Nawal Nasrallah - Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens_ Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq's Tenth-century Baghdadi Cookbook-BRILL (2007)

introduction 33
them. 92 The most passionate about cooking among the Abbasids
was Prince IbrahÊm bin al-MahdÊ, half brother of 0§rån al-Raê9Êd.
His cookbook enjoyed wide circulation in the medieval Islamic
world. Indeed, his culinary skills did prove handy when he had to
cook for himself during his fugitive days after his nephew al-Maamån
claimed the caliphate. 93 Stressing the importance of food hygiene,
the anonymous writer of the thirteenth-century Andalusian cookbook,
Anw§bal--aydala says that many Caliphs and kings had their
food cooked under their supervision, and some, driven by necessity,
cooked it themselves (53).
All this interest and attention given to food and eating inevitably
gave rise to the trend of writing cookbooks and manuals, which
was not restricted to professionals, but extended to Caliphs, princes,
dignitaries, physicians, and the like. If the Abbasid elite who had
cooking tomes in their names did not necessarily write them, Prince
Ibr§hÊm bin al-MahdÊ did write his own. Al-Warr§q says in his Introduction
that he had scouted many culinary sources kaï9Êrat al-badad
to produce this volume. More than two centuries later, writing from
the same region, al-Baghd§dÊ points out in his Introduction to Kit§b
al-•abÊÕ9 that he had to part with the many culinary books available
at the time, and put down his own favorite collection of recipes. 94
The anonymous author of the thirteenth-century Andalusian cookbook
Anw§b al--aydala says that many volumes kutuban kaï9Êra were
written on the subject (53). Another thirteenth-century Andalusian
cookbook, Fi'§lat al-ö9iw§n, gives similar information. 95 These contemporary
sources testify that what is extant today is the mere tip of
the iceberg of the medieval culinary tradition that flourished hand
in hand with the papermaking businesses.
Material prosperity during the Abbasid era created a social class,
the nouveau riche, whose desire to emulate the aristocracy might
have also played a role in the popularity of cookbooks. They had
the means but lacked the knowledge. Cookbooks such as the one al-
Warr§q compiled would expectedly be in demand as they described
92
According to anecdotes by al-MasbådÊ 542; and al-à9§buê9tÊ 44. See Appendix,
s.v. bIb§da.
93
See Appendix for details.
94
Arabic edition ‏.اني كنت قد وقفت على عدة كتب مصنفة في صنعة الطبيخ
of ò§wåd al-ChalabÊ (rept. FaÕ9rÊ al-B§rådÊ) 10.
95
.30 al-TujÊbÊ وقد رأيت كثيراً‏ من الناس الفوا في الطبخ كتباً…‏