A Taste of the Past

Episode 307: Treasures of Medieval Egyptian Cooking

Episode Summary

The Kanz al-fawāʾid fī tanwīʿ al-mawāʾid, a fourteenth-century cookbook, is unique for its variety and comprehensive coverage of contemporary Egyptian cuisine. It is the only surviving cookbook from a period when Cairo was a flourishing metropolis and a cultural haven for people of diverse ethnicities and nationalities. Now available for the first time in English, it has been meticulously translated and supplemented with a comprehensive introduction by scholar Nawal Nasrallah. She joins Linda on this episode to discuss the discoveries, delights, and difficulties of the task of making this important work accessible.

Episode Notes

The Kanz al-fawāʾid fī tanwīʿ al-mawāʾid, a fourteenth-century cookbook, is unique for its variety and comprehensive coverage of contemporary Egyptian cuisine. It is the only surviving cookbook from a period when Cairo was a flourishing metropolis and a cultural haven for people of diverse ethnicities and nationalities. Now available for the first time in English, it has been meticulously translated and supplemented with a comprehensive introduction by scholar Nawal Nasrallah. She joins Linda on this episode to discuss the discoveries, delights, and difficulties of the task of making this important work accessible.

A Taste of the Past is powered by Simplecast