Some Mesopotamian Ingredients Revealed
http://www.silkroadgourmet.com/, Laura Kelley

FMM: Come criticisms I have with Laura Kelley translations, although I do commend her for taking the time to understand the recipes better:

1. Couldn’t some of these ingredients be unfamiliar to us now? For instance Kasu (see my notes for Kasu below)
2. She sometimes seems to reach hurried conclusions. See Suhutinnû below where she seems to ignore another reference in the University of Chicago Assyrian Dictionary which says it is a dried vegetable, such as onion and garlic.
3. Besides samidu being used in many of the "broth" recipes (YBC 4644), leek and garlic are often mashed in milk or sour milk (kisimmu) and added last in the recipe. This tells us something about their cooking style which I do not think comes through in Laura Kelley’s recipes.

From Laura Kelley:

I had a few stray hours last night and was reading Jean Bottero’s Textes Culinaire Mesopotamien and was struck by the number of ingredients that were unknown in the Mesopotamian recipes.  How were modern cooks supposed to give these recipes an authentic try if so many of the ingedients were basically up for grabs? Loving a mystery, I jumped online to do some research.  I set out to decipher samidu, suhutimmu and zurumu.  The first two, Bottero assumed were members of the allium family like shallots or leeks and the zurumu he claimed not to have enough information to venture a guess.

First, I was struck by the number of websites that simply repeat Bottero’s opinions on the ingredients these likely represent, then I was amazed at the number of random inserts people used in recipes in place of these ingredients. Some some cooks used spices that were unknown in Asia and entered global trade only after the Europeans began to exploit the New World’s rich resources.

The biggest problem I’ve found so far in trying to reconstruct these recipes is one of resolution. Many people not interested in food are content to define something as, “a type of bean, or some sort of dairy product.” This simply is not enough information for those of us wanting to know what sort of dishes these cultures ate – we need to know what sort of bean it was etc.

Although I speak and read several languages, I am no linguist.  What I am however is a really good and relentless researcher who is skilled and/or lucky at finding information online. My conclusions may not be correct, but they are transparently referenced.

I spoke with the Assistant Curator of the Yale Babylonian Collection, Ulla Kasten and she recommended me to Bottero’s later work and the work of modern author Nawal Nasrallah for figuring out more ingredients.  Those are great suggestions for which I am grateful, but I’m having so much fun going researching these myself that I’m going to soldier on and THEN compare my results to those other works.

Where I have simply listed words with a ‘this = that’ construction [with no explanation], there seems to be a good degree of concurrence. Words that I can find scholarly references for will be listed with explanations of why the definition is probably correct and words that I have done original analysis on will be denoted (LK) – so readers know that these definitions are my own conclusions and have not been vetted by linguists. I am also in the process of clarifying which language these definitions come from – its a bit of a mish-mash right now, but stay tuned.
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Andahsu = Wild tulip bulb. Multiple references to spring root vegetable and some statements about commonness in the north (Anatolia and Assyria) but uncommonness in the south. Not sure of the species of tulip that this refers to, but many are edible and have a distinct mildly bitter flavor. Possible also that it could refer to a wild crocus or lily bulb. Undefined in Textes Culinaire Mesopotamien (TCM) and The Oldest Cuisine in the World (OCW)(Ref 1)(LK).

Butumtu = Pistachio Nuts or Flour. Buttutu is Assyrian for Pistachio nuts. Butumtu is synonymous. In TCM, Bottero called these green or unripened wheat or barley, in OCW he calls these husked lentils. There seems to be a recent trend amongst scholars to go back to a 19th Century definition of this word as meaning ‘tamarisk’, but I think that pistachio makes a great deal more culinary sense and is still used in modern regional cuisines in the same ways as defined in the Mari and Nippur tablets. (Ref 1)(LK).

FMM: Terebinth nut. Terebinth is used to make turpentine, but the main source of the terebinth turpentine is Pistacia atlantica which produces abundant resin instead of P. terebinthus of which the amount of resin is limited. The fruits are used in Cyprus for baking of a specialty village bread. In Crete, where the plant is called tsikoudia, it is used to flavor the local variety of pomace brandy, also called tsikoudia. In the Northern Sporades the shoots are used as a vegetable (called tsitsíravla). The plant is rich in tannins and resinous substances and was used for its aromatic and medicinal properties in classical Greece. A mild sweet scented gum can be produced from the bark, and galls often found on the plant are used for tanning leather. A triterpene has been extracted from these galls.[9] In Turkey, it is known as menengiç or bıttım. A coffee-like beverage, Kurdish coffee or menengiç kahvesi,[10] is made from the roasted fruit, and a soap is made from the oil. Terebinth resin was used as a wine preservative in the entire ancient Near East, as proven by many findings in areas such as the foot of the Zagros Mountains[11] and Middle Bronze Age Galilee.

