A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East

by Sami Zubaida (Editor), Richard Tapper (Editor), Claudia Roden (Introduction)

This pioneering book considers the culinary cultures of the Middle East in a variety of contexts. The contributors discuss various aspects of historical and contemporary processes, including likely origins and diffusions on ingredients and dishes, changes in food production and eating habits, contemporary revivals of traditional cooking, literary representations of food and drink, and the class, gender, and communal dimensions to food. Written by scholars from different disciplines, it covers a wide geographical area, from Central Asia to Morocco.

Genres: Food, Cookbooks, History

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 1994

About the author

Sami Zubaida (born 1937) is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck, and also holds posts as Professorial Research Associate at the Food Studies Centre at the School of Oriental and African Studies, and Research Associate at the London Middle East Institute at SOAS.

His research involves the religion, culture, politics and law of the Middle East, with particular attention to Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. His other research interest is food history and culture, ranging comparatively over Europe, the Middle East and India.

Born in Iraq, Sami Zubaida went to school in Baghdad before studying at the Universities of Hull and Leicester. He is the author of the recently published Beyond Islam: A New Understanding of the Middle East. Professor Zubaida’s earlier books include Islam, the People and the State: Political Ideas and Movements in the Middle East; A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East; and Law and Power in the Islamic World.

As a Visiting Hauser Global Professor of Law in 2006, Sami Zubaida taught Law and Politics in the Islamic World at New York University School of Law. In 2008 he was Shaykh Zayed Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the American University of Beirut, and in 2009 he delivered the Peter Green Lecture on the Modern Middle East at Brown University, USA. In 2011 his public lectures included speaking at Ravenna University, Italy; at the International Association of Media and Communication Research Conference, Istanbul; and delivering a keynote lecture at the Arab Thought Forum, Jordan.

Reviews

[Aisha Alhashmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

الكتاب زاخر جداً بمقالات عن الطعام في الشرق الاوسط وعلاقته الجيوغرافية والاجتماعيه والدينية والسياسة
قرأت ماهو افضل عنه في الاسلوب حيث ان اسلوب هذا الكتاب فيه نوع من الرسمية والجديه ومفيد للبحوث والدراسات

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's quite difficult to review a book which is a collection of essays by different scholars, particularly as everything else I have reviewed has tended to be fiction - it's definately either a 3 or a 4 - I can't decide. Broadly this is is a fascinating study of food cultures in the middle east, the first 3/4's of the book are brilliant, the last quarter was very dull (to do with how the articles are categorized). The best pieces are written by scholars whom love food (descriptions of Persian rice being washed over 3 days and then how it is prepared and displayed over a feast spring to mind)... Also some fascinating facts - for instance the turkey, a South American bird is called the turkey because the Ottoman empire was the first to trade it (thus people thought it came from Turkey rather than south America).... food lovers absolutely must read this if they have any interest at all in Mediterranean or Middle Eastern food.

[Amal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for anybody who is interested in the culinary history, edicates, and foods native to the middle east, North Africa and central Asia. this is a wealth of information that will be read by all culinarians and people who are interested in the subject. the book covers information on the origins of dishes like chicken pilaf, sambusak, ful medammas and ect. I highly recommend this book for students of culinary cultures and heritages.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

How often does one read the proceedings of an academic conference and feel a little peckish? Also pricks some 'world food' stereotypes: the truth about olive oil (nah, not so important), the origins of baklava (not Greece and not Turkey). And there really is a "Mediterranean cuisine" (take that, Gaspar). Anyone up for a gastronomic tour, say from Istanbul to Isfahan by way of Cairo?

[MOHAMMED A · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب جميل وممتع
ومليء بالمعلومات الجميلة

[Sabra Boughenut · Rating 3 out of 5]

يالهي لم استطع تحميل الكتاب

[Helga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of articles just the right size. One can read about the history of layered bread, the types of rice eaten, and who eats what when.