal” for a single day!’ When you receive my letter (kaš saga10) was worth 1.5 sila3 barley; 1 sila3 (naptam šarrim), at which he partook of food

[send them thirty] kor-[measures of barley] ordinary bread (inda3 DU) was equated with together with selected guests, was of great in addition to the provisions which I have 1.07 sila3 barley whereas 1 sila3 sesame bread importance. An inscription by Sargon of promised you for the girl.’” (TCL 18 123). (inda3 geš-ĩ 3) was worth 2 sila3 barley, and Akkad (r. 2340-2284 B.C.) succinctly notes: so forth. For accounting purposes, manpow- “5,400 men eat bread before him daily”. (AfO, The fear of food shortage that oppressed the er was converted into flour equivalents, with XX (1963) 38:34). At the court of King Yas- ladies in this Old Babylonian letter dating one day’s labour (geme2 guruš̃ u4-1-še) cal- mah-Addu of Mari (r. 1795-1776 B.C.) these from the first half of the 2nd millennium culated at roughly 10 sila3 flour. (H. Brunke, communal meals were not quite as vast. A B.C. is found recurrently in Mesopotamian Essen in Sumer, 2011, 9-88). group of cuneiform tablets informs us that documents. A further typical feature is that during the 8th and 9th months of the year the writer of the letter asks for grain and In return for their labour, workers received Ikkupiya, he held at least 22 banquets with provisions in kind. For although both trade rations (ba) of basic commodities, mostly bar- an average of 250 guests – mostly military and administration had attained a high level ley, but also bread, oil, fish, dates, peas and commanders, soldiers, important citizens and of sophistication, featuring the use of pre- wool. Documents from Gasur und Susa dating persons with special technical skills. Of these, cious metals as a form of “palaeomoney”, from the Sargonic Period (2334-2154 B.C.) ca. 30-60 guests were invited to sit at the the granting of loans, and the invention of reveal that the amount of rations received king’s table (wâšib kussîm), whereas the oth- saleable securities – in the 19th century B.C.! depended on the individuals’ sex and age, ers ate squatting on the floor (muppalsihum). – Mesopotamia never developed a monetary and to a lesser degree also on their status and Depending on the guest’s importance, he re- economy. (A. Paul, Die Gesellschaft des Gel- on the type of work performed. In general, ceived a plate of his own or shared a dish des, 2012, 166-173). Rather, a complex sys- men received 30-60 sila3 barley per month, together with others. It was a sign of spe- tem of bartering evolved in which certain women 30 sila3, their sons 20-30 sila3, their cial favour to receive food directly from the basic commodities, mainly comestibles such daughters 20 sila3 and their infants 10 sila3. king’s hand, so much so that the king himself as barley, emmer and beer, functioned as ref- (I.J. Gelb, The Ancient Mesopotamian Ration mentioned such an occurrence in a letter to a

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2016

fellow monarch: “Your servants were sitting probably similar to the soups or stews made in my presence for the meal. Having indulged of cereal, legumes and meat that were distrib- in the flour, I put some of it aside and pre- uted at banquets and feasts commemorating sented it to one of your servants. He bowed, the dead (Brunke, ibid., 165-196, 213-217). and I said to myself: ‘He likes the flour.’ And so I gave him some flour a second time.” (B. For my colleagues at the gallery I tried out the Lafont, in: Mélanges Birot, 1985, 161-179). recipe described in YBC 8958, i, 1-49 (J. Bot- téro, Textes culinaries Mésopotamiens, 1995, Using the second piece of the dough, line For the Neo-Assyrian Period (911-612 B.C.) it 58-73). All seven recipes on this cuneiform a platter that is large enough to hold the is documented that even the leftovers (rēḫāti) tablet discuss the preparation of poultry. The birds. The rim of the dough should be four of the king’s table were accorded importance recipe on lines 1-49 is concerned with “small finger-breadths high (24-25). To make a and that these were distributed to selected birds” (šu-úr[x x] ù [is-sú-ri]-i), so I chose dough lid, sprinkle another platter with mint persons. Interestingly, the king’s meal itself to use quails. As customary in Antiquity, the leaves (ninû) and line it with the third piece was often prepared from the leftovers of food recipe does not mention any quantities; those of dough. (26-31). Bake the base and lid on offerings presented to the gods: “The day be- given below are my suggestions. Although top of the tinûru-oven (32-33) until crisp, or fore yesterd[ay] the meal was offered to the the recipe recommends that the entrails be for 25 minutes at 200 °C in a modern oven. god [Assur]. The customary leftovers of As- cooked together with the birds and then be Brush the lid with oil (37). s[ur] have come to the pal[ace],” a priest from sprinkled over them before serving, I have Nineveh wrote, for instance (SAA 13, 156). omitted this step. Thus, food was passed on from the god to the king and then from the king to his subjects. (S. Parpola, in: Food and Identity, 2004, 281- 312).

Sometimes even ordinary people could enjoy food from the king’s table. At the presumably greatest feast in Antiquity which was given by Assurnasirpal II (r. 883-859 B.C.) to cel- ebrate the consecration of his palace in his Quails with sebetu-rolls new capital Calah, he invited “40,074 men For the dough, soak 150 g sasku-flour (I [and] women […] from every part of my land, used coarsely ground emmer) in 150 ml 5,000 dignitaries [and] envoys of the people milk (šizbu) (16b). Knead together with of the lands 1 tbsp. fish-sauce (siqqu) as well as with [and] 16,000 samidu (an unknown plant, probably a people of Calah,Suḫu, [and] Ḫindānu, 1,500 Patinu, zāriqū Ḫubušof my- member of the onion-family; I used shal- palace.”ku, Gilzānu, On theKummu, banquet steleMuṣaṣiru, (879 B.C.), the lots), leek (karšu), garlic (hazanu), milk king boasts: “Altogether [there were] 69,574 and grease from the pan (šaamnaam ša di- [persons] […], for ten days I gave them food, qárii) (17-18). To this end, I finely chopped I gave them drink, I had them bathed, I had the vegetables, fried them gently in the them anointed. [Thus] did I honour them [and] grease, added some milk and then mashed Brown four quails in a frying pan (5b-6a). send them back to their lands in peace and them. The addition of 250 g of this puree Pour 1 l water and 250 ml milk in a pot and joy.” The main part of the stele is composed to the dough gives it a remarkable green put it on the stove (8). Sprinkle the quails of a seemingly endless list of victuals that colour and an intriguing, aromatic scent. with salt and add them to the milk-wa- were consumed at this Pantagruelian carous- As the dough is meant to rise (20), I also ter together with some fat, aromatic wood al. It begins with “100 fat oxen, 1,000 calves added 100 g liquid sourdough. Add ca. 500 (issû; I used 2 cinammon sticks) and a [and] sheep of the stable, 14,000 […]-sheep, g fine flour to obtain a malleable dough. handful of rue (šibburratu) (10-13a). Bring […] 10,000 small birds, 10,000 fish, 10,000 to the boil. Finely chop 1 onion, 2 shallots, jerboa," – incidentally, small rodents seen Divide the dough into three equal pieces. of a leek and 2 cloves of garlic and add to have been a delicacy; an envious gour- (In the recipe, the dough is halved (19b) them to the pot (13b-16a). Simmer until met writes in a letter: “the ušummu rodent and an almost identical dough is prepared the⅓ quails are done (ca. 20 minutes). is delicious: had I known how delicious it at a later stage (22b-23)). Just before serving, take the bottom crust is I would not have sent any to PN.” (TCL and carefully arrange the birds on it. Scat- 17 13:12f) – and ends with “10 ass-loads of ter the sebetu-rolls over them. Cover with shelled pistachios, […] 10 ass-loads of dates, the lid and bring to the table (42-49). […] [and] 10 ass-loads of olives.” (A.0.101.30).

The inscription does not tell us what dish- es these enormous quantities of food were turned into. However, their quality and re- finement was certainly graded with respect to the rank and dignity of the guests they were destined for. The more elaborate dish- es possibly resembled those described in the Use one piece of the dough to make sebe- only extant collection of Mesopotamian reci- tu-rolls and bake them on the hot wall of the pes (YBC 4644, 4648 and 8958, ca. 1750 B.C.; tinûru-oven (21-22a). cf. CQ 1/2016) whereas the simpler ones were

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2016

Recipe from Antiquity The Herdsman’s Splendid Work Making Cheese in Ancient Mesopotamia

By Yvonne Yiu

Zagros Mountains, and as of ca. 7000 B.C. cattle breeding makes a first appearance in Asia Minor and Mesopotamia. The age and sex distribution of bone finds show that animals were first kept for their meat and other carcass products. Only gradually did people realise that the living an- imals themselves were extremely useful. Not only could their milk and wool be harvested but their muscle power could also be used for traction and transport (“Sec- ondary Products Revolution”).

A substantial shift towards dairy- ing can be observed as of ca. 6500 B.C. However, it appears that in certain populations, no- tably in the northern Balkan Various types of “Mesopotamian” cheese. Front left and centre: ga-u8, right: ga-àr. Back left: ga-àr-tur, centre: ga-àr-gal, right: cream cheese. A Fist. H. 4.5 cm. Bronze. Levant, 2nd half of 2nd mill. B.C. CHF 1,200. A PHALLIC STATUETTE. H. 19.5 cm. Red peninsula and central Europe, clay with mica. Phoenician (Carthage?), 7th-6th cent. B.C. CHF 7,000. lactase persistence only became widespread from ca. 5500 B.C. “Inanna, let me stroll with you …” the sun- for shortly afterwards we read that the shep- onwards. Even today, roughly three-quarters god Utu suggests to his twin sister, the god- herd “was cheerful, he was cheerful at the of the adult population world-wide suffers dess of love. Utu has to broach a difficult edge of the riverbank [where he was] pastur- from lactose intolerance. Thus, it is proba- topic and possibly he hopes that it might be ing the sheep.” (ETCSL 4.08.33) ble that only a small proportion of the milk easier outdoors. The proposal he makes once was drunk fresh and that most of it was pro- they are amidst the fields and pastures, how- The shepherd and the farmer vying for In- cessed into dairy products such as yoghurt, ever, is met with extreme displeasure: “I am anna’s favour reflects a basic structure of butter and cheese, which have a lower lactose a woman and I won’t do that, I won’t! I am Mesopotamian society, whose prosperi- content. These products have the additional a star […] and I won’t! I won’t be the wife ty depended largely on crop cultivation on advantage that they keep longer than unpro- of a shepherd!” Utu tries to convince Inan- the one hand and pastoralism on the other. cessed milk. The first occurrences of pottery na: “My sister, let the shepherd marry you! The question which of these two branch- sieves, some with traces of milk protein, in a Maiden Inanna, why are you unwilling? His es of agriculture was to be given prece- given region are usually roughly contempo- butter is good, his milk is good. All the work dence is also discussed in the Sumerian cre- raneous with the transition to dairying, in- of the shepherd’s hands is splendid. Inanna, ation myth The Debate between Sheep and dicating that the two cultural techniques of let Dumuzi marry you.” But his sister remains Grain, but in this instance, the god Enki de- milk production and milk processing devel- : “The shepherd shall not marry me! crees that “of the two [sisters] Grain shall be oped hand in hand. […] His new wool will not influence me. Let the greater. Let Sheep fall on her knees before the farmer marry me, the maiden.” Grain.” (ETCSL 5.3.2) At the apogee of Mesopotamian civilisation the dairy industry was highly developed and At this point Dumuzi himself intervenes. “In That Grain comes first in the creation myth systematised, with state-employed herdsmen what is the farmer superior to me?” he would corresponds to actual developments in Neo- who were entrusted with a certain number of like to know. For every commodity produced lithic agriculture, for the techniques of crop animals delivering specified amounts of milk by the farmer, he offers a superior one, out- cultivation were mastered prior to those of products at regular intervals. The administra- doing the farmer’s “best beer”, “fine beer”, animal husbandry. The archaeological record tive texts from Ur, Drehem and Umma dat- “brewed beer”, “beer shandy”, “best filtered reveals that the inhabitants of the Fertile ing from the Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2112- beer”, “best bread”, “little beans” and “large Crescent had already succeeded in domesti- 2004 B.C.) disclose that for each adult cow, beans” with “yellow milk”, “soured milk cating plants as early as the 9th millenium the cowherd was expected to deliver 5 sìla [ie. yoghurt]”, “whipped milk [ie. butter]”, B.C. The cultivation of field crops appears to (ca. 5 litres) ì-nun (ghee) and 7.5 sìla (ca. 7.5 “curds”, “small cheeses” and “large cheeses”. have attracted wild goats and sheep indige- litres) ga-àr (dried cheese) per year. In ad- Whilst the prospect of new wool had left In- nous to the more mountainous regions. There dition to these two products aimed at max- anna indifferent, it seems that she could not is evidence for their domestication as of ca. imum durability, Mesopotamian herdsmen resist such a rich offering of dairy products, 8500 B.C. in south-west Anatolia and the made a great many more milk products, some

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of which Dumuzi lists in his bid for Inanna. Dingirshaga’s Dried Cheese (ga-àr) The Nippur Forerunner of Tablet 24 of the In the seventh year of the reign of Ibbi-Sin, ḪAR-ra=hubullu, a comprehensive list of the the King of Ur (2021 B.C.) the state-em- foods known at the time, mentions seventeen ployed cowherd Dingirshaga was respon- different dairy products in addition to milk sible for four cows. Together with his fel- itself, and in the section on fats it lists three low cowherds Inimshaga, Buudu, Luutu different forms of ghee. (MSL XI, 121-122). and Guzana he belonged to a group caring The types of cheese that can be translated for a total of twenty cows led by the fore- with some degree of certainty include fresh man Lugalkuli. In this year, he was expect- Warm the raw ewe’s milk slightly (32 °C), add 15 ml cheese, cheese flavoured with gazi, honey ed to deliver 30 sìla ga-àr. UET IX (1976) kefir per litre of milk as well as the abomasum togeth- cheese, mustard cheese, creamy cheese, spicy 1103. Possibly Dingirshaga made his dried er with the liquid in which it was steeped. Leave to stand at room temperature for ca. 2 days. Fill the curds cheese, round cheese and white cheese as well cheese from clabber: which should have a yoghurt-like consistency into per- as the small and large cheeses mentioned by Let the raw milk stand for 2-3 days at room tempera- forated moulds and leave to drain for 24 hours. Flip Dumuzi. Thus, we have some idea of the taste ture until the curds separate from the whey. them once. and texture of Mesopotamian cheeses – but how were they made?

The simplest method to preserve milk, which was probably already employed in Neo- lithic times and is still commonly used by Mongolian nomads today, entails nothing more than to let the milk stand. The bene- ficial bacteria naturally present in raw milk Remove the cheeses from their moulds and rub their transform the lactose into lactic acid. The surfaces with salt. Leave to dry at room temperature increased acidity of the milk prevents patho- for 1 day, flipping them several times. Mature them for 7-10 days in a fairly cool (10-20 °C), humid genic bacteria from multiplying, and thus the Pour the curds into a cheesecloth and suspend it to place, flipping them daily. milk does not spoil. This sour milk, proper- let the whey drain. After 24 hours, add 5 ml salt ly termed clabber, can be drunk or used for per litre of milk and let the curds drain for another couple of hours. Dumuzi’s Large Cheeses (ga-àr-gal) cooking. If it is left to stand somewhat longer, Large cheeses can be made when rennet is the proteins are denatured by the lactic acid used to coagulate the still sweet milk. and the curds separate from the whey. In Soak ¼ cm2 dried abomasum per litre of milk in order to obtain fresh cheese, the curds, to whey, as above. Warm the raw milk slightly (32 °C), which some salt can be added, are hung in a add 15 ml kefir per litre of milk and let it rest for cheesecloth, sieve or woven basket to let the 1 hour. Add the abomasum and liquid and let the mixture rest for a further hour, during which the curd whey drain off. The cheese can be preserved by submerging it in oil or brine, or by drying it. Different flavours can be obtained by fer- menting the milk into yoghurt or kefir before it is hung. Dry the cheese for several days. In contrast to my There is no unequivocal evidence that rennet specimen, ga-àr was usually formed into balls. was used to make cheese in ancient Meso- potamia. Rennet contains the enzymes chy- mosin and pepsin, which support the diges- Dumuzi’s Small Ewe’s Milk Cheeses tion of milk and occur naturally in the fourth (ga-u8) stomach (abomasum) of young, suckling ru- Delicious small cheeses can be made from ewe’s milk using a technique with which minants. Rennet splits the milk protein casein Cut the curds into cubes. Stir them every couple of and thus enables the milk to thicken without Inanna’s future husband might have been minutes during the next 30-60 minutes until they feel turning sour. It also permits the production of familiar and that combines lactic acid and slightly rubbery. firmer and larger cheeses. Possibly the “large rennet coagulation. cheeses” that are mentioned in various Mes- opotamian texts were, therefore, rennet co- agulated. Rennet is first mentioned in Hittite texts in ca. 1400 B.C. and it can be assumed that at the latest from this point in time on- wards the technique of rennet coagulation was used in cheese making. It is, however, highly likely that the abomasum’s ability to Fill the curds into perforated moulds, flip after a cou- ple of hours. Remove from the moulds after 24 hours, coagulate milk was discovered much earli- rub the surfaces with salt and leave to dry for a day. er, as both hunters and herdsmen had ample Once the surfaces are dry, store the cheeses in a cool opportunity to observe that the stomachs of place. certain young animals that had been slaugh- The day before making the cheese, attach ¼ cm2 dried D. Ascher, The Art of Natural Cheesemaking, 2015. tered contained coagulated milk. Thus chees- abomasum per litre of milk to a thread, so as to be C. Becker, Der Beitrag archäozoologischer Forschung zur Rekonstruktion landwirtschaftlicher Aktivitäten in: Landwirtschaft im Alten Orient, eds. es made from sweet milk were also included able to remove it from the curds more easily later on. H. Klengel and J. Renger, 1999, 43-58. on the “Mesopotamian” cheese platter for the Soak it overnight in 15 ml whey or water. R.K. Englund, Regulating Dairy Productivity in the Ur III Period, in: Orientalia, 64 (1995) 377-429. Gallery. P.S. Kindstedt, Cheese and Culture, 2012, esp. 5-33.

