[Sca-cooks] Atraf al-Tib revisited

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Because i want to make some atraf al-tib that does NOT use inappropriate ingredients like lavender or beech nuts, i keep plugging away at deciphering the ingredients. I recently purchased "Practical Materia Medica of the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean According to the Cairo Genizah", by Efraim Lev and Zohar Amar, published by Brill.

It says on page 340:
"Arabic: dardar, lisan al-'asafir, lisan al-'usfur..."
"...The name 'dardar' was given to elm and common ash trees, but in the Levant this was the usual term only for the Syrian ash. Various species of ash that grow in temperate forests were known main [sic] for their wood, which was easy to work..."

I think this explains in part why Charles Perry said "common ash" and Nawal Nasrallah said "elm". Sounds like either could apply depending on where one lives and what is available.

The ingredients of atraf al-tib are:
1. tanbul - betel leaves (Piper betle) (NOT betel nuts)
2. hal - green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum)
3. kibash qaranful - cloves (Syzygium aromaticum)
4. zanjabil - ginger (Zingiber officinale)
5. dar fulful - long pepper (Piper longum)
6. fulful - black pepper (Piper nigrum)
7. jauz al-tib - nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)
8. bisbasa - mace (Myristica fragrans)
9. warq rand - bay laurel leaves (Laurus nobilis)
10. zir ward - rose buds (Rosa damascena)
11. sunbul - spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi)
12. lisan al-'asafir - for which Perry gives common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) [or it could be Syrian ash (Fraxinus syriaca)], and Nasrallah gives elm tree seeds (spp. ulmus), and judging by the above information, it might be either one.

Does anyone has any elm or ash keys they might be able to send me so i can experiment further? I live in Northern California. I'd be happy to make some contribution for postage or whatever.

Urtatim (that's oor-tah-TEEM)