Jewish
Cuisine - Eating in Jerusalem - Medieval 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.
Source: The Jerusalem Mosaic. Copyright 1995 Hebrew University of
Jerusalem |
|
