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Secrets of the Nile: Mastering Egyptian Cuisine

Ancient Egyptian cooking is a subject that has inspired readers to find out more about the different dishes that make the Egyptian kitchen—ancient and present—unique. Exploring this topic is as challenging as it is interesting. But while there may exist many depictions and images on temples and tomb walls that describe in detail the pharaonic home and kitchen, as well as the kinds of foods offered on almost all occasions from the dawn of the Predynastic era, the ancient Egyptians did not leave behind any recipes. As such it remains difficult, as one can imagine,

to specify weights, measurements, and methods of preparation with any clear precision.

Due to the specific cultural heritage of each area, ways of cooking may differ from one place to another, helping to individualize that region despite the similarity of ingredients. In Lower Egypt, or the Delta, for example, there has been a consecutive influence of Greeks and Romans, foreign immigration,

All of these have directly impacted food and cooking habits as well as recipe variations, and the modern Egyptian kitchen in this region is the outcome of these influences.

But this has not been the case with southern Egypt (Upper Egypt and Nubia), where cooking methods and ingredients have likely remained

unchanged since the days of the pharaohs due to the relative lack of foreign influences in the area. Very early on in the project it quickly became apparent that cooking methods in Upper Egypt and Nubia—regions that have always been strongly insular, adhering closely to ancient cultures and inherited traditions—have retained a pharaonic influence in their simplicity, their tendency to use few ingredients and spices, and their preference for vegetables, grains, spices, and herbs indigenous to the region.

s noted earlier, the ancient Egyptians left few if any recipes, so the ingredients in this course have been slightly modified to suit modern tastes. While certain foods were not introduced into Egypt until after the pharaonic age (including sugar, lemon, tomatoes, chicken, and chilli, among others), they have found their way into the modern-day southern Egyptian kitchen.

The Pharaoh’s Kitchen has been compiled with the aim of thoroughly exploring ancient Egyptian cooking, from both historical and social perspectives.

Home and Kitchen Pharaonic Homes

Ancient Egyptian houses differed according to the social and economic class of their residents, ranging from small, basic structures for peasants and laborers to more elaborate homes for artists, priests, and men of state, villas for nobles, and palaces for kings.

Kitchen Planning and Cooking Tools

he kitchen was located at the back of the house and would be covered by a roof of straw or branches to simultaneously block out the scorching Egyptian heat and allow the escape of cooking fumes. In villas, the kitchen was located entirely outside the house. A grain storehouse would serve the kitchen, sometimes being located alongside it or on the roof where it could be reached by stairs.The kitchen area would be constructed along simple lines. In one corner there would be an oven covered in a layer of mud or a stove. There would also be one or two stone structures for the grinding of grains, or a tool

Pots and Vessels

Ancient Egyptians used the rich soil of the Nile bank to make pottery. The most essential and therefore most common were basic vessels made of mud and used for cooking or storing grains and liquids.

Food and Drink in Ancient Egyptian Society

Fertile Egyptian soil and the River Nile were main factors in helping the ancient Egyptians to cultivate a variety of plants and rear livestock. Food sources were diverse, and ancient Egyptians made good use of the different kinds of fish, vegetables, poultry, and fruits. The staple diet of most Egyptians consisted of bread and beer in addition to what produce the land yielded, such as onions, garlic, lentils, leeks, turnips, radish, lettuce, and cucumbers. Since the Predynastic period, ancient Egyptians, rich or poor, consumed various breads made from different grains. Flour would generally be mixed with a yeasting agent, salt, and spices, and sometimes with eggs and butter.

The bread could also be filled with legumes or vegetables or sweetened with honey or dates. The ancient Egyptians also used a fair share of legumes such as beans, chickpeas, and lentils as well as vegetables such as peas, lettuce, garlic, onions, and leeks. Dates were the most common fruit, in addition to figs, grapes, pomegranates, watermelon and plums, all of which appear in depictions of daily life dating back to the New Kingdom.

Food and Social Status

Types of food eaten give a clearer picture of the different social levels in the ancient Egyptian hierarchy. In the poorest stratum fell the peasants whose staple diet was bread and beer, and a few simple dishes of vegetables the land generously yielded to them. When they had meat, it was mainly that of smaller farm animals since larger livestock were used in agriculture.

Members of the middle or working classes like construction workers, shipbuilders, and laborers were one rung higher on the social ladder, and their professions entitled them to daily rations. Their food varied between meat and fish with plates of vegetables, fruit, as well as the common factor of bread and beer.

