Eating in Historical Jerusalem
Learn about the foods eaten in Jerusalem during the following time periods in history:
- First Temple Period
- Byzantine Period
- Early Muslim Period
- Crusader Period
- Mamluk Period
- Recipes
First Temple Period
During the First
Temple period Jerusalemites ate mainly
the natural crops that are typical of the
region: "a land of wheat and barley,
of vines, figs, and pomegranates, a land of
olive oil and honey" (Deuteronomy
8:8). The usual diet contained few vegetables,
mainly those that grew wild in the fields
(garlics and wild onion). Meat was enjoyed
only by the privileged rich; ordinary people
would have meat only at the Passover sacrifice or on particularly important occasions.
Other foods of the common people included
the eggs of wild fowl, milk, cheese, and butter. David,
going out to his brothers who were in the
camp of the army fighting the Philistines,
brings them cheeses (1 Samuel
17:18).
The limited information we have suggests
that in the biblical period it was customary
to have two daily meals. A late-morning meal,
which also served as a break in the workday,
would probably consist of bread dipped in
olive oil or in wine vinegar, toasted wheat,
olives, figs or some other fruit, and water
or a little diluted wine. A picnic meal like
this was eaten by Ruth the Moabite and Boaz
(Ruth 2:14).
The main meal was taken in the evening, before
dark, and consisted of a common pot of soup
or a broth of seasoned legumes into which
the diners dipped slices of bread to scoop
out the helping.
"Further, take wheat, barley, beans,
lentils, millet, and emmer. Put them into
one vessel and bake them into bread"
(Ezekiel 4:9).
The Land of Israel lies in the wheat belt
where the culture of flour and bread as a
universal food base developed. From the Bible
we know of leavened bread and matzah, but
also halah, wafers, bread morsels, and cakes.
Bread was baked in an oven heated by twigs,
placed on hot stones and covered with cinders
or coals, or it might be fried in an iron
pan. Other food-grains were damp green seeds
("carmel", "melilot"),
wheat stalks of which the seeds were toasted
in fire, such as David ate during his flight
from Absalom in the desert, and gruel made
of ground wheat, groats, or a baked mixture
of ground wheat and meat.
The foods might be seasoned with a little
salt, which was produced mainly in the Dead
Sea area, honey (from dates or of wild
bees), or with juices, various fines herbs,
and olive oil.
From earliest times the stone terraces in
the Judean Hills around Jerusalem were worked and yielded a variety of crops.
However, when Jerusalem became an international
center of government and commerce during the
reign of Solomon,
food production was insufficient to satisfy
the standards deemed fit for the king and
his resplendent court. The result was that
imported foods began to reach Jerusalem (some
in the form of taxes and offerings from across
the vast kingdom); soon the city's economy
grew dependent on the importations. The wealth
and luxury of King Solomon's court is indicated
by the daily menu of the palace kitchens:
"Solomon's daily provisions consisted
of 30 kors of semolina and 60 kors of [ordinary]
flour,10 fatted oxen, 20 pasture-fed oxen,
and 100 sheep and goats, besides deer and
gazelles, roebucks and fatted geese"
(1 Kings 5:2-3).
The cattle were imported from the Hauran area
(east of the Jordan River), while fatted geese
were a well-known Egyptian dish, prepared
to please Pharaoh's daughter, Solomon's wife,
who was accustomed to the pamperings of the
Land of the Nile. Sugar cane probably also
reached the region during this period.
When the Queen of Sheba arrived in Jerusalem
she was stunned by the splendor: "When
the queen of Sheba observed all of Solomon's
wisdom... the fare of his table, the service
and attire of his attendants, and his wine
service... she was left breathless" (1
Kings 10:5).
Byzantine Period
Our major source of information
about the kinds of food that were eaten in Jerusalem during the centuries after the destruction
of the Second
Temple is the Talmud,
which provides a picture of day-to-day life
until the fourth century. The unsuccessful Bar-Kochba
uprising against the Romans in the second century CE had the effect of
severely depleting the Jewish population and
made normal life virtually impossible. Jerusalem
became little more than a backwater, resulting
in a return to ancient agricultural patterns
and a sharp decline in importations of goods.
A variety of fruits were
grown in the Land of Israel, including: pomegranates,
peaches, almonds, nuts, apples, pears of various
kinds, carobs, black strawberries, citrons,
peanuts, and pistachio nuts. Legumes continued
to constitute the food staples. Among them
were ful (broad beans), vetches, sweet peas,
beans, lentils, peas, lupines, and sesame.
However, the main crops were still wheat,
olives, and grapes.
The typical meal consisted
of a slice of bread dipped in oil or vinegar,
a dish of legumes (soup or gruel), and fruits,
particularly figs. Vegetables, which had been
widespread in the periods of plenty that had
characterized the Second Temple period - radishes,
cucumbers, or lettuce were now luxuries. The
same was true of meat, fish, eggs, and dairy
products. The custom of the Sabbath meal, which became a fixture in this period,
reflects the memory of the splendid social
occasions of past eras. But in this period
the Sabbath meal was usually a small fish
and a few vegetables.
