Foods of Ancient Israel

On this page you will find a list of recipes, ingredients, and other info about food in ancient Israel.  

 

COMMON MEALS
Two daily meals were usually eaten.   Here are an example of common meals eaten:

Late Morning Meal:  Could include roaster grain, olives, figs or grapes, and bread with garlic, onions, or black radishes.   Water or wine were drunk.

Evening Meal:
A vegetable stew, served in a common pot, that family members would dip their bread into.   Sometimes small bowls would be used.   Occasionally fresh or dried fruit, or cheese, would be served alongside the soup.   Water, wine, or milk was drunk.


RECIPE IDEAS



Lentil Soup and Barley Flatbread
A common daily meal throughout Isreal.

Ashishim
This was a fried lentil cake...honey-dipped pancakes made from crushed red lentils and sesame seeds.


Pressed Dried Fruit
While I don't have a "recipe" for this, this seems easy to do, and pressing dried fruit into blocks or clusters might be something you could do with kids as an activity.

• Raisins were pressed together into clusters and dried, which kept the interior raisins softer.
• Dates were sun dried and pressed into blocks to dry more, then used throughout the year
  

Meaty Stew
Cuts of meat (see meat section) were boiled with garlic and leeks, and flavored with cumin and coriander (it was Babylonian dish thought to be used in Israel too).  Stewed meat was considered a dish worthy of serving to honored guests (Judges 6:19-20).   Here's some recipes I found that used only ingredients they had at the time.

Stewed Lamb with Cumin and Coriander

Babylonian Stewed Meat

INGREDIENTS
Here are some ingredients available in ancient Israel.  There may be more ingredients they had access through trade, or which I just haven't found through my sources.  I've tried to note which one I know were introduced later, or were only available through trade.

Meats
Storing meat was difficult, so larger animals were often saved for special occasions.  Goat and mutton was often eaten during celebrations, festivals, and sacrificial feasts.  Beef was regarded as a delicacy, and served at royal banquets.  Dried fish was also eaten by wealthy in inland cities, and fresh and dried fish were eaten by rich and poor living near the sea.  Chicken and pigeon were the principal poultry in Roman times (NT). 

Meat was often cooked in a stew, but also roasted over an open fire (always done for passover lamb).  Meat was preserved by smoking, dryng and salting.

Many meats were forbidden by the Torah, but the meats below were, to my knowledge, available and allowed.   I am not including meats such as pork, that while available, were not allowed to be eaten.

Goat
Lamb (mutton)
Fish (fresh and dried)

• sea bream
• grouper
  
• meager
  
• grey mullet 
• Nile perch (imported dried)
  

Beef/veal (only eaten by wealthy)
Deer (red and fallow deer, wild game)
Gazelle (wild game)
Chicken (domesticated, became common around 2nd century BC)
Pigeon (wild and domesticated, but could only be raised in small numbers)
Geese (domesticated)
Turtledoves (domesticated and available wild April to Oct)
Partridges (wild)
Quail (wild)
Other wild game
Some types of locusts

Dairy
Until the domestication of the chicken (2nd century BC), eggs were considered a delicacy.  

Milk (goat and sheep's milk)
Butter
Cheese (mostly from goat and sheep's milk)
Eggs (from domesticated chicken, pigeon, turtledoves, ducks, geese, and also wild birds such as quail and partridge)

Grains/Flours
Bread was eaten with every meal.   Porridge was made from ground grain, water, salt, and butter, to which oil and fruits was sometimes added.   Click links for more about threshing grain, and bread making.  The cooking methods used produced flat loaves of bread that were broken, not cut.  Matza (unleavened bread) was eaten at Passover.  In Roman times (New Testament era), other cooking methods were introduced that allowed for thicker loaves.  The Mishna (Hallah 2:2) mentions one type of bread made with fruit juice substituted for water (which worked to leaven the bread and added sweetness).   Fennel and cumin were sometimes added to bread for flavoring, and bread was sometimes dipped in oil or vinegar.  Unripe grains were also eaten fresh, or roasted over a fire and eaten. 

Barley (two-row)

Wheat  (various types...see below)
 - Emmer - earliest native wheat domesticated in Canaan, time consuming to de-husk
 - Einkorn - another early cultivated wheat
 - Duram - a descendant of emmer that largely replaced it during the Iron age, as it was easier to remove the husks, though it was more difficult to grind (and had to be sifted to obtain fine flour).  Primarily used for porridge, though also used for bread.
 - Common Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum), became popular for making bread after the Greek conquest (so, in New Testament era)

Carob (can be ground into flour)

Rice (introduced during Persian period sometime after 539 BCE, so was not used before the Isrealites were allowed to return to Jerusalem after exile in Babylon)

Lentil/Bean flour - Ezekiel 4:9 mentions a bread made with barley, lentils and bean (presumably ground into flour).


