Chardin: Travels in Persia Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CONCERNING THE FOOD OF THE PERSIANS

BEF0RE I treat of the manner in which the Persians feed, I fancy my Reader would gladly know what the Eating and Drinking of all the Asiaticks in general is.
I shall First observe, That the Asiatics are nothing near so great Eaters as the Europeans. We are Wolves and Voracious Beasts, when compar'd with them: I don't attribute the Cause intirely to their Sobriety, in taking that to be the Virtue that subdues the Gluttony, there are much stronger Reasons to be given; for, First of all, they live in much hotter Climates than we do. Secondly, That their Climes have not the Nutriment, that is to say, neither the Variety nor Plenty of ours. In the Third Place, That they do not use bodily Exercise as much as we do, such as Walking, Dancing, Tennis, &c. they are as Sedentary as Recluses in comparison of us. A Fourth Reason is, The continual use of Tobacco, which yet damps the Stomach a great deal more, as every one knows, and they never have the Pipe from their Mouth. Fifthly, That Wine and strong Liquors likewise, that provoke the Appetite, are forbid them. A Sixth is, The immoderate use of Opium, and several sorts of cold and soporiferous Drinks. These and other such-like Reasons, are the Causes of this Temperance of the Eastern People. We often attribute this Custom to the Virtue of People, which, in Effect, proceeds from no other Cause but the Temper of the Clime.
The Turks, the Persians, and generally speaking, all the People of Asia, who are Mahometans, to the farthest part of the Indies, eat of all sorts of Beasts which their Religion has not declar'd Impure, without any difference between one Country and another, than this, that the Climates breed more or less according to their Temper: The Turks, for Example, who dwell in a Country that is not so warm and more proper for Pasture, eat more Flesh, and are likewise accustomed to their Chiorbas, which are Soops of Grain and Roots, as we do with us: The Persians on the contrary, who inhabit a hotter Climate, and less Plentiful, I speak in General, use Fruit, Milk-meats, and Sweet-meats mightily.
That which I say with Relation to these Asiaticks eating of all sorts of Lawful Beasts, must be understood of those which they can and do eat sometimes; for it is certain they are not admirers of Fish nor Wild-Fowl, nor Beef, nor Veal; I always speak in General. Their usual Food is Mutton, Lamb, Kid, and Hens; these are what they chiefly Value, and particularly the Persians, who commonly eat of 'em both Rich and Poor, and are what they like, and dress the best.
The Turks make three Meals a Day, and all upon things that are Dress'd and Hot. The Persians make but two; for a Dish or two of Coffee, with a bit of Bread, very early in the Morning, is not look'd upon to be a Meal. The Reason for this difference, proceeds from nothing but the Climate, as I have said. The Cold in Turky locking up, as it were, the Natural Heat within, creates a better Stomach, and makes one eat more there; from whence it comes that the Turks eat more nourishing Meat, and in greater abundance: Besides that upon the same account of the Climate, the Turks use more Action, and employ themselves in more sorts of Exercises, whether on Foot or Horse-back. It is not the same thing with the Persians, the Heat and Drought of their Air benumbing their Bodies, and consequently is less nourishing to them. q I have said that the Persians make but two Meals: The First is of Fruits, Milks, and Sweet-meats: They have Melons all the Year round, and Grapes eight Months of the Year: They are never without Cheese, Curds, Cream, and Sweet-meats, this is generally their Mess at Dinner, which is between the Hours of Ten and Twelve, except upon their Feast-Days, upon which they dress Meat. They Sup upon Soops made of Fruit and Herbs, Roastmeat, upon Meat bak'd in an Oven or Stove, upon Eggs, Roots, and Pilo, which is equally their most delicious Food, and Daily-Bread.
As to their Manner of Cooking and getting ready, they cannot be enough commended for it, it being very plain. Regousts, Cocks-combs, Sweet-breads, &c. Sallets Pickl'd, and Salt-Meats, are Strangers to their Tables. They use nothing to whet their Appetites, but some Slices of Lemon, and a few strong Herbs, of which they put a little before every one, with a Radish or two; they are very moderate likewise in dressing of their Meats; they use no beaten Pepper, little Salt, little or no Garlick, in a Word, little or nothing of what we are so greedy of among us, and which we are so Prodigal of to provoke the Appetite. You shall never see 'cm Pound their Pepper, nor other Spices; they say, that in Powder they are not wholsome; and they put them whole into their Meats, that they may have the Taste only, and not the Substance, which they look upon to be hard of Digestion.
To speak now of the Service at Table; they are serv'd all at once, and it is the same thing with Respect even to the King's own Table. Whatever Entertainments they have, and of whatsoever Country their Guests are, the Meal does not last above half an Hour. I have admired at the Evenness of their Tastes in eating: You will never hear anv one complain of the Nleats being too high, or too little Season'd; of it's sowerness, or sweetness of the Spice; of its being over or under done; they bring neither Pepper, Salt, Oil, nor Vinegar to Table; every one has a plain Taste, and loves the same things; thus they live. I leave it to grave and wise Peoples Opinions, whether that plain and Temperate Food ought to yield or be preferr'd to that of Europe, where there is so great Variety and Profuseness.
The Eastern Christians, dispers'd among the Turks and Persians, don't live altogether as they do, they being for the most Part lovers of wild Foul, Fish, Ragousts, and black Meats, whether it proceeds from the Wine and strong Waters which they drink often to Excess, whether from the severe and frequent Fasts, which they keep out of Custom, makes 'cm greedy and Gluttons; or whether they get their daintiness in Europe, where they make long stays, by the Use of our Ragousts, and other Table Dishes.