Gugu-la = Chickpeas. There seems to be a fair amount of concurrence that this word means chickpeas. However it is often translated as bean, large bean or simply legumes. Molina and Such-Gutiérrez, Neo-Sumerian Administrative Texts 56, 2005; Powell, RlA 10 21-22, 2003; . Maekawa, BSA 2, 1985. Stol, BSA 2 127-130; 133, 1985.

Gugu-tar = Lentils. Sumerian. There seems to be a fair amount of concurrence that this word means chickpeas. However it is often translated as bean, small bean or simply legumes. Sometimes denoted as Gutur. In Akkadian, the word for lentil seems to be Kakku. Molina and Such-Gutiérrez, Neo-Sumerian Administrative Texts 56, 2005; Powell, RlA 10 21-22, 2003; . Maekawa, BSA 2, 1985. Stol, BSA 2 129-130; 133, 1985.

Halazzu = Carob Seeds. Halla: Refers to a plant that resembles the dung of birds in Assyrian. Zu or ze refers to the dung, but is also used in a prefix to denote plants or seeds. In old scholarly writings on the subject, there is a lot of reference to the “dove’s dung” mentioned in the Bible. It is possible also that the “ingredient” is a carob powder or carob syrup given Bottero’s statement about pressing or squeezing the unknown plant. However, this could also be his interpretation of the Akkadian word halasu which mean to crush or extract and is often found in reference to the making of seed-oil. Carob is widely enjoyed across Western Asia, Levant and Eastern Mediterranean today and imparts a sweet chocolate-like flavor to dishes. This seems to depart from the commonly used word for carob. (refs 1&2)(LK).

FMM: I could not find this in the University of Chicago Assyrian Dictionary.

Hirsu = A cut slice sliver, piece, portion. Akkadian. In TCM Bottero gives no definition for this. He states that it appears before words designating “leg and mutton?” – so it is possible that it refers to the shank. Lamb or sheep shanks, at least in that context. Alternately, as we see with some fowl recipes from the Yale Tablets the cook is told to add some meat. This may be a small portion of meat from a hooved creature to bolster the flavor of the fowl recipe that would be like the equivalent of cooking something in a meat stock instead of water. (ref 2) (LK).

Hisiltu = A coarsely ground flour or a coarsely ground spice mixture. (ref 1)

Kanasu = Emmer Wheat. (Kunasu in Akkadian). Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum), also known as farro in Italian. Emmer a proto-wheat or awned-wheat that was one of the first domesticated crops. Emmer is one of the ancestors of spelt (Triticum spelta). The use of it in Mesopotamian recipes probably refers to wheat flour. In TCM Bottero gives no definition for this (ref 1).

University of Chicago Assyrian Dictionary: Kanasu is a garden plant. Looks like the pilu plant (but) its leaves are small and thin and have a curly fringe. Ten baskets of Kanasu. Kanasuttu - a garden plant producing a condiment. The pilu plant has not yet been identified.

Kasu = Wild Licorice (formerly thought to be cinnamon).

Several of the recipes feature an ingredient called kasû, which was interpreted by Bottero as dodder, a parasitic weed of the genus Cuscuta. Puzzled by the use of a bitter weed in these dishes, I found an alternate meaning in a paper by Near Eastern scholar Piotr Steinkeller, who argued that kasû was probably wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), and that it was used by the Mesopotamians both in cooking and in making beer.

From Sumerian gazi (kasu) wild licorice (Steinkeller, AOS 68, 92; Heimpel, CUSAS 5, 214). Roots used to flavor many food from soups and stews to cheese and beer with sweet anise-like flavor.

FMM: Some information I found on Cuscuta:
Cuscuta (dodder) is a genus of about 100–170 species of yellow, orange, or red (rarely green) parasitic plants. Dodder can be identified by its thin stems appearing leafless, with the leaves reduced to minute scales. From mid-summer to early autumn, the vines can produce small fruit that take the same color as the vine, and are approximately the size of a common pea. It has very low levels of chlorophyll; some species such as Cuscuta reflexa can photosynthesize slightly, while others such as C. europaea are entirely dependent on the host plants for nutrition.

