3. The Arab Factor

Although the Arabs were commonly described as simple and austere people due to their harsh and dry physical environment, they did know luxury, as al-Jahiz (d.869) in his book on misers, Al-Bukhala’, assures us, wherever the land was more productive and means more abundant. He concluded from their poetry that they knew fine white flour, fruits, roasted meat, and maraq ‘stew’. They knew muraqqaq (fine, thin sheets of bread), sinab (dipping sauce made with mustard and raisins), and strained honey. ‘Abdullah bin Jud’an was said to be the inventor of the famous dessert faludhaq, usually attributed to the Persians. Of their other foods, thareed ‘bread sopped in broth’ was the master of dishes. They made hays, dates mixed with clarified butter and breadcrumbs, which was mostly travelers’ fare. They valued bread and preferred meat to dates (Al-Bukhala). Even the delicate zalabiya was mentioned in old Arabic poetry, and the famous sikbaja (beef stew soured with vinegar) was said to have been known to pre-Islamic Arabs. The medieval dictionary Lisan al-‘Arab gives its Arabic name, sa’fasa () or safsafa ().