In the Indies, as up to China and Ispahan, whether in the Islands, or the Terra-firma, the Religions divide People in their Food, as well as in their Belief, and Worship; for all the Gentiles, generally Speaking, cat nothing that has had life, or could have had life, that has Seed or Leaven; I say, generally speaking; for there are some Tribes or Sects, the Portuguese call them Castes, who are allow'd to eat any sort of Flesh. As for the Indian Mahometans, they eat Meat, but much less than elsewhere, upon Account of the Climate, as I have said. Kid and Hens are their ordinary Food, because they have less Blood, and digest better. Roots, Grain, Grapes and Herbs, are what they commonly eat. They correct the Crudities with Butter, which they mix with every thing, and from which they draw their best Substance, as well as the Gentiles.
India, consider it throughout, is certainly one of the most Fruitful Countries in the World, abounding as much in large Cattel, Corn and Butter, as it is Barren, with Respect to Witd-Foul, Fish, and Fruit. Rice is the most common and best Esteem'd Food of all Asia, and is to be met with every where throughout the East. As it is light and cooling, they prefer it to Bread, and it even serves for Bread, in the most Southern Countries, where a good many People use it as their only Food. Rice is likewise very good in Illnesses. Mathiole, and other learned European Naturalists, have acknowledged all that I have said of this excellent Grain. They dress it a great many Ways, which I shall reduce to three. The First, is to boil the Rice in Water, without any other Seasoning, and then they dissolve it in boiling to make Broth for sick People, or they bake it dry, in using it for Bread. The Second way, is to make Soops with it, with Roots, Milk, or Meat. The Third, is to make Pilo, or Kichery, those exquisite Foods, so cry'd up by the Eastern People. I shall speak by and by, concerning the Manner of their dressing, this Pilo, and these rich Soops: I shall only speak here of the first way of dressing, and how it is done in the several Parts of the Indies, where it is most us'd.
But you must observe beforehand, that the Rice of Asia is tenderer and more easie to boil, in Proportion as the Country where it grows is more or less Southerly. In the Indies, one Boil is sufficient for the Rice, and even there where it is the hardest; they wash it well, in rubbing it with their Hands, they shake it, and put it into the Pot, where it is presently done; and even in a great many Places in the Indies, they have no Occasion of Water to dress it; they do nothing but put a wet Cloath upon the Pot, under the Cover. I have seen it drest in a Bamboo, this is a thick sweet Cane, hollow and hard, that grows in the Indies, and of which there are some as thick as one's Leg; they have a little thin Skin, or Rind in the inside, which is more solid and hard than the Wood. When the Fire has Penetrated to that, they take the Bamboo half burnt from off the Fire, and they take out the Rice well done. I relate these little particulars, because our Italian Rice is so hard, and that one has so much trouble in boiling it. When I came to enquire into the Reason of this difference in the dressing of the Rice, which being the same, could not however be drest equally as soon every where: I found out, that the Water was the main Article in dressing; the one penetrating and dissolving sooner than the other; as well as that the one softens this Grain in the boiling; whereas the other Waters sensibly harden it: I don't well comprehend the Reason, but for all that don't, dissallow the Thing, being convinc'd by Experience of the Difference there is, in the Staining of the Callicoes, and China-Ware, in those Countries, which are more or less Beautiful, according to the Water which they use: 1 shall thereupon say by way of Digression, that the best Stain'd Callicoes are made on the Side of Coromandel; but there is a palpable Difference, to those who are Skill'd in 'em between that which is made in one Village, and that of another, especially in the Liveliness, a Thing which is always attributed to the Water, that their Callicoes are dipp'd in, which according as it is more or less Muddy, Brackish, or has a smoaky black Steam, dulls or preserves the Brightness of the Colours, in spreading it upon the Bed, where it keeps the Colours as the Painter had laid them. They tell the same thing with Respect to China, who say for the very same Reason, that the beautiful Varnish of that precious Earth, proceeds from the different Qualities of the Water; for which Reason, they make it but in few Places of China and Japan; upon which, they have affirm'd to me a Thing remarkable enough: It is, that they don't make their China where they prepare their Earth, but upon those Places where there is Water proper to preserve the brightness of the Paint, or Stain: So that they prepare the Earth in one part of the Kingdom, and make the China in another, at a great Distance. They say, that there is but one Place in all Japan, where they are allow'd to bake China: And to the end that the Manufacture may not be made worse than it should be, they are not allow'd to light the Ovens when they bake it, nor to open them but before a Magistrate.
