Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1227 |
| Died | 1293 (aged 65–66) |
| Occupation | Scholar |
| Notable work | Fiḍālat al-Khiwān fī Ṭayyibāt al-Ṭaʿām wa-l-Alwān |
Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī was a 13th-century Muslim-Andalucían scholar who wrote "one of only two cookbooks to survive" from that era.[1][2]
Al-Tujībī was born in 1227 to a wealthy family of scholars living in Murcia. The Christian reconquest of Spain led many Muslim families to flee including Al-Tujībī's. In 1247 the family ended up in Béjaïa (now Algeria). By 1259 Al-Tujībī had relocated to Tunis.[2]
While Al-Tujībī wrote many books, only his cookbook, Fiḍālat al-Khiwān fī Ṭayyibāt al-Ṭaʿām wa-l-Alwān (English: Best of Delectable Foods and Dishes from al-Andalus and al-Maghrib), survives. The cookbook was composed in Tunis around 1260.[2]
The cookbook was composed of recipes from Al-Tujībī's Al-Andalus heritage, where dishes had Muslim, Christian and Jewish influences.[2] Until 2018 it was thought that there was no complete copy of the book remaining, until an accidental discovery at the British Library. Bink Hallum (of the British Library) asked for the expertise of the food historian Nawal Nasrallah who realised the significance of the finding. Nasrallah has since translated a copy version of the book into English, which was published in 2021.[2][1]
There are three known extant manuscripts of the text:
- Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Wetzstein 1207
- British Library, Or5927
- Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid), Gayangos XVI
Daniel Newman translated the cookbook under the title The Exile’s Cookbook: Medieval Gastronomic Treasures from al-Andalus & North Africa, which was published in 2023.[3]
See also
References
- 1 2 Russell, Polly (10 June 2022). "'Delectable Foods': this 13th-century cookbook reveals a world of delicious recipes". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Verde, Tom (15 October 2021). "How a Librarian and a Food Historian Rediscovered the Recipes of Moorish Spain". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ↑ "The Exile's Cookbook". Saqi Books. Retrieved 2023-09-24.
Further reading
- Newman, Daniel, The Exile’s Cookbook: Medieval Gastronomic Treasures from al-Andalus & North Africa, 2023, ISBN 978-0-86356-992-0
- Nasrallah N, Best of Delectable Foods and Dishes from al-Andalus and al-Maghrib: A Cookbook by Thirteenth-Century Andalusi Scholar Ibn Razīn al-Tujībī (1227–1293), 2021, ISBN 978-90-04-46947-1