Ancient Egypt_ Fruit and Vegetables

Ancient Egypt: Vegetables, fruit and oil

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Fruit and vegetables

ManyEgyptians had agarden adjacentto their house,where they grewvegetables andfruit. Vegetables -the "crop of theyear" - weregrown all yearround, irrigatedby hand andformed animportant part oftheir diet.

May theking givean offering(to) Osiris, the great god, that he maygrant an invocation offering of bread,beer, cattle, fowl, and every good andpure thing, every kind of vegetable...

Stela of Ahmose, the coppersmith

Stela of Ahmose, the coppersmith(Source: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Vegetables

How basic vegetables were on the ordinaryEgyptian's menu can be seen in this complaint ofstriking workers during the reign of Ramses III

We are starving hungry. Our tonguewasted away in thirst. No cloth is left.We are lacking oil. We have no fish, noteven vegetables.

Onions, which celibate priests were forbidden toeat because of their aphrodisiacal effects, were astaple food.

On the pyramid (of Cheops) it isdeclared in Egyptian writing how muchwas spent on radishes and onions andleeks for the workmen, and if I rightlyremember that which the interpretersaid in reading to me this inscription, a

Ancient Egypt: Fruit and vegetables http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/vegetables.htm

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sum of one thousand six hundredtalents of silver was spent;

Herodotus, Histories II, Project Gutenberg

Garlic was highly valued. According to PlinyGarlic and onions are invoked by the Egyptians ,when taking an oath, in the number of their deities.Ramses III ordered garlic to be distributed in largequantities in the temples. The Israelites who hadbecome accustomed to the Egyptian diet of bread,fish and vegetables, complained when they werewandering in the desert [3]

5 We remember the fish , which wedid eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers,and the melons, and the leeks, and theonions, and the garlick.

Numbers 11

Leeks [6] are also mentioned in the Ebers papyrusand in the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor thenarrator found all kinds of food on his desertedisland:

When I grew hungry and lookedabout for food, I found all ready forme within easy reach: figs and grapes,all manner of good herbs, berries andgrain, melons of all kinds, fishes andbirds for the taking.

Egyptian melon, faienceMiddle Kingdom

Source: Keimer, op.cit

Radishes,choriander,cabbages, endive [7],cucumbers, watermelons, melons [13] and raphanus, awild radish tasting like turnip, were grown widely.According to Athenaeus the Egyptians ate boiledcabbage before all the rest of the food considering itone of the most delicate vegetables. The tubercularArum colocasia, one of the plants loosely referredto as lotus, was also relished [5]. Mallow was addedto soups [12]. The poor ate the roots of papyrus and other plantsgathered in the marshes. The lotos mentioned byHerodotus with its round root was possibly theWhite Lotus.

When the river has become full andthe plains have been flooded, theregrow in the water great numbers oflilies, which the Egyptians call lotos;these they cut with a sickle and dry inthe sun, and then they pound that which


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grows in the middle of the lotos andwhich is like the head of a poppy, andthey make of it loaves baked with fire.The root also of this lotos is edible andhas a rather sweet taste: it is round inshape and about the size of an apple.

Herodotus, Histories II, 2.92Project Gutenberg

A second 'lily' variety Herodotus describes wasprobably the Sacred Lotus, Nelumbo nucifera, animport from India, and not the traditionally depictedblue lotus.

There are other lilies too, in flowerresembling roses, which also grow inthe river, and from them the fruit isproduced in a separate vesselspringing from the root by the side ofthe plant itself, and very nearlyresembles a wasp's comb: in this theregrow edible seeds in great numbers ofthe size of an olive-stone, and they areeaten either fresh or dried. Besidesthis they pull up from the fens thepapyrus which grows every year, andthe upper parts of it they cut off andturn to other uses, but that which is leftbelow for about a cubit in length theyeat or sell: and those who desire tohave the papyrus at its very best bakeit in an oven heated red-hot, and theneat it.

Herodotus, Histories II, 2.92Project Gutenberg

Broad beans, Vicia faba L., the Egyptian used a

Semitic loanword, ,[16] for them, have been apopular food in Egypt for a long time. The oldestknown broad beans have been found in 5th dynastytombs.[14]

Beans, Vigna sinensis, Egyptian ,[15]

have been known since earliest historic times.[14]

They were mentioned in one of Ramses II's paeanson himself:

Lower Egypt rowed to Upper Egypt foryou, with barley, wheat, salt and beanswithout number.

