[Sca-cooks] Medieval Mid-Eastern meal in Beirut

[JIMCHEVAL at aol.com]

I doubt anyone here went to this event in Beirut and you  probably have to 
be on Academia.edu to read the paper, so here are extracts  from the start 
and end:
 
https://www.academia.edu/25958070/A_Moveable_Feast_The_Conference_at_AUB_Foo
d_as_a_Cultural_Signifier_
 

A Moveable Feast: The Conference at AUB : « Food as a Cultural  Signifier » 
Lucy McNeece
*
The American University of Beirut and its  entire community were treated to 
an extraordinary feast on the occasion of the  recent interdisciplinary 
conference « Insatiable appetite : Food as a Cultural  Signifier » held at AUB 
on may 12-14, 2016.


"The conference opened  with a session entitled, « Food and Social Status » 
where Brigitte Caland  presented a panoramic view of the significance of 
food among the rich and  powerful from Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman times to 
that of the Abbaside period  *Emerita Professor of Comparative Literature, 
The University of  Connecticut and beyond. Ms. Caland explained that abundant 
food was offered  to the Gods and food was often featured in stories about 
them, as in the  Gilgamesh epic. The Gods drank wine and used food the way 
humans do, as a means  to achieve a desired goal. The Gods were served roast 
meats to keep them « happy  » and favorable to mankind. Even the staples of 
bread and beer helped in the  planning of projects.As Ms. Caland explained, 
food and lavish festivities were  used by Kings and elites as a means to 
celebrate important events such as  weddings, military victories,architectural 
projects or visiting dignitaries. But  they were also used to project their 
own importance and guarantee their  hegemony, at least among the upper 
classes."
 
"The talented Ms. Caland prepared a veritable feast for the eye as well as  
taste and the guests were duly impressed even before sampling any of the 27 
 dishes. Ms. Caland does extensive research to prepare for such events, so 
that  each stage of the preparation of the dishes conforms to the way they 
were  produced in the medieval tradition. Combining meat and poultry with 
vegetables  as well as nuts and fruits was common, as was the addition of small 
dishes to  accompany the primary ones. Meats were often cooked inside 
pastry, and sauces  often included fruits such as pomegranates, raisins or figs, 
and the murri sauce  has been compared to Tamari or soy sauce. Even 
al-Hamadhani’s famous  al-Madiriyya was among the riches offered, and as most of the 
dishes were  naturally unknown to the guests, the evening proved to be full 
of delicious  discoveries and a fine complement to the academic discussions 
about food as a  cultural signifier."
 
If you can access the article, there are pictures at the end as well.

Jim Chevallier
www.chezjim.com

FRENCH BREAD HISTORY:  Seventeenth century  bread
http://leslefts.blogspot.com/2016/02/french-food-history-seventeenth-century
.html