We Cooked the World’s Oldest Written Recipes
The ancient Babylonians, who lived in modern-day Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria as far back as the early second millennium BCE, were among the earliest human civilizations. They pioneered such concepts as written language, legal justice, and mathematics, and the culinary arts are no exception: The world’s earliest written recipes survive today in the form of ancient Babylonian tablets dating to around 1730 BCE. The tablets were unearthed in the 1920s, but were initially thought to be medical texts. It wasn’t until the 1980s that researchers finally deduced that the artifacts actually comprised an early cookbook — in fact, it’s considered to be the oldest surviving cookbook in the world.
I was curious to see how these early recipes tasted — especially compared to contemporary dishes — so I set out to recreate a couple of them and try them myself. One of the three tablets contains a summary of 25 recipes for various stews and broths, while the other two describe those recipes in more detail. But the tablets still lack critical specifics, such as exact ingredient amounts and cooking times. The translation for one recipe, for instance, simply says, “Meat is not used. You prepare water. You add fat…” and so on, which would have been hard to replicate. Luckily, a team at Yale University used the information on the tablets, along with their scholarly knowledge of ancient Babylon, to compile several modern recipes that are considered accurate interpretations of those ancient meals.
Using their findings, I prepared two of the recipes at home: a lamb and beet stew, and a vegetarian broth whose name has been translated as “unwinding.” (Though it’s unclear why it’s called “unwinding,” experts suggest it could have been a dish people ate to relax.) Despite the ancient nature of these recipes, it wasn’t difficult to compile the ingredients, or at the very least suitable substitutes.
Lamb and Beet Stew
The primary dish I made was a lamb stew. Lambs were among several animals that were domesticated in ancient Mesopotamia, and were a key component of cuisine in the region. Mesopotamia was also an agricultural hot spot that came to be known as the Fertile Crescent — referring to the area’s rich, fertile soil — so it comes as little surprise that the lamb stew contained plenty of fresh veggies as well.
- Ingredients
- 1 pound diced lamb leg
- ½ cup rendered fat (we used cow fat instead of sheep fat)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup beer
- ½ cup water
- 1 small chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped arugula
- 1 cup spring onions
- ½ cup cilantro
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 pound diced red beets
- ½ cup chopped leek
- 2 cloves garlic
- Coriander seed, cilantro, and kurrat (we used spring onion) for garnish
For this dish, I had to make a few minor adjustments given the ingredients I had available. The recipe as written called for an Egyptian leek called kurrat, which is known for having a mild onion and garlicky flavor. Given the similar flavor profile, spring onions are a suitable alternative, so I used those instead.
The dish also calls for beer, which was a major component of Babylonian culture. It was difficult, of course, to find a beer that would have been exactly like the ones drunk by the ancient Babylonians, but I looked for an option that was as close as possible. Most of the beer recipes archaeologists have uncovered from ancient Babylon are made with barley. Tate Paulette, the author of In the Land of Ninkasi: A History of Beer in Ancient Mesopotamia, writes that “there’s no evidence for the use of hops” in Babylonian beer, unlike in modern beers. He also notes that early beers often included “date syrup, and additional flavorings,” giving them a sweetness. Brew Your Own magazine, meanwhile, points out that many ancient beers were sour in nature. Taking all this into account, I selected a fruity and sour ale to roughly replicate the taste profile of Babylonian beer.
The cooking process for this dish was rather simple, and not unlike how you’d prepare any modern stew. The major difference was how heat was applied — while cooks in ancient Babylon would’ve used an open flame, I used an electric stovetop.
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“Unwinding” (Barley Broth)
The “unwinding” recipe is a broth thickened by barley-based bread. The broth contains many similar ingredients to the lamb stew, including salt, scallions, cilantro, garlic, and leeks. In addition, toasted and crushed barley seeds are formed into a dough, baked, and added to the broth. This bread, mind you, isn’t like the loaves we enjoy today. It had a hard, crunchy shell, akin to bread that’s partially gone stale. Also, the inside was crumbly as opposed to the soft and pillowy texture of modern baked breads.
- Ingredients
- 14 ounces barley seeds
- ¾ cup warm water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ ounce spring onion
- ¼ ounce cilantro
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 ½ ounces leek
- 2 tablespoons untoasted sesame oil
- 6 ¼ cups water
Creating the broth was a bit more complicated than the stew, as it required making a sourdough bread, which took multiple days. First, I soaked the barley seeds overnight, then crushed them into dust, mixed them with warm water to form dough, and let the mixture sit for 12 hours. The next day, I baked the dough for 20 minutes before removing and letting it sit on the counter to cool. Then I got to work preparing the broth, which proved to be extremely simple. After letting the mixture simmer for an hour, I crumbled the bread into the broth, resulting in a thicker texture.
The Result
After a simple yet lengthy cooking process, it was time to enjoy these classic Babylonian dishes. Both dishes were reminiscent of some stews and soups that you’d eat today, but the spices and seasoning were less complex, which created a less interesting flavor profile overall. Still, they were pretty tasty and filling.
I can say with confidence that the lamb and beet stew is something I’d gladly cook and eat again, though it wasn’t without its flaws. The lamb, beets, and herbs complemented each other quite nicely in terms of flavor, with the beets providing a natural sweetness that counteracted the earthiness of the meat. The textures were also on point, as the mix of chewy lamb and crunchy root vegetables worked out well.
However, some of the bites I took were too sweet, as there was a lack of earthy spices to even things out. Some simple seasoning would have done wonders in balancing out the recipe, including a bit more salt or some black pepper. However, black pepper is native to Southeast Asia, and it didn’t make its way to Mesopotamia until Asian traders brought it to the region. (It’s unclear exactly when this occurred, but records show that black pepper made its way from India to Egypt around 1500 BCE via trade routes that would have passed through Mesopotamia.) Still, the stew was a warm and delicious dish that would be perfect for a camping trip or cold day.
The broth, on the other hand, was passable albeit rather uninteresting. It contained hints of onion and garlic, and the crumbled barley bread helped to thicken the otherwise thin consistency. There was nothing unpleasant about eating this dish, but little to excite the palate either. It was simply a vegetable stock with a bit of semistale bread mixed in. So while “unwinding” may be a good choice if you’re looking for something light and easily digestible, it isn’t a complex culinary delight like the lamb and beet stew.
In summary, I was surprised by how familiar the cooking process was to the low-and-slow dishes that I frequently make in my kitchen. It’s also fascinating to think just how similar these flavors from 4,000 years ago are to our recipes today. Despite the simple flavor profile, both of these dishes were warm and filling, making them especially good for cooler days.