CQ 15 Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2016

Recipe from Antiquity “In the Orchard give me Honey!” Beekeeping and Sweet Cakes from Mesopotamia By Yvonne Yiu

Inda3 gug2 gu-la (left), ninda.i.dé.a/mersu (middle) and inda3 gug2 (right). Middle Eastern terracotta objects, from left to right: AN IDOL. H. 10.6 cm. 2nd mill. B.C. CHF 1,800. A BIRD. H. 4.3 cm. 2nd mill. B.C. CHF 650. A CARNINATED BOWL. H. 9.6 cm. 4th-3rd mill. B.C. CHF 800. A WITH FERTILITY GODDESS. H. 8.5 cm. 7th-6th cent. B.C. CHF 600. A VOTIVE STATUETTE OF A WOMAN WITH . H. 7 cm. 2nd mill. B.C. CHF 600

“I, the valiant one, […] to my father [Enlil] I In older scholarly literature, lal/dišpu was Mesopotamia. References to bees are found would go,” the moon god Nanna-Suen de- generally translated with honey, even though mainly in lexical texts and are thus lacking in cides in the Sumerian poem Nanna-Suen’s in the 1950s Jean Bottéro had already point- context, and in the visual arts representations Journey to Nippur. He departs from the city ed out that the term was also used to refer of insects more or less resembling bees can of Ur, whose tutelary deity he is, and travels to a sweet plant juice (ARM 7, Commentary, hardly be unequivocally identifed as such by up the Euphrates River to Nippur. There he is 251). Only fairly recently, possibly in conse- means of the scenes depicted. received by his overjoyed father, who – prob- quence of Konrad Volk’s reseach on beekeep- ably remembering Nanna-Suen’s childhood – ing in Mesopotamia (in: Landwirtschaft im In view of the lack of documentary sources, calls to his servants: “Give sweet cakes to my Alten Orient, eds. H. Klengel and J. Renger, the somewhat boastful inscription on a ste- little fellow […]! Give sweet cakes to my Nan- 1999, 279-290) scholars have begun to re- le by Samašrešusur dating from the mid-8th na, who is fond of [eating] sweet cakes!” Af- gard date syrup as a serious alternative to century B.C. is all the more valuable: “I, Sa- ter having eaten, Nanna-Suen asks his father honey when translating the word lal/dišpu, mašrešusur, governor of the land of Suḫu and to grant him that which would make his city and it is easily possible that honey was used Mari have brought down from the mountain Ur prosper. Amongst other things, he wishes far less than previously assumed. Thus, in the of the Ḫabḫa-people the bees [literally: the for honey (lal) and wine in the orchard. Enlil Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature buzzing ones] that gather honey, which none grants his son his requests and Nanna-Suen (2003-6) Nanna-Suen hopes to fnd syrup in of my forefathers had ever seen or brought returns to Ur. (A.J. Ferrara, Nanna-Suen’s his orchard – which is, in my opinion, much down to the land of Suḫu, and I established Journey to Nippur, 1973; ETCSL 1.5.1) to the detriment of the text’s poetic effect and them in the gardens of the town of Algab- also a culinary loss! baribani. They now collect honey and wax The cuneiform tablets preserving this poem there. I know how to separate honey and wax mostly date from the 18th century. B.C., and The main reason for calling into question that by melting, and the gardeners know it too.” thus one could assume that the techniques of lal/dišpu as a rule refers to honey is the pau- (Volk, Imkerei, 281-2; WVDOG 4 (1903), pl. 5, beekeeping were common knowledge at the city of evidence for successful beekeeping in iv 13-16, v 1-5) time, all the more so as the word lal is known Mesopotamia. Whilst there are abudant refer- to have been used as early as 2500 B.C. Lal ences to bees and honey in the art, religion If we believe the inscription, it appears that (dišpu in Akkadian) had many uses, not only and administrative texts of Pharaonic Egypt beekeeping was not practiced in the Euphra- as a foodstuff but also as a component of (cf. CQ 2/2014), and the Hittite Kingdom laws tes Valley close to Mari in the time before Sa- medicines, for gifts to the gods and for the dating from ca. 1500 B.C. lay down the penal- mašrešusur, at least as far back as living mem- consecration of buildings, eg. “I mixed the ties for the theft of bee colonies (J. Friedrich, ory went, whilst the Ḫabḫa mountain people mortar with cedar oil, fne oil, honey and Die Hethitischen Gesetze, 1959, 44-47, § 91- could boast of a long tradition of beekeeping. ghee.” (CAD D, 162). 92), the honey bee left hardly any traces in The production of honey in the mountains

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2016

is attested to by a roughly contemporane- The “sweet cakes” (inda3 gug2 /kukku), which (Jean Bottéro, Textes culinaires Mésopotami- ous inscription by Sargon II, which describes Enlil requests to be given to Nanna were a kind ens, 1995, 22-23). On the other hand, Brunke “white honey [lal-la-ru]” as “the product of of fruit bread, that was usually sweetened with found complete ingredient lists in the Ur-III the mountains” (CAD L, 48; H. Winckler, Die dates (Hagan Brunke, Essen in Sumer, 2011, sources that did not mention four. Further- Keilschrifttexte Sargons, 1889, 133, no. 170). 132-136). For the tasting session in the Gal- more, there was no evidence that heat was It seems that the mountainous regions to the lery, I baked “simple” inda3 gug2 as well as the used in the production process. Rather, one north and west of Mesopotamia, which have “luxury version” inda3 gug2 gu-la. text mentioned a “pestle [to make?] NIG2-i3- a more abundant and longer lasting nectar de2-a”. He therefore suggests that this item fow, were – and still are – more suited for “Simple” inda3 gug2 of food might simply be a kind of paste that beekeeping than the Mesopotamian plain it- 1.0.0.0 zi3-KAL gur (300 l emmer four), could have been eaten with bread (Brunke self which has a protracted gap in the nectar 0.0.5.5 zu2-lum (55 l dates), 45 sa gi (45 200-209). Judging from the ingredients listed fow during the summer, making supplemen- reed bundles), inda3 gug2 gal-še3 ([for] for PAD sag si3-ga, this seems to be a “lux- tal feeding necessary. Thus, Samašrešusur’s large bread-cakes) ury version” of NIG2-i3-de2-a. As the word attempt to introduce bees and beekeeping in components sag si3-ga can be interpreted as the Mari region was probably more the ex- On the basis of a Sargonic indication of size meaning “carefully presented”, PAD sag si3- ception than the norm. (Volk, Imkerei, 279- for inda3 gug2, Brunke calculated that the ga might in fact not be a single dish but a 80, 284-5, 290). individual fruit were made from 1/4 beautifully arranged tray with sweet foods or 1/5 litre of four. The lists of ingredients (Brunke 209-211). Honey may, for the most part, have been an also included the amount of fuel necessary imported product, whilst date syrup, which for their production, and so it can be as- For our Mesopotamian dessert buffet I made was also called lal/dišpu would have been sumed that inda3 gug2 was baked. To made mersu in these three different guises (as a produced locally, as the climatic conditions one inda3 gug2 bread-cake, knead together tray of assorted goodies, as a paste and as a in Mesopotamia were ideally suited for the 250 ml whole-meal emmer four, 45 ml fnely cake); of these the tray of sweet foods was by cultivation of the date palm (RlA, vol. 2, 196). chopped dates and suffcient water to make far the most popular. Reluctantly, I therefore have to admit that it a fairly frm dough. Bake in the embers or in does seem more likely that date syrup, and the oven at 200 °C for ca. 30 minutes. This not honey, was harvested in Nanna-Suen’s compact, slightly sweet bread goes very well orchards in Ur. In contrast, when adminis- with fresh goat’s cheese.

NIG2-i3-de2-a Paste Pound clarifed butter, cheese, dates and raisins in the ratio of 3:1:9:1 to make a PAD sag si3-ga as a tray of assorted sweet foods. spreadable paste. Add spices and/or garlic trative texts from the Palace in Mari mention to taste. gifts of lal/dišpu that were sent to the king Inda3 gug2 gu-la PAD sag si3-ga as a tray of goodies by high offcials or rulers from regions in the Knead together 100 ml each of two types north or north-west, it can safely be assumed of good four, 30 ml each of clarifed but- Arrange the following in bowls on a that this was genuine bee honey (ARM 7, ter, grated cheese and raisins as well as tray, downscaling the quantities as requi- Commentary, 261-2). In most cases, however, 100 ml fnely chopped dates and suffcient red: 0.0.0.2 i3-nun (2 l clarifed butter), the context is unfortunately lacking, making water to make a fairly soft dough. Add 0.0.0.0¬-20 lal3 (1/3 l honey), 0.0.0.4 zu2- lum saga10 (4 l good dates), 0.0.0.4 ga-ara3 it impossible to determine which substance some sourdough if you wish for a lighter geš ge6 (4 l cheese), 0.0.0.4 [gepar] had2 (4 3 2 was designated lal/dišpu. It may well be that texture. Bake like the “simple” inda gug . geš the distinction between the two products was l dried gepar fruit), 0.0.0.4 hašhur had2 (4 l dried hašhur fruit), 0.0.0.4 gešgeštin not as relevant as its common property of A sweet dish that, on occasion, contained geš [had2] (4 l raisins), 0.0.0.4 nu-ur2-ma (4 sweetness, and that, applying a certain de- honey is called mersu in Akkadian and nin- geš l pomegranates), 01 peš3 06 kuš (1 string gree of pragmatism, the product which was da.i.dé.a or NIG2-i3-de2-a in Sumerian. Bot- at hand, be it honey or date syrup, was used téro, who worked mainly with sources from [of dried] fgs, 6 cubits [in length]), PAD when a sweetener was required. Akkadian Mari, established four, fat and sag si3-ga-bi 02-am3 ([for] two portions of dates as the basic ingredients from which PAD sag si3-ga). Unlike in ancient Egypt, where honey cakes mersu was made. Further ingredients such as Ninda.i.dé.a/mirsu Cake were very popular (CQ 2/2014), it can be de- raisins, fgs and other dried fruits, spices in- duced from Mesopotamian administrative cluding coriander, cumin and garlic, as well Mix the ingredients listed for PAD sag texts – no recipes have been preserved – that as cheese and honey were sometimes added. si3-ga with approximately the same total bread and cakes were sweetened mainly with As ninda means bread, Bottéro suggested that quantity of four, water and sourdough dried fruits and only rarely with lal/dišpu. ninda.a.dé.a/mirsu might be a kind of cake and bake like inda3 gug2.

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2016

Recipe from Antiquity A Taste of Mesopotamia By Yvonne Yiu

Flat-breads in A PLATE. Dm. 22.3 cm. Comes together with A JUG. H. 28.2 cm. Bronze. Roman, 2nd half of 2nd cent. A.D. CHF 8,800. Vegetables in A DISH WITH ONE HANDLE. Dm. 27 cm. Bronze. Etruscan, 4th-3rd cent. B.C. CHF 4,500. Front left: A LION’S FOOT WITH SWANS FROM A CISTA. L. 9.2 cm. Bronze. Etruscan, 1st half of 3rd cent B.C. CHF 2,800. Middle: Mutton with beetroot and coriander. Left: Mutton and beetroot broth, both after recipe 22 on YBC 4644.

Our culinary journey into Antiquity has, in Shamkat invites the wild man Enkidu, who “food/to eat” (gu7), which is formed by in- the past three volumes of Cahn’s Quarterly, had up to now eaten grass and sucked the serting the sign for “bread” (gar) into that for led us through ancient Rome (2013), Egypt milk of gazelles, to eat the food of civilized “mouth” (ka). Similarly, the word “to drink” (2014) and Greece (2015). This year we will man. “Enkidu ate of the bread, [aye, ate] un- is formed by combining the sign for “water” quit the familiar Mediterranean basin and til he was gorged, drank of the beer seven (mu) with that for “mouth”. Fully conscious venture further afeld, into the fertile plains bumpers; his spirits rose, [and], exultant, glad of water’s essential importance for life, the of Mesopotamia where, over 5000 years ago, was his heart, and cheerful his face: [him- people in the Fertile Crescent nonetheless, the Sumerians brought the oldest of man- self(?)] was he rubbing, oil on the hair of his for many millennia, preferred to drink beer kind’s great civilizations into being, and body anointed: and [thus] became human.” (kaš). The ideogram for “beer”, a large vessel where, in the 2nd millennium B.C., the mag- (Epic of Gilgamesh, II, iii, 10-15). flled with barley, can be found as early as nifcent Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms the 4th millennium B.C. and thus is one of were founded. Our present day perception of By linking Enkidu’s transformation into a the oldest cuneiform signs. Although wine this area is obviously strongly infuenced by proper human being with the consumption was known and also appreciated, it could not the conficts currently raging there; it is my of bread and beer, this myth illustrates the prevail over the endemic preference for beer, hope that, by examining in detail a specifc fundamental importance of these sources of allowing Sextus Julius Africanus to suggest area of Mesopotamian cultural history, viz. sustenance for Mesopotamian society. Bread in his Kestoi (3rd century A.D.) that Dionysos their art of cookery, we may, apart from satis- was the staple food of all social strata, from refused to teach the Babylonians the art of fying our curiosity and our palates, gain a the nomadic herdsmen, and warriors in the wine-making because he found them to be broader understanding of this region. feld who baked their bread in the embers incorrigible drinkers of beer. of their campfres (“However toothsome city “Enkidu, taste of the bread, [for] of life ’tis; bread, it holds nothing to the campfre loaf” Another remarkable cultural achievement of [forsooth], the essential. Drink thou, [too], of Epic of Erra, I, 57), all the way up to the the Mesopotamian people, apart from their the beer, ’tis the wonted use of the country.” king and his entourage. The importance of script, is the development of lexical lists (also With these words the sacred temple hetaera bread is refected in the cuneiform sign for named after their incipit: ḪAR-ra = ḫubullu).