Fruits
Grapes, dates, and figs were the most commonly used fruits.

Apricots (fresh and dried)
Carob
Dates (from date palm,)
Figs (fresh and dried)
Grapes and Raisins
Mulberry (black mulberry)
Pomegranates
Apple or Quince (possibly...there's some disagreement about this)
Watermelon (sweet, but with yellow-orange flesh)



Vegetables/Legumes
Legumes (peas and beans) were the main source of protein in ancient isreal.  Legumes and other vegetables were usually eaten in stews, which often contained garlic, onion, and leek for flavor.   Legumes were also eaten roasted.

Broad Beans (fava beans)
Carob
Capers
Chickpeas
Chicory (leaf, one of the bitter herbs commonly eaten at Passover)
Cucumber
Dandelion Greens
Endive (one of the bitter herbs commonly eaten at Passover)
Fennugreek
Garden Rocket (leaves)
Garlic
Gourds (unsure of type, eaten raw or flavored with vinegar)
Leeks
Lentils
Lettuce, wild (chazeret)
Lettuce, head-lettuce (introduced by the Romans, available in NT times)
Mallow (Corchorus, young leaves eaten, or made into tea)
Onions
Olives
Peas
Radishes (black radish)
Saltbush/Orach (leaves)
Vetch, bitter


Seeds and Nuts

Carob
Mallow seeds (can be used as a flavoring, but not sure if it was)
Sesame Seeds
Almonds (eaten primarily by the wealthy)
Walnut (very common)
Pistacios (eaten primarily by the wealthy)

Herbs and Spices
Note, there were more herbs and spices used for medicinal purposes, or for perfumes or other uses, but I'm only including spices used for food here.

Anise (used to season meats, breads)
Bay Leaf (seasoned stews and stewed meat)
Chicory (dwarf)
Cinnamon (imported)
Coriander Leaves (flavoring in soups, stewed meat, pudding and wine)
Coriander Seeds (sprinkled on breads, rolls, and fish...possibly crushed first)
Cumin (regular and black, used to season unleavened bread)
Dill
Fennel
Fenugreek
Garlic
Ginger (imported)
Hyssop
Majoram
Mallow seeds (can be used as a flavoring, but not sure if it was)
Mint (grows wild in Palestine)
Mustard (black)
Pepper (imported)
Reichardia
Salt (sea salt from dead sea, and mined salt)
Saffron (imported)
Sesame
Thyme

Oils

Olive Oil
Sesame Oil
Radish seed oil

Sweeteners
Date Syrup (also called date honey)
Carob
Grape Honey (syrup left after grape juice is boiled)
Honey


Other
Vinegar
Wine
Mushrooms (including Boletus edulis )



Sources
Wikipedia:   Ancient Israelite Cuisine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Israelite_cuisine

Cattle in the Ancient World
http://womeninthebible.net/bible_daily_life/cattle_ancient_world/

Food in the Bible
https://womeninthebible.net/bible-extras/food/

History of Cucumbers
http://www.vegetablefacts.net/vegetable-history/history-of-cucumbers/

History of Watermelon
https://ipm.missouri.edu/MEG/2020/7/watermelon-DT/

The 5,000-Year Secret History of the Watermelon
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/150821-watermelon-fruit-history-agriculture

Ancient Egyptian Foods

Below are all types of food that the ancient Egyptians had that I could dig up.  Originally this was a list I made for a living history Vacation Bible School, but this list could be used for all sorts of other purposes.

I started out trying to limit this to the foods that would have been available in Egypt in the time of Joseph and Moses, but when these event occurred is highly debated among Biblical scholars and so really hard to nail down.   Also, sometimes I don't know when exactly a certain food/ingredient was used in Egypt, just that it was used at some point. 

NOTE ABOUT DATES:  We don't have definite dates for when Joseph and Moses lived, but since the story of Moses mentions chariots, which were not in Egypt until they were taken over by the Hyksos (in the 2nd Intermediate Period between the Middle and New Kingdom), we can limit it to, at earliest, Late Middle Kingdom, or some time after that, but most likely before 1000 BCE.   

FOR VBS VOLUNTEERS:  I've  included some things for historical interest that would not be feasible to use during VBS (don’t worry, I’m not suggesting serving wine or beer, or trying to hunt down papyrus root, which besides being hard to find is now endangered).  



