Tastes of Byzantium: The Cuisine of a Legendary Empire

by Andrew Dalby

For centuries the food and culinary delights of the Byzantine empire -- centred on Constantinople -- have captivated the west, although it appeared that very little information had been passed down to us. Andrew Dalby's Tastes of Byzantium now reveals in astonishing detail, for the first time, what was eaten in the court of the Eastern Roman Empire -- and how it was cooked. Fusing the spices of the Romans with the seafood and simple local food of the Aegean and Greek world, the cuisine of the Byzantines was unique and a precursor to much of the food of modern Turkey and Greece. Bringing this vanished cuisine to life in vivid and sensual detail, Dalby describes the sights and smells of Constantinople and its marketplaces, relates travellers' tales and paints a comprehensive picture of the recipes and customs of the empire and their relationship to health and the seasons, love and medicine. For food-lovers and historians alike, Tastes of Byzantium is both essential and riveting -- an extraordinary illumination of everyday life in the Byzantine world.

Genres: History, Food, Nonfiction, Cooking, Cookbooks, Food History, Medieval

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Andrew Dalby (born Liverpool, 1947) is an English linguist, translator and historian who most often writes about food history.

Dalby studied at the Bristol Grammar School, where he learned some Latin, French and Greek; then at the University of Cambridge. There he studied Latin and Greek at first, afterwards Romance languages and linguistics. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1970. Dalby then worked for fifteen years at Cambridge University Library, eventually specializing in Southern Asia. He gained familiarity with some other languages because of his work there, where he had to work with foreign serials and afterwards with South and Southeast Asian materials. In 1982 and 1983 he collaborated with Sao Saimong in cataloguing the Scott Collection of manuscripts and documents from Burma (especially the Shan States) and Indochina; He was later to publish a short biography of the colonial civil servant and explorer J. G. Scott, who formed the collection.[1] To help him with this task, he took classes in Cambridge again in Sanskrit, Hindi and Pali and in London in Burmese and Thai.

Reviews

[Mehmet]

Açıkçası büyük beklentilerle elime aldığım, ancak sıradan hayata, sıradan insanların günlük beslenmelerine dair çok az şey bulduğum bir kitap oldu.

[Evin Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was possibly one of the strangest books I've ever read. Given the topic - the culinary richness of the Byzantine Empire, whose power and scope allowed it to transform gastronomy - you'd think the author would be a little more imaginative about describing the actual tastes of said empire.

There were a few nuggets of historical interest, such as the author's choice to settle on "Constantinopolitans"; the fact that they drank wine all the time - prescribing it for bodily ills as well as breakfast; that in 991 A.D. the emperor provided pork-free meals to his Muslim slaves; as well as a collection of health recommendations by the season, including what to eat, how often to bathe, and even how often to have sex.

If I read the word "humours" again, however...it may not be in the best interest of Dalby's "constitution" (culinary historian joke). I started this book thinking I was going to have an Anthony Bourdain-esque romp in Byzantine hedonism, but alas, a bespeckled British academician greeted me at the first page. It was like wheting your appetite for a creamy moussaka casserole, only to be served chewy, cold celery strings. The ones that get stuck in your teeth.

[Ευθυμία Δεσποτάκη · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ξέρω ότι κάτι μου λείπει από αυτό το βιβλίο, αλλά δεν ξέρω τι. Πάντως σίγουρα όχι το καυστικό και εξαιρετικά διακριτικό χιούμορ του Ντάλμπυ! Ολοταχώς για τα Σειρήνεια Δείπνα!

