User:Egyptology2013/sandbox

Food and drink in ancient Egypt.

The ancient Egyptian civilization had a staple diet and used to eat better than any other civilization in the ancient world. The reliefs and paintings on the wall of all periods show the significance of food in ancient Egypt. The tombs of the Old Kingdom have paintings showing the masters watching the servants making the food, the Middle Kingdom tombs shows the activities taking place at the bakery and the butcher, while the New Kingdom scenes show divine offerings to contain plates of meat, bread and vegetables. The paintings of the Eighteenth Dynasty showed the luxury of the upper class in their eating. Ancient Egyptians used to fast or avoid certain food as a respect for the dead. Usually the family of the dead stopped their fasting with eating in the funeral dinner. Food was so important to the ancient Egyptians to the degree that the ancient Egyptians used to write on their funerary stela prayers for the continuation and abundance of food offerings in the after life. The ancient Egyptian meal used to contain most types of food,“ Bread and beer were most staples of the Egyptian diet”. The inundation of the Nile was the most significant factor in enriching the diet of the ancient Egyptians. Actually, most famines in ancient Egypt happened with the delay or the absence of the inundation. The inundation fertilized the land, which allowed most crops to grow. In addition, the fertile banks of the Nile provided grassy environment for feeding the farm animals. Also the inundation of the Nile provided a wealth of fish, the fishermen did not need to go fishing all over the year because when the Nile flooded fishes were thrown on the banks of the Nile with the water. The ancient Egyptians used to eat so well because the quality of the raw materials was very good. In fact, there is no evidence of any ancient Egyptian recipe books, however some papyri show how food was preserved and tombs paintings showed ideas about how ancient Egyptians used to cook their food.

Ancient Egyptian Diet:

Bread

Bread was the most important item in the ancient Egyptian diet. It was very essential, the tombs of the ancient Egyptian were found to include items of bread buried with the deceased person to support him in the after life. There were up to fifteen different kinds types of bread in the Old Kingdom  and  up to forty kinds by the time of the New Kingdom. Bread came in various shapes and sizes. There were also different types of flour that were used in bread making. The flour used to be made from corn, wheat or barley. The two grains wheat and barley were the most essential elements in bread making. Barley planting in Egypt dates to 5000 BC, and it was in two kinds according to locations: there was upper Egyptian barley and lower Egyptian barley. Other ingredients were added to the flour in baking the bread such milk, dates, honey and eggs. The way ancient Egyptians used in baking the bread was a bit complicated. It starts with grinding the grains in equipment consists of two circular stones above each other with a handle to move the stones; it was called the “rehaaya”. The grinding was for producing the flour from the grains then the baking process follows by making the dough and adding the yeast for the dough to rise. Then the bread was kneaded in large containers with the hands or the feet. Then the bread was shaped and heated in ovens with fire. In the Egyptian museum, there is evidence of the bread baking. A statue of a woman from the Old Kingdom making the flour by grinding process through the two stones equipment. The most common type of bread in ancient Egypt named “ta” and it used to be done at home by the housewife. Ta was also the generic word for bread in ancient Egyptian.

Dairy products and eggs:

Scenes on the walls of New Kingdom Theban tombs show that the ancient Egyptians were familiar with diary products. There were images of goats and white balls, which is butter. Ancient Egyptians used to milk their cows and goats. In order to elevate the milk production they used to set certain feeding habits for their farm in animals. They knew how to manufacture dairy products from milk. They knew how to make cottage cheese, which was the most famous kind used by the ancient Egyptians. Cottage cheese was made by shaking the milk in a goat’s skin to separate the butter from the milk. Then the remains of this mix were put on a mat. These remains are the cottage cheese. There are samples of these mats in the museum of ancient agriculture5. The butter was called in ancient Egypt “baat” and was used in cooking food. Ancient Egyptians used to eat bird eggs. The chicken was not popular during the pharaonic dynastic times but there were other birds. Eggs of geese and ducks were the most consumed ones, in addition to eggs of ostriches. In addition eggs were also used as offerings to the god. The ancient Egyptians ways of cooking eggs were not that different from the ways of today Modern Egypt. The only difference is that now Egyptians use chicken eggs but ancient Egyptians used ducks and geese eggs.