The stems can be cooked and the seeds roasted. Despite the fact that cuscuta is unpopular with farmers, it has a long history of folk use. In Western herbalism, cuscuta was traditionally used to treat liver, spleen, and gallbladder disorders such as jaundice; and to support liver function. According to traditional Chinese healers, cuscuta seeds have a neutral nature and a pungent, sweet taste. They are associated with the liver and kidneys and are used in formulas that help both yin and yang deficiencies, depending on the patient's condition and the other herbs in the formula. It is collected in autumn when the seed is ripe, dried in the sun and used unprepared or boiled.

"In Mesopotamia, dodder, possibly C. monogyna Vahl, grew on thorny bushes such as Rosa eglanteria L. and Rubus sanctus Schreb. Its capsules were harvested and used to flavour beer and to spice date wine. This dodder used to be cultivated on thorny hedges."
- from Crop Protection in Medieval Agriculture by Jan C. Zadoks

There is a reference for roasted kasu-seed in the entry for "laptu" in the University of Chicago Assyrian Dictionary.

Kisimmu = Sour Cream or Yogurt. Undefined in OCM. Called a sort of cheese in TCM. Clearly defined as a sour milk product in multiple sources in reference 1. Unclear whether it would have been moist like yogurt, drained like Afghan chaka or fully dried like dry kishk. If I had to pick one of the three, I would choose to drain it like chaka becasue of its use in modern regional cuisines in that form.

Kamaamtu(m) = Rhus coriaria or sumac. It is a word borrowed from Sumerian. I think I found this in Meissner but I cannot find my notes – will check.

Laptu = turnip or roasted barley The accepted definition of this word depends on the context at this time.

Mersu = A dish based on dates, raisins or figs with other sweet or savory ingredients added. Mersu is the ultimate ‘Iron Chef’ test. It involves picking one from column A: dates, figs or raisins and combining it with at least one from column B: pistachios, apples, cheese, garlic, “wine” (probably must or pomace), and flour (but the flour could be nut flour). It could be simply a layer of pounded dates rolled into a sheet which is then covered with nuts, then rolled and sliced, or pounded dates rolled into balls and covered with chopped nuts. If one adds flour, it could possibly be something like the modern Iranian Ranginak in which dates stuffed with nuts are enclosed within a thin dough sandwich and sliced, or the Lebanese Ma’moul in which pounded date cores are rolled in a layer of semolina which is then covered with chopped nuts. Bottero called this a cake. Sigrist equated this with ninda-i-de-a (JCS 29, 1977). (LK).

Mersu was interpreted as a cake because of the similarity between that word and marâsu, which means “to mix,” and because mersu was described as comprised of nuts and dates. Yet there is nothing to imply that mersu was a cake, let alone any instructions on how to make it. Could mersu be something else? A look at modern western Asian and Levantine cuisines hints that mersu could easily have been a date-nut roll, or a beautiful date “candy,” as well. Both sweets are based on pounded dates and chopped nuts or other fruit or nut toppings. Or, adding only some type of flour, mersu could resemble the modern Iranian dessert ranginak, which consists of dates stuffed with pistachios enclosed in a thin crust of dough. Or it could be like the modern Lebanese ma‘moul, which has a pounded-date center covered in a layer of semolina that is then covered in a layer of chopped pistachios. Looking to non-European cuisines shows us the many possible, culturally plausible variations for mersu other than “cake.”

Ninu=Mint.

Nuhurtu = Asafoetida. This is one undefined ingredient in Bottero’s work that really will impart a complex onion-like flavor to a dish. The principal reference is Thompson DAB, but his opinion is supported by many references to the medicinal use of the plant’s roots and resin (ref 1). It is also listed in the catalog of “trees” in Assurnasipal II royal garden at Kalhu. Since asafoetida plants grow quite large it is understandable that it was thought to be a tree. (LK)

Qaiiatu = rolled oats or pounded oats or oat flour. Used roasted and added to the stews, soups and pilafs represented in the Yale Babylonian culinary tablets. (ref 1) (LK).

Salahu = Cress or Cress seed.

Samidu = Semolina

One of the untranslated ingredients used in almost every recipe is samidu. Bottéro assumed that it was in the allium family, which includes onions, garlic, chives and leeks. Looking to modern languages, however, I found that in Hebrew and Syrian, semida means "fine meal" and, in Greek, semidalis is used to denote "the finest flour." According to the University of Chicago's Assyrian Dictionary, semidu is also defined as semolina.

