Prepare the water and add the fat? : a re-interpretation of the Yale culinary tablet YOS 11 25

Abstract

My research methodology for the topic „Prepare the water and add the fat?‟ A re-interpretation of the Yale culinary tablet YOS 11 25, took on a multi-disciplinary approach, which included gastronomy, archaeology, and experimental archaeology. When I critically looked at the 1995 and 2004 translations and publications of the Yale culinary tablet, YOS 11 25, published by Bottéro, I found that there are plenty differences between the two. I was never looking to re-translate the recipes as I am not a linguist, but what I did want to do was look at how have these recipes had been analysed previously. I found many inconsistencies in his various English publications and thus decided, to the best of my ability, to re-analyse and re-write the recipes by staying as close as possible to his translations while at the same time shedding new light on the various modern interpretations of the ingredients, as well as keeping all the ancient kitchen equipment and cooking instructions in mind. I critically looked at each recipe and, to my amazement, realised that what I was looking at was so much more than mere recipes. It was indeed the oldest cookbook in the world. I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of various cooking utensils such as strainers, sieves, and mortars and pestles. But my biggest surprise was the inclusion of ancient stoves and the various cooking pots that were used. Next, I followed an archaeological approach by identifying the different utensils, ovens and pottery, found in situ in the different sites during the time periods, that relate to the recipes in the ancient Near East. I especially focused on the cooking pots that were used during the various periods as well as the ovens, stoves and pottery utensils excavated. I rightly believed that there is a link between the pottery cooking pots and the cooking methods that were used, relating to the phrase „prepare the water and add the fat‟. Lastly, I concluded the study with a practice-based or practice-led approach, which took on an experimental archaeological approach, where I built a replica ceramic portable stove and cooking pot and put some of the recipes to the test. I believed this might shed new light on the recipes and the understanding of certain concepts and methods used, such as „prepare the water and add the fat‟, as well as other cooking terms and instructions used in the recipes because, as Jean Bottéro himself stated: „I have always refused to put to test these recipes, even the most intelligible ones’ (Bottéro 1987:11-19; my italics).