Vegetables:

As mentioned above, the inundation of the Nile has fertilized the soil of the Egyptian land. It furnished a suitable environment for the growth of multiple vegetables and grains. Vegetables such as celery, green peas, leek, mallow, cucumber, taro and radish were planted and consumed by the ancient Egyptians. Lettuce was planted also. The ancient Egyptians believed that lettuce increased fertility. Hence, it (lettuce) came to be associated with the god of fertility “Min”. Onion was essential for the ancient Egyptian, no matter what class s/he belonged to. It was the most abundant crop in ancient times. It was widely used, and not only as a food. The ancient Egyptians believed that onion juice was a medical treatment. It was used as medicine to treat cold, cough, stomachaches and ears. The ancient Egyptians made a paste from the onions and used it in stopping the menstrual period of a woman by placing the onion paste in her vagina. They also used onions in the mummification process. In addition, onions were also used to deter snakes. Commonly, onions were consumed also in flavoring. Garlic was found to be important as onion for the ancient Egyptians. The ancient Egyptians used to soak garlic in vinegar and water and used it as a solution for toothache. It also was soaked in salt and water to treat bruises. Accordingly garlic and onions were not only vegetables for foods but also they were ingredients for medical prescription. In addition to the various kinds of vegetables, the ancient Egyptians have planted legumes. There were beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas, lupine beans and wheat. “Herodotus” mentioned that pyramid builders used to eat lentils. The ancient Egyptians cooked legumes like modern Egyptians. They used to make soup from beans and lentils. Also legumes were used as offerings to the gods. There is evidence that Ramses the third has offered 11,998 pots of peas to the god of the Nile.

Meat, Poultry and Fish:

Initially, the ancient Egyptians used to haunt animals for food in the predynastic period. Later, they learnt how to domesticate animals; they raised farm animals such as cows, bulls, lambs, sheep and goats. Ancient Egyptians learned animal grazing. They knew how to feed and fatten their cattle. They used bread dough for feeding the cattle. Ancient Egyptians also used to slaughter cattle for meat. There are tomb scenes that show the slaughtering of animals in ancient Egypt. However, ancient Egyptians used to treat the animals kindly and provide for them food, water, and protection from wild animals and thieves. The most eaten meat by the ancient Egyptians was beef. The meat from the bull was highly preferred by them. Beef were mostly consumed by the upper classes because one animal produces enough meat to feed hundreds. So, it is reasonable to postulate that beef was only served in palaces and temples because these types of places usually contained huge numbers of people and there hardly t would much waste from the slaughtered animal meat. The nobles consumed the meat that came from sheep, lambs and goats. The poor classes usually ate pork and sometimes goat or lamb, but pork was more abundant among them because pigs were easier to raise and could be fed anything. Pigs also reproduce faster than other animals. In addition, bull’s meat was used as offering to the god at the temples. The ancient Egyptians used to cook meat. They knew how to roast meat, boil and fry it. Boiling was the preferred way in cooking meat for the ancient Egyptians. Writings at the tomb of Akhethotep in north Asyut indicate that the ancient Egyptians preferred boiling meat than any other method. Ancient Egyptians used to offer to uncooked shanks for the deceased and it was a part of the funerary banquet. On the other hand, poultry was one of the main sources of food in ancient times. The ancients Egyptians used to domesticate birds such as ducks, geese, pigeons and ostriches. The ancient Egyptians were passionate about hunting birds. They used to set traps and nets to catch birds. Hunting birds was a hobby practiced by the nobles and the royalty. However, there were merchants for poultry, which indicates that they did not only depend on hunting. The merchants knew how to fatten the birds to sell them. They used to cook the poultry either by grilling or boiling it. Pigeons grilled in ovens and other poultry were grilled over fire. The ancients knew how to preserve poultry by using salt so as to protect them from rotting from the hot weather. Fish was an important food source for the Egyptians. The Nile was main source of fish in Egypt. Various kinds of fish swim in the Nile such as bulti, striped mullet, catfish, Nile perch and sea snake. From these kinds, the sea snake and Nile perch were sacred and could not be eaten. The ancient Egyptians knew how to fish. It was a hobby as well as a profession. Drawing at Menna’s tomb portrays a noble man with his family fishing with spears on a boat, and on the walls of Tiya’s tomb in Saqqara, a depiction of twenty two fishermen fishing using fishing nets. Hence, the ancients knew methods of fishing using spears, rods and nets Egyptians used to cook fish by boiling or grilling it. Fish could also be fried after soaking it in oil and honey. They also used to salt and dry fish in order to preserve them for long periods of time. Certain kinds of fish were smoked. The Egyptians knew caviar and used to extract the roe of the fish, wash it and then the roe was salted and eaten with bread Drawings at the tomb of “Neb-kaw-her” at Saqqara show the extracting of roe from fish and salting it. Till now, the modern Egyptians eat salted fish in the festival of “ Sham al- Nessim”. This festival is originally the feast of Harvest where the ancients also used salted fish as a primary meal on this day.