To return to the Rice boil'd in Water, they make use of Plates for that which they prepare dry in their small Bread like the Peal of a Pastry-Cook: The meaner sort of People use the hollow Dishes, where everv one takes a handful: They look upon it to be thoroughly ready, when it is so wefl boil'd that it melts in the Mouth, and yet so dry that it will fall Corn by Corn and not bruise, and that one does not soil one's Fingers in taking hold of it. It is us'd for Bread in the most Southern parts of the Indies, as I have said; and among all the Europeans Indianiz'd, as at Fort St. George, Batavia, and particularly at Goa. I have found, by Experience, from the long Stay I made in the East, that according as one is habituated to the Air of the Country, one accustoms one's self also to the use of Rice, and grows out of conceit with Bread. Rice indeed is a most delicious and wholsome Food; it is light, cooling, of a sweet Taste, and Digests very soon, and without trouble: It creates little Blood, and little Excrement, and does not cause Vapours: All that is mighty good in thick and hot Climates, as the Indies, but elsewhere, and in ours, it would not answer the End, the Air of Europe requiring solid, poignant, and juicy Food, a thing which I must repeat over again; because in my Opinion, from a right Observation of the different Climates, one may form a better Judgment of the Food, Cloaths, and Lodging of the several People of the World, as also of their Customs, Sciences, and their Industry; and, if one have a mind to it, of the False Religions which they follow. That which I esteem most in the Rice, is the Quality it has of tempering and purifying the Blood: In Agnes and several other Distempers, they pound it, and cause it to be boil'd in a great deal of Water, with which they make a Broth more or less liquid, as they have a mind to it. When they are upon the Recovery, they put some Sugar, Milk of Almonds, and a little Cinnamon in that Broth, which makes it very delicious and nourishing. There is nothing easier, sooner made, and more reasonable. I generally Supp'd upon a Porringer of that Broth, and I found it always agreed with me very well.
There is a sort of Rice in the Indies, which the Portuguese value very much, and which they call the Sweet Rice: The Grain of this Rice, have, for the most part, one or two little red Streaks upon the Skin, and they give a stronger and more agreeable Smell than the Common Rice; but it is in those Streaks only that the Perfume lies. I brought some of it into Europe, as well beaten as unbeaten; but both the one and the other had equally lost its fine smell. The Persians call this Rice, Rice of a good Smell, or Fine Rice. The grain of the Indian Rice is almost half as small again as that of Persia and Turky, and they do not look upon it to be near so cooling. As for the Price, it does not cost above a Half-penny per Pound at Bengall, and on the Coast of Malabar, which are the Countries that abound in it most. At Surat, which is the other End of the Indies, the best Rice is sold at a Penny per Pound, and the common sort at eight Deniers, or two thirds of a Penny.
I must add besides, that the goodness of the Rice does not discover itself in the Sight nor Smell of it; the Proof lies in the Dressing of it, and consists in these three Things, That it boils quick; that the Grain remains intire; and that it swells. The New Rice is not so much valu'd as the Old, because it does not smell at all, but it must not be kept too long; for by the time it is four Years old, it has lost its Flavour.
Wheat Bread is us'd throughout almost all Asia. I have cross'd Turky three times by different ways, and in every Place where I have been, they have eat Bread; for I don't reckon the Coasts on the Black Sea, from the Lake Mecotis, till you come to Georgia in Turky, where the People live upon a sort of Mill, and where Bread corn and Rice, are very scarce; seeing that the Turks have not taken Possession of those Countries, contenting themselves with drawing Contributions from them, and to Ravage 'em from time to time, to keep them the more under subjection. There are several Places in Persia where they eat very little Bread; whether it is from the great plenty of Rice as there is all along the Caspian Sea, or from the scarcity of Bread-corn, as upon the Coasts of the Ocean; yet there is Bread to be found every where. There is likewise Bread throughout the Indies, tho' they eat a great deal less than they do in Turky and Persia, and the Corn either grows upon the Place, or is brought from the Neighbourhood, but infinitely less in Quantity than the Rice, it being much more sought after, and more healthy in hot Countries, and where the Air is heavy. The Isles upon the Eastern Ocean, and the main Land, near the Line, bear no Corn as I know of. Madagascar, which stretches itself on this side of the Tropick, has none neither: It comes in the Blade, but not in the Ear, the beat of the Sun, burning it up before it grows to Seed. These Countries, as well as all those that have a Scarcity, are furnish'd by Traffick: They lade at Surat for Java and Sumatra, and in several other Places. The Hollanders provide themselves there for Batavia. There is likewise very little Corn in Africa, unless where there are Eitropean Colonies settl'd; and generally speaking, there is but little between the two Tropicks. The great Countries live upon nothing but Millet, others upon Rice, others upon Dates, others upon Cassave only; as in America, through the Industry of the Hollanders, there grows very good Corn at the Cape of Good Hope. The Natives Till nothing, out of perfect Laziness and aversion to Work. These People, whom they call Hotentots, are the nastyest, slothfullest, and most brutish Barbarians that I ever saw in all my Travels. As for the rest, the Mahometans, and the Gentiles generally, make their Bread without Leaven, which their Religion forbids.
As to their way of making Bread, I shall speak first of all concerning that of the Gentiles, which is very plain; for they not only bake their Bread every Day, but they bake it that very Moment they design to eat it. After having wash'd their Bodies all over, according to the Precepts of their Religion, they take the Flower in a Bason of Wood or Metal, they knead it and cover it; they then make a little Fire between three Stones, upon which they put a Plate of Iron as thin as a Five-penny Piece round, and a Foot Diameter, more or less, according to the quantity of Bread this to be laid upon it: It is not above sixteen or eighteen Inches from the Ground: When it is hot, which it is very soon, they take the Dough again make a little Cask very little thicker than the Plate of Iron, and of the same size, and lay it upon it: It bakes while they are getting another ready; and after it is bak'd they take it out, and lean it against the Stones, the uppermost part towards the Fire, that it may bake a little more. A Man in less than an Hour's time, kneads and bakes as much Bread as will serve a dozen People; for while he is getting one Cask ready, he keeps another upon the Plate, and another against the Fire, and so in order, which makes very quick Work, and without a great many Implements, as you see. This is the common Indian Bread, upon which they always throw some strong Grain, or they rub it with their Hing, which is Assafoetida, a thing they love extreamly. The Rich among 'em seldom eat any thing but their butter'd and sugar'd Cakes.