Special Occasions

Despite the abundant produce, perhaps the ancient Egyptian was not unlike the Egyptian peasant of today: content with his daily bread. Ancient Egyptians were easily satisfied with a few loaves of bread, a share of beer, some leeks, and onions. The numerous tomb reliefs that picture the many pleasures of food and drink were probably more indicative of the lives of the upper strata of society, like the higher civil servants, priests, landowners, and nobles. The masses would wait for feasts and special occasions for an excuse to indulge. They likely did not have to wait long as festivals were numerous, judging by the annual special occasions relating to the seasons, the Nile, sowing, harvesting, as well as coronations and funerals

Food and the Gods

The ancient Egyptians identified spiritually with the forces of nature surrounding them, including the sun, moon, wind, the inundation of the Nile, the strength of fierce animals like lions, snakes, and crocodiles, or powerful animals that were of use to them like cows and bulls. There were many gods, one for each invisible force behind the phenomenon, thus becoming intertwined with the lives of the ancient Egyptians. They did not only worship tangible powers, but also less tangible ones symbolized by animals. For example, the force of wisdom was symbolized by the ibis of Thoth, and fertility by the bull.26 The deification of animals made them a symbol for a certain god or power, but it did not stop the ancients from using them for food, transport, or other purposes. Thus the cow was used for farming, and though the ancient Egyptians deified the crocodile, they didn’t find anything

food and language

The hieroglyphs used by the ancients were numerous and pictorial: symbols of people, animals, tools and implements, as well as food items. The foods were not chosen randomly, but in fact were built on the importance of that symbol to the lives of the ancient Egyptians. Among the twenty-four letters of the ancient Egyptian alphabet, four are related to food: I was represented by a leaf of a plant. N was represented by water, the source of life. W was represented by a baby quail, one of the birds that were hunted. Quails are also migratory birds and so may have had special significance in certain times of the year. Finally, T was represented by a loaf of bread, the staple food.

Bread

Bread was a staple of the ancient Egyptian diet, figuring in most depictions of offerings left in temples and tombs and on lists of desired

foods carried by the deceased. It was also considered an essential item to be buried with the deceased for the afterlife.

It is therefore not surprising that we can count up to fifteen kinds of bread in the Old Kingdom. By the time of the New Kingdom, this number had risen to almost forty kinds of bread and baked items that differed in shape from oval, to round, twisted and concave, as well as in the kind of flour used whether made from wheat, barley, or corn.

Bread-making

Ancient Egyptians stored grain in their houses after the harvest, or in silos made of mud. Peasants would construct grain storehouses that took the shape of a funnel. The hole on top was for putting in the grains and another one below was used to dispense grain for daily use.

Types of Bread in Ancient Egypt

Among the different kinds of bread in Ancient Egypt were

• A white bread in the shape of a cone made for sacrificial offerings, called

t-hedj . It was used in hieroglyphs and was represented by a figure with a

pyramid-like shape. If it was drawn alone or held in a hand, then it

referred to the letter di and meant ‘to give.’

• A circular or oval-shaped bread with long deep lines that allowed the air

to vent during baking.

• A popular type of bread that looked like a semi-circle and was expressed

in writing by the letter “t.”

• A thin hollow bread in the shape of a disc. There were also other kinds of

round loaves with thick crusts, similar to a pizza. The center was decorated with an egg. Sometimes filling would be added between two layers,

like a sandwich

Eggs and Dairy Products

Dairy Products

Dairy products were vital ingredients not only in the ancient Egyptian kitchen, but also in homemade medicinal ointments to cure ailments such as eye disease, among others. Ancient Egyptians raised sheep and cows for irtet (milk), from which they made cheese, butter, and cream. To increase the animals’ milk production, the ancient Egyptians set proper feeding habits and forbade the use of female animals in agriculture. The peasants themselves were careful to ensure that milking occurred in an atmosphere of calmness and safety.

Dairy Products in Modern-day Upper Egypt

Cottage cheese, butter, and ghee, which was called seimi (from which came the name ghee in modern Egyptian, samna) are still used in Upper Egypt today. Ghee is made by melting the fat left over from cream after having extracted the milk by churning. In this case morta is extracted, that is the solid matter dissolved in milk after melting the butter. Morta is used to make mesh (aged cheese) by putting it in clay vessels and topping it with ovendried cottage cheese and some lupine beans (today, red hot chilli peppers

Meat

Livestock and hunted animals were an important source of nutrition in ancient Egypt. The most popular kind was beef, and people carefully fattened up herds of bulls and calves for slaughter. These were closely

followed by lamb, goats and, at the very bottom of the list, deer and mountain goats.

At first the ancients hunted game but it was not long before they began domesticating animals for different purposes of daily life. They made use of grazing lands that conveniently grew naturally in the swamps of the fertile Delta and the pastures that would appear after the Nile flood and would last for a few months. They also knew how to raise many animals such as bulls, cows, sheep, and goats. Tomb reliefs show many scenes of slaughtering animals, especially bulls, which, in addition to their much-coveted meat, were used for agricultural purposes such as ploughing the land and crushing corn as well as pulling heavy loads such as construction blocks.

Poultry

as one of the main sources of food for ancient Egyptians, varying, as is the case today, from domesticated fowl to wild birds. In

cities there were poultry merchants who raised birds and fattened them up in order to sell them. Game, the most popular of which was wild goose, was also hunted. Geese were also domesticated. Duck was a common bird and, along with geese, made popular grilled or boiled dishes gracing the banquets of kings and priests and people of status in the community. Scenes have been found depicting the process of fattening domesticated birds.