Early Muslim Period
Arab cuisine is based on
constant, rather modest, local elements originating
with the nomadic Bedouin tribes in the region. Their staples were milk,
sheep, and dates. This kitchen was influenced
by the encounter with the Sassanian court,
which dominated the region in the early seventh
century CE. The Sassanians were known for
their extravagant customs, reflecting, in
turn, vestiges of the social mores of the
defunct Roman
Empire. The Abassid
dynasty, which ruled in Baghdad in the
eighth to tenth centuries, known for its affluent
and prodigal way of life, brought Arab cuisine
to its peak of refinement.
Our knowledge of Jerusalem during the rise of Islam and the conquests of the Umayyad Arabs is extremely scanty. We do not know
how much Jerusalem benefited from the culinary
efflorescence which characterized the caliph's
palaces in Mesopotamia. It is safe to conjecture,
though, that quality cooking was restricted
to the homes of the city's wealthy elite.
Most people continued to subsist on bread,
groats, and legumes, accompanied by fruits.
The tenth-century, Jerusalem-born Arab geographer
al-Muqadasi said: "Whoever lives in Jerusalem
gains both the life of the world to come and
the life of this world." He describes
clean, orderly markets, richly stocked. In
particular he notes the quinces and the various
types of raisins, as well as bananas, oranges,
apples, cheese, and the unrivaled pine nuts.
He is also amazed at the honey produced in
Jerusalem, since the bees there suck the sage
plants.
Mujir a-Din and Ibn Askar
also praise the banana, a new fruit that came
to the region from India. They remark that
eating a banana in the shade of the Dome
of the Rock symbolizes the good life in
both worlds.
Crusader Period
In 1099, the first Crusader knights arrived in the Holy Land, with the
goal of liberating the Holy
Sepulchre from Muslim rule. As part of their defensive measures
to protect Jerusalem,
and to make the enemy's advance more difficult,
the Muslims destroyed all the agricultural
infrastructure around the city. After conquering
the region, the Crusaders were forced to resettle
the area and build farms around the city to
supply food and wine to the population who
rapidly resettled there.
There is no doubt at all,
however, that the Muslims had the upper hand
in culinary matters. The Crusaders found a
culinary paradise here, a remnant of the glorious
Arab heritage of the courts of the caliphs
in Baghdad and of the Persian kings. Arab
and Egyptian cooks quickly found their place
in the kitchens of Frankish high society in Jerusalem,
Ramle and Acre,
teaching the knights some of the pleasures
of the East. The high gastronomic culture
was enriched by an elaborate tradition of
music, dancing and literature accompanying
the meal, which turned it into a true banquet.
The Europeans were very
impressed by the local products: ananas, figs,
sabra fruit, sugar cane, citrus fruit, wheat,
and superb grapes. The wines of the Judean
hills were famous for their excellent quality.
In summer, wine was chilled in snow brought
in straw-covered carts from the distant mountains
of Lebanon.
Snow was also used to cool fruit juices, the
sherbets which were early predecessors of
today's sorbets.
The Franks also adopted the eastern custom
of using many spices, often to excess, as
a sign of their great wealth. Commonly used
spices included sumac, mustard, saffron, cloves,
cinnamon, rosemary, and coconut, licorice
root and lotus fruits were also used, bearing
witness to the trade routes running between
East and West. The consumption of ready-cooked
food was also common, bought in one of Jerusalem's
many markets.
Indeed, one of the most
prominent architectural features of Crusader
Jerusalem is the complex of markets which
still serve the merchants of the Old City.
The old chicken market in David Street is
now used as a fruits and vegetables market,
while the modern Butchers' Street was originally
intended for fresh produce and was called
the "Street of Herbs." The most
famous of all was the central market, known
as the "Street of Bad Cookery" (Malquisinat),
whose merchants specialized in the production
and supply of cooked food for the numerous
pilgrims who flocked to the city.
Mamluk Period
In the Mameluke period, most of the population subsisted on
the familiar local diet: bread, burghul wheat,
pulses, vegetables, fruit, garlic, and onions.
Rice, which had been grown locally in the Second
Temple period, once again had a place
of honor on the tables of people of all classes.
People usually ate two main meals a day, in
the morning and in the evening.
This period saw the rise of cooks who specialized
in the preparation of a particular food, which
they sold in the city's markets as a popular
food for both local residents and pilgrims:
sambusak (meat pastry), boiled sheep's head
(considered a great delicacy), rose water,
assorted jams, sesame and olive oil, and of
course, bread (pitas).
The markets also offered a rich variety of
local agricultural produce: olives, figs,
grapes, pomegranates, various vegetables,
nuts, and pistachios. Contemporary documents
mention 36 crops grown in the Jerusalem area.
Despite this abundance, most residents of Jerusalem at the time were very poor, and there is evidence
of repeated famines. The soup kitchens associated
with Muslim religious institutions occupied
an increasingly important place in the city's
economy. The limited menu they offered included
rice, wheat products, and a few vegetables.
Recipes
Sources: The
Jerusalem Mosaic. Copyright
1995 Hebrew University of Jerusalem -- All Rights
Reserved
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