RECIPES

Egyptian Bread and Tigernut Cone Sweets
This is similar to the other tigernut recipes below, but they model the Egyptian method of making them, based off of depictions in Egyptian murals, not just the recipe.

"Tigernut" Sweets   (Includes Walnuts - introduced in Greco-Roman Times)
"Tigernut" Sweets II  (Includes Walnuts - introduced in Greco-Roman Times)

Horchata With Actual Tigernuts  
This also includes a recipe for beer in the beginning.   The Horchata recipe is down below.  Tigernuts are sold now as a health food in some stores so it might be possible to get them to make this recipe. 

Tigernut Honey Cakes

Egyptian Palace Cake 

Egyptian Marshmallow   
While no recipe for this exists, we know they had marshmallow plant and used it.  This is a possible recipe made with ingredients they would have had.   This is not modern marshmallows.

White Lotus Cakes   
Calls for actual lotus seeds, so this one might be harder to find, but would be a cool treat if you could find them. 

Egyptian Bread (Modern Adaption - with historical info) 
Very simple bread recipe. Article includes some other ancient recipes. 

Egyptian Beer Bread (made like Egyptians made it)
Scroll to the end to find recipe.   Beer bakes out.  Lots of good info on Egyptian baking above.

How to Eat Like and Egyptian Pyramid Builder
This includes several simple recipes that were probably eaten by the workers on the pyramids:  flat bread, lentil soup, salted tilapia, and stewed lamb.

Ta'amia/Falafel (Bean Cakes)
While its origins are disputed, some claim this dates back to the pharonic era of ancient Egypt.   Falafel today is usually made from chickpeas but in ancient Egypt it would have been made from beans.

Tilapia Soup

Watermelon Seed Recipe
I read that Egyptians originally cultivated watermelons for their seeds, not to eat the flesh--an indication that early on they weren’t sweet like today, though around the time of Joseph it seems they may have cultivated a more palatable, if not totally sweet, variety.  While we don’t know for certain how they ate the seeds, I found this simple recipe which seems like something they might have done (it’s a middle Eastern recipe with ingredients they had then).  You de-seed watermelon served as a snack, and then later use the seeds to make this.  (Another version here doesn't mention drying seeds as long)

Dukkah Spice Blend
Ancient spice mixture that can be used to season meat, mixed with hummus, or used as a dip for bread.  (Scroll Down on Page for Recipe)

Pickles
The Egyptians made pickles by soaking cucumbers in vinegar, and mixing in spices to flavor them (kids could have fun making their own pickles with combinations of spices Egyptians had, listed further down on this page.)  (11)

Goose with Pomegranate Sauce - Not a dish we knew they made, but a dish with foods we knew they had and ate, so a possible recipe for sure. 

A Meal With Cleopatra
This contains four recipes.   The bread would have been something available at all times in Ancient Egypt.  The rest were intentionally supposed to represent the foods that would have been available at the time of Cleopatra, long after the Greeks had taken over Egypt, and when Rome had taken over what we now think of as Greece...so these recipes have Greek and Roman touches.   While the Greek and Roman influences on Egypt came long after Joseph would have been in Egypt, I think the Mersu with pistachio would be an interesting choice for the time of Joseph, since the Bible records that Joseph's brothers brought him gifts of pistachios (not a native Egyptian plant) on their second trip to Egypt (Gen 43:11), and this is a way that they could have been used in Egyptian cuisine. 

  





WHAT INGREDIENTS/FOODS THEY HAD
You can use the ingredients below to find food for snacking or imagine other recipes they could have made. Remember that while they had a wide variety of foods available, they couldn't use them all at once because some things would only be available in certain seasons (you can find more info on seasonality at the bottom of this page).


BREADS AND GRAIN

• Bread (a main staple of the Egyptian Diet)
• They used emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) and six-row barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. Hexastichum) (1)
• Bread was made from flour ground on grinding stones and mixed with water that was then kneaded and left to rise. The dough could be shaped in a flat loaf or baked in ceramic molds. (1)

Egyptians had trouble keeping sand out of their bread...we know this because of the way the bread they ate wore down their teeth.  (12)

DRINKS (5)

• Milk (from sheep, goat and cow)
• Water
• Beer (a main staple of diet)
• Wine (mostly from grapes, but also from pomegranate, grapes, and other fruit)
• Juices

MEAT (1)

• Cattle
• Chicken - used after Persian times, uncertain before that
• Duck
• Fish - primary source of meat for most Egyptians (included Nile perch, catfish, and mullets)
• Geese
• Goats
• Pigs
• Sheep
• Wild animals were hunted, mainly from the desert, and included wild cattle, addax, antelope, hartebeest, gazelle, ibex, Barbary sheep, oryx, and ostriches.  Wild birds were also hunted.  Hippo and crocodile were hunted mainly because they were dangerous. "In pharaonic times many of these desert fauna were hunted for sport by royalty and nobles; hunting dogs similar to the greyhound were used for this." (1)

DAIRY PRODUCTS (5,6)

• Eggs
• Cheeses
• Yogurt
• Butter (clarified, resembling oil...probably because of the heat).

