THE THREE CULTURES IN THE IBERIAN PENINSULA Gastronomy

We are going to speak about the catholic religion and the interesting things we consider are important, from the main dishes to the influence of the meat in this culture. Christianity

Freedom and restrictions During centuries the catholic authorities have been controlling the alimentation. Jews had influenced the alimentation and this culture was restricted.

The last dinner was the Pascua dinner and it remembers the Jews freedom, when they left Egypt. However, the Catholics began using the dishes for their symbols and now it continues in a lot of places. The first example is an apple which Eva takes in the old testament.

Symbolic catholic food Bread is maybe the most important food of this culture, it represents Jesus’ body. This is the most important tradition. Wine is also very important, it is mentioned lots of times in the Holy Bible (more or less 400 times) It was drank because in this period of time water was not available for people.

Fish has a symbolic mean because is one of the typical dish of the Pascua, its meaning is about Jesus. The smell of pork proves that Christians were Jewish converts

The danger of meat Meat represents a danger for the Catholics, and some Apostols advise not to eat them Catholics don not mix fish and meat because it represents the sex relations Meat represents men and fish women, but also the darkness, that is the reason why nowadays we have the sentence: “we don’t know if is woman or man“ We can say this increase improves selling and the consume of these dishes, which is one of the reasons of the Mediterranean diet

Cooking nowadays and the influence The restrictions produce an increase of olive oil because the lard butter was forbidden.

Judaism

Kashrut is the Jewish diet food combination of laws which are in the Leviticus (one of the dive books of the Tanaj). The main ingredients are cereals which are used to make bread. The dry legumes are the second one. Meat was set aside for especial celebrations, it was usually the consumption of mince meat. Kashrut’s basis

Cereals Most important ingredient and usually used in Sefardi kitchen. Christians and Jewish consume more bread than porridge. The Sefardi bread was different from the Christian’s in the use of the fermentation of the dough by the use of leavening.

Fruits and Vegetables Considered as subsistence foodstuff. Vegetables consumed was cabbage, spinach, artichoke, radish and celery. This ingredients were cook using olive oil. It’s allowed every kind of legumes. The fruit’s consume was seasonal. Some cookbooks mention bitter oranges, apples, melons, apricots, figs, plums, grapes and bananas.

Meat and fish The main consume was lamb (Calf wasn’t forbidden, but it was consider more than a work element than a foodstuff) It was allowed to consume chicken, turkey, goose and duck. It was completely forbidden by religious laws the consume of pork, rabbit and hare. Animals had to be sacrificed in a special way.

Spices The most common spices was coriander and cumin. Saffron was popular as a colourant. In the confectionery was used as aromatic products cinnamon, pepper,roses water, “matalaúva”(Pimpinella anisum),musk, cardamom and lavander (Lavandula angustifolia) and the scratch of citrus.

Drinks Wine:  Ingredient of religious rites.  Considered as a foodstuff it was on the daily meals and in celebrations.  It has to obey some laws to be drinkable.

Confectionery One of the main sweetener was honey. Many Sefardi confectionery have a reflection in the nowadays Spanish confectionery, such as in other countries where Sefardi communities were living. We had elaborated a cookbook with the traditional dishes in each important date of the Jewish celebration.

Relation with religion.

Pork meat is taboo, as in other cultures. Religious texts forbid this meat. The Torah prohibits many kinds of animals, it’s mentioned on the Leviticus, on the third book of Moses. It’s appeared on the Old Testament, but Christians haven’t forbidden it. Pork meat.

Fifth book of Moses, it’s said that they refused the consume of blood because it’s the source of the vitality. A Jewish butcher has to clean the animals. Although this text appears in the Holy Book of Christians, they don’t forbid eating blood, but the first Christian communities did it. Blood

ISLAMIC EMPIRE (ÁL-ANDALUS). MAIN INGREDIENTS: CEREALS AND WINE. FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: NOT CULTIVATED. Muslim

1. New techniques. 2. New agricultural revolution. 3. New products: Rice Sugar Oranges and lemons. Some leaders’achievements: