[Sca-cooks] Another ME question

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

On 10/26/05 2:27 PM, "cldyroz at aol.com" <cldyroz at aol.com> wrote:
>  Would walnuts work in Hais?

Pistachios have a very delicate flavor and a tender texture (i love 
pistachios that are not salted, roasted, and dyed that awful red). 
Almonds (unless boiled) tend to be rather hard and crisp (much 
crisper when roasted). Walnuts have a tender texture, but a somewhat 
bitter flavor. Another possibility is hazelnuts (aka filberts) which 
were also used in the Near and Middle East. I would recommend using a 
combination of walnuts in limited quantity and hazelnuts if you can 
find and afford them, rather than substituting only walnuts for the 
pistachios.

Selene wrote:
>  Desert peoples are practical folk, if you have walnuts, use walnuts!

First, these are not the recipes of desert people. The idea that they 
are just perpetuates the stereotypic notion that so many SCAdians 
have that the Middle East is just a desert full of nomads on camels. 
The Near and Middle East are much more complex geographically and 
environmentally than that. And don't forget that the first cultivated 
crops west of India and China began in the Middle East 10,000 years 
ago - and crops are not cultivated in a desert.

There are major regions of the Near and Middle East with quite humid 
climates - coastal areas of the Arabian peninsula, for example. Much 
of the Near and Middle East is like coastal California, with a mild 
Mediterranean climate. And there are high snow covered mountains in, 
for example, Morocco and Lebanon (and ski resorts in Lebanon), some 
of which have some snow most of the year.

Second, actual desert people have very limited diets. I've been 
reading up on SCA-period non-urban Middle Eastern food. Actual desert 
people subsisted largely on the dairy products of their flocks, 
dates, and rough flat bread. Meat was only for very special 
occasions, like weddings.

Third, walnuts don't grow in a desert. If desert people had them, 
they would be a very expensive treat.

In fact, recipes such as that for hais are those of sophisticated 
urban people. The recipes in al-Baghdadi, the Anonymous Andalusian, 
and all the other SCA-period Near and Middle Eastern cookbooks i know 
of (minus one) are the recipes of quite wealthy gourmets. Hais may 
keep well and be useful for travellers, but it's for travellers with 
a bit of scratch. Baghdad was possibly the most sophisticated city in 
the world (west of China) for much of SCA period. It had a huge 
population and was a trade and cultural center with a wealth of 
foodstuffs and trade goods.

-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita

working to strike down stereotypes and misinformation