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2016

In these lists, Sumerian words are juxtaposed of birds. Like the three recipes on YBC 4648 with their Akkadian equivalents in a manner (one poultry and one meat dish, and a por- mer the mutton for 1 hour.] Peel (?) the similar to our modern-day bilingual diction- ridge), they are written in a didactic style, in vegetables. Add [10 g] salt, [1 l unhopped] aries. Since words related in subject matter which an experienced cook describes his ac- beer, [500 g] onions, [50 g] rocket (?), were grouped together, these tablets are at tions or gives his apprentice instructions, for [20 g] coriander (?), [500 g shallots instead the same time a kind of encyclopaedia docu- instance: “I cut open and chop the pluck, and of] samidu, [10 g] cumin (?), and [500 g] menting the world as the people then per- you cut off the feet and wings at the joints.” beetroot. Crush [500 g] leek and [10 large ceived it. Tablets 23 and 24 are of especial (YBC 8958, ii, 30-31). cloves of] garlic. [Let simmer for another relevance to our topic as they list terms for 40 minutes.] After cooking, sprinkle the food and drink. Once again, the importance A technique found in almost every recipe on stew with coriander (?) and [your choice of of bread and beer is clearly refected. Of the the Yale tablets, as well as in the instructions a fnely chopped alliaceous plant instead the approximately 600 entries, around 200 from Erech and the ḪAR-ra = ḫubullu lists, of] šuḫutinnû. refer to types of bread, and the variety of is the cooking of foods in boiling water. As beers mentioned is astonishing. Apart from commonplace as it may appear to us now, If you do not wish to serve the dish as a hot- its standard form, barley bread can, for in- this technique in fact represents a signifcant pot, you can, as suggested in YBC 8958 i, 47 stance, be “spread”, “just right”, “crushed”, cultural achievement, not least because, in and ii, 18-19, serve the meat separate from “soaked”, “dried” and “cleaned”. Amongst contrast to the more “primitive” technique of the broth. In the gallery, we ate the clear, red the beers there is a brew suitable “for the roasting on an open fre, cooking in a liquid broth as an appetizer, followed by the mutton tigi-songs”, another that is “pleasant to the medium makes it possible to create an in- and beetroot as the main course, accompa- throat (?)”, as well as “great beer”, “triple fnite variety of textures, such as those found nied by einkorn fat-breads. My colleagues beer” and “foaming beer”, to name just a few in soups, sauces, stews and porridges, and it are, in the meantime, quite accustomed to (MMA 86.11.368, ii, 2-38 and iii, 8-13). With also allows the favours of the ingredients to my archeo-gastronomical experiments, and roughly 50 entries, dairy products including blend and form complex aromas. they did not hesitate to serve themselves. cheese also form an important category, as Some found that the broth was too fatty, but do the 24 dishes cooked in water. This last aspect appears to have been of espe- they were pleasantly surprised that the mut- cial importance to Mesopotamian gourmets. ton favour was not overpowering. The dis- As enlightening as these lists are, they none- In the Yale tablets, an astonishing 36 differ- tinctly bitter favour of the broth, which was theless hardly reveal anything about the way ent ingredients are mentioned that served probably due to the rocket, contrasted well in which these foods and beverages were pre- to enhance the favour of the dishes, whose with the sweetness of the beetroot. The un- pared. Although roughly one million cunei- main component was usually either meat or usual combination of mutton with coriander form tablets have been excavated and about poultry. In general, four or fve, and on oc- was pleasing, and the crisp fat-breads were one tenth of them deciphered, for a long casion up to ten of these spices and aromat- appreciated by all. time only a single recipe – describing a kind ic plants were used. The most popular were of broth in which meat was cooked – was clearly garlic (hazanu), onions (šusikillu), Einkorn fat-breads known (R.P. Dougherty, Archives from Erech, and leek (karšu), as well as the alliaceous In Mesopotamia, bread was often baked 1933, no. 394). Furthermore, the composition plants samidu, šuḫutinnû, and andaḫšu, that in a tinûru, ie. a tall clay cylinder with of a sweetmeat called mersu could be recon- elude closer defnition. Indeed, Bottéro judg- an open top. This type of oven, called ta- structed on the basis of various indirect ref- es the Mesopotamians to have had an “in- nur or tandur, continues to be used in the erences (read more about this in CQ 2/2016). conceivable passion” for their favour. Thus, Middle East to the present day. The fre at Although the cuneiform tablets 4644, 4648 when, towards the end of the 3rd millennium the bottom of the oven heats up the walls and 8958 of the Yale Babylonian Collec- B.C., the daughter of King Su-Su’en travelled onto which the bread dough is pressed. tion, containing 35 Akkadian recipes dating to the land of Anšan, her provisions did not This method is described in YBC 8958, i, from ca. 1750 B.C., were described in 1957 only include butter, cheese, oil and fruit, but 20-22: “Divide the dough into two equal (A. Götze, JCS 11 (1957) 81f.) and published also 35 kg of garlic and an equal amount of parts [...]; from the other half, bake shaped with drawings in 1982 (J. van Dijk, YOS 11 onions. (M. Lambert und Ch. Virolleaud, Tab- (?) sebetu rolls in the tinûru; remove them (1982) nos. 25-27), it was only through the lettes économiques de Lagash, 1968, no. 46 [from the wall] when they are done.” For translation and detailed commentary by Jean A; partially amended in Bottéro 2002, 110). the dough, knead together 400 g einkorn Bottéro that these valuable texts, which are Other commonly used herbs and spices were four, 100 g sourdough (cf. CQ 1/2014), deemed to be the world’s oldest collection mint (?) (ninû), cumin (?) (kamû), dill (?) 10 g salt [instead of siqqu-brine] and ca. of recipes, were made accessible to a wider (šipittu), coriander (?) (kisibirru), rocket (?) 2-3 dl milk-water to form a supple dough. public. (J. Bottéro, Textes culinaires mésopo- (egengeru), and rue (?) (sibburratu). Add fnely chopped shallots [instead of tamiens, Winona Lake, Indiana 1995; La plus samidu], mashed leek, garlic, and cooking vieille cuisine du monde, Paris 2002). For our frst taste of Mesopotamian cuisine, juices to taste (YBC 8958, i, 17- 19). Form I thought it advisable to choose a dish that fat-breads, let them rise [here I am at var- Tablet YBC 4644 contains “21 [entries] con- was characteristic of the region, but all the iance with the tablet], and bake for about cerning juice of meat; 4 [entries] concerning same not too challenging. Thus, recipe 22 on 15 minutes. herb[s]” (21 me-e šīrim 4 wa-ar-qum), as the YBC 4644 appeared to be a good choice. My scribe notes in the subscript. The cooking additions are marked by square brackets. instructions are extremely concise – the in- dividual recipes are rarely longer than two Stew with tuḫ’u-beets to four lines – and presuppose considerable [1.5 kg] leg of mutton (?) meat [cut into knowledge. Possibly they are excerpts from large pieces] is used. Prepare [4 l] water; more detailed texts, such as those found on add [250 g] fat. [If you do not wish to eat the other two tablets, and served as a kind of the fat, boil it for 15 minutes and remove shorthand. The seven recipes on tablet YBC it before adding the mutton; gently sim- 8958 are all concerned with the preparation

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2015

Recipe from Antiquity Parasite Party Table Companions of the Gods and Uninvited Guests in Ancient Greece By Yvonne Yiu

XVIII, 1379), can only be deduced from the word παράσῑτοι itself. Ziehen refers to the theoxenia – meals which were offered to the gods on days when they were imagined to be present in the city. Even apart from the the- oxenia, the practice of offering food or entire meals to the gods was widespread, and holy tables stood in the temples, ready to receive gifts of meat, bread, cakes and fruit (Nilsson, Geschichte der griechischen Religion, 135). Ziehen argues that when the god was invited to dine, the company of the priest alone was not deemed suffcient, and that the parasites were necessary as additional table compan- ions.

The meat of the sacrifcial animal certainly formed the main component of these meals. Lentils and onions in TWO MESOMPHALIC PHIALES. Dm. max. 17 cm. Bronze. Greek, 1st half of 5th cent. B.C., CHF It was customary that the animal was cut into 3,200 (incl. a third phiale). AN ORNAMENTAL ATTACHMENT. H. 7 cm. Bronze. Greek, 4th cent. B.C. CHF 1,200. A pieces after it had been ritually slaughtered. SMALL CUP with salt and coriander. Dm. 8.8 cm. Clay. Attic, 5th cent. B.C. CHF 50. TWO SPITS. L. max. 52.7 cm. Some of the meat, fat and bones was burnt Bronze. Etruscan, 7th-6th cent. B.C. CHF 900. BULL (front right, the others not for sale), L. 5.5 cm. Bronze. Roman, 2nd-3rd cent. A.D. CHF 1,800. on the altar, whilst libations were performed. The rest of the meat was then roasted and Last summer, which seemed like one enor- distinguished him from the other members of eaten (Nilsson, griech. Religion, 142). In the mous, never-ending heat-wave, there seemed society. Anakeion, a stele records how the meat of the no better way to enjoy the almost tropical sacrifcial oxen was divided: one third was evenings than to meet up with friends and The term παράσῑτος is composed of the words given to the people present at the sacrifce, to have a grill party. But wouldn’t every now παρά (alongside) and σῑτος (grain, food), and one third was allotted to the priests, and the and again an unpleasant humming sound be is used to designate “a person who eats at the remaining third to the parasites (Ath., Deipn., heard? A small bite, an aggravating itch, and, table of another”. In the fragments that have 6.235d). disgruntled, you get up to fetch the insect re- been preserved of his book on parasites, Po- pellent. These loathsome parasites! lemon of Athens (2nd cent. B.C) notes: “The A passage in Homer’s Iliad (9.210-217), which name of parasite is now a disreputable one; describes how entertained the em- Generally, when we think of parasites, crea- but among the ancients we fnd the word bassy sent by Agamemnon, provides us with tures such as mosquitos, feas and tapeworms parasite used as something sacred, equivalent an idea of how the meat might have been which feed on the body fuids of their host, to one who is a table companion at a cultic prepared: “Automedon held the meat while harming but not killing him, come to mind. celebration.” The parasites had to fll certain Achilles chopped it; he then sliced the piec- Plants too, for instance mistletoe, have devel- requirements as to their lineage in order to be es and put them on spits while the god-like oped parasitic forms of life, and indeed the elected to this honourable offce. In the sanc- son of made the fre burn high. term “parasite” in its current sense was frst tuary of on Delos, for instance, they When the fame had died down, he spread employed by 17th-century botanists, such as served for one year. Unfortunately, we know the embers, laid the spits on top of them, lift- Thomas Browne and Nehemiah Grew. Parasit- very little about the parasites’ duties. It is re- ing them up and setting them upon the spit- ism is also found in higher animals, however, ported that the parasites of Herakles at Cyno- racks; and he sprinkled them with sacred salt. and even human beings can be parasites: In sarges offered the monthly sacrifce together When the meat was roasted, he heaped it on his book Le Parasite (1980), the philosopher with the priest, and a law passed by the Ar- platters, and handed bread round the table in Michel Serres put forward the thesis that man chon Basileus required that the parasites of fair baskets, while Achilles dealt them their was the universal parasite, and that all hu- Apollo at Acharnai consecrate barley to the portions.” man systems were based on the parasitical god and also “select from their own share a exchange of something for nothing. sixth part of a medimnus barley, on which all This very basic cooking method may have who are citizens of Athens shall feast in the been necessitated by the improvised condi- The people of ancient Greece would proba- temple, according to the national laws and tions in the Achaean camp. It is, nonetheless, bly have found Serres’s holistic concept of customs”. (Ath., Deipn., 6.234d-235d; Preller, typical of the way in which food was pre- parasitism rather bizarre, for over the course Frg. 78). pared in ancient Greece, and it is exactly this of many centuries, the parasite formed an simplicity that was highly esteemed and rec- integral part of their society and had clear- The most important function of the parasites, ommended by the master chef Archestratus ly defned tasks and character traits, which however, according to Ludwig Ziehen (RE (4th cent. B.C.), as it permitted the genuine

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2015

taste of the food to be savoured (CQ 1/2015). And his Priestess, Apollodoros of Carystus At our parasite party in the gallery, such a In any case, my “table companions” at the says: “I’m told he’s gate-crashed like a new Stoic Lentil Stew, together with freshly baked gallery thought that the meat from pas- Chaerephon at Ophelas’s when that wedding barley bread, was an ideal accompaniment to ture-raised oxen that we roasted in the man- was on; took fowers and a bag, and just as the Roast Ox in the Manner of Achilles. ner of Achilles tasted truly delicious. darkness thickens gets in by saying the bride has sent the chickens; if so, he’s had his din- Stoic Lentil Stew Why and when the esteemed offcial who ner.” (Ath., Deipn., 6.243d; Edmonds, III, 195, Gently fry two fnely chopped onions in was deigned worthy of sharing his food with Frg. 24). olive oil. Add 200 g lentils that have been the gods sank to the level of a more or less soaked overnight. Season with plenty of tolerated sponger at the table of the wealthy It is only rarely mentioned what exactly the ground coriander seeds and with salt and is largely unknown. Already in Antiquity, it parasites ate, and it may well be that for them pepper to taste. Add water, place the pot on was subject to lively debate as to which poet, the quantity of the food was often more im- the embers and simmer gently until done. Epicharmos or Alexis, frst used the term portant than its quality. The parasite in The “parasite” in the “modern”, that is, negative Twins by Antiphanes the Younger rather Barley Sourdough Bread sense. garrulously declares: “After a liberal and re- Many households in ancient Greece did cherché meal and three healths, maybe four, not have an oven. Instead, they baked In Middle Comedy, the parasite developed into I came to feel a trife amorous, having eaten their bread below a domed clay baking a clearly defned type: he appears at the feast enough for several elephants, say.” (Edmonds, cover (πνιγεύς), which they buried under uninvited, he tries to make himself popu- II, 629, Frg. 3). Somewhat more drastically, embers. For the dough, knead together 400 lar by obsequious fattery, and although he the fatterer in The False Accuser by Alexis g wholemeal barley four with 100 g sour- does not contribute anything to the meal, he dwells on the pleasure of eating so much that dough (cf. CQ 1/2014), 10 g salt and ca. eats and drinks without restraint. Of course, he would burst: “I am a happy man. And not 2-3 dl water. Let the dough rise in a warm the comic poets represented the parasite’s alone because I’m going to a wedding dinner, place until it has doubled in volume. This character traits in an exaggerated and car- but because I shall burst, if it please god. And can take several hours. Bring the dough icatured manner. Nonetheless, they do bear would that I might meet with such a death!” into the desired shape and let it rise again. a relation to reality, parodying the spongers (Ath., Deipn., 6.258f; Edmonds II, 485, Frg. Bake for ca. 30 minutes. that wealthy Athenian citizens, such as Ki- 231). mon und Kallias, attracted with their extrav- agant lifestyles, and the fatterers and courti- Amongst the foods eaten by the parasites of ers that surrounded rulers such as Philip II of Middle Comedy, fsh and bread were by far Macedon and Dionysos of Syracuse. the most common, and this accurately mirrors the actual eating habits of the time (cf. CQ In the comedy fragments featuring parasites 1/2015). Lentil stew (φακῆ), sometimes con- compiled by Athenaeus (ca. 200 A.D.) in his taining little stones, radishes, cabbage cooked Banquet of the Learned (Deipnosophistae), in plenty of oil, and pea soup were common their voraciousness is a running gag. In order dishes that the parasites were not particularly to satisfy his craving for food, a parasite fears keen on. The parasite with the nickname Lark neither being beaten nor being disgraced. The would much rather have eaten some of the parasite in The Man from Chalcidicè by Ax- rich, highly favoured meat stew (ματτύη), ionicus declares: “When frst I wished to play but unfortunately the bowl was always al- the parasite while youth did still raise down ready empty when it was passed to him, and upon my cheeks, I learnt to bear hard blows in The Parasite by Antiphanes, the spongers from knuckles, and cups and dishes, and can only dream of delicacies such as cake, bones, so great that oftentimes I was all over cheese, and lamb “embalmed” in a heavi- wounds; but still it paid me well, for still the ly spiced sauce. (Ath., Deipn., 6.239e-246b, pleasure did exceed the pain.” (Ath., Deipn., 9.370e; Edmonds II, 253, Frg. 183; III, 223, 6.239f-240a; Edmonds II, 565, Frg. 6). And Frg. 2). the parasite in ’s Harp-Girl confess- es: “I was above all things ashamed when I Curious about the composition of the lentil found that I was again to have a supper for stew held in such low esteem by the para- which I was to give no contribution.” His sites, we receive help from a rather unexpect- buddy, however, comforts him: “A shameful ed corner, namely from the Stoics. Athenaeus thing, indeed. Still you may see our Tithy- informs us that “it is a Stoic belief, that the mallus on his way, more red than saffron or wise man will do all things rightly, even to vermilion; and he blushes, as you may guess, the wise seasoning of lentil stew”. In his essay because he nothing pays.” (Ath., Deipn., On the Good, the Stoic philosopher Chrysip- 6.240d; Edmonds II, 533, Frg. 1). pus of Soli (ca. 279-206 B.C.) is quite ecstat- ic about this dish: “In the winter season, an The ingenuity with which the parasites at- onion-and lentil stew, how wonderful! For tempt to gain access to a free meal is truly as- onion-and lentil stew is like in the tounding. In The Exile, Alexis describes how chilly cold.” And even the founder of the Sto- Chaerephon “goes and stands as soon as it ic school himself, (ca. 333- gets light where they let cooking-things out 262 B.C.) did not fail to give instructions on for the night. If any’s hired he asks the cook how to cook lentils, “for he said: ‘into the who it’s for, and comes frst guest if there’s lentil stew put the twelfth part of a coriander an open door”. (Edmonds II, 497, Frg. 257). seed.’” (Ath., Deipn., 4.158a-b).