VEGETABLES (1)

• Carob (Introduced in Middle Kingdom, used as a sweetener)
• Celery - Introduced during the 18th Dynasty (early New Kingdom), eaten raw, and used to flavor stews. (9)
• Cucumber (introduced in New Kingdom) (9)
• Chickpeas (introduced in New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty) (9)
• Cress (seeds used as flavoring, so possible that plant used like lettuce as well)(9)
• Garlic
• Fava Beans
• Lima Beans
• Leek
• Lentils
• Lettuce - Its leaves were eaten whole, dipped in oil and salt (4)
• Lotus Tuber (Arum colocasia)
• Mallow (4)
• Onions
• Peas
• Papyrus Tuber -”...they pull up from the fens the papyrus which grows every  year, and the upper parts of it they cut off and turn to other uses,  but that which is left below for about a cubit in length they eat or  sell: and those who desire to have the papyrus at its very best bake it  in an oven heated red-hot, and then eat it.”  Herodotus, Histories II, 2.92  (4) -
• Raddish - white/pink (introduced in Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty)(9)
• Tigernut (a root crop, not actually a nut - sometimes sold now as a health food ) (3)

FRUITS (1)

• Carob Trees - More common in new kingdom (1)
• Dates and Date Palm

- Imported plant...not sure when imported. (1)
- Plentiful after hand pollination was practiced...not sure when that was

• Dom/Doum Palm (native plant with brown fruit) (1)
• Figs (common fig and sycomore fig)
• Grapes and Raisins
• Olives (rare) -there’s evidence of olives, though olive trees don't grow well in the southern part of the country - olive oil was a luxury item so probably olives were too.    (1)
• Persea
• Pomegranate - more common in New Kingdom, though still a luxury item (9)
• Watermelon (2)  - probably was not as sweet as watermelon today.
• Black Mulberry (introduced in New Kingdom)
• Wild Zizyphus berries
• Apricot (imported, only used by wealthy) 
 

 

NUTS/SEEDS

• Sesame
• Watermelon Seeds
• Lotus Seeds
• Celery Seeds (introduced in early New Kingdom,  incorporated in sauces for grilled fish) (9)
• Almonds (New Kingdom on, rare, imported from Persia and Armenia) (5)
• Pistacio (not native - it was available but rare, imported) (14-16)
• Various other seeds

The Bible tells how, when Joseph's brothers returned to Egypt the second time, their father told them to "Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds." (Gen 43:11)   These would have been valued, because myrrh, pistachio and almonds did not grow in Egypt (14-16). 

HERBS, SPICES (1)

• Anise (added to bread, flavored pork)(9)
• Celery Seeds
  
• Cinnamon (imported and only available to very rich, sometimes even used in mummification) (10)
• Coriander (available from the New Kingdom onward, added to bread, seasoned fish) 
• Cress Seeds
• Cumin (available from the New Kingdom on, used on flavored bread and fish)(9)*
• Dill (available from the New Kingdom on) (9)
• Fennel
• Fenugreek - was used as a spice and possibly after the seeds were removed the stems provided fodder for livestock.
• Garlic
• Lavender
  
• Majoram (9) 
• Mustar (possibly as early as Middle Kingdom) (9)
• Parsley (9)
• Rosemary (9)
• Thyme (9)
• Salt

*Cumin was associated with faithfulness, and so soldiers and merchants sometimes carried the seeds in their pockets to remind them of those waiting at home.   They also thought cumin could help digestion and settle the stomach. (10)


OTHER

• Olive Oil - an imported item common after the Hyksos (9)
• Seed and Nut Oils
• Celery Seed Oil (used as a food preservative in New Kingdom)(9)
• Other Oils
• Vinegar (8)
• Honey - produced in ceramic hives (1)

Honey was the primary sweetener, gathered with effort and used sparingly. It was associated with the gods, with preservation, and with ritual purity. Most Egyptians would have encountered honey only on special occasions.  (Donnie Dodson, Eats History)

 

SOURCES
1.  http://astromic.blogspot.com/2012/01/food-in-ancient-egypt.html

2.  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150821-watermelon-fruit-history-agriculture/