Fruits and Desserts

Fruits grew abundantly in ancient Egypt. Grapes, dates, melon, figs, pomegranates and various types of nuts were planted. Pomegranate was highly preferred by the ancients; they used to eat it fresh or drink it as juice then later it was fermented to be wine. Dates were eaten fresh or dried or drank as liquor. They are the most abundant fruits in Egypt. They were preferred because of their sweet taste and their multi benefits. Ancient Egyptians used the date’s juice as a sweetening material before sugar was discovered. The juice of the dates was also used in medical prescription. It was used a s treatment for swelling limbs of humans, leg ache, suppressing cough in children, sneezing, killing worms, and growing hair. In addition, dates formed part of labor wages at Deir el- Medina. The date’s wine was used in the mummification process in washing the body of the deceased. Fruits were used consumed by the ancient Egyptians for their sweet taste and they usually ended their meals with a dish of fruits, but also the ancient Egyptians knew various kinds of desserts. The ancient Egyptians knew marshmallows. The manufacture of marshmallows goes back to 2000 BC. It was a candy with honey with a high sweet taste. At the beginning it was only served for the kings and offered for the gods later it was presented for the common. It’s very known about the ancient Egyptians their love for sweets. The ancient Egyptians also preferred sweet beer and wine. The reason for their love for the date’s wine was its sweet taste. They also loved the juice from doum and carob because of their sweet taste.

Notes

1-	Wilson, 1988 2-	Berriedale – Johnson, 1999 3-	Wilson, 1988 4-	Mehdawy, Hussein, 2010 5-	Mehdawy, Hussein, 2010 6-	Mehdawy, Hussein, 2010 7-	Mehdawy, Hussein, 2010 8-	Manniche, 1989 9-	Manniche, 1989 10-	 Mehdawy, Hussein, 2010 11-	 Ikram, 2011 12-	 Mehdawy, Hussein, 2010 13-	 Mehdawy, Hussein, 2010 14-	 Mehdawy, Hussein, 2010 15-	 Ikram, 2011 16-	Manniche, 1989 17-	Christensen, 2005 References

Alcock, Joan P. Food in the Ancient World. Greenwood Press. 2006

Christensen, Wendy. Empire of Ancient Egypt. Shoreline Publishing Group LLC. 2005

Hussein, Amr- Mehdawy, Magda. The Pharaoh’s Kitchen. the American university in Cairo press. 2010

Ikram, Salima. Ancient Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press. 2011

Johnson, Michelle Berriedale. Food Fits for Pharaohs. The British Museum Press. 1999

Manniche, Lise. An Ancient Egyptian Herbal. University of Texas Press, Austin. 1989

Wilson, Hilary. Food and Drink in Ancient Egypt. Shire Publication LTD. 1988