Stela of Ramses II, year 8-9 (Kairo CG 34504)After a transliteration and German translation on the ThesaurusLinguae Aegyptiae website, Altägyptisches Wörterbuch, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften => Historisch-

rhetorische Königstexte (19.Dynastie) => Heliopolis => SteleRamses II. Jahr 8-9 (Kairo CG 34504) => Stele

Statuenanfertigung

In medicine beans were used in remedies against


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constipation, in a remedy for a sick tongue or atreatment for male urinary complaints.[14] Accordingto Herodotus, who travelled through Egypt in theLate Period, beans were ritually unclean and werenot grown for human consumption:

Beans moreover the Egyptians donot at all sow in their land, and thosewhich they grow they neither eat rawnor boil for food; nay the priests donot endure even to look upon them,thinking this to be an unclean kind ofpulse.

Herodotus, Histories IIProject Gutenberg

Egyptian melon, faienceMiddle Kingdom

Source: Keimer, op.cit

Diodorus thought that theEgyptians were forbidden to eatbeans and chick peas in order toteach them the value ofabstention. But legumes were found as offerings intombs. During the times of Ramses III the priests ofThebes and Memphis received donations of beans.Lupins, lentils, chick peas and peas (since theMiddle Kingdom) were also consumed. Lentils, easyto keep while dry, were a commodity occasionallyused in trading. According to the story ofWenamen's journey 21 measures of lentils were partof the payment the Egyptian ambassador gave to theruler of Byblos for a shipload of timber.

The lettuce was dedicated to the god Min, andwas often protected by a little statue of the god. Itsleaves were eaten whole, dipped in oil and salt, andwere frequently part of votive offerings, having areputation for being an aphrodisiac and enhancingfertility.

Fruit

Since the middle of the thirdmillennium BCE dates weregrown, though they were not ofhigh quality. The palmtree,imposing when fully grown, wasalso planted for shade

there is a large citynamed Chemmis in theTheban district near Neapolis, and inthis city there is a temple of Perseusthe son of Danae which is of a squareshape, and round it grow date-palms.


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and its form influenced architecture

for the tomb of Amasis also, thoughit is further from the sanctuary thanthat of Apries and his forefathers, yetthis too is within the court of thetemple, and it consists of a colonnadeof stone of great size, with pillarscarved to imitate date-palms, andotherwise sumptuously adorned


Apple (tpH–tepeh), olive(Dt–djet), and pomegranate(nhm–nehem) [11], trees werebrought to Egypt during the reignof the Hyksos or later. Mulberrytrees reached Egypt fromArmenia or Persia before or during the NewKingdom. Pears, peaches, almonds and cherrieswere not introduced until the Roman period, butfigs, grapes and the not always very tasty sycamorefigs [4] which could be harvested from April toDecember, were known from early times [2].Coconuts were an imported luxury fruit affordableonly to the rich.

May I walk every day unceasingly onthe banks of my water, may my soul reston the branches of the trees which Ihave planted, may I refresh myself inthe shadow of my sycamore.

Egyptian tomb inscription, ca. 1400 BCE

Other fruit trees grown were the Dellach palmtree, mimusops, the shrublike jujube (Chinese date,Ziziphus jujuba ) and the drought resistant balaniteswhich has datelike fruit and succulent leaves thatare excellent feed for goats. Ramses III allotted the Amen-Re temple figs,grapes, dom-palm fruit, pomegranates. Other itemsare not as well specified: there are two instances ofall (kinds of) fine fruit and of fruit and a number offruit have not been identified:

Mehiwet: cakes 3100Khitana-fruit: heket 310Khitana-fruit: bundles 6200

James Henry Breasted Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Four, §240

Some of these fruit were only eaten fresh, butmany were dried in order to preserve them. Jars ofraisins were allotted by the thousands to the Nile


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god temple by Ramses III, as were dried dates.

The Egyptian climate was notfavourable to growing olives; andolive oil, known by the Semiticzayit meaning olive continued tobe imported.

The Arsinoite Nome (i.e.the Fayum) is the mostremarkable of all, both on account ofits scenery and its fertility andcultivation. For it alone is planted withlarge, perfect, and richly productiveolive-trees, and the oil is good whencarefully prepared; those who areneglectful may, indeed, obtain oil inabundance, but it has a bad smell. Inthe rest of Egypt the olive-tree is neverseen, except in the gardens ofAlexandria, where under favourablecircumstances they yield olives, but nooil.