[Jim πgr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ένα καλό βιβλίο για την διατροφή στο Βυζάντιο, αν και ο συγγραφέας αναφέρεται στην πτώση του Βυζαντίου αποκρύπτοντας όμως τις επιθέσεις από τους σταυροφόρους και τις κλοπές διέπραξαν κατά την κατοχή της πόλης. Αναφέρεται με εγκωμιαστικά λόγια για τους Οθωμανούς κατακτητές σαν φιλάνθρωπους και μεγάλους αρχιτέκτονες, χωρίς να αναφέρεται καθόλου στις επιστήμες και τέχνες που άνθισαν επί Βυζαντίου ενώ την ίδια στιγμή επικρατούσε στην δύση ο σκοταδισμός και η ιερά εξέταση.
Σχετικά με τα διατροφικά:
• το μαύρο ψωμί αναφέρεται πιο ιδανικό την πέψη από το λευκό, αν και το λευκό αναφέρεται πολύ συχνά στο βιβλίο σαν πιο θρεπτικό. Εδώ θα πρέπει να αναφέρουμε ότι το λευκό ψωμί του Βυζαντίου δεν έχει καμιά σχέση με το λευκό ψωμί του σήμερα και αυτό γιατί: 1ον. το σημερινό λευκό ψωμί είναι από σιτάρι και όχι από ζέα, 2ον. Το αλεύρι προέρχεται από το 70% και 55% του σπόρου σήμερα, ενώ την εποχή του Βυζαντίου το ποσοστό ήταν πάνω από 70%. 3ον. Τα σημερινά αρτοσκευάσματα έχουν πολύ περισσότερη γλουτένη από την εποχή του Βυζαντίου και πριν.
• Αναφέρεται ο συγγραφέας στον γάρο, και στο πως ακριβός θα φτιάξετε αυτήν την σάλτσα ψαριού.
• Αναφέρεται σε κτίσματα Οθωμανών αλλά ξεχνά περιέργως το θαυμαστώ υδραγωγείο του Ιουστινιανού που εως σήμερα είναι σε λειτουργία.
• Από το βιβλίο λείπουν ομαδοποιήσεις και συσχετισμοί τροφίμων.
• Αναφέρονται πολλές συνταγές και διατροφικές συνήθειες της εποχής.

Σε γενικές γραμμές ένα καλό βιβλίο για τα διατροφικά του Βυζαντίου αλλά πτωχό, ελλιπές και με διαστρεβλώσεις στα ιστορικά στοιχεία.

[Konstantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

culinary history’s been my obsession as of the past few years and it was an illuminating experience reading about byzantine food. very cool seeing culinary traditions that carry into modern greek cooking (use of spices like whole peppercorns,nutmeg,cloves and cumin, roast meats that translate to modern χοιρινό με σέλινο, λεμονάτο, feta, loukaniko, trachanas and yogurt), and also traditions that have been lost to time or far more rare (fish sauce, bear and gazelle meat, and the love of fenugreek seeds that is much more uncommon in modern greek cooking)

wish we had more recipes but thats not the fault of the author, really great stuff

[Ilze · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nu kā var tik interesantu tēmu padarīt tik sausu un nebaudāmu? Šīs grāmatas autors to ir izdarījis sametot agro viduslaiku ceļotāju tekstu tulkojumus un dažus savus secinājumus, kas izklausās pēc pirmkursnieka tēzēm. Vēēē!
Tomēr daži fakti manā galvā aizķērās.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect this book to be so funny. The jokes are subtle but they’re there. Interesting book heavy on primary sources and so many quotable lines. Any book that gently pokes fun at Liutprand of Cremona is a good one.

[Eva Knox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book not only gives a delightful backstory into the history of Byzantine but goes into how the people of Byzantine might have viewed certain foods and the best part is, of course, is the recipes!

[John Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only complaint about this book was that I just heard of it this year. Excellent culinary history with recipes you can follow along with at home. Dine like a Palaiologos without as much fear of being poisoned by your uncle.

[Turkish · Rating 2 out of 5]

As one wise Oleg said, "It's okay".

[dejah_thoris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering the dearth of information on Byzantine cuisine, Dalby's work is quite impressive. He notes in the introduction that two similar books were published close to when his goes to press but aside from those three there is very little written on the subject. I found his references in the introduction to Siren Feasts (his book on Greek gastronomy) a little disconcerting because I hadn't read it yet, but rest assured they are brief and don't recur throughout the text. Dalby also provides the four major sources for his observations at the end of the book (in English translation) as well as a comprehensive list of Byzantine food references and phrases that no classical historian should pass up. No major surprises here, except for those who might be expecting real recipes in the Instructions and Recipes section only to find they're all historical, for which Dalby advises consulting his next book, The Classical Cookbook, if you're dying to try Byzantine cuisine at home. Overall, a very interesting food history book that makes the most of a smattering of sources.

[Kawakoala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, informative light reading. Dry prose, oddly organized at times. Main goal is to characterize Byzantine food: spicy, aromatic, varied, seasonal, local, guided by humoral theory. Plenty of tidbits on the origins of dishes still eaten today. The last section (pp.127-237, ch.6-8) is devoted to translations of primary texts and also a glossary of food terms.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, this was so fun. Super readable, and I've got to comment Dalby on including his own translations of the primary reference texts - such a helpful, generous practice that I wish more historians would employ.