Other common birds were pigeons, quail, and ostrich, which were also domesticated. Pigeons were bred in silos of mudbrick, and their droppings used as fertilizer. Chicken was only introduced to Egypt later in the Ptolemaic period.43

Bird-hunting was a passion in ancient Egypt, whether as a profession for game hunters, or as a hobby practiced by kings, princes, and aristocrats. Quail, swans, sparrows, storks, and pigeons were fair game. Several methods were used to hunt birds. Boomerangs were known since the Predynastic period and were used in hunting swamp birds. Hunters hid in the rushes, waiting for the precise moment at which they could capture the bird by flinging their boomerangs.

Fish

he Nile was the backbone of ancient Egyptian life, providing water— both for drinking and agriculture—a means of transport, and communication. There was an abundance of fish thriving in its waters. Many different varieties were available and the flooding of the Nile meant large catches that had to be preserved for storage by salting and drying. In some parts of the country, there were fish that were considered sacred, and couldn’t be caught or eaten, like Nile perch or seasnake. In

other parts, it was taboo to eat fish on certain days of the year

Many tomb scenes depict fishing as well as different methods of preparing

fish, including salting and drying. Others show ancient Egyptians consuming

various types of fish, indicating the popularity of fish in pharaonic times.

Kinds of fish included Nile perch, Nile barb, seasnake, bulti, striped mullet, and catfish. During the Roman period up to twenty-five kinds of fish were identified, including pufferfish, seal, sand leaf, and electric fish.

The ancient Egyptians excelled at preserving fish, salting, and dryingthem, as well as extracting roe. Depictions in the Neb-Kaw-her tomb in Saqqara portray the process of salting and extracting roe from fish.

Cooking Fish in Ancient Egypt

There were many ways to cook fish, the most common being grilling. A rod would be pushed through the mouth and the fish would be grilled over a fire. Fish could also be boiled in a pot filled with water, salt, and some spices. Certain kinds of fish were also smoked and salted. Salting was a convenient way to cook fish to avoid spoilage, especially in the hot weather, as it would keep fish edible for a very long time. Salted fish was a main meal for the Feast of the Harvest festival,

Vegetables

he fertile soil of the Nile provided a suitable climate for different crops such as grains and vegetables, many of which were represented in depictions of banquets and meals. Of the most commonly cultivated were onions which were also used in medicinal recipes as well as on special occasions. Known as a popular food for layman as well as priest, onions were commonly used to flavor dishes. Herodotus even mentioned onions and bread as the staple diet for pyramid builders. Apicius reports that onion was used as an ingredient in a sauce for grilled fish. Onions used to be worn as garlands by followers of Sokar, god of rebirth in Memphis

Cooking Vegetables in Ancient Egypt

Although numerous wall paintings and tomb reliefs have been found depicting fruits and vegetables, there is little to indicate the methods by which they were prepared. Onions, which were eaten raw, comprised a large portion of the ancient Egyptians’ vegetable intake, and it is believed the ancients ate many of their vegetables raw. That said, it is likely the ancients also cooked vegetables in pots and pans after the addition of meat and fat

Legumes

Legumes were, and still are, a popular food. Plutarch mentions them as being offered to the gods in ancient Egypt, although the priests used to avoid them for fear of flatulence. Types of legumes consumed were beans, peas, chickpeas, crushed wheat, lentils, lupine beans and fenugreek. Herodotus mentioned that lentils were eaten by pyramid builders in the Old Kingdom. They were also used to make bread and as feed for animals.

Found in the tombs of the Fifth Dynasty were eyorti (Egyptian beans), a name similar to the one used in Egypt now, herati. The ancient Egyptians cooked different kinds of beans in various ways. Beans were cooked the same way as peas and were also used in making besara. The latter was prepared by boiling crushed beans, mashing them into a smooth thick paste, then adding spices and herbs such as cumin, dry and fresh coriander, salt, parsley, and dry Jew’s mallow. Beans were also allowed to sprouts and made into many dishes, from soup to fuliya with herbs

Fruits and Desserts

Fruits and Nuts in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians realized early on the huge nutritional benefit of grapes, and they ate them fresh, dried as raisins, and pressed into wine. They also offered grapes to the gods on special occasions. While grapes were not mentioned except in depictions from the Third Dynasty, wine vessels and a grape press were found that dated to the First Dynasty.

The sycomore was considered a sacred tree, and its fruit was frequently found inside tombs. Melon was also often planted. Dates were eaten either fresh, or dried, and a type of wine was made out of them, just like the fig, which was also a popular fruit, eaten both fresh and pressed into wine. The soft part of the doum fruit, related to the palm, was eaten or the fruit was made into a dough or used as a sweetener.

Beverages

common drinks were beer, bouza (fermented barley), wine, and milk (which was drunk fresh because of the hot weather). Aniseed, cinnamon, caraway (which dates back to the Fifth Dynasty) and fenugreek were either boiled or soaked then drunk. More festive beverages included soaked dates, carob, and doum fruit which were certainly used as syrupy sweeteners if not as drinks.

Beer in Ancient Egypt

Beer was more or less the national drink in ancient Egypt, and, along with bread and onions, was part of the staple diet. It also played a significant role in pharaonic culture and was served everywhere and drunk at all times and in all places, whether in the house, field, or on any important occasion