[Sca-cooks] Food of the Arabian Nights was Odd Question

[Johnna Holloway]

Having heard Charles Perry speak in March 2014 on this very topic of mistakes in translations decades ago and translators who even today just ignore aspects of cookery and food in their current works, I can only urge those interested to listen to Perry's lecture or read the essay that Urtatim/Ellen mentioned. A short write up is here
>> 
http://www.laweekly.com/squidink/2012/01/11/charles-perry-discusses-food-in-the-arabian-nights-a-thousand-and-one-fritters

Or take the opportunity to listen to him in person. He's based in LA and is active in the Culinary Historians of Southern California. He has an active speaking schedule.

Or take a look at his very relevant essay in the Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery,  from 1998. 
Food in the Arts: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 1998
 edited by Harlan Walker

See "The Food of the 'Arabian Nights'" by Charles Perry. 

Here he says, "Moreover, most translations of the 'Nights' were done before the medieval Arabic cookery manuscripts were known, so their characterization of the foods is often maddeningly vague, when not simply wrong." 

All in the first paragraph!

You should be able to interlibrary loan either the volume or the essay.

Johnnae

Sent from my iPad

On May 12, 2014, at 5:38 PM, lilinah at earthlink. Wrote snipped
> There is an interesting essay by Charles Perry, "A Thousand and One Fritters: Food in the Arabian Nights" in the book "Medieval Arab Cookery" - which he also gives as a speaker - about the mistranslations of food terms in the Arabian Nights. Here's a video of his recent talk (Jan of this year) - note that it is about 1 hour long. He is an entertaining speaker, besides being knowledgeable, so if you watch it, it won't be wasted time.
> http://chscsite.org/a-thousand-and-one-fritters/
> 
> Urtatim