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Mesopotamian Foods

Mesopotamia was known as the land between two rivers, the Tigris to the north and the Euphrates to the south. Rains were seasonal in this area, which meant that the land flooded in the winter and spring and water was scarce at other times. Farming in the region depended on irrigation from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

With irrigation, crops could be grown again and again in the same fields. Farmers produced abundant crops of barley, emmer and millet. These were the staple grain crops.

Farmers planted vegetable gardens along irrigation canals. The farmers grew many kinds of vegetables including chickpeas, lentils, beans, onions, garlic, leeks, cucumbers, radishes, beets, lettuce, squash, herbs for flavoring, and especially sesame. Sesame oil was burned in temples during ceremonies.

Flax was a most important crop. It supplied the raw material which craftsmen wove into fine cloth. This could be traded for much needed materials not found in the valley.

Fruit trees shaded the vegetable gardens including lemon, quince, pomegranate, fig, apricot, and mulberry. The fruit trees grew in the shade of the date palms. Quince Mulberry Fig

Date Palm:

The date made a nourishing meal for the poor. It could also be made into honey, vinegar, and wine.

Supplementing what the fields, gardens and trees provided were steady supplies of meat, fish and fowl. Hunters brought deer, wild boar and gazelles to the people of the city. Fowlers with nets caught birds. Fishermen with net, trap and line brought in many kinds of fish.

French Assyriologist Jean Bottero succeeded in deciphering three cracked, caramel colored clay tablets written in Akkadian around 1700 BC. The tablets recorded the world’s oldest existing recipes, which revealed a variety of Mesopotamian cuisine. Below are two of the worlds oldest known recipes recorded 3,700 years ago.

Kid Stew Singe head, legs and tail over flame. Meat is needed (preferably mutton). Bring water to a boil. Throw in fat. Squeeze onion, garlic, blood and soured milk. Add an equal amount of raw suhutinnu (probably another plant from the onion family) and serve.

Braised Turnips Meat is not needed. Boil water. Throw in fat. Add onion, dorsal thorne (seasoning), coriander, and kanasu (a legume). Squeeze leek and garlic and spread on dish. Add onion and mint.

Information taken from Saudi Aramco World at www.saudiaramcoworld.com and The Beginnings of Cities by Leonard Weisgard, 1968.