The rich history of Persian cuisine spans more than 3,000 years, mapping a grand arc of history nurtured in one of the world’s great geographic crossroads. Persia is a land where diverse culinary cultures met, collided, and emerged into a sophisticated tapestry of flavors, all woven onto the weft of ancient Persian traditions. In this presentation, we embark on a culinary journey through time, exploring historical cookery manuscripts that have profoundly shaped contemporary Persian cuisine and cooking techniques. Our exploration encompasses not only old, middle, and contemporary Persian language manuscripts from Persianate societies but also relevant manuscripts and artifacts from other cultures in different languages and formats. We will also touch upon the status of English translations of these manuscripts and the challenges involved in researching the historical aspects of Persian cookery and Iranian food culture.
Dr. Nader Mehravari has been exploring the history, principles, and practices of Persian cookery and Iranian food for over 40 years He puts the outcomes of his explorations into practice by recreating traditional and authentic Persian dishes in a typical modern western home kitchen, while carefully documenting associated methods behind individual and classes of dishes. He is writing an innovative Persian cookbook where accurate historical information and modern food science techniques are incorporated for modern western home kitchens. Most recently, his work has been published in Petits Propos Culinaires, presented at Oxford Food Symposium, and shared on SeriousEats.com. With Norooz, the Persian New Year, coming up on March 21, Dr. Mehravari’s recipes for two traditional dishes, Herb Kookoo, and Chickpea Flour Cookies, are posted here.