Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table - (Islamic History and Civilization) Abridged by Nawal Nasrallah (Paperback)

About the Book

The fourteenth-century Egyptian cookbook, Kanz al-fawāʾid fī tanwīʿ al-mawāʾid, is a treasure trove of 830 recipes of dishes, digestives, refreshing beverages, and more. Here, for the first time, it has been meticulously translated into English and supplemented with a comprehensive introduction, glossary, illustrations, and twenty-two

Book Synopsis

The fourteenth-century Egyptian cookbook, Kanz al-fawāʾid fī tanwīʿ al-mawāʾid, is a treasure trove of 830 recipes of dishes, digestives, refreshing beverages, and more. Here, for the first time, it has been meticulously translated into English and supplemented with a comprehensive introduction, glossary, illustrations, and twenty-two modern adaptations of its recipes.

Review Quotes

Winner of the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding (1st Prize, Translation from Arabic into English.) click here.

Shortlisted for the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2018 in the categories Translation and Culinary History click here.

"A formidable intertwined offering from a historian, translator, cook, cooking instructor and writer... Nasrallah succeeds in giving a clear, simple and practical text in English to many of the 830 recipes which are difficult to understand and use, even for an Arabic speaker with culinary experience... After the full translated text, Nasrallah adds a helpful alphabetical glossary with an explanation of terms, methods and general commentaries, translations and correlations with dishes known today. Nasrallah ends her book with a fantastic contribution of 22 modern adaptations of some recipes from Kanz. All recipes were tried and photographed by the author. They are well written, easy to follow, and the outcome, as tested by this author, is delicious." - Hala N. Barakat, in: Madamasr (August 25, 2018) click here.
"For culinary enthusiasts as well as for those fascinated by Egypt's heritage, the very first English-language translation of a mediaeval Egyptian cookbook entitled Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table. A Fourteenth Century Egyptian Cookbook will come as a thrilling revelation." - Aziza Sami, in: Al-Ahram Weekly (August 31, 2018) click here.
"Nasrallah provides her readers not only with an annotated translation, but also details of texts and manuscripts, and excellent and detailed glossaries, helpfully divided into classes of food such as vegetables and legumes, fruits and nuts and so forth, as well as kitchen and cooking implements and culinary terms." Susan Weingarten, in: Mediterranean Historical Review, 33:2 (2018)
"The tremendous linguistic and contextual expertise that has gone into the preparation of this book has paid off. It is not only an invaluable historical document for the better understanding of the material culture and foodways of pre-modern Egyptian society, but also a fine example of thorough research and scholarly responsibility to one's material." - Leyla Rouhi, in: Al-Masāq, 30/3 (2018)
"Cet ouvrage contient tout ce que l'on peut attendre de la traduction d'un livre de cuisine médiéval: une traduction sérieuse (...), une présentation qui permette au lecteur, même non spécialiste, d'apprécier l'originalité du texte, des glossaires efficaces et une petite touche de gourmandise." - Audrey Caire, in: Arabica 65 (2018)
"N. Nasrallah nous propose ici un travail exceptionnel. Sa minutie et son expérience passée de la traduction d'ouvrages culinaires confère à ce livre une valeur scientifique indéniable, mais aussi une dimension sociale, vivante de ce que fut la cuisine arabe médiévale. Cette oeuvre réjouira tout autant le chercheur en quête d'informations que l'amateur curieux de mettre en pratique une cuisine riche, variée et colorée, nous rappelant que, contrairement à la cuisine occidentale, la cuisine arabe sut conserver les goûts, les produits et les modes de cuisson médiévaux et que l'on peut toujours, à une table de Tunis, du Caire ou de Damas, se faire une idée assez précise des plaisirs culinaires qu'éprouvaient les mangeurs pour qui l'auteur du Kanz rédigea son livre." - Veronique Pitchon, in: BCAI 33 (2019)

Read an interview about the book with the author on Marcia Lynx Qualey's blog ArabLit: click here.

About the Author

Nawal Nasrallah is an independent scholar, previously professor of English literature at the universities of Baghdad and Mosul. She has published books and articles on the history and culture of Arab food, including the Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winner of 2007 for best translated cookbook Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens (Brill, 2007), and Delights from the Garden of Eden (Equinox, 2013).