Assyrian samidu, Syrian semida “fine meal”, Greek semidalis “the finest flour”.
A fine flour called semida סמידא in the Talmud (Pesachim 74b, Shabbat 110b, Moed Katan 28a). Semida is the Targum Yonatan translation for solet סולת – also meaning “fine flour”.  Probably used in broths, soups and stews to thicken the liquid (much as corn starch is commonly used today), or could be used to denote a form of couscous or other form of small dumpling. (LK)

Sebetu-rolls = Dill Seed. Dill (Anethum graveolens) was called sibetum in Assyrian (ref 1). Bottero states that these were probably grain rolls (small pieces of bread) eaten as a staple with meals. Several recipes state that these are roasted in an oven and scattered about the dish just before presentation. Both the etymology and the use make it unlikely that these were rolls of grain. I believe the confusion comes from the translation of the word “roll” which I take to mean seed (as opposed to dill weed). In Tablet B and C of the Yale collection Bottero mentions using dough to make Sebetu-rolls and bake them in the oven. My interpretation of this is that roasted dill seed is added to the dough for flavor. (ref 1) (LK)

Sibburattu=Mustard. Bottero calls this rue, which makes a little bit of culinary sense. However, my research shows that this plant is aromatic, both leaves and seeds are used, and it is a common ingredient in medicinal poulstices and for treatment of urinary infections. Mustard is a much better fit for this description than rue. (ref 1) (LK)

Siqqu = Salted Fish or other salted meat. Bottero defines this as garum like the Carthaginian fish sauce often associated with the Romans. There is nothing that I can find that defines Siqqu as a sauce. References only point to fish and salt as the principal ingredients. Additionally, one reference records a person complaining that the siqqu they bought is not moist. How can liquid not be moist? Siqqu may have been eaten with a selection of fruits like dates and date-plums and splashes of fruit vinegar. (ref 1) (LK).

Suhutinnû = A root vegetable. Probably a carrot, possibly a parsnip. Sahutinnu in Assyrian. In the Babylonian tablets translated by Bottero, it is always used “raw”. Ref 1 states that it is an alliaceous plant, but there is no evidence to support that it is anything other than a root vegetable. Tablets simply report that they are “dug up”. (LK)

FMM: The University of Chicago Assyrian Dictionary also gives this reference for defining Suhutinnû: "five gur of garlic, 2 gur of onions, two gur of š., (in all) nine gur of dried vegetables." "š." is an abbreviation for Suhutinnû which is being defined. So besides being dug up, it is also dried like onion and garlic are. To me, this makes it unlikely that Suhutinnû is a carrot or parsnip.

The words onion, shallot and scallion are all derived from the Greek word askolonion, which is a word derived from the town of Ashkelon, where the ancient Greeks believed that the various types of onion originated. The Ancient Greeks gave shallots their name, when their traders discovered them in the Palestinian port of Ashkalon and named them after the city. Said to have been discovered by Marcus Aurelius in ancient Cannan (now Palestine) in the second century AD. Shallots are a little sweeter than regular onions and have a more subtle flavor. They are good used in raw applications where you want an oniony flavor without too much punch, such as in salads and vinaigrettes, , or in slow roasted or braised dishes, where their sweetness can enhance a dish without watering it down.

Her earlier analysis:

Suhutinnû = Cress, probably Garden Cress, possibly Old World Watercress

Suhu is alternatively “a festival” and “to defile” in Old Akkadian ( šuhhu (a festival) OB (Halab, Alal.) in ūm š. [for Mari see J.-M. Durand, Florilegium Marianum VII, p. 32 ad No. 17:3].  šuhhû “to defile”; see Mayer, Or. NS 57 (1988) 155ff.; Westenholz/Koch-Westenholz, Studies Lambert, p. 439, fn. 9 [ARG].  (Kurdinnu in Assyrian; amardinnu in Assyrian uses root dinnu (sometimes transliterated tinnu) to refer to brambles and cress).  Old Akkadian kudimmu (kuttimmu) is an herb like cress [so Stol, Bi. Or 571 (2000) 627]. Many references to Assyrian rulers strewing conquered cities with salt and kudimmu – hence “festival” and “to defile’.  According to the Babylonian tablets it seems to be used to flavor broths, soups and stews with a peppery flavor like a gentle arugula or rocket.  In Babylonian tablets it is always used “raw” as cress would have to be used. 

