On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1226

Aroundthe6thcenturyCE,boththecaneand
sugar-makingtechnologywerecarried
westwardfromthedeltaoftheIndusRiverto
theheadofthePersianGulfandthedeltaof
theTigrisandEuphratesrivers,wherethe
Persiansmadesugaraprizedingredientin
theircooking.Onemodernsurvivalofthis
esteemisthesprinklingoflargesugarcrystals
overadishcalled“jeweledrice.”Islamic
ArabsconqueredPersiainthe7thcenturyand
tookthecanetonorthernAfrica,Syria,and
eventuallySpainandSicily.Arabcooks
combinedsugarwithalmondstomake
marzipanpaste,cookeditdownwithsesame
seedsandotheringredientstomakechewy
halvah,madegreatuseofsugarinsyrups
aromatizedwithrosepetalsandorange
blossoms,andwerepioneersinconfectionery
andinsugarsculpture.Therearerecordsofa
10th-centuryfeastinEgyptthatwasadorned
withsugarmodelsoftrees,animals,and
castles!


PulledSugarandAlmondConfectionin
13th-centuryBaghdad
MedievalArabcookswereamongthefirst
to explore sugar’s remarkable sculptural
qualities,astheseearlyexamplesofpulled
sugarandmarzipanshow.
DryHalwa

Takesugar,dissolveinwater,andboil
untilset:thenremovefromthedish,and
pourontoasoftsurfacetocool.Takean
ironstakewithasmoothheadandplantit
inthemass,thenpullupthesugar,
stretchingitwiththehandsanddrawingit
upthestakeallthetime,untilitbecomes
white:thenthrowoncemoreontothe
surface.Kneadinpistachios,andcutinto
stripsandtriangles.Ifdesired,itmaybe
colored,eitherwithsaffronorwith
vermilion.
Faludhaj