Za'atar
Za'atar
Used in Levantine cuisine, both the herb and spice mixture are popular throughout the Mediterranean region of the Middle East.[5][6]
Etymology
According to Ignace J. Gelb, an Akkadian language word that can be read sarsar may refer to a spice plant. This word could be attested in the Syriac satre, and Arabic za'atar (or sa'tar), possibly the source of Latin Satureia.[7] Satureia (Satureja) is a common name for Satureja thymbra, a species of savory whose other common and ethnic names include, "Persian za'atar", "za'atar rumi" (Roman hyssop), and "za'atar franji" (European hyssop).[8][9] In the Modern Hebrew language, za'atar is used as an Arabic loanword.
Another species identified as "wild za'atar" (Arabic: za'atar barri) is
Other
Preparation as a condiment, and variations
Za'atar as a prepared condiment is traditionally made with ground origanum syriacum mixed with roasted
Some varieties may add
Za'atar, both the herb and the condiment, is popular in Algeria, Armenia, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey.[5][22][23][24]
History
There is evidence that a za'atar plant was known and used in
In
Along with other spiced salts, za'atar has been used as a staple in
For Palestinians, za'atar has historical significance; some consider its presence to be a sign of a Palestinian home.[31] For Palestinian refugees, plants and foods such as za'atar also serve as signifiers of the house, village, and region from which they hailed.[32]
Mainly used by Arab bakeries,[33] za'atar is a herb used in Israeli cuisine.[33] Some Israeli companies market za'atar commercially as "hyssop" or "holy hyssop". Hyssopus officinalis is not found in the wild in Israel, but Origanum vulgare is extremely common.[14]
In 1977, an Israeli law was passed in response to
Culinary use
Za'atar is traditionally dried in the sun and mixed with salt, sesame seeds and sumac.
Za'atar is used as a seasoning for meats and vegetables or sprinkled onto
The fresh za'atar herb is used in a number of dishes.
A traditional beverage in Oman is za'atar steeped in boiling water to make a herbal tea.[44]
Folk medicine
Since ancient times, people in the Mediterranean region of Middle East have thought za'atar could be used to reduce and eliminate internal parasites.[citation needed]
Maimonides (Rambam), a medieval rabbi and physician who lived in Spain, Morocco, and Egypt, prescribed za'atar for its health advancing properties in the 12th century.[45][46]
In the 13th century book "A-lma'tmd fi al-a'douiah al-mfrdah", za'atar is recognized for its medical uses, particularly in treating gastrointestinal ailments, offering benefits such as protecting the intestinal mucosal barrier, relieving abdominal pain, and aiding digestion.[15]
In Palestine, there is a folk belief that za'atar makes the mind alert, and children are sometimes encouraged to eat za'atar at breakfast before school.[36]
Notes
References
- ^ Aliza Green. "Za'atar". CHOW. Archived from the original on 2008-02-03. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- OCLC 1066441238.
- The Mishnah (ed. Herbert Danby), Oxford University Press: Oxford 1977, s.v. Negai'im 14:6 (p. 696); Parah 11:7 [10:7] (p. 711).
- OCLC 1040774903.
The wild marjoram (Origanum maru, Ar. zaʻtar) that shoots up with pale-reddish flowers and which I saw in Galilee as well as in Judaea from May until September, but which is also known in the Sinai, belongs to the dry phrygana landscape. Its young, sharp-smelling leaves, which have an astringent taste, are dried, ground with some wheat and mixed with oil; then bread is dipped into this mixture, which is supposed to sharpen one's mind. That is not as significant as the fact that it has to be looked upon as the hyssop of the Passover and the purification rites prescribed by the Law (Ex 12:22; Lev 14:4, 6, 51f.; Ps 51:9). ...The botanical hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis, Ar. zūfa) is out of the question since it is alien to Palestine as to present-day Greece, where occasionally its name is given to the Satureja thymbra (Ar. zaʻtar eḥmar), which is closely related to the wild marjoram.
- ^ a b Rozanne Gold (July 20, 1994). "A Region's Tastes Commingle in Israel". The New York Times. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
- ^ Florence Fabricant (October 28, 1992). "Food Notes". The New York Times. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
- ^ Gelb, 1956, p. 74.
- ^ Allen, 2007, p. 230.
- ^ Faculté de Médecine de Paris, 1818, p. clxxviii.
- ^ Basan, 2007, p. 196.
- ^ a b c d The Poetry Society, 2006, p. 5.
- ^ a b Gardner, 2004, p. 326.
- ^ "Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database: Sorting Origanum names". Michel H. Porcher, University of Melbourne. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- ^ The Jewish Daily Forward. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
- ^ ISSN 1756-4646.
- ^ Seidemann, 2005, p. 365.
- ^ a b Heine, 2004, p. 69.
- ^ Kaufman, 2006, p. 29.
- ^ Roberts, 2000, p. 84.
- ^ a b "Recipes of the West Bank Olive Harvest". NPR. November 21, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
- ^ a b Nabhan, 2004, p. 88-89.
- ^ Jennifer Bain (August 15, 2007). "The zing of za'atar". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
- ^ a b c Savill and O'Meara, 2005, p. 273.
- ISBN 978-1864502770.
- ^ a b Manniche, 1989, p. 150.
- ^ This is usually rendered as English marum (defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as Thymus mastichina or Teucrium marum), but Dalby interprets this as Origanum syriacum and translates it as zatar; Dalby, 2000, p. 189.
- ^ Dalby, 2002, p. 108.
- ^ Isser, 1976, p. 99.
- ^ Basan, 2007, p. 27.
- S2CID 85600193.
