Egyptian cuisine is built on the food culture of ancient Egypt, which left unique records depicted in visual art and written sources from numerous archeological sites.
Remains of prepared food have been recovered from tombs and settlements dating to various eras of the Pharaonic period, and the techniques and tastes of the ancients contributed to culinary developments in Egypt and elsewhere in bread-making, the manufacture of beer and wine, the preservation of fish meat, and poultry, cheese-making, egg incubation, and stock breeding.
Some foods still consumed in Egypt today hark back to these ancient methods and discoveries, such as bouza, a lightly fermented drink still consumed in Nubia and Upper Egypt that is a direct descendent of ancient beer.
Despite the changes to Egyptians' eating habits throughout the centuries, long-standing food traditions persist. This especially clear when one ventures outside the kitchens of the rural and urban bourgeoisie where the Egyptian diet is still based on the ancient staples of beans, pulses, bread, and vegetables.
Recipes for many of these traditional dishes have been included in this book, along with regional specialties and dishes of more recent vintage that incorporate food developments that span Egypt's history.
This book, Feasts for a Pharaoh, includes a timeline that incorporates evidence from both Lower and Upper Egypt about the development of the Egyptian culinary arts during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdom.