I never saw Musk or Ambergrease made use of in the common Food, in any Country of Asia where I have been: The Turks put it in their fine Sherbets, and particularly in that which they call Sultani, as much as to say Royal. The Persians neither put it in their Meat nor Drink. but they use abundance of it in several sorts of their Sweet-meats and Confections which are made, the one only to fortify or strengthen, the other to stir up Love, and which the People of Condition seldom fail eating of both before and after Meals, especially when they visit and enjoy one another: Hereupon I have observ'd how much they have consum'd of it in their perfum'd Pastes, of which the Women carry large flat Boxes at their Stomach, hung at the Neck to Chains of Gold or jewels, according to their Quality, which hold, one with another, near three Ounces of Paste, for it is very heavy. The Persian Women are, for the most part, very Prodigal in Perfumes: They still use less Amber and Musk in their Nourishments, by reason of the great Heat; but Men and Women are profuse in it, as in other Places, and even more, their Bodies being weaker than in cold Countries, and requiring a greater support for the Pleasures of Love. I remember, that being at the Solemnity of the Marriage of the three Royal Princesses of Colconda, in the Year 1679, that the King their Father, who had no other Children but them marry'd upon the same Day; he gave Perfumes to all that were invited; at their coming, they threw it upon those who had white Cloth on; but they gave it into the Hands of those who were Cloth'd in Colours, otherwise they would have spoil'd their Cloaths by throwing it upon them; which was done in this manner: They threw a Bottle of Rose-water upon the Body which held about half a Pint, and another larger Bottle of Water colour'd with Saffron, so that the Vest was stain'd with it: Then they rubb'd the Arms and Body over with a liquid Perfume of Labdamum and Ambergrease, and they put upon his neck, a large String of Jessamin. They have Perfum'd me in the same manner (Saffron excepted) in many great Houses of that Country, and elsewere. This manner of caressing and doing of Honour, is universal among the Women, who have wherewithal to provide this Profuseness. In Persia and the Indies, they keep their Sherbets clear and in Syrup, by Reason of the heat of the Air, which would dry them too much, and make 'em as hard as a Stone: But in Turky they keep them in Powder like Sugar: That of Alexandria, which is the most esteem'd throughout this large Empire, and which they transport from thence every where, is almost all in Powder. They keep it in Pots and Boxes; and when they would use it, they put a Spoonful of it into a large glass of Water. It mixes of itself with the Water, without being forc'd to stir it, as we do our Syrups, and makes a most admirable Liquor. They make up the Sherbet throughout the East, like a Sugar-loaf; I have seen Loaves as light in Persia, that they have weigh'd but twelve Ounces, which have been as thick as Sugar-loaves of eight Pounds. The Sister of the late King Abas the Second, and Aunt of Soliman the Thirteenth, since Reigning, a most Bountiful Princess, with whom I transacted abundance of Affairs for four Years together, as I have related elsewhere, sent me from time to time, Regales of Sweet-meats, where there was always of these Sherbets in the Loaf, which were exquisitely and wonderfully good, as well as Sweet-meats. I shall observe by the bye, that in Persia, Turky, and the Indies, the Better sort of People make their Sugar at Home as well as the Sherbet and Sweet-meats. The Sherbets are generally made of Violets, Vinegar, and the juice of Pomegranates, and particularly of Citron-Juice. The Word Sherbet in the East is taken for a mixt Potion or Drink.
The Eastern People have another Sherbet which is more common: This is to mix in the Water with a little Sugar, or a little Salt, the juice of Citron, or the Pomegranate, or the juice of Garlick or Onion. They call that sort of Sherbet Truahl, as much as to say, somewhat Sower. They serve 'em, at all Meals, in large China Ware, with Wooden Spoons hollow'd, with a long Handle to them. These Liquors serve to whet the Stomach, as well as to quench the Thirst: They take it by Spoonfuls all the time of their Meal; during which time, it is not customary to Drink.
They have often ask'd me, whether the abstaining from Flesh, or not abstaining, makes any difference in point of long Life among those who live under the same Clime? To which I answer'd in a Word, No. The Banjans, who never eat Flesh, live no longer than the other Indians; and I remark'd moreover, that generally speaking, they don't spin the Thread of Life so long in the East, and especially in the Indies, as they do in Europe; which I attribute to their making use Of Women too soon, and too much, and using Provocatives, notwithstanding the Heat of the Climate, which is extreme, as Sweet-meats, &c. which waste them, as well as give them, Animal Spirits. But it is certain, that in return for that, those that abstain from Flesh, are less liable to Distempers than the others: The great Debauches in Meat and Drink are grievous to the Indians for the little while they last; and this is the Reason that the English live there so little a while, the excessive eating of Beef, and the extravagant use of Brandy, Sugar, and Dates, pulls 'em down in a little time. The variety of Meats likewise carries off abundance of Europeans, or makes them droop away much. The different Quality of the juices of so many sorts of Food, making as it. were a War in the Stomach, which that part weaken'd by the dissipation of the Spirits, is not able to bear. The Illness that carries them off most in the end in the Indies, proves to be what I say, for it is commonly a Diarrhea, or a looseness of the Belly, which degenerates immediately into a Bloody-Flux; an illness so fatal that very few People get over it. But it must be remark'd besides, that if the Eastern People enjoy a more constant State of Health than we do, by abstaining from Flesh, it hinders them on the other Hand, from being so Strong and Vigorous.