Suluppu = date Akkadian for fruit of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera). Old Akkadian is zulum.

Surmenu = Juniper Berries. Bottero calls these cypress cones. While Bottero is close, the Juniper is a type of cypress, and the “berries” are actually fleshy cones, the use of juniper berries – especially in game-based stews and curries – makes culinary sense, while cypress cones do not. (ref 1)

Tiktu = A dairy product. Possibly a type of kashk. In Assyrian – Diktu. Likely to be a product like kashk, because in TCM, it is mixed with beer to create a sauce. In OCW, Bottero does not define this, but uses it to denote a sort of flour. It is possible that the term “tiktu-flour” used by Bottero is a mixture of kashk and cracked wheat as is done in the Levant and Arabian Peninsula. The combination is called Kishk and the dried flour is the base for a traditional Levantine soup or gravy with meat, onions, and garlic. The sauce or gravy is eaten by scooping out with flat bread (ref 1). (LK)

Tuhu = Cracked rye berries or wheatberries. In TCM Bottero called these beets. However, Tuh’hu is the accepted word for bran in Old Assyrian. I think, however, that instead of denoting “bran” it might be used for a cracked rye or wheat. From a culinary point of view, the cracked rye or wheatberries make a heck of a lot more sense than bran(ref 1) (LK).

Uihur-sag = Saffron.

Ukus-hab = Citron. In the amounts specified (usually small) this probably refers to minced zest of citron. In TCM, Bottero – referencing early German writings on medicine called this colocynthe or cucumber – both of which make little culinary sense. Colocynthe is a powerful laxative, purgative, abortifacient and in larger doses poison, and cucumber would simply be overwhelmed by the other flavors in the culinary recipes they were mentioned with. It is not out of the question that it is colocynth seed which is still a common food item today, but I think that citron is more logical culinary choice of an ingredient with a similar physical description as colocynthe. (LK)

Zamburu = Thyme

Zamzaganu = Field birds. Sumerian, Old Babylonian. A possible compound noun of zamzam (bird) and ganu (field). No definition given by Bottero in TCM (ref 2) (LK).

Zanzar = Date-plum, (fruit of Diospyros lotus, the Caucasian persimmon). Zanzaliqqu is specified as a type of tree bearing fruit (sometimes said to be inedible). When these fruits are unripe they are very bitter and inedible as raw fruits. They change significantly as they ripen and dry and lose their tartness. Same word as Zarzar(u). (An alternative reading of zararu as sarsar(u) or sansar(u) (a type of locust) are possible zarzar is separated out as a plant because of its association with the verb ittabsi in ARM 2 107. That said, the concept of using “locusts” to make siqqu is questionable – although locusts were regarded as food items as shown in representative art.) (LK)

Zibu = Black Onion Seeds (nigella sativa) (Not black cumin (Carum bulbocastanum) which is from the N. India/Himalayas). “Black onion seeds” or kalonji as they are called in many places on the Indian Subcontinent are not really onion seeds at all, but flower seeds that impart a strong flavor reminiscent to onions by some people. These seeds have been used in Mesopotamian and Egyptian food and are still used widely in Indian, Persian and Turkish foods today. (This is one of Bottero’s ”culinary confusions”). (LK)

Zizna = fish roe Sumerian. Akkadian is binitu.

Zurumu = Small intestine or lining thereof. Surumu as small intestine in Akkadian see Hussey [J. Cuneiform Studies Vol. 2, No. 1 (1948), pp. 21-32)]. Moran specifies that Surumu is Akkadian for “lining” of part of the digestive tract (see Moran JCS Vol. 21, Special Volume Honoring Professor Albrecht Goetze (1967). Used like intestines and lining of digestive organs are used today: ubiquitously in soups and stews, stir fries etc. for flavor and texture. Tripe or Chit’lins. Bottero stated that he didn’t have enough information to even venture a guess. (LK)

Zurumu = small intestine or lining thereof 

Surumu as small intestine in Akkadian see Hussey [Journal of Cuneiform Studies  Vol. 2, No. 1 (1948), pp. 21-32)].   Moran specifies that Surumu is Akkadian for “lining” of part of the digestive tract (see Moran JCS Vol. 21, Special Volume Honoring Professor Albrecht Goetze (1967).  Used like intestines and lining of digestive organs are used today: ubiquitously in soups and stews, stir fries etc. for flavor and texture.