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2015

Recipe from Antiquity κυκεών: The Right Drink for Every Occasion

By Yvonne Yiu

seem very appealing to us. Thus, already Jo- hann Heinrich Voss imagined that the kykeon might have been a kind of mush and trans- lated the word with “Weinmus” (1871). In The Classical Cookbook (1996, 40-41), Sally Grainger pursued a similar line of thought, arguing that the mixture must somehow be thickened. Thus, the “Homeric” kykeon made following her recipe is a kind of porridge. This hypothesis must, however, be rejected, as the description in the Iliad leaves no doubt about the fact that and Machaon en- joy a thirst-quenching drink, not a nouris- hing porridge, and that this drink is what chemists call a suspension: a mixture of a liquid and fne solid particles.

This is confrmed by Fragment B 125 by the philosopher (ca. 520-460 B.C.): HEKAMEDE’S KYKEON in the wine glass. A CASSEL CUP. Dm. 14.2 cm. Attic, ca. 530-520 B.C. CHF 20,000. A “Even the barley-drink separates if it is CHEESE GRATER. L. 13.1 cm. Bronze. Greek, 4th cent. B.C. CHF 250. AN OINOCHOE, H. 15.1 cm, CHF 1,800; not stirred.” (και ο κυκεων διίσταται <μη> LOWER PART OF A PYXIS with barley, Dm. 9.1 cm, CHF 500; PLATE with cheese, Dm. 13.8 cm, CHF 1,800. All κινουμενος Western Greek, 4th-3rd cent. B.C. DAGGER. L. 39.2 cm. Bronze. Late Bronze Age, probably Western Asia, 13th-11th ). With this simple statement, He- cent. B.C. CHF 3,200. raclitus created a succinct image illustrating the necessity of motion for the cohesion of “I will surrender my grieving soul to an evil places a table before the heroes; disparate elements. Scholars have discussed end, if you do not send me a medimnus of on it are a brazen basket with onions, honey, the relevance of the kykeon metaphor for He- barley as quickly as you can, so that I may sacred barley-meal (ἀλφίτου ιερου ἀκτην, raclitus’s views on the rotation of the hea- make a kykeon from the groats to drink as a 631) and an ornate gold cup. Hecamede pours vens, the problem of political stability and cure for my suffering.” (Hipponax Fr. 48 DG) Pramnian wine into the cup, grates goat’s the relationship of change and identity. More cheese over it using a brazen grater and then prosaically, I let myself be encouraged by the Are you tired and thirsty after having fought besprinkles the mixture with white barley (εν fragment to try out the suspension in Nestor’s heroically the whole day? Treat yourself to τῶ ρα σφι κυκησε γυνη εικυια θεῆσιν / οἰνω cup: a kykeon! Has a tragic loss caused you grief Πραμνείω, επι δ ̓ αἰγειον κνη τυρὸν / κνηστι and despair? A kykeon will do you good. χαλκείη, επι δ ̓ ἀλφιτα λευκα παλυνε, 638- Hecamede’s Kykeon Some unwelcome guests have called, and 640). With this kykeon, Nestor and Machaon Pour red wine into a glass. Grate a small you would like to get rid of them? A kykeon quench their parching thirst (πολυκαγκέα lump of hard goat’s cheese into the wine with some special additives will do the trick! δίψαν, 642). and sprinkle some barley-meal over it. Mix Or have you been asked a diffcult political well. Serve with fresh onions as a side dish. or philosophical question? Once again, a ky- This “cordial beverage” or “potion”, as the keon provides the solution. Truly, the kykeon drink is termed in Alexander Pope’s and The resulting drink is surprisingly tasty, for which the sharp-tongued poet Hipponax (6th A.T. Murray’s translations of 1715-1720 and the same favour develops as when cheese is cent. B.C.) praised as a pharmacon against all 1924, seems rather strange to us today. It is eaten together with wine. The wine-steeped kinds of evils (φαρμακον πονηρίης) is a mar- beyond dispute that wine and cheese go well barley crumbs were not at all bothersome vellous drink! together, but the mixture of the two is gen- whilst drinking and can be spooned out at erally reserved for cheese fondue. Pramnian the end as a nutritious fnish to this unusual The custom to drink kykeon appears to be wine was, however, red, and the concoction beverage. very ancient indeed, and the oldest Greek lit- was not cooked, so it seems quite out of the erary texts that have come down to us, the question that kykeon was an ancient pre- In the Odyssey (10.230-240), kykeon is also Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer (8th/7th cent. decessor of this Swiss national dish, even if served, but here the consequences of imbi- B.C.) both mention the drink. the barley could symbolically stand for the bing it are rather dire, for it is the sorceress bread that is eaten with the fondue. who prepares the potion for Odysseus’s In the Iliad (11.621-643) the way in which companions, mixing together cheese, bar- kykeon is prepared and the context in which Not only the combination of ingredients, but ley-meal, honey and Pramnian wine. Despite it is drunk are described in much detail: It also the consistency of the kykeon has given the addition of honey, Circe’s kykeon closely is the third day of battle. After heavy fgh- modern day gastronomers quite a headache. resembles that made by Hecamede, especially ting, Nestor and the wounded Machaon re- The idea of hard lumps of cheese and bar- in view of the fact that honey was placed on turn to the ships. In Nestor’s tent, the servant ley swimming around in the wine does not Nestor’s table next to the cup flled with ky-

14 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2015

keon, and might have been added to taste. How- The leaves of the pennyroyal plant (Mentha ’s Kykeon ever, Circe does not leave it at that, secretly pulegium) have a refreshing peppermint fra- Pour cold water into a glass, sprinkle some mixing baneful pharmaca (φαρμακα λυγρ ,̓ grance. The herb was very popular during barley-meal over it and favour with ten- 236) to make the companions forget the land Antiquity even though it contains an essenti- der pennyroyal leaves. Mix well. of their fathers into the sitos, and then tur- al oil that is poisonous in higher doses, and it ning them into swine. was also used to favour the kykeon in con- In the , the drinking of texts other than that of the Eleusinian Mys- a kykeon by the initiates marked the tran- There is some debate as to whether sitos teries. In the comedy Peace by Aristophanes sition to the fnal, culminating phase of the (grain, bread, staple food) here refers to the (performed 421 B.C.), recommends a ten-day festival. After the public celebrations kykeon or some other food accompanying kykeon with pennyroyal as a hangover cure in Athens, the procession on the the drink. Even so, the passage creates a stri- to the wine-grower Trygaeus (705-714). And to and a night-long revel with sin- king link between the kykeon and the psy- in his Moralia, Plutarch (ca. 46-120 A.D.) re- ging and dancing, the initiates spent the sixth choactive drugs that Circe employed to get lates an anecdote in which Heraclitus drinks day resting and fasting in preparation for the the better of her unwelcome visitors. And one the same kykeon as Demeter did: Asked by secret rites that were celebrated in the interior wonders whether the kykeon that Hipponax his fellow-citizens on his opinion about con- of the sanctuary, which no one, under pain of so longed for was not something more than a cord, the philosopher mounted the speaker’s death, was permitted to reveal. The fast was purely metaphorical pharmacon. platform, “took a cup of cold water, sprinkled ended by imbibing a kykeon. What followed it with barley-meal, stirred it with pennyro- left the initiates “flled with awe and even Ever since the Second International Conference yal (λαβων ψυχρου κυλικα και των ἀλφίτων confusion, but also overfowing with bliss on Hallucinogenic Mushrooms (1977), the ky- επιπασας και τῶ γληχωνι κινησας), drank it and joy.” (G. Mylonas, Eleusis, 1961, esp. keon partaken by the initiates during the Eleu- up, and departed, thus demonstrating to them 258-261). sinian Mysteries has been suspected of con- that to be satisfed with whatever they hap- taining psychopharmaceuticals. Interestingly, pen upon and not to want expensive things Fascinated by the ability of the Mysteries, this kykeon is very different from that descri- is to keep cities in peace and concord.” (Con- over the course of several centuries, to un- bed in the Iliad and Odyssey, the only com- cerning Talkativeness, 511). failingly provide the initiates with such an mon ingredient being barley-meal. The com- intense emotional experience, the ethnomy- position of the Eleusinian kykeon is revealed It comes as a surprise that Heraclitus, in Plut- cologist R. Gordon Wasson and the Classical in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (ca. 600 B.C), arch’s anecdote, makes his kykeon with cold scholar Carl A.P. Ruck studied the question of whether the perception and emotional state of the initiates might have been infuenced by psychoactive substances added to the ky- keon. They requested Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who had discovered LSD, to investigate whether it would have been pos- sible for the ancient Greeks to isolate a hal- lucinogen from (), a parasitic mushroom which grows on cereals and grasses. Chemical analyses showed that the ergot of barley and of Paspalum disti- chum, a grass widespread in the Mediterra- nean basin, contained the water-soluble psy- choactive substances ergonovine and lysergic acid amide. Thus, it would have been possible for the of Eleusis to cultivate er- got systematically and to provide the initi- ates with a kykeon that would have had an effect similar to that of LSD. These effects in- clude extreme changes of mood, the distorted perception of space and time, visual hallu- cinations, the sensation of detachment from one’s body, fear, sweating and nausea. Was- DEMETER’S KYKEON in the modern glass. A KANTHAROS with pennyroyal. H. 11 cm. Attic, 5th cent. B.C. CHF son and Ruck argue that such sensations and 12,000. LOWER PART OF A PYXIS with barley. Dm. 9.1 cm. Western Greek, 3rd cent. B.C. CHF 500; A GLASS with experiences correspond to those described in water. H. 6.3 cm. Roman, 2nd cent. B.C. CHF 2,200. ancient testimonies, but sadly do not provide which explains the origins of the Mysteries. water. For us today, it would seem more logical clear references for these sources (R. Gordon The passage of relevance to us describes how to use hot water to brew a kind of herbal tea, Wasson, The Road to Eleusis, 1978, esp. 21, Demeter, in her anger and despair over the loss which would allow the pennyroyal to develop 25-34, 36-37, 80-81). of her daughter , wanders the earth its full favour. At our kykeon degustation in in the guise of an old woman until she is in- the Gallery it quickly became evident that a Hipponax, who in his poems delighted in vited into the house of Metaneira, the queen mixture of barley-meal, pennyroyal and cold “overstepping boundaries” (Gerber, Greek of Eleusis. Metaneira offers Demeter a cup of water simply tastes more or less like water. But Iambic Poetry, 1999, 381), not just with re- wine, but she refuses it, saying that it would be maybe, in Antiquity, one took pleasure in the gard to metre but also to content, would sure- sacrilege. Instead, she asks for a kykeon (210) small bursts of favour that enliven the bever- ly have welcomed such an additive to his made of water, barley and tender pennyroyal age whenever one bites on a pennyroyal leaf. pharmacon against suffering. In the Gallery, (ἀνωγε δ ̓ ἀρ ̓ ἀλφι και ὑδωρ / δουναι μίξασαν however, we did not dare to sip a psychedelic πιέμεν γληχωνι τερείνη, 208-209). kykeon.

CQ 15 Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2015

Recipe from Antiquity “...silphioparaomelitokatakechymeno...”

Or: Honey is a Must for Every Feast!

By Yvonne Yiu

a slice of meat.” (Ath. Deipn. 3.96b). And the mouth-watering feast which Persephone pre- pares for Dionysos, who is disguised as the gluttonous hero Herakles, in Frogs by Aris- tophanes, includes the honey cakes that the Greeks were so particularly fond of: “Come on in. Once the goddess heard you’d come she had us baking bread loaves right away, boiling up pea soup – two or three cauldrons full, roasting an entire ox, baking honey cakes and cookies. So do come in.” (504-507).

Already in the Mycenaean Period (1400-1200 B.C.), honey was probably systematically produced by domesticated bees cared for by beekeepers, rather than gathered from the nests of wild bees by honey hunters. In the , Hesiod describes the use of hives (smênos, simblos, 594, 598) and, during So- lon’s time, apiculture was practiced on such a scale that, in 594/593 B.C., he passed a law GASTRIS in a PHIALE. Dm. 12 cm. Bronze. Greek, ca. 400 B.C. CHF 2,600. The ingredients in a PHIALE. Dm. decreeing that “he who sets up hives of bees 15.5 cm. Bronze. Greek, 5th cent. B.C. CHF 1,200. Honey on a BLACK-GLAZED PLATE. Dm. 12.5 cm. Clay. Attic, must put them 300 feet away from those al- 400-375 B.C. CHF 600. A STATUETTE OF A GOAT. H. 3.9 cm. CHF 7,500. A PEPLOPHOROS. H. 7 cm. CHF 14,000. ready installed by another.” (Plutarch, Life of A JAR. H. 6.9 cm. CHF 2,800. All bronze, Greek, 5th cent. B.C. Solon, 23). In Aristophanes’s comedy Assembleywomen, gar-dressing-laserpitium-leek-with-honey- which was frst performed in 392/391 B.C., sauce-thrush-blackbird-pigeon-dove-roast- Numerous archaeological fnds reveal that, the playwright lets the Athenian women seize cock’s-brains-wagtail-cushat-hare-stewed- since the 5th century B.C., bees were kept, power in the city’s parliament. They estab- in-new-wine-gristle-of-veal-pullet’s-wings”. inter alia, in horizontal pottery hives of ca. lish a kind of communist welfare state, which Roughly one third into this amazing concoc- 40-60 cm length and with a diameter of ca. provides for the basic needs of its citizens, tion, we fnd the word for honey, and indeed, and replaces matrimony with a statutorily a foray into reveals that no regulated system of free love. In celebration important meal, let alone feast, would be of their victory, the chorus announces the complete without the presence of honey. frst communal feast instituted by this new pleasure-driven feminist government: In a fragment by the presocratic philosopher of Colophon, in which he de- “It is time, friends, high time to go to the ban- scribes a symposium, the wine is accompa- quet - if we want to have our share of it […]. nied by bread, cheese, and honey: “Golden Open your ranks and let the Cretan rhythms bread’s at hand, and duly honoured tables, regulate your dances. […] Very soon we’ll groaning under their weight of cheese and be eating lepadotemachoselachogaleokranio- honey; then an altar, placed in the centre, all leipsanodrimypotrimmatosilphiotyromelito- with fowers is crowned, and song and feast- To make GASTRIS, the honey is thickened by heating. katakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperis- ing occupies the house, and dancing, and all teralektryonoptokephaliokinklopeleiolagoio- sorts of revelry.” (Ath. Deipn. 11.462e). The siraiobaphetragalopterygon.“ (1163-1174). slave in The Slave-Master by Pherekrates learns not to omit the honey when com- No satisfactory translation has yet been posing a menu: “A: Tell us, I pray you now found for this megalomaniac dish, which then, how the supper will be prepared. B. Un- was, in 1990, awarded an entry in the Guin- doubtedly I will. In the frst place, a dish of ness Book of Records as the longest word in well-minced eel; then cuttle-fsh, and lamb, a literature. The prose translation, however, by slice of rich well-made black pudding; then the eminent classicist Leo Strauss gives an some pig’s feet boil’d; some liver, and a loin impression of the ingredients used: “oysters- of mutton, and a mighty number of small saltfsh-skate-sharks’-heads-left-over-vine- birds; and cheese in honey steep’d, and many The sesame and nut-poppy sheets ready for layering.

