Fish Sauces – The Food that Made Rome Great
January 2021 | Vol. 9.1 By Benedict Lowe Recent research has done much to stress the importance of fish in the ancient Roman diet. But there were many ways to consume fish. The mos
Pickles and Prehistory
Yeast is having a rare moment. Everyone knows about yeast and brewing, but have we been missing the revolutionary role of fermentation in food preservation?
Vanilla in the Middle Bronze Age: New Findings from Megiddo
There were many kinds of fragrances and flavors available in the second millennium BCE. But the recent finding of vanilla residues at Megiddo takes the idea of exotic to a whole ne
Arabic Medieval Cookbooks in English Translation: Treasure Troves for Near Eastern Material Culture
Medieval cookbooks present hundreds of recipes, including a surprising number for sparrow. But they tell us much more than about food; they provide a picture of life and manners.
Salt in Mesopotamia: A Blessing and A Curse
Salt was common in Mesopotamia; Assyriologists tend to ignore it. A closer look shows Mesopotamian writers were concerned with salinization and that salt was an integral part of di