Strabo, Geography, Book XVII, § 35

Oil

Olive oil [1][8] was used for lighting, but one maysurmise it was used in the preparation of food aswell. Olive oil jars were labelled

[.... olive oil from the great] olive treeplantation(?) of the House of theMillion [Years belonging to the king ofUpper and Lower Egypt ...... in thetemple of Amen lying on the banks(?)of Ka : [...] jars.

Inscription on an olive oil jar fragmentOstracon Qurna 619/5

Other trees were grown for oil before theintroduction of the olive, among them the Moringa.From the little that we know, it appears thatEgyptian ointments were made with nut oil, but it isprobable that animal as well as vegetable grease wasemployed for this purpose too. The common people,both men and women anointed themselves with theoil of the kikki (castor-berry, Ricinus communis) [9].

And for anointing those of theEgyptians who dwell in the fens use oilfrom the castor-berry, which oil theEgyptians call kiki, and thus theydo:--they sow along the banks of therivers and pools these plants, which in


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a wild form grow of themselves in theland of the Hellenes; these are sown inEgypt and produce berries in greatquantity but of an evil smell; and whenthey have gathered these some cutthem up and press the oil from them,others again roast them first and thenboil them down and collect that whichruns away from them. The oil is fat andnot less suitable for burning thanolive-oil, but it gives forth adisagreeable smell.


Oils were also pressed from almonds, sesame(since Ptolemaic times), linseed (flax), raphanus,selgam (cole-seed), and seemga.

Seasonality

A small number of fruit and vegetables like garlic,onions, carobs, dates, or nuts, kept for quite a while,some could be preserved by drying, a techniqueknown to the ancient Egyptians, although thefrequency of its implementation with perishablefood stuffs is unknown. But most had to beconsumed when they were ripe or processed into aproduct that would keep. Surplus produce could alsobe marketed locally, but few vegetables could besent far afield without spoiling. Therefore, peoplemostly had to make do with what they themselves ortheir neighbours grew in their gardens, whichresulted in their choice being much more limitedthan a list of fruit and vegetables known to havebeen grown in Egypt [10] might suggest.

Summer Autumn Winter Spring

figssycamorefigsplumswatermelonslettucecolocynthleeksmelonstiger nutscucumbersfenugreek

melonssycamore figstiger nutscucumbersfenugreekdatespomegranatesgrapesolivescuminziziphuscarobs

carobslettucegarlicceleryradisheslentilsblackcumincorianderpeas

sycamorefigsgarlicceleryradisheslentilsblackcumincorianderpeasbroadbeansonionschick pea


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Bibliography:Joan Pilsbury Alcock Food in the Ancient World, 2006Greenwood PressHames H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Chicago 1906,5 volumesHerodotus, EuterpeLudwig Keimer, Sur quelques petits fruits en faïence émailléedatant du Moyen Empire, BIFAO 28 (1929)M. Lichtheim Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume OnePliny, Natural History, (eds. John Bostock, H.T. Riley)Strabo, Geography

Picture sources:[ ] Stela of Ahmose, the coppersmith: Museum of Fine Arts,Boston[ ] Photos of date palm, olive tree and sycamore: AndréDollinger Footnotes:[3] This reference from the bible should not be considered acontemporary historical source, but rather a reflection of thetraditional view the Hebrews had of their sojourns in Egypt.Even if there is no direct historical evidence for this, theassumption that the semi-nomadic Israelites reached the Nileoccasionally in their wanderings seems reasonable.[4] Sycamore figs do not ripen properly unless a little fly entersthem. In the absence of these flies, notching the fruit a few daysbefore picking will cause it to ripen, a fact known since theMiddle Kingdom at least:

I found figs and grapes there, all sorts of finevegetables, sycamore figs, unnotched andnotched

The Tale of the Shipwrecked SailorM. Lichtheim, p. 212

Pliny described the sycamore in his Natural History not alwaysquite accurately (the fruit does contain seeds of course, it issweet during spring, but not very much so in summer andautumn, etc.):

It bears fruit, not upon branches, but upon thetrunk itself: the fig is remarkable for itsextreme sweetness, and has no seeds in it. Thistree is also remarkable for its fruitfulness,which, however, can only be ensured by makingincisions in the fruit with hooks of iron, forotherwise it will not come to maturity. Butwhen this has been done, it may he gatheredwithin four days, immediately upon whichanother shoots up in its place. Hence it is thatin the year it produces seven abundant crops,and throughout all the summer there is anabundance of milky juice in the fruit. Even ifthe incisions are not made, the fruit will shootafresh four times during the summer, the newfruit supplanting the old, and forcing it offbefore it has ripened.