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2015

30-40 cm. In some of the hives excavated, for the preparation of savoury dishes, the For the light-coloured layers, simmer 240 g the upper half of the interior was roughened ancient Greeks seem to have used it main- honey as above. Gently roast 360 g white ses- by incisions, thereby enabling the bees to ly to sweeten cakes and other deserts. Honey ame. Mix with the honey and roll out two attach their combs to the vessel’s wall with was frequently paired with fresh cheese and, rectangles. Although Chrysippos says that the greater ease. The hives, which could be ex- judging from the many references to it, honey sesame should be pounded, I think that the tended by pottery rings of ca. 10 cm length in cheesecake appears to have been one of the sweetmeats look more attractive with whole case of a honey fow, were closed by lids with most popular desserts amongst the Hellenes. sesame seeds. Place the layers on top of each a small fight entrance. (Crane, Beekeeping, These cakes, which were also presented to other and cut into squares or lozenges while 1999, 196-202). the Gods as votive gifts (even could still warm. be pacifed by them), were so common that Much valuable information on the techniques instructions regarding their preparation are You are cordially invited to taste these sweet employed by beekeepers is pro- rather vague. In his book The Art of Making treats and many other ancient delicacies at vided by the Historia animalium (Book IX, Bread (artokopikos, Ath. Deipn. 14.647c), Gallery Cahn during Art Basel! For further Ch. 40, 626a-627b) by Aristotle. As in mod- Chrysippos of Tyana, “that clever writer on details, see page 2 and the invitation card. ern apiculture, the beekeeper’s interventions confectionary” (sophos pemmatologos, Ath. So please: “Come, quickly, seize hold of a aimed at maximising the productivity of his Deipn. 14.648a), includes the following rec- plate, snatch up a cup, and let’s run to secure bee colonies. Thus he made sure that the ipe: “The phthoîs is made thus: Take some a place at table. The rest will have their jaws number of combs in a hive was in the right cheese and pound it, then put it into a copper at work by this time. Dance gaily! Iai! Iai! proportion to its bee population and that he sieve and strain it; then put in honey and a We shall dine! Euoi! Euai! Euai!” (Aristoph. left enough honey in the hive for the bees to hemina [ca. 300 g] of four made from spring Assembleywomen 1175-1180). feed on during winter. If a colony was short wheat, and beat the whole together into one of food, the beekeeper provided the bees with mass.” (Ath. Deipn. 14.647d-e). fgs and other sweet things. As a precaution- ary measure, melliferous plants such as pear Mixing 300 g four with 150 g ricotta and 150 g and almond trees, beans, poppy and thyme honey makes a very soft but still mouldable were planted close to the hives, and wasps, dough. As the word phthoîs was also used frogs, toads and certain species of birds that to designate medicinal pills and gold nuggets were regarded as enemies of the bees were (Letronne, 1833, 62), I formed the dough into killed or had their nests removed. If the bee- small balls. These can be either baked in the keeper observed that a colony was preparing oven at 180 °C for ca. 20 minutes or fried in to swarm, he tried to prevent this by besprin- a pan with a little oil. Served warm with a kling the hive with sweet wine. Thanks to his liberal drizzling of honey, they are not unap- continuous care, the beekeeper could expect pealing, although they have a rather rubbery a rich harvest. On average, a colony would texture and would, in my opinion, beneft yield 1-1½ choes (ca. 4.5-6.5 kg) of honey; a considerably from the addition of egg and propserous colony produced 2-2½ choes (ca. yeast. 9-11 kg), and an exceptionally good one 3 The Cretan sweetmeats called gastris, for PHTHOIS are made of honey, fresh cheese and four. choes (ca. 13 kg). Such a harvest is indeed which Chrysippos also provides a recipe, are, respectable – if my bees, located in the Jura however, absolutely superb: “In Crete the hills of Baselland, Switzerland, produce an bakers make something which they call gast- average of 10 kg of honey per colony, I am ris. And it is made thus: Take Thasian and more than happy! Pontic nuts [hazelnuts and walnuts, cf. Pliny, Freshly harvested honey combs were regard- Hist. nat. 15.88-90], almonds, and poppy. ed as an exquisite delicacy, comparable to the Roast with great care, and then pound in a snow-cooled drinks alluded to by Euthycles clean mortar, Mix and make soft with boiled in his play Wastrels, in which it is said of an honey, putting in plenty of pepper, and con- epicure: “He is the frst to discover wheth- tinue mixing. It will be of a black colour er snow may be had in the market, and he because of the poppy. Flatten it and make must be the frst, at all costs, to eat the new it into a square shape; then, having pound- honeycomb.” (Ath. Deipn. 3.124b). Amongst ed some white sesame, soften that too with the various types of honey, Attic honey was boiled honey, and draw it out into two layers, The dough is shaped into small balls and baked. especially valued. In his Historia naturalis, placing one beneath and the other above, so Pliny the Elder observes that “the honey of as to have the black surface in the middle, Attica is generally looked upon as the best and make it into a neat shape.” (Ath. Deipn. in all the world”, and mentions the attempt 14.647f-648a). to recreate this type of honey in Italy by in- troducing Attic thyme (21.57). The new-rich It is well worth the effort to make this ancient Trimalchio in Petronius’s Satyricon even predecessor of the honey-sesame bar – it is went a step further by having “bees brought probably no coincidence that gastris can also from Attica, so he could produce Attic hon- signify “pot-bellied” or “glutton” (Liddel- ey at home, and, as a side issue, so he could Scott-Jones). For the black layer, simmer 240 improve the native bees by crossing with the g honey for ca. 2 minutes. Gently roast 240 g Greek.” (Ch. 38). ground nuts and 60 g poppy seed. Mix with the honey, add plenty of ground black pep- Whereas in Roman cuisine honey was almost per and roll out the mixture into a thin rec- as indispensible as the ubiquitous fsh sauce tangle between two sheets of baking paper. Serve warm with a liberal drizzling of honey.

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2015

Recipe from Antiquity Opsophagia

The Passion for Fish in Ancient Greece

By Yvonne Yiu

ty for fun and mockery. In The Spiteful Man (KA 11, 1-2) Timocles observes: “an agora well stocked with fsh is a joy to behold if you can afford it, but beyond endurance if you’re of meagre means”, and he proceeds to describe how the sycophant, known as the Lark, goes to the market with four bronze coins in his pocket, looks at the eels, tun- ny, rays and crayfsh, but, having found out how much they cost, scuttles off to the sprats. Those who, however, did buy such expensive varieties of fsh were watched suspiciously by the other market goers. In Antiphanes’s Rich Men (KA 188, 1-19), two fsh-lovers observe a certain Euthynus on a shopping spree and get into a panic, because they think that a few rich men are buying up the fsh market. They stir up a mob and denounce the pre- sumed perpetrators, concluding their invec- tive with a rather remarkable punch line: “It is not democratic for him to do this and chomp on so many fsh”.

Excessive opsophagia was dangerous not only on the stage. In real life, too, it could have dire FRAGMENT OF A FISH-PLATE. L. max. 12 cm. Clay, black glaze, white paint. Western Greek, mid 4th century BC. consequences, as is vividly demonstrated by CHF 950 the court case that Aischines brought against

Following on our culinary expeditions comestible, so much so that it was regard- through the kitchens of the Eternal City (CQ ed as the opson par excellence. Thus, by the 1-4/2013) and the bakeries and breweries classical period, the word opson could be used of the Valley of the Kings (CQ 1-4/2014), I specifcally to designate fsh. In the seventh would, in this third year of Cahn’s Quarterly, book of the Deipnosophistae (The Banquet like to lift the lids of some ancient Greek pots of the Learned), which Athenaeus devotes to and pans and have a closer look at what was fsh, Myrtilos explains: “It is no wonder, my eaten in the cradle of democracy. friends, that among all the specially prepared dishes which we call an opson, the fsh is the The classical Greek meal was composed of only one which has won its way, on account two elements: sitos (grain, bread, staple food) of its excellent eating qualities, to be called and opson (what one eats with bread). Wine by this name, because people are so mad for (oinos) was drunk only once the meal was this kind of food.” (276e-f). Thus, those who ARCHESTRATOS’S TUNNY : Marinated tunny placed on banana leaves … over, and was accompanied by tragemata went shopping in the agora, in the 4th cen- (what one chews alongside wine), such as tury B.C., could rejoice with the other old cakes, sweets, nuts and fruit. The sitos gen- fsh-eaters (palai opsophagoi) that the mar- erally consisted of lentils, barley or emmer. ket was euopsos (well-stocked with fsh) or Lentils were frequently served as a soup, deplore its anopsia (lack of fsh), and appeal whilst barley and emmer was prepared as a to the opsonomos (magistrate controlling the gruel or porridge or used to make bread. The price of fsh) should a quarrel arise with the term opson was much broader, and it includ- fshmongers as to the proper price of a fsh. ed vegetables, cheese, eggs, fsh and meat. Although the Homeric heroes are frequently The price difference between everyday fsh represented consuming enormous amounts of such as sprats and mullet, and delicacies like roast meat, but never eating fsh, the latter perch and eel, was signifcant and provided does appear to have been the more important the writers of comedy with ample opportuni- … tied together carefully …

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2015

Timarchus. In 346 B.C. Aeschines had partici- Instead of eel, I decided to cook tunny, which “Tunny Steaks in the Manner of the Love-lorn pated in the unsuccessful peace negotiations was also highly regarded by the ancient Lass” together with stewed chard and barley with Philipp II and was, therefore, accused Greeks. Steaks from the tunny’s belly and tail bread. Like the ancient Greeks, we attempt- of high treason by Timarchus. Aischines were the preferred cuts. When buying such ed to eat our food without cutlery, but using countered this incrimination with his speech an exquisite food, the master chef Archestra- bread and our fngers instead. When their Against Timarchus, in which he argued that, tus advises, its price should not play a role: fngers got greasy, they wiped them on soft because of his dissolute lifestyle, Timarchus “But round the sacred and spacious Samos bits of bread and then threw these to the dogs had forfeited his right to speak before the thou wilt see the mighty tunny caught with – but this we did not do. The Gallery team people. He paints a vivid picture of how Ti- eager zeal. […] Of this you must needs buy was delighted by the rustic simplicity of the marchus, as a youth, so lusted after sensuous in summer the cuts which suit you, without food which, as Jean-David Cahn noted, was pleasures that he squandered his entire for- hesitation, and haggle not over the price.“ reminiscent of the Mediterranean Cuisine and tune, and then, unable to do without them, (Ath. Deipn. 301f). In order to fully appre- did not taste strange at all, despite the some- did not shrink from prostituting himself. “He ciate its favour, Archestratus recommends what unusual cooking methods. behaved as he did,” Aeschines comments, using a simple method of preparation: “As “because he was a slave to the most shameful for the amia [bonito], prepare that […] in any vices, opsophagia, expensive dinner-parties, way thou likest. Why need I recite it for thee Literature: fute-girls, hetaeras, dicing and all those oth- word for word? For thou canst not possibly Andrew Dalby, Siren Feasts. A History of Food er things by none of which should a free and spoil it even if thou desire. Still, if thou in- and Gastronomy in Greece, London / New York noble man allow himself to be overwhelmed.” sist, dear Moschus, on being instructed here 1996. (I.42). This speech brought about the rehabili- also in the best way to dress that fsh, wrap it James Davidson, Fish, Sex and Revolution in tation of Aischines; Timarchus, however, was in fg-leaves with a very little marjoram. No Athens, in: Classical Quarterly 43 (1993) 53-66. declared atimos (without honour) and there- cheese, no nonsense! Just place it tenderly in with lost the political rights of a citizen. fg-leaves and tie them on top with a string; then push it under hot ashes, bethinking thee It was not uncommon to associate the eat- wisely of the time when it is done, and burn ing of fsh with erotic activity, as is attested it not up.” (Ath. Deipn. 278b-c). The Cook in by numerous other sources. A startlingly ex- Sotades’s play Locked Up Women proceeds in plicit passage is the eulogy on fshery in the a similar manner: “Then a widowed bonito, comedy Odysseus by Anaxandrides, where a very fne creature, I soaked just enough the speaker observes: “What other profession in oil, wrapped in swaddling-bands of fg- gets youthful lips burning, gets their fngers leaves, sprinkled it with marjoram, and hid it fumbling, has their lungs gasping for air, in like a frebrand in a heap of hot ashes.” (Ath. their haste to swallow? And isn’t it only when Deipn. 293d-e). As no fg leaves are available it’s well stocked up with fsh that the agora here in winter, I wrapped the tunny steaks, can bring about sexual intercourse? For what that I had seasoned with olive oil and marjo- … and cooked in hot ashes … mortal gets a dinner-date if all he fnds for ram, in banana leaves and then cooked them sale when he gets to the counter are fsh-fn- in hot ashes for about 15 minutes. gers, or corbs, or a picarel?” (KA 43, 5ff.). Another recipe for tunny can be found in The Fish is not only a useful aid when seducing Love-lorn Lass by Alexis. The Cook in this others, but is itself seductive. When, in Diphi- play uses salted tunny, but the recipe works lus’s play The Merchant, a fsh smiles at the equally well with fresh fsh: “First comes this Fish-lover, he is ready to pay whatever price piece of horaion [salted tunny]; it cost two the fshmonger asks of him (KA 31), and the obols. I must wash it well. Then I will sprinkle slender, writhing eel is regularly likened to seasoning in a casserole, place the slice in it, an enticing young woman or goddess. For pour over it some white wine, stir it in oil and instance, upon learning that the Boeotian is stew it until it is as soft as marrow, cover- carrying ffty “Copaic maidens”, or, more pro- ing it generously with a garnish of silphium.” saically, eels, in his sack, Dikaiopolis, in Aris- (Ath. Deipn. 117d-e). tophanes’s comedy The Acharnians, exclaims in ecstasy: “O my sweetest, my long-awaited As the Cook does not specify which spices … ready to be served after 15 minutes. desire […] even in death, I would not want to he prefers, I decided to use cumin, which be separated from you, eel wrapped in chard.” Archestratus recommends as a seasoning for (846, 854-55). I would have liked to treat the shark steaks (Ath. Deipn. 310c), as well as gallery’s archaeologists to such a delicacy, fnely chopped onions and parsley. I diluted but like the gourmet Melanthios in Peace by the white wine with vegetable broth in the Aristophanes, I unfortunately found no eels ratio of 1:2 to prevent the broth from becom- on the market. Whereas Melanthios had sim- ing too sour and gently simmered the tunny ply come too late, and the other opsophagoi steaks in it for about 10 minutes. Silphion had already bought up everything, fresh eels comes from a plant that already became ex- are not to be found in Switzerland, as the tinct in Antiquity; like the Romans, we can species is protected. So together with Melan- use asafoedita as a substitute. thios, I will “intone the lament from Medea: ‘I perish, I perish, deprived of my darlings em- For our Quarterly Lunch at the Gallery, I TUNNY STEAKS IN THE MANNER OF THE LOVE-LORN bowered in beet’.” (1012-14). served “Archestratos’s Tunny Steaks” and LASS

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2014

Recipe from Antiquity

“To go forth as a living Ba, to eat what is given unto him on earth” (TT72)

Foods from a Funerary Repast in the Old Kingdom By Yvonne Yiu

of emmer bread, barley porridge, a fsh, pi- geon stew, a quail, two kidneys, ribs and legs of beef, stewed fruit, probably fgs, fresh nabk berries, small circular cakes sweetened with honey, cheese and wine. (W.B. Emery, A Funerary Repast in an Egyptian Tomb of the Archaic Period, 1962).

In the course of the Old Kingdom, this waste- ful custom was largely replaced by magical practices. Instead of providing the deceased with actual food and drink, offering lists were carved or painted in proximity to the false door through which the “Ka” of the tomb owner could access the world of the living. Together with spells requesting his nourishment, these lists guaranteed that the deceased would be in possession of everlast- ing supplies of food.

Spells 51-53 in the Book of the Dead and Coffn Text 173 dramatically illustrate how essential such a reliable and eternal source of food and drink was. On his arrival in the world of the dead, the deceased is invited to eat faeces and drink urine, this being nor- Roast goose, stewed fgs and emmer bread. Far left: A Falcon with Captive Gazelle, Auction 9, lot 79, sold for mal practice in this inverted world, where the CHF 47,500. Far right: A Votive Statuette of the God of the Dead, Osiris, Auction 9, lot 78, sold for CHF 5,625. dead also walk on their heads.

