Mi Yodeya is a question and answer site for those who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition and anyone interested in learning more. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
What are some really old recipes that Jews are known to have used (actual recipes that say how to make the dish, not just names or descriptions of what was eaten like צלי קדר)? I'm seeking specifically recipes for food, not for medicine.
And if you've tried one of the recipes, or know someone who has, I'd love to hear how it was.
Kutach HaBavli -- moldy bread, milk, and salt. Yum yum!
Anomalin (or "yeinmilin"): Wine + honey + pepper. Delish!
How about Rashi's favorite? Fried eggs with honey. He would make a shehakol and eat this even before hamotzee -- "oh he held like the Rambam that chaviv trumps all."
A Drizzle of Honey is a collection of recipes redacted (by modern scholars) from expulsion-era Spain based on, of all things, inquisition testimony. All redaction from just ingredients lists is speculative, but these ring true based on other renaissance cooking research I've seen. I've made several of the recipes in this book with generally-good results; when I didn't care for the dish it was because I didn't care for the dish, not because the recipe was fundamentally flawed. (I am an hobbyist in medieval and renaissance cooking, a fact that I never would have expected to be relevant on Mi Yodeya. :-) )
Obviously that's not as old as reconstructions from Rashi or the talmud would be, but I don't know of any of those with enough information to form a real recipe.
I've seen on the supermarket shelves Ezekiel Bread, based on the 2600 year old "recipe" given in Yechezkiel 4:9.....without the dung, of course. According to the maker's site's info page, it's extremely healthy. Thanks for the recipe, HaShem!
An even older one from the same Chef is Roasted Whole Lamb w/Bitter Herbs and a side of Matzoh, given in Shemot 12.