- ^ a b Marin and Deguilhem, 2002, p. 69.
- ^ Lien and Nerlich, 2004, pp. 148–149.
- ^ a b c "Hyssop: Adding Spice to Life in the Middle East". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 1998-07-01. Archived from the original on August 30, 2004.
- ^ a b Daniel Rogov (November 30, 2001). "A mixup over a biblical herb". Haaretz. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
- ^ Vered, Ronit (March 13, 2008). "Forbidden Fruit". Haaretz. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Swedenburg, 2003, p. 59.
- ^ "The Palestinians: It is the little things that make an occupation" (PDF). The Economist. January 18, 2007. p. 64.
- ^ Carter et al., 2004, p. 68.
- ^ Jacki Lyden (March 5, 2005). "Lebanese Writers Offer Alternate Views of Beirut". Weekend Edition Saturday. NPR. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
- ^ Joan Nathan (November 12, 2008). "A Short History of the Bagel". Slate. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
- ^ Cheshin et al., 2001, p. 14.
- ^ Joan Nathan (November 9, 1996). "Diversity in the dining room helps ring in Israel's new year". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 31, 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ Ray, 2004, p. 154.
- ^ Marshall Cavendish, 2007, p. 309.
- ^ Inskeep, Steve; Godoy, Maria (June 11, 2013). "Za'atar: A Spice Mix With Biblical Roots And Brain Food Reputation". NPR News. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
- ^ Marks, 2010, p. 630 Archived 2022-11-01 at the Wayback Machine
Bibliography
- Al-Fasi, D. (1936–1945). Solomon L. Skoss (ed.). The Hebrew-Arabic Dictionary of the Bible, Known as 'Kitāb Jāmiʿ al-Alfāẓ' (Agron) (in Hebrew). Vol. 1–2. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Allen, Gary (2007). The Herbalist in the Kitchen (Illustrated ed.). University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-03162-5.
- Basan, Ghillie (2007). Middle Eastern Kitchen. with special photography by Jonathan Basan. Hippocrene Books. ISBN 978-0-7818-1190-3.
- Carter, Terry; Dunston, Lara; Humphreys, Andrew (2004). Syria & Lebanon. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-86450-333-3.
- Cheshin, Amir S.; Hutman, Bill; Melamed, Avi (2001). Separate and Unequal: The Inside Story of Israeli Rule in East Jerusalem (Illustrated ed.). Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-00553-2.
- Dalby, Andrew (2000). Empire of pleasures: luxury and indulgence in the Roman world (Illustrated ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-18624-7.
- Dalby, Andrew (2002). Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices (Illustrated ed.). University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23674-5.
- Faculté de Médecine de Paris (1818). Codex medicamentarius: sive Pharmacopoea Gallica jussu regis optimi et ex mandato summi rerum internarum regni administri. apud Hacquart.
- Gardner, Jo Ann (2004). Herbs in bloom: a guide to growing herbs as ornamental plants. illustrations by Holly S. Dougherty (Reprint, illustrated ed.). Timber Press. ISBN 978-0-88192-698-9.
- Ignace J Gelb; et al., eds. (1980). Assyrian dictionary, Volume 21. University of Chicago. Oriental Institute. ISBN 978-0-918986-05-4.
- Heine, Peter (2004). Food culture in the Near East, Middle East, and North Africa (Illustrated ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-32956-2.
- )
- Isser, Stanley Jerome (1976). The Dositheans: a Samaritan sect in late antiquity. Brill Archive. ISBN 978-90-04-04481-4.
- Kaufman, Cathy K. (2006). Cooking in ancient civilizations (Illustrated, annotated ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33204-3.
- Lien, Marianne E.; Nerlich, Brigitte, eds. (2004). The Politics of Food. Berg Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85973-853-5.
- Maimonides (1963–1967). Mishnah, with Maimonides' Commentary (in Hebrew). Vol. 1–3. Translated by Yosef Qafih. Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook.
- Manniche, Lise (1989). An ancient Egyptian herbal (Illustrated ed.). University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-70415-2.
- Marín, Manuela; Deguilhem, Randi (2002). Writing the feminine: women in Arab sources — Volume 1 of The Islamic Mediterranean. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-86064-697-3.
- Marks, Gil (2010). Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-39130-3.
- Marshall Cavendish Corporation (2007). Peoples of Western Asia (Illustrated ed.). Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 978-0-7614-7677-1.
- Nabhan, Gary Paul (2004). Why some like it hot: food, genes, and cultural diversity. Island Press. ISBN 978-1-55963-466-3.
- OCLC 233403923
- Ray, Krishnendu (2004). The Migrant's Table: Meals and Memories in Bengali-American Households. Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-59213-096-2.
- The Poetry Society, ed. (2006). Poetry on a Plate: A Feast of Poems and Recipes (2nd ed.). Salt Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84471-114-7.
- Roberts, Margaret (2000). Margaret Roberts' A-Z Herbs: Identifying Herbs, How to Grow Herbs, the Uses. Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-499-4.
- Savill, Joanna; O'Meara, Maeve (2005). The SBS eating guide to Sydney: a guide to Sydney's world of restaurants, cafes & food shops (10th, illustrated ed.). Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74114-578-6.
- Seidemann, Johannes (2005). World Spice Plants. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-22279-8.
- Swedenburg, Ted (2003). Memories of revolt: the 1936–1939 rebellion and the Palestinian national past. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 978-1-55728-763-2.
External links
- Alexander Fleisher; Zhenia Fleisher (April–June 1988). "Identification of biblical hyssop and origin of the traditional use of oregano-group herbs in the Mediterranean region". Economic Botany. 42 (2): 232–241. S2CID 45220405.