Those who wish to live must eat. The act the large number of offering lists found in In Spell 52, “The Spell of Not Eating Faeces of eating is both an expression of the will the tombs, are a rich source of information in the Realm of the Dead”, it is, for exam- to live and a means of sustaining life, and, on the individual dishes – the menu, so to ple, written: “To be spoken by NN, justifed: / therefore, plays a central role in the ancient speak – presented to the deceased. What I detest, what I detest, I will not eat. / Egyptian cult of the dead. In a related ges- Faeces are my detestation. / I will not eat ture, in our culture, we celebrate our vitality In the 1st and 2nd Dynasties (3032–2707 them.” Rather disconcerted, so it would seem, with the elaborate dinners and banquets at B.C.) immense quantities of meat, bread, the gods ask the newcomer: “What, now, will the end of the year, thereby defying the cold, fruit, wine and beer were placed in the tombs you live upon in the presence of the gods?” darkness, and before the age of globalization, of the kings and nobles for their sustenance Secure in the knowledge that everything has the seasonal shortage of food. In the gallery, in the afterlife. Some tombs were even pro- been provided for in his grave, the deceased surrounded by Pana’s cartonage ensemble vided with granaries. Besides these stores of replies: “I live upon the seven loaves of bread and other Egyptian antiquities, we decided food, excavators often found traces of a pre- which shall be brought as food before Horus, to strengthen our physical self (to which the pared meal to the East of the burial remains, and upon the bread which is brought before “Ba” belongs) and our social self (the sphere possibly in order to give the tomb owner Toth. / I have been granted felds in Busiris of the “Ka”) by partaking of a meal composed immediate refreshment on his arrival in the and green plants in Heliopolis. / I live from of foods often served at funerary repasts in afterworld. bread made of white emmer. / My beer is the archaic period. (brewed) from reddish barley.” (TM 134299). Precise information on the composition of In Coffn Text 173 the gods are not content Although practically no recipes from such a funerary repast is provided by Tomb with this answer and observe: “Bread of pharaonic Egypt have been preserved, the 3477 in Sakkara. The excellently preserved white emmer will perish, beer of red emmer physical offerings of food and, even more so, foods could be identifed as a triangular loaf will perish. What (else) can you live on?” The

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2014 deceased, therefore, points out that he will usually skewered from end to end and roast- receive food on a daily basis: “Because sev- ed over an open fre; less commonly, they en portions are in this land [ie. the land of were boiled. For a modern household, I would the living], there come for me four portions suggest the following method of preparation: above with Re and three portions below with Geb.” (Jan Assmann, Tod und Jenseits im al- Perforate the skin of the goose with many ten Ägypten, 2001, 204-206; totenbuch.awk. little cuts to let the fat escape. Rub the exte- nrw.de) rior and interior of the goose with salt and pepper as well as with other spices used in In the Book of the Dead and the Coffn Texts, ancient Egypt, such as dill, fenugreek, pars- it is mainly bread and beer that are men- ley, thyme, coriander, black and white cum- tioned. The victuals at the disposal of the in, fennel seeds, oregano and mint. Place the deceased were, however, far richer and more goose breast down in a roasting pan and roast Spices for the goose: pepper, thyme, fennel seeds, fenu- varied. Up to the end of the 4th Dynasty, the for 30 minutes at 220 °C. Turn the goose on greek, cellery leaves, peppermint and parsley. offering lists were composed on an individual its back and continue roasting at 175 °C for basis, but as of the 5th Dynasty a canonical another 2-3 hours, depending on the goose’s sequence for the ritual meal was developed weight. Baste with a mixture of honey and and remained valid for all future periods. The salt water every 30-40 minutes. If the skin offering list of dbh.n.j in his tomb in Giza becomes too dark, cover with aluminium foil. (LD II/35), that was constructed in the years around 2494 B.C. is one of the earliest of The fgs, which were already part of the fu- these canonical lists and comprises 95 items. nerary repast in the Early Dynastic Tomb 3477, are mentioned in almost every offer- The list begins with substances required for ing list from the 3rd Dynasty onwards and the opening ritual and includes, amongst number amongst the divine foods referred to other things, water, incense, several anoint- in the Pyramid Texts: “the beloved ones of ing oils and eye make-up. Next comes a short the god” are described as those “who live on meal consisting of bread, beer and meat. It fgs, / who drink wine” (PT 440). Stewed fgs is followed by a purifcation ritual with wa- like those encountered in Tomb 3477 are very ter and natron that serves to introduce the easy to prepare, are an ideal side dish to ac- main ritual meal consisting of 59 items: company the goose, and also taste delicious fourteen types of bread, onions, meat from as a dessert: the shank, three pieces of meat, meat from the ribs, a piece of roast meat, liver, spleen, Take 500 g dried fgs, remove the hard tip another piece of meat, meat from the breast, of the stem and cut the fruit into halves. Put four types of goose, a pigeon, fve types of into a saucepan, add one lemon cut into slic- pastry, two drinks, two types of beer, anoth- es, cover with water and simmer for about 15 er three drinks, fgs, fve types of wine, two minutes until the fgs are soft. The goose in the oven. types of bread, three types of fruit, spelt and barley, both prepared in a special manner, Wine, which is paired with fgs both in the two further types of fruit, a type of bread, Pyramid Text quoted above as well as in the another type of fruit, all sweet things and all offering lists, was produced in Egypt, but year-feast-offerings. To conclude this elab- also imported, for instance from the Levant. orate repast the closing rites are then per- In contrast to everyday beer, wine was gen- formed. (Winfried Barta, Die altägyptische erally reserved for festivities, and used for li- Opferliste, 1963, esp. 47-50, 63-72) bations or in the mortuary cult. Wine is still made in the Egyptian Delta today, but is not Naturally, I could not present the gallery’s readily available in Switzerland. Thus, as in archaeologists with a menu as opulent as the pharaonic times, we selected a Lebanese wine ones which dbh.n.j. or the owner of Tomb to round off our funerary repast. 3477 indulged in on having entered the other world. Instead, I chose a few dishes, which The Cahn Gallery team thoroughly enjoyed were especially characteristic of a funerary this meal from the distant past. Jean-David repast: bread made of emmer, a goose, stewed Cahn observed: “The goose was crispy out- fgs and wine. side and tender inside. The honey fragrance combined with the fgs was wonderfully bal- The emmer bread (recipe in CQ 1/2014) I anced and the lemon’s tangy favour created shaped into the curved bread halves typically the illusion of lightness. I absolutely recom- found standing upright on depictions of of- mend that you try out this menu yourself!” fering tables.

Although the goose played an important role in ancient Egyptian mythology and was, for instance associated with the gods Amon and Geb, it was also a highly popular fare – in A FRAGMENT OF A FUNERARY INSCRIPTION. H. 19 contrast to the ibis, which it was strictly pro- cm. Limestone. At the very bottom the hieroglyph for hibited to eat. Like other fowl, geese were “bread”. Egypt, Late Period, mid-1st mill. B.C. CHF 4,800

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2014

Recipe from Antiquity “Waiter, Another Dream-forgetter Beer Please!” Beer Brewing in the Time of the Pharaohs

Von Yvonne Yiu

produced in strengths of 2, 4, and 6 pefsu. By means of the pefsu value, the correct amounts to be exchanged in a barter transaction could be calculated:

“Example of exchanging bread for beer. If it is said to you: “100 loaves of bread of [pef- su] 10 are to be exchanged for a quantity of beer of [pefsu] 2, [reason as follows to find the quantity of beer].” Reckon the amount of wedyet-flour in 100 loaves of [pefsu] 10; it is 10 [heqat]. Multiply 10 by 2; it makes 20. Say then that this [i.e. 20 des] is [the amount of beer it takes for] the exchange.” (Papyrus Rhind, Problem 78)

The close relationship between bread and beer is also reflected in the artistic record. Bakery and brewery scenes are depicted next to each other on reliefs such as those in the mastaba of Ti in Sakkara (ca. 2400 B.C.), or in wooden models like the one found A RELIEF-FRAGMENT WITH THE HEAD OF A GOD. H. 30.4 cm. W. 47.5 cm. Limestone. Egypt, in the sepulchre of Meketre in Thebes (ca. probably Third Intermediate Period, 21st–22nd Dynasty, ca. 1070–800 B.C. CHF 56,000 1981-1975 B.C.). Moreover, the production process es themselves appear to be closely related. In the brewery scene from the mas- taba of Ti, for instance, inscriptions describe Those who wished to quench their thirst in inspector of scribes, Sekhemka, dating from some of steps in the brewing process as ancient Egypt would, in general, not delight the 5th Dynasty (ca. 2400-2300 B.C.), sold by “kneading the uncooked bread”, “moulding their palate with a glass of wine, since, ex- Christie’s on 10 July 2014 for over 15 mil- the loaves” and “pouring the dough”. Due cept in the Delta, “vines they have not in their lion pounds sterling, holds a scroll on his lap to such inscriptions, as well as sources like land” (Herodotus, Histories, II, 77, 4). Rather, with a list of offerings designed to render his the Hymn to Ninkasi (ca. 1900 B.C.), which their favoured beverage was beer, which was afterlife as agreeable as possible. Naturally, describes the production of beer in Mesopo- produced in a great variety of styles. Rainer a breakfast of bread and beer could not be tamia, and the brewing instructions written Hanning’s dictionary “Die Sprache der Phar- lacking on it. by Zosimos of Panopolis (ca. 350-420 A.D.), aonen” lists, amongst many others, hiero- the general consensus has, for almost a cen- glyphs for excellent beer, thick beer, laxative Both bread and beer were important means tury, been that the ancient Egyptians brew- beer, extra-sacrifice beer and dream-forgetter of payment and barter, and, consequent- ed their beer by ferment ing partially baked beer. The quality of the beer greatly pleased ly, mathematical papyri such as the Rhind loaves of bread. Diodorus of Sicily who travelled in Egypt Mathematical Papyrus (ca. 1550 B.C.) or the in 60-57 B.C. In his Bibliothéke historiké he Moscow Mathematical Papyrus (ca. 1850 So far, modern attempts to brew beer from notes: “The Egyptians also make a drink out B.C.) devote much attention to bread and bread have failed to produce a palatable of barley which they call zythos, the bou- beer problems. Amongst these, pefsu prob- bever age. Reporting on the experiments quet of which is not much inferior to that of lems, which are concerned with the number conducted by Gil Stein of the University of wine.” (II, 34, 10). of loaves of bread or jugs of beer made from Chicago and Nate Gibbon of the Great Lakes a certain amount of grain, are particularly Brewery in Cleveland, Ohio, last year, the In pharaonic Egypt, beer, together with bread numerous. The pefsu value was calculated by Swiss newspaper “Tagesanzeiger” pro- (see CQ 1/2014), formed the basis of every dividing the number of loaves or jugs by the nounced the crushing verdict that “beer from meal. Accordingly, the hieroglyphs for bread number of heqat (ca. 4.8 litres) of grain used. Mesopotamia tastes disgusting”. As any at- (Gardiner list X1 or X2) and beer (Gardiner Thus, the higher the pefsu value is, the lower tempt undertaken by myself to ferment Egyp- list W22) are components of the words “food” is the grain content of the bread or beer. The tian beer breads was not likely to be better (wnmt) and “meal” (SAbw). The statue of the average pefsu of bread is 20, and beer was fated, I was greatly relieved to read about the

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2014 research carried out by Delwen Samuel of dard value of 2-6 pefsu found in ancient King’s College London. Egypt.

In contrast to previous research, which was At the tasting session, the “ancient Egypti- based on the study of images and texts, Sam- an” beer with honey was much praised. The uel used scanning electron microscopy to beverage was a cloudy light yellow, highly examine biological residues from the brew- effervescent, and had a pronounced sour ing process found in Deir el-Medina and taste with a whiff of yeast in its bouquet. el-Amarna. Changes in the structure of the It reminded Jean-David Cahn of certain ci- starch samples revealed that bread was not der styles and he found it very refreshing. used in the brewing process. Rather, a portion The variant without honey was much sour- of the grain was malted and ground to pro- er and less bubbly, and failed to convince duce enzymes that would break down starch the tasters. The Swiss lager was a pleasingly Malt steeped in water into sugars. A further portion of ground light beer which, in contrast to the “ancient grain, that may also have been malted, was Egyptian” beers, formed a nice head. None- well heated in water to make the starch sus- theless, our daring and experimental archae- ceptible to attack by enzymes. Both quanti- ologists found it a bit too conventional. ties were mixed and sieved to extract a sweet liquid. Yeast and possibly also lactobacilli were added in order to change the sugars into alcohol. (J. Am. Soc. Brew. Chem. 54(1):3-12, 1996 and I. Spencer Hornsey, A History of Beer and Brewing, 2003, p. 68)

My attempt to brew ancient Egyptian beer according to the method suggested by Sam- uel, is, to some extent, informed by modern Straining brewing methods, as no precise information on the quantities and temperatures used in pharaonic Egypt are available. In order to have a comparison, I also brewed a Swiss lager beer.

One kilogram of malt, with a volume of ca. 2 l or 0.4 hekat produced 10 not completely filled 0.5 l bottles of beer, which is the equiv- alent of 10 des jugs, the usual measure for beer in pharaonic Egypt. The pefsu value of From left to right: “Ancient Egyptian” beer with- my “Egyptian” home brew is thus 10/0.4=25, out additives, “ancient Egyptian” beer with honey, which is considerably higher than the stan- Swiss lager beer. Rehydrating the yeast

«Ancient Egyptian» Beer Swiss Lager Beer

For the mash, steep 0.5 kg barley malt in 1.5 l lukewarm water. For the mash, add 1 kg barley malt to 2.5 l water heated to 50°C. Gently heat another 0.5 kg barley malt in 1.5 l water for 1 hour. Keep temperature at 54°C for 10 min. Mix the two batches. Keep temperature at 64°C for 40 min. In the course of 1 hour, gradually heat up to 78°C. Keep temperature at 73°C for 20 min. Heat up to 78°C.

Strain the mixture to separate the mash from the wort (lautering). Sparge the mash until 5 l wort are in the pan.

As no hops is added, the mixture is not boiled. Bring the wort to the boil. Add 3.4 g bitter hops and boil Thus, the enzymes are not denatured. for 65 min. Add 1.4 g of aromatic hops and boil for 10 min. Remove the foam and filter the liquid.

Cool down to 20 °C. Fermentation

Original gravity: 10 °Plato resp. density of 1040 kg/m3 Original gravity: 14 °Plato resp. density of 1055 kg/m3 With the «ancient Egyptian» method less sugars could be extracted from the malt, resulting in a lighter beer.

Add 2.3 g rehydrated, top-fermenting yeast. Ferment at 20 °C until gravity remains constant.

Duration of fermentation: 5 days. Duration of fermentation: 3 days. Final gravity: 4 °Plato resp. density of 1016 kg/m3 Final gravity: 8 °Plato resp. density of 1032 kg/m3

Fill beer into bottles.

Variant A: Add one teaspoon of honey to each bottle. Add one teaspoon of sugar to each bottle. Variant B: No additives.

Store at 20 °C for three days.

Mature for 3 weeks in a cool cellar. Mature for 3 weeks in the refrigerator. Filtering

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2014

Recipes from Antiquity Honey Offering Cakes from the 18th Dynasty By Yvonne Yiu “Again, Ra [the sun god] wept. The water from his eye fell on the ground and became a bee. When the bee had been created, its task was [to work on] the flowers of every plant. That is how wax came to be, and how honey came to be, from his [Ra’s] tears.” (Papyrus Salt 826, BM 10051, col. 2, ll. 1-7)

The weeks during which we prepare the sum- mer issue of Cahn’s Quarterly coincide with the most impressive phase in the annual cyc- le of the honey bee. After a long phase of reduced activity during winter, the colony grows at a breath-taking rate. The queen lays up to 2000 eggs daily and the worker bees build comb after comb to create room for the brood, nectar and pollen. When the app- le trees begin to blossom, it is high time to provide the colony with extra honeycombs. If the weather is favourable, the worker bees can collect up to 2 kg of nectar per day, and the beekeeper looks forward to a plentiful harvest of liquid gold.