I come now again to my Subject, which relates to the Food of the Persians: They are not great Eaters, and some think it proceeds from their Country's not being fruitful, nor abounding in Food; but I am not of that Opinion: I believe on the contrary, that the want of Plenty in their Country, is because they have not the People as we have. If their Frugality proceeded from the Scarcity of their Country, rather than from their Nature, there would be none but the meaner sort of People who would eat but little, whereas, generally speaking, 'tis every one; and they would more or less, in each Province, according to the fruitfulness of the Country; whereas the same Temperance governs the whole Kingdom. They make two Meals a Day, as I have already observ'd, one of Fruit, Milk-meats, and Sweet-meats, between ten and twelve of the Clock in the Morning, which they call Hazeri, as who should say, That which is ready; because as it is ready in a Moment's time, one may say, it is always ready; and one of Meat about Seven a-Clock at Night. This is their Supper and Grand Meal. In the Morning when they get up, they have their Coffee; and some of 'em eat a little Crust of Bread with it. As their Days are not so unequal as ours, they keep up to the Rule of Life with more ease. They go to Bed between Nine and Ten of the Clock at Night, all the Year round, and get up by break of Day. They dress Meat twice a-Day for the King, because that one Part of the great Seralio makes its Grand Meal in the Morning; but no Body eats Meat but once a Day, whether Noon or Night. The Persians provide nothing before Hand, generally speaking, but they buy every Day what they have occasion for that Day. This is the Reason that they pay a great deal dearer; but they find their Accompt in it, as they say in the End, because of the Waste which the Servants make of what is left in their keeping. They never likewise dress Meat a Day before Hand, nor keep any thing from one Day to another. They kill the Mutton and Lamb in a Morning, which they cat at Night; and they don't kill the Poultry till they have a Mind to put it into the Pot; the Flesh is not a bit tough as in cold Countries; and the Persians look upon that which is freshest kill'd to be the Best; they only dress as much as will serve one Meal, and if any is left, they give it to the Poor; there is not so much as a Crust of Bread, nor a Bit of Meat raw, or drest in the House, when they go to Bed.
The Meats which they commonly use, are Lamb, and Kid, Capons, Hens, Pullets, and Eggs. This is their usual and regular Diet. They add to that, by way of Regalio, Pigeons, Fish, and Venison. There are however few but the King and some great Lords, who eat of 'em, because they don't care for 'em. The poor People in the cold Provinces, eat Beef and Veal, during Winter; but they kill so little, except among the Christians, and Gubres, that it would not be worth mentioning. Swines-Flesh is forbid them, the Hare, and all the other Animals that are forbid by the Jewish Religion. The Persians can't so much as hear a Hare nam'd, because it is subject to Fluxes, like the Women. They value Mutton above all Butchers Meat, saying, it has no ill Habit, and that consequently one can contract no ill Habit in eating of 'em; for their Physicians are unanimously of Opinion, that the Man becomes the same with the Animals, upon which he feeds. They commend themselves mightily for their way of living, saying, that one has nothing to do but to look upon their Complexion, to judge how much it exceeds that of the Christians, who eat Beef and Swines Flesh, and who drink Wine. In effect, the Complexion of the Persians is even; they have a fine beautiful and smooth Skin; whereas the Complexion of the Armenians, their Subjects, especially the Women, is rugged and full of Pimples, and their Bodies large, and excessive heavy. One might likewise attribute the Difference of the good Plight, between the Persians and the Armenians, to the unequality of the Armenian's Diet, who Fast for thirty or forty Days together, during which Time, they eat nothing but Herbs and Oil; and then for so long time, eat excessively of Eggs and Flesh; whereas the Persians have but one Fast of thirty Days, during which time, still they never change their Meats, but only eat less; and that during the rest of the Year, they live every Day after an even Manner. They have in Persia, from February to May, the Kid, which in my Opinion is the most delicious Meat that can be eaten; and from March to July, the Lamb, which has likewise a most excellent Taste.
The Persian Bread is generally thin, and like their broad thin Casks. There are several sorts of it. The ordinary Bread is bak'd in round Ovens, made in the Ground, like a Hole about four or five Foot deep, and two Foot Diameter. They put the Bread against the Oven, and as the Bread is not so thick as one's Finger, especially in the Middle, it is bak'd in less than a quarter of an Hour. They have again another sort of Bread, which they call Lavach, which they make round, as large as a hollow Plate, and as thin as Parchment, which they bake upon a round Copper Plate; and another sort which they call Senguck, that is to say Flint-bread, because it is bak'd in Ovens made as ours are, the Bottoms whereof are cover'd with large Flint Stones, as big as a Wall-Nut and two Fingers high. This Bread is not thicker than the ordinary Bread; it is made long-ways, and weighs about a Pound and a half. The Bakers bake it upon Flint-stones, to save Wood; these Stones taking and keeping Fire the best, and heating the Dough sooner; but that Bread is more bak'd in some Places than others. The Bread is generally white, and good in Persia, and all made without Leaven. In Substantial Houses, they bake Bread twice a-Day: It is the Business of the Slaves to grind the Corn, and knead the Dough, and put it to the Fire. One may see in Herodotus, that this was the Custom in the first Age of the World. They strew generally upon all the Bread, excepting that which is in Leaf, some sleepy Grain, as the Seed of Poppies. Seed of Sesame, or Turkish Corn, of that which they call the Seed of Mielle, which the Botanists call Nard, or Pepperwort; that inclines them to Sleep, which is what they would have it do in the East, where they generally lie down after their Meal, as well in the Morning as at Night. Ancient Histories inform us, that they always us'd after their Meals in the Fast, the white Poppy-seed, roasted for the same End. Others strew Anis-seed, or Fennel-Seed in the Room of it.
