Hittite Cookery. An Experimental Archaeological Study

216 pp, color figures, pb, in English.

No cooking recipe in the modern sense has been attested to date amongst the written Hittite texts; therefore, it seems impossible for the time being to write a book titled Hittite Cuisine”. On the other hand, this does not mean that the information regarding what they ate and drank. Some statements contained in the texts are clearly the names of some foods and they were good enough to allow an experimental archaeological study.

Three points formed the basis of the present study: firstly names of dishes and breads mentioned in the Hittite texts and material evidence obtained from excavations secondly compilation of ethno-archaeological data by surveying the neighbouring villages; and thirdly application of gastronomical knowledge in experiements based on these two sets of data. However, as the results will be experimental as it is not possible that a Hittite man whispers the actual dishes to our ears, the title of the present book must be “Hittite Cookery, an Experimental archaeological Study”.