Mole Once More: The Class Issue
One objection that comes up time and again when people discuss my theory about the Islamic origins of mole poblano is this: how come, if mole was introduced by the Spaniards, it is now the celebration...
View Article“The Sweet Ones Become Pomegranate Sherbet”
In her informative and delightful book, Sufi Cuisine (2005), Nevin Halici, one of Turkey’s leading culinary historians, gives a recipe for pomegranate sherbet: a cup of freshly squeezed juice, 2/3 cup...
View ArticleFideos and Fideu: More on the Mexican-Islamic Connection
Tomorrow I will do a radio interview on the Islamic roots of the Mexican kitchen. I always like to give this a bit of a new twist, so this time it’s noodles. Here’s a Sunday dinner we had with our...
View ArticleWhy not Mesoamerican Influences on Mole?
Some time ago, a commentator (Tim) raised the following question about my thesis that Mexican mole is basically an Islamic dish transported to Mexico (just hit mole in the tags section). Here’s what he...
View ArticleEnsaimadas Again. More Moorish?
Here’s another comment, this time on ensaimadas, a topic that we have touched on here and here. Thanks to Michael Raffael. I probably missed earlier postings, but it seems likely that ensaimadas...
View ArticleContra a Moorish Origin for Ensaimadas
For those coming late to this discussion, we’ve been kicking around possible origins for the Mallorcan and Menorcan ensaimada here, as well as the puzzles of its spread (why did it get to Argentina,...
View ArticleBeignets and Luqam: Thoughts from Cathy Kaufman
The Islamic-Christian culinary connection is one that fascinates lots of readers of my blog. So when I saw that Cathy Kaufman had published this piece in the IACP history of food newsletter, Prandial...
View ArticleTwo Great Deserts: Sonora and Arabia Deserta
A couple of days ago I finally got around to reading Gary Nabhan’s book Arab/American. I was entranced as Nabhan, best known for his work on the ecology of the Sonoran desert, for foraging, and for...
View ArticleDates in the New World
Lots of information coming in from the comments, emails, google books, and my own library. I will try to absorb all this later today and post again tomorrow. Meantime, looks as if the Jesuits are out.
View ArticleBooks that Shed Light: Eaton on Islam in Bengal
In thinking about Islamic culinary traditions in India, one of the books I’ve found most useful is Richard Eaton’s The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier 1204-1760 (University of… The post Books...
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