The fascination and also reverence inspired in us by this miracle of nature is something we hold in common with the people of An- tiquity, who were filled with admiration for the bee. In pharaonic Egypt, this high regard was expressed in a variety of ways. For in- Duck-shaped sjt-cakes below an IMPORTANT STATUETTE OF AN IBIS. L. 46.5 cm. Wood, stucco, black stance, in ancient Egyptian mythology, bees paint. Egypt, Late Period, 26th-30th Dynasty, ca. 664-332 B.C. CHF 72,000 originated from the tears of the sun god Ra, the most important god in their pantheon, on made of clay or dung. Beekeepers formed a Suchus; and it is fed on grain and pieces of whom all living beings depended. Further- discrete professional group and were often meat and on wine, which are always being more, the bee is part of the throne name of associated with a temple. Some were, how- fed to it by the foreigners who go to see it. At the pharaohs. This name was conferred upon ever, directly responsible to the pharaoh’s any rate, our host, one of the officials, who the ruler on the occasion of his coronation, household. A profusion of titles has survi- was introducing us into the mysteries there, and is composed of a variable part invoking ved, for instance “Chief Beekeeper of Amun”, went with us to the lake, carrying from the the god Ra and the invariable epitheta “nswt- “Beekeeper of the Treasury of the Pharaoh” or dinner a kind of cookie and some roasted bjtj”, which were symbolised by a plant (swt) “Chief Beekeeper of the Eastern Water”. meat and a pitcher of wine mixed with ho- and a bee (bjt), each represented above the ney. We found the animal lying on the edge sign “T”. The hieroglyphs translate literally as Some of the honey delivered by the bee- of the lake; and when the priests went up to “He of the sedge, he of the bee” and mean keepers was used as a sweetening agent for it, some of them opened its mouth and ano- “King of Upper and Lower Egypt”. the foods consumed by the royal household ther put in the cake, and again the meat, and and the upper echelons of society. Honey was then poured down the honey mixture. The Honey was collected from wild bees by ho- also an important ingredient for many me- animal then leaped into the lake and rushed ney hunters and also harvested by beekeepers dicines. By far the greatest part of the honey across to the far side; but when another for- who kept their colonies in cylindrical hives produced was, however, offered to the gods eigner arrived, likewise carrying an offering or fed to their sacred animals. Many a worker of first-fruits, the priests took it, went around who nourished himself mainly with bread, the lake in a run, took hold of the animal, beer, and onions (CQ 1/2014) would have and in the same manner fed it what had been envied the sacred crocodile in Krokodeilon brought.” (Geographica, Book 17, §38) Polis (also called Arsinoë) for his not exactly species-appropriate diet. The Greek historian The gods themselves were offered honey and geographer Strabo (ca. 64 B.C. - 24 A.D.) cakes on a daily basis. The amounts of ho- relates: ney and fat required for their manufacture were recorded on offering dockets, for in- “The people in this Nome hold in very great stance on a docket in Karnak written during honour the crocodile, and there is a sacred the reign of Ramesses III: “Honey for cakes, one there which is kept and fed by itself in hin 4, daily from the Treasury of the Temp- a lake, and is tame to the priests. It is called le of Millions of Years, of the King of South

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2014 and North Egypt, Usimare Meriamun, in the Estate of Amun. Fat for cakes, hin 2, daily Gallery […]”. (Kitchen, Ramesside Inscriptions, V, 236, ll. 36-37). The hin is a unit of volume and corresponds approximately to 0.48 litres. The amount of honey needed annually for offer- Art 2014: Chill out at Cahn’s ing cakes alone was, therefore, about 700 li- During Art Basel, Jean-David Cahn welcomes you with ancient hospitality. tres (or one tonne). The offering cakes were either eaten by the priests themselves (who seem to have had a sweet tooth) or distribut- ed amongst the populace, after they had been presented to the gods. The famous bakery scene in the tomb of D Rekhmire, vizier to the kings Thutmosis III and Amenophis II, as well as high priest of Annu (18th Dynasty, ca. 1479-1397 B.C.), depicts the production of sjt-cakes. Whilst O beekeepers harvest honey, workers in the “Chamber of Sweets” pound and sift tiger nuts. One labourer urges on his colleague, O crying: “Hurry up! Every batch needs to be The Shuttle: Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane pounded. Let us prepare [the offering]!” The 1946, six-cylinder car, in-line engine, aluminium ingredients are blended, formed and then coachwork, not for sale fried in a shallow pan. The latter scene is elu- R cidated by an inscription which reads: “Add Every year in mid-June, an epidemic of art fat, fry sjt-cakes”. The “green”, ie. fresh, cakes fever breaks out in Basle. For the span of a are then hastily borne away by a delivery week, Art Basel, celebrated as the “Olympics man. Rekhmire oversees these activities, and of the Art World”, brings together some 300 S expresses his wish that such cakes be freshly of the world’s leading galleries from all five made every day as a suitable and highly ac- continents. Works of art by over 4000 artists ceptable offering to the god. – both recognised celebrities, as well as rising stars – will be shown. A rich programme of This scene has given rise to numerous recipe symposia, film screenings and talks with ar- reconstructions. The texts reporting on them, tists further enhance the exquisite agony of O however, fail to mention the weights or pro- choice. portions of the ingredients used. Hence, I had to create my own recipe for the sjt-cakes I Together with five other galleries, Jean-David Cahn wishes to offer his clients the possibi- P served to my colleagues at the Cahn Gallery: lity of recovering from this vibrant but also 150 g tiger nut flour (the ground rhizome of extremely exhausting event. The exhibition the grass Cyperus esculentus), 150 g einkorn “Doors Open!” staged by Cahn, Berney, Heim, E or emmer flour (the wheat flour commonly Günther, Knoell and the Erasmushaus, invites used today is made of Triticum durum, which you to enjoy art at a more relaxed pace and was not cultivated in pharaonic Egypt, see to refresh both mind and body. CQ 1/2014), 100 g honey, 50 g fat and 2 eggs N are mixed to form a soft dough and then for- At the Cahn Gallery, works of ancient art will med as desired. The ancient Egyptian bakers be juxtaposed with paintings and works on made sjt-cakes shaped like cattle, geese, obe- paper by Swiss artists such as Ferdinand Ho- ! lisks, cones and spirals. As I did not have a dler and Augusto Giacometti from the Heim Cahn’s barbecue goose-shaped cookie-, I used a duck- Gallery. In addition, you are welcome to shaped one. browse through our storage shelves. party to celebrate

The shaped dough is fried in plenty of oil. It An exclusive old-timer shuttle service with the opening of turns surprisingly dark, but if one takes it out an Armstrong Siddeley connects the six gal- sooner the inside is not yet done. The mum- leries with Art Basel. the exhibition: mified appearance of the sjt-cakes intimi- dated my colleagues somewhat, but, plucking To celebrate the grand opening of the exhibi- Sunday, 15 June up their courage, they did taste the offering tion “Doors Open!”, Jean-David Cahn invites cakes. The reactions were mixed, varying you to a grill-party on the Sunday before Art from 5 p.m. from “very good” to “strange, but one can eat Basel. them”. In general, the cakes were found to be Malzgasse 23 a bit dry but with a pleasant honey and nut The exhibition is open daily during Art Basel, taste. Jean-David Cahn was, however, very Monday 16 June to Sunday 22 June, from enthusiastic, pronouncing them to be “deli- 9am to 8pm. cious! They would be quite addictive as cakes r.s.v.p. accompanying coffee”. We look forward to your visit!

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2014

Recipes from Antiquity An Egyptian Worker’s Lunch By Yvonne Yiu

The culinary forays into antiquity in the first volume of Cahn’s Quarterly focused on the cuisine of the Romans, which is well documented by recipes. This year, I would like to venture onto more experimental terrain and re- create dishes eaten in Pharaonic Egypt.

Reliefs, wall-paintings, papyri and physical dals, clothes, ointments]; I have given you remains provide a multitude of information numerous persons to provide for you, so that Recipe for on the foods eaten by the ancient Egyptians, you will suffer no need: [fishermen, vegeta- Emmer Sourdough Bread but their exact methods of preparation re- ble growers and potters].” (Stele CGC 34504, main shrouded in mystery. Nonetheless, with 1. 12 sq.). the aid of experimental archaeology and a Starter dash of culinary creativity, these long forgot- It is no coincidence that grain and bread are ten dishes can be brought to life again. mentioned at the very beginning of the list of Mix together 100 g emmer flour, 100 g goods, seeing that, for many centuries, they bruised emmer grains, 200 ml warm wa- As last year, I will again begin with the staple formed the central element of the employees’ ter and 50 g yoghurt. Cover and leave food of the ordinary people. Whilst the Ro- salaries, which were, in general, paid in kind. in a warm (ca. 30°C) place for 1-2 days. man plebeian slurped his daily porridge made The ration dockets found in the 19th century When bubbles appear and the starter of cereals and legumes (puls, CQ 1/2013), B.C. fort of Uronarti, which is located above smells slightly sour, it is ready to be used. the Egyptian farm labourer or construction the Second Cataract of the Nile, inform us worker, and probably many an official and that the customary ten day ration for one Dough priest, too, would sit down in the shade to person consisted of bread baked from 2/3 refresh himself with a crunchy loaf of emmer heqat (2.25 kg) of barley and 1 heqat (3.75 Mix together 450 g sourdough starter, sourdough bread and a jug of barley beer. kg) of emmer. As the bread was, due to the 900 ml warm water, 45 g salt and 1 tbsp. Bread and beer were “central to the Egyptian addition of water, 1½ times as heavy as the liquid honey. Knead in 1.8 kg emmer diet,” as Delwen Samuel notes. “Both were grain used, this yields 900 g of bread per day. flour. The dough should be elastic but not consumed at every meal, by everyone, and The entire ration of bread was not necessarily sticky. Place the dough in a bowl coa- no meal was considered complete without eaten by the recipient, as both bread and beer ted with oil and flour, cover with a damp them.” (Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt were also used as an item for bartering. For cloth and leave in a warm place to rise I, 196) this reason bread was, in the Middle King- for 6-9 hours. dom, baked in standardised units: the trsst. Ramesses II the Great (1303-1213 B.C.), under Workers appear to have received about 8-10 Forming whose reign Egypt attained great economic trsst per day, whereas persons at the upper prosperity and experienced a cultural blos- end of the wage scale could receive up to Form trsst loaves (e.g. 1 trsst ca. 100 g; 5 soming, made a resounding promise to the several hundred trsst per day. By relating trsst ca. 500 g). Place them in flour pots sculptors who worked for him: “I will take the number of trsst received by common la- lined with baking papyrus (the Egyptian care of all your needs, since you work for me bourers to the grain rations specified on the bakers used clay forms) and leave in a out of love: [grain, bread, meat, cake, san- Uronarti dockets, an average weight of about warm place to rise for 2-3 hours. 100 g per trsst can be calculated. Baking In the Pharaonic era, bread was generally Make a roaring fire in your tiled or clay made of emmer, with sourdough as the raising oven, place the flower pots in the embers agent. Emmer (triticum dicoccum) belongs to and bake for 45-60 minutes, depending the most ancient types of grain cultivated by on the size of the loaves. (Archaeological mankind and was first domesticated in the finds bear witness to both “box” ovens, as Near East. Its twin kernels are very difficult to well as to walled hearths with openings husk, and, therefore, it is not surprising that on top into which the baking forms that the easily threshable naked wheat, triticum were closed with lids could be placed). durum, which was introduced into Egypt by Greek settlers after its conquest by Alexander the Great, almost completely supplanted em- Tasting mer in only about 150 years. Sourdough was The emmer sourdough bread produced in used as a raising agent in various cultures this way is aromatic, with a refreshingly from the 4th millennium onwards, whereas sour note, is delightfully moist and deli- pure yeast cultures are a development of the cately structured with small bubbles. Emmer loaves baking in the embers. The clay pots early modern period. Egypt’s warm clima- have the advantage over metal baking tins, in as te was ideally suited for the cultivation of far as the crust does not get scorched so easily. the lactic acid bacteria and yeasts that give

10 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2014

Favourites What Touches Me By Evelyn Reusser

For over 6 years, I have organised the transport of ancient artefacts into Switzerland. It is always an exciting moment when an artwork arrives in AMULET IN THE SHAPE OF A RECUMBENT Basle, and one can, at last, hold it in one’s hands for the first time. CALF. L. 2.2 cm. Carnelian. New Kingdom, proba- bly 19th Dynasty, 13th century B.C. CHF 1,400 Details that were hardly visible in the photos I derive great pleasure from seeing these art- sourdough its distinctive flavour, as they pre- can then be seen. This was the case with an works afresh every day, and I look forward to fer a temperature of roughly 30 °C. artwork that only began to fascinate me on making many new discoveries. close inspection: a “nondescript” alabaster To my knowledge, no recipes for bread have bowl, which, illuminated by a single ray of been preserved, and thus, in my attempt to light, suddenly reveals its outstanding beau- recreate the bread of the ancient Egyptians ty. The alabaster was carefully cut in such a (see box), I have consulted the experiments manner that the veining of the stone formed conducted by Delwen Samuel, Their Staff of a regular, wave-like pattern running around Life in Amarna Reports 5, pp. 253-290, (Lon- the bowl. The lighter sections are almost don, 1989) and Mark Lehner, Rediscovering transparent, creating the impression that one Egypt’s Bread Baking Technology in National is admiring a delicate artwork made of glass Geographic, January 1995, pp. 32-35 as well or porcelain. as modern methods of sourdough preparati- on. I am also always very eager to see the por- traits that arrive in the gallery. Depending on The pyramids, temples and palaces of the my own mood and on the lighting, the faces pharaohs were, however, not built on bread affect me differently, and sometimes a sing- and beer alone. In the second book of his le sculpture can almost seem to contain two Histories, Herodotus tells us about his visit different portraits. The portrait of a thinker to the great pyramid of Cheops, which was is a wonderful case in point. He can appear completed in ca. 2560 B.C. He notes with lost in thought, worried, self-confident, ques- astonishment: “On the pyramid it is declared tioning, dreaming, but also almost knowing. in Egyptian writing how much was spent on Although he cannot speak to me, I occasio- radishes and onions and leeks for the work- nally have the impression that he is giving A PORTRAIT HEAD OF A THINKER. H. 30 cm. men, and if I rightly remember that which me an encouraging smile. Marble. Greek, Hellenistic, early 3rd cent. B.C. the interpreter said in reading to me this in- scription, a sum of one thousand six hundred talents of silver was spent.” (II, 125).

At the workers’ lunch in the gallery, the em- mer loaves were, therefore, accompanied by raw spring onions and radishes, but only Jean-David Cahn dared to eat the pungent greens. The beer was commercially brewed, but in time for Munich’s “Oktoberfest” beer festival (CQ 3/2014) I hope to present an an- cient Egyptian home brew.

5-trsst, 2½-trrst und 1-trsst emmer sourdough loaves with spring onions and radishes. AN ALABASTER BOWL. Dm. 16.4 cm. Near East, 2nd mill. B.C. CHF 13,800

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 4/2013

Recipes from Antiquity Io Saturnalia! By Yvonne Yiu A Saturnalian Feast According to the Epigramms of Martial

We wish each other “Merry Christmas!” – in ancient Rome it was, however, the cry of “Io Saturnalia!” that resounded in the chilly month of December. Temple ruins on the Fo- rum Romanum reveal that the cult of Saturn A RECUMBANT SYMPOSIAST. L. 6.1 cm. Bronze. Etruscan, ca. 480 B.C. CHF 14,500 pre-dated the foundation of Rome. Nonethe- less, the customs related to the Saturnalia, The appetiser (gustatio) consisted of: “Let- As Martial does not supply any information to which the written sources bear witness, tuce. The lettuce which used to end our on how to cook the food, I consulted De re are probably the result of the radical trans- ancestors’ dinners, tell me, why does it begin coquinaria, a collection of recipes attributed formation of the celebrations following the our feasts?” (Mart. 13.14). By contrasting the to the Roman gourmet Marcus Gavius Api- Romans’ devastating defeat by Hannibal at modest meals of his ancestors with the opu- cius. For brevity’s sake, I will only present Trasimene in the year 217 (Livius 22.1.19). lent banquets in his day, Martial humorous- Pullus Varianus, in a version slightly adapted ly implies that eating lettuce at the start of to the modern kitchen (recipe no. 247): In the Republic, the festivities lasted for three a meal is a sign of moral turpitude. Lettuce days, from 17-19 December, and in the Impe- was regarded as a laxative and was, there- Boil 1 chopped leek in 2 dl water, 2 dl white rial Period they were extended to encompass fore, commonly consumed as an appetiser to wine, 1 tbsp. liquamen, 1 tbsp. olive oil and an entire week. The Saturnalia were inaugu- activate the digestive system. a handful each of fresh coriander and savory. rated by a sacrificium publicum, followed by Put the leek aside to be served as a vegeta- a public banquet before the Temple of Saturn. For the main course (mensa prima), I cooked ble accompaniment. Remove the herbs. Cut a The senators doffed their togas and, instead, “Poultry chickens. If I had Libyan birds and whole chicken into pieces and boil it in the clothed themselves in the synthesis, a gar- pheasants, you would receive them; but as leek stock. To make the sauce, grind 100g of ment that was otherwise only worn indoors. it is receive birds of the farmyard.” (Mart. pine nuts and 1 boiled egg white in a mortar. A carnivalesque mood prevailed: masters and 13.45), “Lentils. Receive from the Nile len- If your kitchen slave is on holiday, you may servants associated with each other on an tils, a present from Pelusium. They’re cheaper use a blender. Dilute the paste with a little equal footing, general drunkenness and ob- than wheat, dearer than beans.” (Mart. 13.9) stock and simmer with 2 dl milk. Add alica scene jokes gave rise to intemperate mirth, and “Headed leeks. Well-wooded Aricia sends (wheat groats) or starch to thicken the sauce. and gambling, otherwise forbidden by law, outstanding leeks: note the green leaves on Arrange the chicken on a platter and pour the was allowed. Private celebration typically the snow-white stem.” (Mart. 13.19) sauce over it. It is called “white sauce” (ius took the form of dinner parties, and gifts candidum). were exchanged. With the chicken and the lentils, Martial wit- tily draws attention to the fact that he is pre- The white sauce is mild and creamy with a Two collections of epigrams, the “Xenia” and senting cheap gifts, although more precious delicate nutty flavour, which brings out the “Apophoreta” by Marcus Valerius Martialis ones might be more appropriate. Martial the- characteristic taste of the chicken. In this re- (40-ca.104 A.D.), which were published in ca. reby pokes fun at the conventions of amici- spect, the Pullus Varianus is quite different 84 A.D., provide us with information about tia, which required that the value of a gift from the otherwise heavily seasoned Roman the food eaten and the presents given at the correspond precisely to the social status of dishes. Saturnalia. It was an ancient custom that the the giver and of the receiver. This is in tune guests could carry away the food left over at with the breaches of etiquette that Saturnali- As was customary in ancient Rome, the des- a dinner party – this was the original mean- an revellers so keenly enjoyed: at Saturnalian sert (mensa secunda) was made up of fresh ing of the word “apophoreta”. In the course feasts, the gifts were occasionally distribut- fruit, and – a must during the Saturna- of time, it became common practice to let ed by lot, thus flouting the hierarchy of the lia – nuts. It went without saying that the the guests take home other things connected guests. guests could carry home the leftovers in with the banquet, such as cutlery and crock- their napkins, like the impudent Caecilianus ery, furniture, and even the slaves who had (Mart. 2.37). Following Martial’s suggestion served the food. Finally, the term “apophore- (Mart. 13.4.5), the apophoreta I gave to my ta” became synonymous for presents in ge- guests were not actual objects but distichoi. neral, and it is in this sense that Martial uses Amongst these imaginary gifts were not only the word in his collection of epigrams. To a speaking parrot (Mart. 14.73) and writing highlight the presents of food, Martial chose tablets of precious wood (Mart. 14.3) but the rare word “Xenia” (guest-friendship) as also – most befitting in view of our recent the title of his book of epigrams on food and auction – a pastry Priapus. For reasons of drink during the Saturnalia. decorum no translation is supplied: “Priapus siligineus. Si vis esse satur, nostrum potes The food served at the feast in the Gallery Pullus Varianus (centre) surrounded by ius candi- esse Priapum; ipsa licet rodas inguine, purus Cahn was based on a rather modest selection dus, lenticulam de castaneis, mustacei and porros .” (Mart. 14.69) from the 127 poems in the “Xenia”. (from left to right)