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Well, I am once again actively engaged in reconstructing ingredients and recipes that I think the good professor erred on. Carob, wheatberries, licorice and pistachio nuts – all are flavors that I think were included in the Mesopotamian diet that Bottero left undefined or defined as other types of ingredients – all too often onions or other plants in the allium family.

My current research, and kitchen experimentation by myself and others, is providing some revised interpretations of the Yale tablet recipes. In fact, I don’t think that any of the recipes on YBC 4644 represent either broths or porridges; rather, they are general guidelines for the flavors of dishes that range from stew-like koreshes, curries and soups to braised meats and dry pilafs. It all depends on the relative proportions of liquid and solid ingredients. As noted earlier, amounts of ingredients are almost always absent from these recipes, so the exact dish prepared is left up to the cook—who is assumed to have sufficient training to understand and use the recipes in this form.

For example, Recipe 19 on YBC 4644 is for halazzu, which is untranslated. I believe it to be a recipe for lamb or beef with carob: Halazzu was proposed as carob by several previous Assyriologists, and substituting “carob” for it in the recipe makes for a delicious stew or sauce. Recipe 20, called “salted broth,” I interpret as mutton with wild licorice and juniper; Recipe 23, for kanasu—another term left untranslated—I think is lamb with grain and mint. Lastly, I have found a delicious grain and herb pilaf in Recipe 25 by using the alternative definition of laptu, which Bottéro translated as “turnip” without mentioning that “barley” is an equally accepted translation among scholars.

Before the Yale tablets, Bottero notes that there were only two recipes. The first one is for “Mersu”, which Bottero defined as a “cake” with dates and pistachio nuts as ingredients. It turns out that the tablet – transcribed in Oldest Cuisine in the World (OCW) – only states that dates and pistachios were received for the making of mersu for the king, not that mersu was a cake or how to make it. The assumption that those were ingredients for a cake was made entirely by Bottero, because mersu/mirsu is simply an Old Babylonian word for a “confection” made of dates. He also makes the entymological link with the verb “marasu” one meaning of which is to stir into a liquid. He neglects to note that a secondary meaning for the verb is to squeeze or crush (although I admit, that this is not generally used in connection with food or offering words.)

The second recipe known before the Yale tablets is one that Bottero calls “court boullion”. The ingredients listed are nuhurtu, sahlu, kasu, kamu, cucumber (?), and the meat of a slaughtered animal. Bottero translates these as fennel, watercress, dodder (Cuscuta), cumin and cucumber (all of which he states he is uncertain of). My own research suggests that the ingredients are asafoetida, garden cress (but possibly watercress) wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), and cumin. The characters or transliteration for the ingredient thought to be cucumber is not included in OCW, so I cannot research or comment on it liguistically, but I can say that with a flavor lineup including asafoetida, cress, licorice, and cumin that cucumber makes little culinary sense as it would be overwhelmed in the quantities required (15 grams).

The recipe states to boil six liters of water with kasu and cook for a long time – I presume this to be until it is reduced by at least half or two-thirds. Then it reads that the cucumber (?) should be added and cooked until it is reduced to 1 liter. Then the liquid is strained and meat is added and cooked. I assume that the other ingredients are added when the cucumber (?) is added, but no specific instructions are given, they could be added when the meat is added, or even before the broth is strained.

Even a modest amount of meat – a pound or two – added to a liter of water and cooked is not going to produce a boullion (for there are no further instructions to strain the liquid again) but rather a stew. A licorice and lamb stew – what an interesting idea! Of course it could have been a braised cut of meat as well – a licorice braised lamb. The point is, it could be many things other than court boullion.

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Non-culinary Words

Makaltu = Shallow Bowl. Found in dowry lists and in instructions for offerings as well as recipes. Like a pie plate, but usually made of wood (University of Chicago’s Assyrian Dictionary).

MU = Cook

Musukkannu = Sisham Tree (Dalbergia sisso). Stated that it is imported from the east for its wood and used extensively in building. Chosen because it is an “everlasting wood”. Said to reproduce by sending out shoots from the root. Shisham is a good match for this word because its heartwood is known for its durability and hardness. Its current natural range is from Afghanistan to Bhutan but in times past, its range extended west and south into Iran.

References

Reference 1: University of Chicago’s Assyrian Dictionary

Reference 2: Online Akkadian, Sumerian and Babylonian dictionaries

(All research and words by Laura Kelley).