3.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyperus_esculentus

4. http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/vegetables.htm

5. http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/drink.htm

6. http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/meat.htm

7. https://books.google.com/books?id=Vj7A9jJrZP0C&pg=PA632&lpg=PA632&dq=celery+egypt&source=bl&ots=zt20tgyJKt&sig=PQaNQatoZHYbNAP6AG5BTmFmCqE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiD58uW-orNAhUE7IMKHc31CvcQ6AEIQzAJ#v=onepage&q=plum&f=false

8. http://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/ancient-egyptian-food.html 

9. https://cowofgold.wikispaces.com/Ancient+Egyptian+Food

10. https://www.history.com/news/spices-of-life-in-ancient-egypt 

11. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ancient-Egypt-Reading-Comprehension-The-Nile-River-2613230

12. http://www.ethanholman.com/history/egypt/dailylife/breadmaking.htm

13. https://sourdoughstartersfall20.wordpress.ncsu.edu/2020/09/11/the-history-of-the-cucumber/

14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistachio

15. https://www.pisti.it/en/pistachio-origins-and-varieties-in-the-world/

16. https://crewsproject.wordpress.com/2018/02/16/crews-display-pistachio-potsherd/

LINKING UP AT....

Throwback Thursday

A Meal In Galilee

According to Bible Lands and Cities, a typical meal in Galilee would consist of lentil soup and flatbread (usually barley bread). With this they might have had fresh fruits in season (grapes, melon, cantaloupe, figs, apricots, pomegranates, and olives) or dried fruit (dried apricots, figs, and pomegranates). They also might have cheese made from goats milk, and curdled milk (similar to yogurt) sweetened with honey. Meat was rarely eaten except on special occasions. The most common meat was probably dried fish. Other meats eaten included goat, lamb, chicken, geese, duck, pigeon, and quail. Beef was only eaten by the elite.

Here are some recipes you can use when recreating a Galilean meal:


Lentil Soup with Flatbread
(You will need to multiply this for a large group)

7 ounces red lentils

15g (1 tablespoon) rice

1 flat bread

1 tbsp cumin

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, sliced

Salt

Rinse the lentils and rice and put them in a saucepan. Cover lentils with water. Add salt and cumin. Bring to a boil and cook 1 hour.

Fry or grill the sliced onions until blackened. Scatter the onions on the soup and serve immediately.

Flatbread can be used with the soup in two ways:
1. Serve with soup for dipping, either toaster or untoasted.
2. Cut into bite sized pieces and toast, then sprinkle on soup right before serving.

From a recipe found at www.gods-cookbook.com, a website which no longer exists.   But I believe the recipe was a sample from the book God's Cook Book: Tracing the Culinary Traditions of the Levant*.

*(The link is an amazon link through which I can earn commission, which is donated to a charity of my choice.)

Rice was first introduced in Isreal by the Persions, and by the Roman period was a common food and major export.  

Barley Flatbread
This recipe makes 8 loaves. If participants are helping you make this bread, you can also get some barley seed or wheat kernels and have them grind it into flour between two rocks (or a flat rock and a stone rolling pin, which was somewhat like women in Galilee did). I suggest having them grind a small amount and add that to pre-ground store bought barley and wheat flour, since grinding enough to make an entire loaf could be time consuming.

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup barley flour
1 cup wholewheat flour (or other whole grain)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Stir the yogurt until it is smooth, then stir in baking soda. The yogurt will froth. Combine salt, barly flour, and wholewheat flour (or alternative) in a large mixing bowl. Stir in yogurt yeast/water mixture. Knead for 10 minutes by hand.

Cover the bowl with saran wrap or wet towel and let rise for 1 to 1.5 hours in a warm place. It should doubled in size. Remove the dough from bowl and kneed on a breadboard. Divide into into 8 small balls. Flatten each ball into a 6″ circle. Cover and let stand for 20 minutes.

Have cloth ready for pressing the dough and wrapping the finsihed loaves (something you won’t mind getting oil on). Coat a frypan with oil or cooking spray (olive oil would have been used in Galilee, but other oils work just as well). Place dough in the pan (how ever many will fit without touching…and a little room between). Press each circle of dough with the folded cloth to squeeze out air bubbles and prevent air pockets from forming. Cook 1.5 minutes, flip, and cook another minute more. When the bread is cooked the edges of the bread will look moist. Remove from pan and wrap in cloth to keep warm.

From a recipe found here. (Recipe modified to add 1st century details).

PRINTABLE: This coloring page from Bible Printables features women making flatbread.

In rural villages like Nazareth, women would often wake up 3 hours before dawn to grind grain.

Historical source for Rice Fact: Wikipedia:  ancient Israelite Cuisine.  Other sources sited in text.