Ancient Babylonian Lamb Stew

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Subtitles: Jose Mendoza

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#tastinghistory #babylon

[TastingHistory]

Can't wait to try their boar and venison! It's so hard to find those meats around here.

[sethmatson]

Max: "how can I sneak the hardtack joke into the script this time?" *CLACK CLACK*

[alliewhitlock]

Fun fact: there is an Assyrologist named Dr. Stephanie Dalley who has researched the Hanging Gardens of Babylon since they are the only one of the 7 Ancient Wonders that no one has been able to locate. Her theory is that the Gardens didn't exist in Babylon proper but Nineveh (also called Babylon) and there is some evidence to support this. I wrote a research paper during my masters in this and I'm a believer now.

[pestilence]

I love it when you make bronze age foods, they're so interesting

[Zzyzzyzzs]

Nothing wrong with "ugly" foods, particularly as those tend to be lush, thick stews. As the British restaurant critic Jay Rayner once said, "long-cooked brown food is the best food". What I love is that the fundamental of stews has never changed over human history. You have a meat component, you have a veg component, you have a carb component, you have a fat component, put all in pot, throw in some roots and flavouring aromatics, boil until everything is soft and flavoured with each other's essence. It is the most efficient food and, because you maximise flavour extraction, often the richest-tasting.

[JuliaARubin]

Sheep’s tail fat, or kurdyuk, is very delicate, it doesn’t have that rough pungent mutton flavor, and when melted, it almost disappears, so the dishes are not greasy. Also it has multiple medicinal qualities, so it’s actually good for you. I live in New York and there are many Uzbecki shops and restaurants, so one can find tail fat in normal quantities, much less than a 100 lbs.

[PolinaCedric]

In Central Asia fat tailed sheep are still grown, and their tail fat still used widely in regional cuisines. It's interesting how many ingredients stay the same throughout millenia

[aresaurelian]

Actually, the first sheep herders were most likely hoarding sheep to make sure the wild herds were inside their hunting grounds and not the rivalling neighbors hunting grounds. Conflict among humans may have been the trigger to make sure you hoard all the valuable animals on your territory. Once they fenced the sheep they realized they could herd them and make them wealth of fur, wool, meat, milk, cheese, companionship, and knowledge.
Human > Gathering > Hunting > Conflict > Gardering > Territory > Hoarding > Herding > Trade > Civilization

[DankBurrito]

I love that you left the “sheep hoarders” blooper in there. Definitely made me lol 😂

[michaelbirch]

if anyone wants to try the modern-day equivalent, I highly recommend ordering Haleem from your local Indian/Pakistani restaurant. The ingredients are pretty much the same and the only difference is Haleem is slow-cooked until a paste-like consistency is achieved. It is delicious.

[meganenzinna]

I feel like you were probably supposed to use the starch from the grain/bread to create an emulsion with the fat. The result would've been a nice creamy, gravy-like soup.

[annakrasner]

I'm not a historian and this is just conjecture, but I wonder if Risnatu wasn't similar to some kind of pasta or Matzoh ball. Then this soup would be kind of like a lamb stroganoff! Also, when you're cooking the broth you should try to skim the grey bubbles that come up - then it'll look prettier. I'm not sure if they did that in Babylon but I wouldn't be surprised if they did!

[NoBandwidth-]

Hey Max, this is a little discovery I made.

The word risnātu is possibly derived from the word, rasanu.
Which means "to steep, or to soak".
So, I think groats may be the correct way to make the risnātu.
Because, you soak groats to use them.
Pretty interesting.

[MrSiegenfeldt]

It should be mandatory to watch Max and his take on food and history.
All that work you put into it and I get to watch it for free, whilst learning about food and history - it's awesome!

[allenfussell]

This is the first channel where I don't skip the ads. This guy's transition into ads is seamless. One is a little too long but you got to do what you got to do, and you did it in the least painful way possible. I hope sponsors recognize this level of marketing. Really good work.

[dennisfahey]

Little known fact - The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was all herbs. It was an early civilization form of Whole Foods.

[JustOneAsbesto]

As the Ancient Babylonian proverb says: "Fat-tail sheep make the world go round."

[danihesslinger]

Hey! "Persian Shallot" as you depict it, is actually wild-gr or "mountain garlic"mountain" garlic. If you are lucky, you might find it dried in some Persian food shops.

[melenatorr]

Very excited about the Babylonian beer (even though I don't like beer): one of the earliest historical articles I ever read was about the discovery of a Sumerian carving with a beer recipe and a rather cute engraving of the beer goddess enjoying a glass, while drinking through a straw. The recipe was tried out and pronounced: fruity.

[Treckorz]

In Iraq till this day sheep's tail is incredibly important ingredient. I and many people also order pure barbequed sheep's tail pieces that are skewered along side the skewered lambs meat at restaurants. The two most common shops that you will see here are either barbecue resteraunts selling ONLY lamb and neighborhood bread shops. Shows the importance of grain and lamb till this day.