[Sca-cooks] Medieval Arabs Ate Sandwiches, Too

[Natalie Aked]

I was really excited when I found this out a few weeks back.  I am now working on redactions from a 10th century Baghdadi source (from Nawal Nasrallah's book). I can't think of an nicer thing to bring to the war fields for my household. ;)

Is anyone else interested? I would love to compare notes!

~ Natalie 

Sent from my iPhone

> On 4 Dec 2013, at 9:52, JIMCHEVAL at aol.com wrote:
> 
> For those following Arab cuisine:
> 
> Members of academia.edu can view the abstract for this, but not much  more:
> 
> Medieval Arabs Ate Sandwiches, Too: Bazmaward and Awsat for the  Record 
> (abstract)
> by Nawal Nasrallah
> More Info: pp. 373-392
> Publication  Date: Sep 2013
> Publication Name: Travelling Through Time: Essays in Honor of  Kaj Ohrnberg 
> (Studia Orientalia vol. 114)
> 
> So here it is:
> 
> 
> MEDIEVAL ARABS ATE SANDWICHES, TOO:
> BAZMĀWARD  AND  AWSĀṬ  FOR THE RECORD
> 
> Nawal Nasrallah ABSTRACT:
> This article surveys the extant medieval  Arabic record of the sandwich, 
> impressively extensive
> and varied, to  controvert the dominant western view that the sandwich was ‘
> invented’  in
> eighteenth-century England. Brick-oven spongy and crusty breads and thin  
> malleable varieties were used by Arab cooks to make sandwiches, called  awsāṭ
>  and bazm āwārd 
> . These sandwiches were popular snacks  purchased from the food markets, 
> and offered as hors d’oeuvre before the main  hot meal. The medieval Arab 
> sandwich was not an isolated accomplishment: its  lineage and
> culture can be seen in the evolution of some of today’s  widespread 
> sandwiches, such as  shawirma
> , in whose dissemination  Middle-Eastern immigrants were a key factor. 
> Immigrants from Sicily, where the  Arabs ruled for centuries, transmitted the 
> sandwich culture to other shores, as  far away as New Orleans, whose national 
> sandwich is the muffaletta , said to be  of Sicilian origin. The article 
> further provides the missing Arab link for this  popular ‘Western’  sandwich 
> by outlining its Arab origin, including its  name.
> 
> 
> Jim Chevallier
> www.chezjim.com
> 
> Les Leftovers: sort of a food  history blog
> leslefts.blogspot.com
> 
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