Pliny, Natural History, Book XIII, chapter 14

Faience sycamore fruit, Middle KingdomThe fruit itself is reddish-brown, the excised part black, a


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truthful rendering of what happened to real fruit where theoriginally white sap coloured the cut (and the hand cutting

it) black.Source: Keimer, op.cit , plate I

Nowadays the incision is generally madenear the ostiolum, on some MiddleKingdom faience sycamore fruit, on the other hand, the cut isindicated on the side of the fruit (Ludwig Keimer, op.cit , p.52)[5]

Among the varieties of the bulb, too, there isthe plant known in Egypt by the name of"aron." In size it is very nearly as large as thesquill, with a leaf like that of lapathum, and astraight stalk a couple of cubits in length, andthe thickness of a walking-stick: the root of itis of a milder nature, so much so, indeed, as toadmit of being eaten raw.

Pliny, Book XIX

[6] The Egyptian soil, enriched by the annual Nile flood, seemsto have rewarded the efforts of the leek growers withoutstanding results:

It is a remarkable fact, that, though the leekstands in need of manure and a rich soil, it hasa particular aversion to water; and yet itsnature depends very much upon the naturalproperties of the soil. The most esteemed leeksare those grown in Egypt, and next to themthose of Ostia and Aricia

Pliny, Book XIX, 33

[7] Pliny gives a list of Egyptian edible plants, not all of whichhave been identified:

the wild endive is known as "cichorium," thecultivated kind being called "seris." This lastis smaller than the other, and the leaves of itmore full of veins.

Pliny, Book XX, 29

In Egypt, next to the colocasia, it is thecichorium that is held in the highest esteem, aplant which we have already spoken of underthe name of wild endive. It springs up after therising of the Vergiliae, and the variousportions of it blossom in succession: the root issupple, and hence is used for making witheseven. The anthalium grows at a greaterdistance from the river; the fruit of it is round,and about the size of a medlar, but withouteither kernel or rind; the leaves of the plantare similar to those of the cyperus. The peoplethere eat the fruit of it cooked upon the fire, asalso of the oetum (the earth pistachio), a plantwhich has a few leaves only, and thoseextremely diminutive, though the root is largein proportion. The arachidna (possibly a kindof vetch), again, and the aracos have numerousbranchy roots, but neither leaves nor anyherbaceous parts, nor, indeed, anything thatmakes its appearance above ground.The other plants that are commonly eaten inEgypt are the chondrylla, the hypochoeris, thecaucalis, the anthriscum, the scandix, thecome, by some persons known as thetragopogon, with leaves very similar to those


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of saffron, the parthenium, the trychnum, andthe corchorus (Corchorus olitorius L.); withthe aphace and acynopos, which make theirappearance at the equinox. There is a plantalso, called the epipetron, which neverblossoms; while the aphace, on the other hand,as its flowers die, from time to time puts forthfresh ones, and remains in blossom throughoutthe winter and the spring, until the followingsummer.

Pliny,Book XXI, 52

[8] Pliny considered Syrian olives superior to the Egyptianvariety

In Egypt, too, the berries, which areremarkably meaty, are found to produce butvery little oil

Pliny, Book XV, 4

[9]

A third oil is that made of the fruit of the cicus,a tree which grows in Egypt in greatabundance; by some it is known as croton, byothers as sili, and by others, again, as wildsesamon...Our people are in the habit ofcalling it "ricinus," from the resemblance ofthe seed to that insect. It is boiled in water, andthe oil that swims on the surface is thenskimmed off: but in Egypt, where it grows in agreater abundance, the oil is extracted withoutemploying either fire or water for the purpose,the seed being first sprinkled with salt, andthen subjected to pressure: eaten with food thisoil is repulsive, but it is very useful for burningin lamps.

Pliny, Book XV, 7

[11] tpH (19th dynasty) , Dt , nhm (Middle Kingdom) aresemitic loanwords.[12] Alcock 2006, p.58[13] Seeds of melons and watermelons were (and still are)eaten as snacks in the whole Near East.[14] Lise Manniche, An ancient Egyptian herbal, University ofTexas Press, 1989, p. 154[15] MdC transliteration jwr.yt, Wb 1, 56.14-15[16] MdC transliteration prj, Wb 1, 531.12. Arabic ful, still astaple food in Egypt.

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[1] Farming at Karanis (University of Michigan)

[2] History of Horticulture by Jules Janick(Purdue University)

[10] Fruit and vegetable species from selectedsites (University College London)

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Ancient Egypt_ Fruit and Vegetables

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