Characteristics of the Babylonian Stew Dishes

Of the components of these stews, meat, dissolved sheep’s tail fat, and water were the most prominent, particularly fat, which was important for flavor. It also helped raise the boiling temperature, which allowed for a more tenderizing cooking process for tough cuts of meat (Mesopotamian Culinary Texts). Variety was achieved by adding different kinds of meat. In some instances it was big chunks, in others it was chopped. In several recipes, two kinds of meat were combined in one dish, as in the Francolin Stew, where a fresh leg of mutton was added to the bird. A preliminary stage of cooking the meat in its fat so that it releases its juices, which then evaporate, is also demonstrated in the Babylonian recipes, as in Zamzaganu Stew: ‘You scatter cut up pieces of meat in a cauldron and cook’ (Bottéro, The Oldest Cuisine). In later medieval Baghdadi recipes, this method was called ta’reeq (literally ‘sweating’).