The People of mean Condition are serv'd in the Morning with one of these Loaves, in a Wooden Bason, Painted and Varnish'd, putting at one End of the Loaf a quarter of a Pound of Cheese, and on the side of the Loaf, two China Cups, one with Sower Milk, curdl'd, the other with this sower Milk, curdl'd and diluted with Water, which serves for Drink, and some Fruit, especially the Melon: If he have Company with him, each has a Bason set before him, furnish'd after the same Manner. The Cheese in Persia is not made up in a solid Mass or Lump; they keep it in Goat-Skins, as we keep our Butter in Potts, and they cut and serve it up as small almost as Dust; they generally mix it with their sower Milk, and especially during the hot Seasons, with Fennel, with the Seed of Turpentine, and sometimes with their small Grapes that have the Taste of the Thistle; they serve the Milk in Ice, as well as the Water, which they give them to drink after eating; and this is the Dinner of the common People. The People in a higher Station, are serv'd, besides these light Messes, with Resine, or bak'd Meat, with Paloude, which is a sort of Starch, bak'd with Sugar, several sorts of Fruits, Sweet-meats, little Biskets, and sometimes petty Pattees, or Harsh-meats; but it is seldom practis'd, excepting at Weddings, and Festivals, to give Meat in a Morning, and when that is done, they serve up likewise Soops of several Sorts of Gousts, with Meat in 'cm cut small: As to what remains, no Body rises from his Place to go and place himself at Table; they serve the Eating before every one in the same Place where he sits; and this is practis'd as well among the Great as little ones; they bring this Bason before you in the Place where you are, without either Table, Cloth, or Napkin; they use no Napkin at Dinner time, but at Feasts, because they then make use of more Plates, and Porringers, or Cups, than can be kept upon a Bason, and that some of these Meats may grease.
They sup upon Soops, with Hash'd Meat, mingl'd with Peas, and other Roots; then with Pilo, which is Rice bak'd with Meat; and because the Rice serves instead of Bread, they seldom give any thing at Supper, but the Bread in Leaf, which serves as a Plate or a Cover, except at Feasts, where they give three or four several sorts of Bread.
They serve every one with two or three sorts of the Leaf-bread, and an handful of strong Herbs upon it, to serve as a Sallet; sometimes they give a little Saltsellar, but this is done in very few Places. They feed themselves with their Fingers; they pull the Meat to pieces too with their Fingers; they cover the Meat with Rice like a Ball; they put a little Salt upon it with their Thumb, and they carry this large Morsel to their Mouth, which they swallow without chewing it, as we do Soops. This is eaten quick, and is very nourishing, and so the Repast is soon over; and this so much the more, in that they rarely Talk in Eating. They serve with the Meat Cups of Sherbets, with a wooden Spoon each a Foot long, as I have said, that they may carry it the more easily to their Mouth. This is their Drink at Supper, they give 'em no other during the Repast. At the conclusion they bring 'em hot Water to wash the Grease off their Hands, which every one wipes upon his Handkerchief, and then they give a Glass of Water to whoever asks for it.

As Pilo is the grand Mess with the Persians, I shall tell you how they Dress it. It is properly Rice boil'd in Broth with meat, or in Butter, in such sort that the Seeds or Grains remain whole without cracking, and likewise without being hard or dry, but so well done, that in putting it into one's Mouth, or pressing it between the Fingers, they make a Paste of it. They make above twenty sorts of this Pilo, with Mutton, Lamb, Pullets, &c. The Generality Season and make it thus; they boil six or seven Pound of Mutton in pieces, of about a quarter of a Pound each, with a Hen or two; then they take all the Broth and Meat out of the Pot; then they take some Butter and put at the bottom, which they fry very well; and they there put a lay of Rice, about an Inch thick; they put Onions slic'd, Almonds peel'd and cut in two, dry Pease fry'd in a Pan, cut likewise in two, some of the small Grapes, which they call Kikmiche, which has no Stone; some whole Pepper, Cloves and Cinnamon, with some Garden-Cresses for the Seasoning; upon that they put the Meat, and then they fill up the Pot with Rice, and throw in the Broth there, till it runs over: The Rice boils in a quarter of an Hour; and when it is boil'd and dry, and the Broth wasted away, they pour melted Butter scalding hot upon this Rice: Then they cover the Pot close with a Cloth dipp'd in hot Water and put under the Lid of the Pot, to keep the Rice moist, and they let it soak thus; after which they Dish it up. As the Butter is the chief Ingredient in the Pilo, they use the best for that purpose, and take abundance of Care in getting of it. The Butter in Persia is made with Cow's Milk, and the Milk of Sheep put together, which they esteem much more than any other. They don't use Fresh-Butter in that Country, nor do they eat any upon Bread: They keep it liquid in Vessels like Oil, and it is very nigh the same Colour: There is of that sort which smells like a Violet, and another Perfume which is very agreeable, which makes People very desirous to eat it. They season their other Pilo's one with Fennel cut small; others with the juice of Cherries, Mulberries, or Pomegranates; others with Saffron and Sugar; others with Tamarins. They dress Rice dry, which they cover with Mince-meat, or Amuletts, or Eggs poach'd upon fry'd Onions, or upon Lettices fry'd; or upon fresh or salt Fish, and several other ways; in all which the Pilo is exquisite eating. One of the most delicious ways which they dress it, is that