The Culinary Crescent: A History of Middle Eastern Cuisine

The Fertile Crescent regionÑthe swath of land comprising a vast portion of todayÕs Middle EastÑhas long been regarded as pivotal to the rise of civilization. Alongside the story of human development, innovation, and progress, there is a culinary tradition of equal richness and importance.
In The Culinary Crescent: A History of Middle Eastern Cuisine, Peter Heine combines years of scholarship with a personal passion: his knowledge of the cookery traditions of the Umayyad, Abbasid, Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal courts is matched only by his love for the tastes and smells produced by the contemporary cooking of these areas today. In addition to offering a fascinating history, Heine presents more than one hundred recipesÑfrom the modest to the extravagantÑwith dishes ranging from those created by the Òcelebrity chefsÓ of the bygone Mughal era, up to gastronomically complex presentations of modern times.
Beautifully produced, designed for both reading and cooking, and lavishly illustrated in color throughout, The Culinary Crescent is sure to provide a delectable window in the history of food in the Middle East.