CQ 15 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2013

Recipes from Antiquity In strutione elixo By Yvonne Yiu

Four ostriches. B. 27.5 cm. Sigilata-Chiara ware. Roman North Africa, 4th century A.D. Auction 8 Starting bid CHF 1,200 Four ostrich chicks. © Zoo Basel

During the Christmas holidays, my children describe the ostrich as an exotic composite that Apicius’s resourceful cook went to the were enchanted by the ten freshly hatched creature found in North Africa and Arabia: arena rather than to the market in search of ostrich chicks in the Basle Zoo. They could his ostrich fillets. In Emperor Diocletian’s “And it [Arabia] produces animals which are hardly take their eyes off the adorable fluff Edict on Prices, which was promulgated in of double form and mingled in their natures, balls speeding around the compound and 301 A.D. and fixed the maximum prices for to which belong the struthocameli, which, eating away for dear life. Two months later, all manner of goods and services, chapter 4, as their name implies, embrace in their form the chicks were already as big as the children “item carnis”, lists not only the more com- the compound of a bird and of a camel. For themselves and rather awe inspiring. Curious monplace pork and beef (12 denarii [d] the in size they are like a newly-born camel, but to see how much more they had grown, we pound) but also a wide selection of birds, for their heads bristle with fine hair, and their visited the Africa theme area in spring, but instance: one fattened pheasant (250 d), one eyes are large and black, indistinguishable in found only four young birds instead of the wild pheasant (125 d), one partridge (30 d), general appearance and colour from those of ostrich crowd that we had expected. With the one turtledove (16 d), a pair of wood pigeons the camel. It is also long-necked and has a merciless practicality typical of children, my (20 d), ten thrushes (60 d) etc., but no ostri- beak which is very short and contracted to a daughter suggested: “Maybe they ate them.” ches. Elsewhere, the prices of circus animals sharp point. And since it has wings with fea- are listed. An excellent lion could cost up thers which are covered with a fine hair, and Would you have eaten them? As a Roman, to 150,000 d, a leopard 25,000 d and a bear is supported upon two legs and on feet with you would indeed! In De re coquinaria, a 6,250 d, whereas an ostrich had a price tag cloven hoofs, it has the appearance of a land collection of recipes attributed to the Roman of 1,250 d, roughly the same amount as for a animal as well as of a bird.” (Diodorus, Bibl. gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius, the sixth wild boar or a wild donkey. hist. II, 50, see also III, 28) chapter, “Aeropetes”, is dedicated to poultry and game, and begins with two sauces for Nowadays, the meat yield of an ostrich is ap- Hunting ostriches was a favourite pastime ostrich meat. Here is the first one, with my proximately 30 kg. In Antiquity, the ostriches in Antiquity and thus, this impressive bird comments in brackets: were probably somewhat leaner, and thus, in was a must at the games held in Roman am- theory, a pound of ostrich meat would have phitheatres, as is documented by numerous For boiled ostrich [or four pan-fried ostrich cost roughly two to three times as much as mosaics. In his History of the Roman Empire steaks]: [½ tsp] pepper, [2 sprigs] mint, [1 beef and significantly less than the meat of (I, 15), Herodian of Antioch relates that none tbsp] roasted cumin, [1 tbsp] celery seed, [100 a fattened pheasant. In the light of these cal- less than Emperor Commodus enjoyed mas- g] dates, [1 tsp] honey, [1 tbsp] vinegar, [3 sacring ostriches: dl] passum [or 2 dl dessert wine and 1 dl wa- ter], [1 tsp] liquamen [or fish sauce] and a “On one occasion he [Commodus] shot ar- little oil. Put these into a pot and bring to a rows with crescent-shaped heads at Moroc- boil. Thicken with [1 tbsp] starch, pour over can ostriches, birds that move with great the pieces of ostrich on a serving dish and speed, both because of their swiftness afoot sprinkle with pepper. If you wish to cook the and the sail-like nature of their wings. He cut ostrich in the sauce add groats. off their heads at the very top of the neck; so, after their heads had been severed by A cook given orders to concoct such a dainty the edge of the arrow, they continued to run dish for his master’s household would have around as if they had not been injured.” had to go to some lengths to procure this ex- quisite bird, for the sparrow-camel (struthio- Herodian does not let us into the secret, camelus) was only raised on farms from the whether the so skilfully decapitated birds 19th century onwards. Both Pliny the Elder were conveyed to the imperial kitchens or (Hist. nat. X, 1, 1) and Diodorus of Sicily fed to the lions. I would, however, suspect Ostrich with date sauce, carrots and pulse CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2013

Highlight A Fragment of a Muse Sarcophagus By John Robert Guy in meditative mood leaning to right with her elbow resting atop a pillar. Strikingly, how- ever, Terpsichore is, in this instance, given not the expected comely features of a youth- ful divinity, but rather those of the deceased, a notably realistic portrait of a woman both aged and world-weary, her left arm languidly draped over lyre’s crossbar. Both the choice of decorative scheme, and the assimilation of identity as the “ninth Muse” on the part of the “client”, clearly reflect the taste of the Ro- man upper-class for Greek culture in general, and its literature in particular, social refine- ments of the vita contemplativa to be carried over into the afterlife. A sarcophagus front in Rome, Musei Vaticani (Museo Pio-Clemen- tino/Cortile del Belvedere), of the mid-3rd century A.D., provides a good parallel for the depiction, in the company of eight , of the deceased as the ninth, Terpsichore, seated at left with lyre, and of her husband, seated opposite at right, in the guise of a poet with scroll in hand.

The distinctive dressing of the woman’s hair reflects a fashion favoured by female mem- bers of the imperial family, of late- to post- Severan date, such as Julia Mamaea, the mo- ther of Alexander Severus (r. 222-235), whose reign marks the end of the dynasty, and the empresses Tranquillina and Otacilia Severa in the 240’s. From ca. 110-120 A.D., Rome was already established as the principal centre for TERPSICHORE WITH LYRE. H. 33 cm. Marble. Roman, 2nd quarter of 3rd cent. A.D. CHF 46,000 the production of sarcophagi in the imperial A section is preserved from the upper left right arms are prominently formed of gnarled west, and this example is doubtless the crea- portion of a sarcophagus front, which would horn. In her right hand, she holds a plectrum tion of a Metropolitan Roman workshop. originally have been decorated with figures for the plucking of the instrument’s strings. of the nine Muses, paratactically arranged. Her place in the canonical arrangement, Provenance: Formerly Paris art market, Hôtel Here, head and shoulders survive of Terpsi- read ing from the far left side of the panel, is Drouot; Paris, private collection; Paris art mar- chore, “delight in dancing”, whose realm was often standing adjacent to Polymnia, Muse ket, Sylvain Levy-Alban, acquired ca. 1984-1985; dance and the dramatic chorus. She is readily of sacred poetry, who on occasion begins the Collection Hurst, UK, purchased ca. 1990; British identified by her attribute, the lyre, whose up- series, pensive, fully wrapped in her mantle, art market; Zurich art market.

In strutione elixo (cont.) Impressum culations, to eat boiled ostrich in date sauce 39.50/kg). Pulse (CQ 1) is, of course, an ide- Publisher Photos would have been an unattainable pleasure for al side dish for the ostrich steaks with date Niklaus Bürgin Jean-David Cahn Christian von Faber-Castell a sewer cleaner with a per diem wage of 25 d. sauce, and, to add a little colour, how about Malzgasse 23 Ulrike Haase It would, however, not have been impossible trying “carrots the other way: with salt, pure CH-4052 Basle Christoph Sandig +41 61 271 67 55 Yvonne Yiu for an experienced lawyer, who could charge oil and vinegar” (De re coquinaria, III, 21, 2). [email protected] Proofreader 250 d for placing a complaint and 1000 d for My colleagues at the Cahn gallery were ab- www.cahn.ch John Robert Guy pleading before the court, to grace his tab- solutely delighted by this Roman lunch, with Translation le with such a refined dish, provided that he one exception, who thought that the sauce Editors Jean-David Cahn Yvonne Yiu had sufficient connections to the game or- was horribly sweet and utterly inedible. The Yvonne Yiu Design and Layout ganizers. dish reminded Jean-David Cahn of Moroccan Jean-David Cahn Authors Denise Barth tagine, and as ostriches were imported from Jean-David Cahn Yvonne Yiu Fortunately, I did not have to try my luck there during Antiquity, it is well possible that Christian von Faber-Castell John Robert Guy Printer at the Basle Zoo, but could simply go to the Apicius’ recipe had North African roots. Ulrike Haase BARTH Offsetdruck AG local supermarket to buy my ostrich (CHF Suadeo cenemus! Yvonne Yiu www.barth-druck.ch

12 CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 2/2013

Recipes from Antiquity New Artworks Monthly ...With Honey! on www.cahn.ch By Yvonne Yiu

Whilst I write these words, my bees are going on their first extended for- ays for food after their long winter rest, collecting nectar and pollen from snowdrops, willows and hazel bushes. And by the time you, dear readers, hold this second edition of Cahn’s Quarterly in your hands, we will already have harvested our spring honey:

What more? When now the golden sun has put Winter to headlong flight beneath the world, A Bee on a Tetradrachm. Silver. Ionia, Ephesos, And oped the doors of heaven with summer ray, 380-360 B.C. CHF 6,600 Forthwith they roam the glades and forests o’er, Rifle the painted flowers, or sip the streams, Light-hovering on the surface. Hence it is With some sweet rapture, that we know not of, Their little ones they foster, hence with skill Work out new wax or clinging honey mould. with honey, sprinkle with poppy-seed, place […] When heaven brings round the season, thou shalt strain back under the crock for a while, then re- Sweet honey, nor yet so sweet as passing clear, move from the fire. Serve in the dish, with And mellowing on the tongue the wine-god’s fire. Vergil, Georgica (37-29 v. Chr.), 4. Book, 51-57 and 100-102 a spoon. A Roman pound is equivalent to 327,45 g. Beekeeping was a highly valued art in An- contrast to Vergil’s opulent hexameters than tiquity and, accordingly, Vergil devoted the Cato the Elder’s plain prose can hardly be If you do not have any Roman earthenware fourth book of his Georgics to apiculture. He imagined. Cato is probably best known as and your oven does not date from the pre- not only provided many practical instruc- a wily statesman, whose famous injunction Christian era, you can use a round cake tin tions on how to look after honeybees but also “Karthago delenda est” has haunted many a (D. 26 cm) lined with parchment paper and delved deep into their symbolic meaning. generation of Latin students, and so it may bake the cake at 160°C for an hour (then you Virgil regarded the complex organisation of come as a surprise that the only work by his don’t need to cover it). As to the cheese, I bee colonies as a model for the Roman state, pen that has survived to the present day is on chose curd, but ricotta or fromage frais would and the bees’ bravery reminded him of the agriculture. In De Agri Cultura, also called De certainly also be worth trying. valour of the Romans. Re Rustica, Cato succinctly summarises the basics on running a farm in 2nd century B.C. The savillum is a very mild cake, which, in Fortunately, he did not live to witness how, Italy. Practical-minded as Cato was, he did, its simplicity and restraint, is the very em- under the leadership of Consul Gnaeus Pom- of course, not forget to include recipes for bodiment of the Republican ethos of mod- peius Magnus, descendants of these valorous bread, cake and porridge (Chapters 84-95). In esty – maybe Cato included the recipe in his Romans were slaughtered during the Third these, honey is a favourite ingredient. treatise for this reason. For today’s taste it Mithridatic War in the year 67 B.C. after, as might be just a little too bland. In any case, Strabo reports, having been rendered unfit In Chapter 93, for instance, he writes: my husband’s verdict was that the savillum for battle by the consumption of Pontic ho- would not number amongst his favourite ney. This type of honey is produced by bees Recipe for the savillum: Take ½ pound of cakes. I therefore added the grated rind of a from the nectar of the Rhododendron ponti- flour, 2½ pounds of cheese, and mix together lemon and some vanilla sugar to the savillum cum, a plant widespread on the Turkish Black as for the libum; add ¼ pound of honey and I brought to the gallery, and served the cake Sea coast. Although it is not poisonous for 1 egg. Grease an earthenware dish with oil. with hot raspberries and whipped cream. This the bees themselves, the ingestion of as little When you have mixed thoroughly, pour into modernised version was greatly lauded by as 5-30 g of Pontic honey gives rise to symp- a dish and cover with a crock. See that you my colleagues. toms of poisoning in human beings. bake the centre thoroughly, for it is deepest there. When it is done, remove the dish, cover Eat and be merry! The Roman love of honey (tripe fried in au- rochs dripping with honey!), which had such fatal consequences for Pompey’s soldiers (stuffed giraffe necks with honey!), is richly attested to in the ancient recipes that have come down to us. If you still have some barley grain left over after having tasted the pulse of the Roman Empire (recipe in the first edition of Cahn’s Quarterly), you can use it to cook a sweet porridge with milk and honey: augustaraurica.ch/infos/rezepte/puls2.htm Thus fortified, let us have another look at the Roman agricultural treatises. A greater Savillum, truly Republican Savillum, modernised

CQ 11 Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2013

Recipes from Antiquity Taste the Pulse of the Roman Empire By Yvonne Yiu

The series of recipes from Antiquity in Cahn’s Quarterly does not begin with exotic delica- cies such as the udders of sows or the hare studded with feathers to make him look like Pegasus, which were served at the feast of Trimalchio (Petronius, Satyricon 36). Rather, I would like to acquaint you with the everyday food of the farmers, artisans and legionaries. If they hadn’t partaken of their daily pulse, I would venture to suggest that there would have been no Roman Empire, no Roman high culture – and maybe no Gallery Cahn.

For this reason, I would like to begin by pay- ing homage to pulse, a porridge composed of cereals, legumes and vegetables. It is rich in protein, essential amino acids and vitamins. An ideal substitute for meat, it could assist us today to reduce our carbon footprint.

If you find this basic recipe – a slight vari- ation on that published in the collection of Roman recipes from Augusta Raurica (www. augustaraurica.ch/infos/rezepte/puls1.htm) - The ingredients presented on a plate and two bowls from the Roman Imperial Period, belonging to the too plain, you could try out the more refined Gallery Cahn. version named after Emperor Didius Julianus (Pultes Julianae, Apicius V, I, 3, www.guten- berg.org/files/29728/29728-h/29728-h.htm). Pulse Serves 4 people

7 dl water 2 dl white wine (dry to sour) 80 g wholemeal or barley flour 50 g bruised barley grain 50 g lentils (dry) Ready to be served! Jean-David Cahn tastes the pulse. 20 g butter 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped some coriander, pepper, fennel seeds and Pulse is supposed to taste even better the As I had to buy a minimum of 500g of bruised cumin day after cooking. The team of archaeolo- barley, my family will have to eat another gists were unanimous in their praise of the nine pots of pulse. After that we will surely Simmer gently for about 30 minutes. If ne- dish and ate up the last lentil. They especially be able to speak Latin fluently. cessary add water or wine. Stir frequently to liked the strong flavour of the fennel seeds prevent the porridge from burning. (This hap- and cumin. pens easily, as shown by the crusts on shards of Roman cooking pots). The cook wishes bene vobis satiat! Add finely chopped vegetables such as leeks, beans and carrots. Season with salt and fresh herbs, for instance lovage, peppermint and celery leaves.

Simmer gently for another 30 minutes. Photos: Yvonne Yiu

CQ 11