of baking it under the Spit, the Fat of a Lamb or Kid, and Hens, falling by degrees upon the Rice, it imbibes it, and gives it a most agreeable Taste. As for the Rice, as we dress it almost reduc'd to a Pap, the Asiaticks don't love it at all: They look upon it to be insipid and sick Food: They boil it likewise in pure Water with whole Pepper and a little Cinnamon, as I have already observ'd, and they give 'em of this to eat. The Pease which I have said they put in the Pilo, are parch'd, and these Pease are a Ragoo, especially when they are done with Salt: Their way of parching them is this; they take a Pan, as if it were to make Sweet-meats; they fill it half full with very fine Sand, and they put it over a little Fire; when the Sand is hot, they put the Peas in it and stir it; and as the Sand is heavy, the Peas are always at the Top, and are parch'd without changing their former Colour: They roast the Almonds thus, as well as the Grain, which they call the cold Seeds, and the Pistacho-Nuts, and afterwards they throw some Salt upon them in the Pan, giving them thus another Tincture or Impression, which makes these Fruits very agreeable, and whetting to the Appetite.
The meaner sort of People dress nothing at Home, especially in a Country where Wood is scarce, as at Ispahan, and several other Places, but as soon as they shut up Shop, they go to the Cooks and buy Pilo, or whatever they have a mind to for Supper: There are an infinite Number of Cooks throughout the whole City, each of which sells a particular Meat: Their Kitchin is in the nature of a Shop: You will see, in the fore part, two or three Kettles of about thirty Inches Diameter, boiling upon Stoves; and behind the Shop, which is divided from it by a Curtain, one or two little Places, which you go up to by two or three Steps cover'd with Carpets, where they sit down to eat. The Fire of these Stoves is very rarely made of Wood or Charcoal, that being too dear a Commodity in the greatest part of Persia: They make their Fire generally with Heath and dry'd Leaves. The common People use a sort of Turf made of the Dung of a Beast and Earth put together, which the Peasants who make them and use in abundance, bring to Town to sell. When the Meat is dress'd, they keep it hot, by putting two or three Wicks under the Pot, according to its bigness, as they do in a Lamp: They light these Wicks, and they feed them with the fat of the Pot. This turns one's Stomach mightily at first, but Custom makes it familiar to one: One may easily judge that these Cooks being at so little Expence, sell very good Pennyworths.
That which I have admir'd very much in the way of Living of the Persians, besides their Sobriety, is their Hospitality: When they Eat, far from shutting the Door, they give to every one about them, who happens to come at that time, and oftentimes to the Servants who hold the Horse at the Gate. Let who will come at their Dinner or Supper-time, they are not in the least put out of their way; as they eat but little, there is always enough. The Persians speaking in praise of Hospitality, say, that Abraham never eat without Guests; and that that happy Rencounter with the three Angels, which is mention'd in Scripture, happen'd to him one Day, when having no Company to Dine with him, he went out of his Pavillion, to see if he could meet no one of his Acquaintance, or whom he thought proper to invite. They likewise eat up all, as I have observ'd, without laying by any thing for another time; and if any thing is left, they give it to the Poor.
The Persians who are pretty well to pass, seldom eat the Entrails, Feet, or the Heads of Beasts, it goes against their Stomachs. The poorest sort of People only eat them, buying 'cm in the Shops that dress nothing else. They call the Cooks that dress them, Guendepaikon, as who should say, Cooks for the rotten Pieces. But this Name might be given more properly to those Cooks who put stinking Meat in their Ragoos, and which they had already put in two or three Sauces, without being able to sell it: Those Cooks hash or mince it, and season it with Herbs and sower juices. They call these Hashes Ach Truch, that is to say, sowerish Soops. They likewise make another sort of jelly-Broth, where the Flesh is as it were dissolv'd in boiling, or in a liquid Paste. The Armenians especially are great lovers of it, tho' this Broth is sometimes made of the Flesh of a Horse, Camel, or Ass: They even say it cannot be made of any other Flesh, by reason no other sort of Flesh is solid enough. Among their excellent Messes, there is a sort of Broth which they call Bourani, a Name which they say, had its Original from a Daughter of Almaimon, Calif of Babylon, who invented it. It is made with Fowl and peel'd Barley, made into broth with several sorts of Herbs.
To say somewhat of their Roast-meat; They dress their large Meat either in an Oven, or a Stove: And I shall first of all observe, That they have a way of roasting their Sheep, Lambs, and Kids, whole in their own Gravy, which is delicious Eating. Their roasting it at the Oven is done thus. I have said, that their Ovens are Holes in the Ground: They hang up a Mutton or Lamb whole in the Oven, hung by the Neck to an Iron Spit, which is at the Mouth of the oven, putting an Earthen Pan under it for it to drop in: The Beast roasts equally on all Sides without scorching: The Stoves at which they roast them are like your Preserving Stoves; and every thing roasted after this manner eats very well. The Armenians have a way of roasting the Mutton and Lamb in their own Skin upon the Coals, as they do Chest-Nuts. When the Mutton is dress'd, they put the Skin again upon it, and sow it up well, and then they put it on the Coals and cover it: The Mutton is all Night a doing, and it is not over and above good when it is done.
