[Sca-cooks] Medieval Arab Cookery - tasteless commercial note

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Devra wrote:
>I have received my copies of the reissue (reprint?) of Medieval Arab
>Cookery, and they are available from me for $50 plus $3 shipping. 
>See my website
>(_http://www.poisonpenpress.com_ (http://www.poisonpenpress.com/) ) 
>for  ordering
>info, or call me 718-853-8121. I don't know how long the sale is going  to
>last. When it's over, the book will retail at $75 plus postage.

First, this is not tasteless, this is for a book with tasty contents :-P

Second, this is not just for those with Near and Middle Eastern 
personae or a love of the cuisines of those regions. There is 
information of interest here to those who cook other cuisines from 
European regions around the Mediterranean, and finally for those 
interested in the history of cooking in general.

It contains, among other things:
- an intermediate version of al-Baghdadi - A.J. Arberry's 
translations with many improvements in footnotes by Charles Perry - 
Arberry and his transcriber Daoud Chelebi made many errors they 
couldn't help, since they were not familiar with Medieval Arabic 
cookbooks - such as the "blattes de Byzance" fiasco.
- The Book of the Description of Familiar Foods - from 14th C. Cairo 
- which includes most of al-Baghdadi, about 100 more 'Abbasid 
recipes, a confectioner's manual, and a chapter on Food for Invalids 
and what Monks and Christians Eat in Lent
- a 17th century cookbook for "middle class" diners, with very few 
spices - an interesting comparison with the luxurious recipes in 
earlier cookbooks - but may also reflect changes in the economies of 
the region.
- numerous essays by Charles Perry on many aspects of Middle Eastern 
foods, from translation issues, to Arabic recipes in the cuisines of 
SCA-period Italy

And there's more - like Maxim Rodinson's tantalizing survey of a 
cookbook - but without a translation of the recipes (al-Kitab 
al-Habib)

The volume has several very excellent Indices.

It's a treasure. Get it before the price goes up!

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