As for the Meat which they roast upon a Spit, it is dry and good for nothing: They likewise very seldom roast any great Pieces that way, their Flesh-meat being not full enough of Gravy to be put upon a Spit. Their Roast meat is generally little bits of Mutton or Lamb dipp'd in Vinegar, with Salt and an Onion, spitted as they do Larks: This is the best of their Ragoos, and this is what they generally roast upon a Spit.
I shall say nothing in this Place concerning the Feasts of the Persians, having describ'd a great many throughout the whole course of this Work: I shall only say, that those which the King makes are generaly at One a-Clock in the Afternoon; whereas those which other People make are at Supper-time: However, those who are invited don't fail of coming at Nine or Ten a-Clock in the Morning, and they generally make an Apology at their entring the House, for their coming so late, laying the fault upon some unforeseen Accident. This is because the Feasts in the East last all the Day long; they pass their time away in taking Tobacco, in Discourse, in Sleeping after Dinner, in praying to God together, in Reading and hearing People Read, in repeating Verses, and hearing People Sing well, in the nature of a Chorus, the Actions of the Kings of Persia, in Heroick Poems, like that of Homer. The Graver sort of People keep to that, and give no other Diversion; but the Beaux and Gentlemen of the Sword, have Companies of Dancers, who Dance and Sing in the Nature of an Opera, where every thing tends to stir up Love; and where, towards the Conclusion, they act the Delights of Love with too great a Freedom. These Dancers are Harlots, who will do any thing for Money: Each brings her Servant with her; and those whom it is not convenient to meddle with, upon account of their Monthly Issues, wear a pair of Drawers of black Taffaty: This is to prevent any one's thinking of 'em and more especially that they may not meddle with 'em, as being in a State of Legal Pollution at which time they eat apart. When Supper is serv'd up, they put the large Messes before the chief Guest; after which, the Master of the House looks upon him and says in a low Tone, and making of Signs, Sir, that is at your disposal. He answers with the same Signs, that he desires the whole Company may partake of it. I shall yet observe two things upon this Subject: The First is, That the Son or Relation of the Master of the House does the Office of Master, and serves every one at the Feast. The Second is, That the Children of the House never sit at the Yeast till they arc Marry'd, which generally comes to pass before they are twenty Years of Age. The Persians call the Feasts Mageles, as much as to say Assembly.
They use abundance of Ice in Persia, as I have been observing; in Summer especially every one drinks with Ice: But that which is most remarkable, is, That tho' at Ispahan, and even at Tauris, which is further North, the Cold is dry and penetrating more than it is in any part of France or England, yet the greatest part of the People drink with Ice as well in the Winter as the Summer. Ice is sold in the out-parts of the City in open places: Their way of making it is thus; they make a deep Hole, at the farther end of the Cellar towards the North, and before it, they dig deep Squares of sixteen or twenty Inches, like so many little Basons; they fill 'em with Water over Night, when it begins to freeze, and in the Morning, when all is frozen, they break it to Bits, and put all these Pieces together in the Hole, where they break 'em again into little Bits, as well as they can; for the more the Ice is broken, the better it is; then they fill the square Holes with fresh Water, as they had done the Day before, and at Night, they go and Water with your Gourd Bottles, with Handles to them, these Pieces of Ice, which are broke in the Hole, to the End, that they may hold the better together. In less than eight Days Working after this Manner, they have Pieces of Ice five or six Foot thick; and then they gather the People of that Quarter together, who with loud Shouts ofjoy, and Fires lighted upon the Edges of the Hole, and with the Sound of Instruments to Animate them, go down into it, and lay these Lumps of Ice one upon the other, which they call Codrouc, as much as to say, Basis or Foundation, and throw Water between, to make them hold together the better.
It falls out so, that in six Weeks time, an Ice-house of a Fathom or more deep, and as broad and long as one will, is fill'd up to the very top with Ice. The Snow hinders the Work mightily, and causes a great deal of Trouble; but when that happens, they sweep it, and throw it out with a great deal of Care, because that when that melts, it would likewise melt the Ice: When the Ice-house is full, they cover it with a sort of Sea-Rush, which they call Bazour, which they find in Persia, by the Water-side. In the Summer when they go to open the Ice-House, it is another Festival for that Quarter. They sell the Ice by Ass-loads, at eighteen Pence a Load, which is two Pieces of Ice, each weighing threescore Pounds. This is about two Deniers a Pound. The Bits and Pieces of the Ice that are cut, fall to the Lot of the People of that Quarter, who help to make it, and every one comes in the Morning to take his Share: What is very Remarkable, as well as Agreeable in their Ice, is its beauty and clearness; you can't see the least Dirt, nor gloominess; Rock-water is not clearer, nor more transparent than it is. They keep Snow likewise in the Places where they can do it with Conveniency, tho' there is Ice in abundance; this is out of Delicacy, because they find their Drink much more Agreeable with Snow than with Ice, especially the Sherbet.

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Last Updated on March 24, 2001 by Lisa and Sylvia.