Egypt-Wine for the Afterlife

First posted July 23, 2010
via Egypt-Wine for the Afterlife

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What beer made from 5,000-year-old yeast tastes like

 

CNN.com

Israeli scientists have brewed beer from a 5,000-year-old strain of yeast — and apparently it tastes pretty fruity.

The University of Jerusalem’s Ronen Hazan and Yuval Gadot had the idea to reactivate the yeast, which was recovered from clay pots found at the nearby Tell es Safi/Gath archaeological site.

The site is believed to be the ancient city of Gath, home to the Philistine people.

It’s said to be the hometown of the giant Goliath, who — according to the Bible — was defeated in battle by the boy David.

Says Hazan, “I thought, wow, that’s kind of a miracle that the yeast survived thousands of years in these pots. Amazing.”

The beer took eight weeks to ferment, which is fairly speedy considering the yeast has been prepped for millennia.

One taste-tester described the beer as “really interesting” and “fruity like nut and bananas.” Another claimed that it was “tasty” and “unique” and “going down like oil.”

Not everyone was a fan, though. One person who tried the ancient beer concluded, “It tastes like burned bread.”

Yeast can impart 500 different flavors and aromas to beers and is very good at surviving the ages.

Some researchers say ancient Egyptians began brewing beer as early as 5,500 BCE.

But it was also being brewed in Mesopotamia, now Western Asia, where people may have used straws to drink it.

The team from the University of Jerusalem are currently in talks to find investors who might be interested in commercializing this beer from the time of Philistines and Pharaohs.

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Giant 1,400-year-old wine press discovered in southern Israel

a bit late with this one..On this day ten years ago…
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More Sourdough pictures

On this day( sorry it’s two days late) ten years ago…

via More Sourdough pictures

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Spring-Almost-and this bakers thoughts turn to Wild yeast!

On this day ten years ago…
via Spring-Almost-and this bakers thoughts turn to Wild yeast!

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How the pharaohs were fed

On this day( one day late) ten years ago…

via How the pharaohs were fed

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Sun Bread from Luxor

On this day ten years ago…
via Sun Bread from Luxor

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Traditional fisherfolk help uncover ancient fish preservation methods

Sciencedaily.co,

I see I previously published this but I’ll leave it for those interested who did not see it before.

Fish has been a predominant and high-quality protein and oil source in the human diet since ancient times. A new study by researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), the Zinman Institute of Archaeology and the Oranim Academic College examined traditional fish preparation employed by fisherfolk in Panama and Egypt, revealing patterns of modifications to the fishes’ skeletons, which are comparable to those found among fish remains recovered in archaeological sites.

Despite its relevance as a nutritious food for coastal populations and its importance for trade with inland communities, archaeologists have little insight into the methods used for the long-term processing and preservation of fish in the past. This drew Richard Cooke, STRI staff archaeologist, and Irit Zohar, curator of biological collections at Oranim Academic College and researcher at the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, to document the traditional methods currently practiced by fisherfolk in the coastal populations around Parita Bay in central Pacific Panama and at Nabek Oasis in southern Sinai-Egypt. Through participant observations, imaging of the preparation methods employed and measurements of the fish species processed, they reached several conclusions.

“We discovered that in most cases, archaeologists and historians would find it very difficult to identify a fish-processing site, since most of the discarded remains are either thrown to the water or consumed by local animals,” Cooke said.

They also found that three main preparation techniques prevail in today’s fishing communities, regardless of their geographic location, and that fish-body size influences which method is applied. In addition, these traditional techniques leave behind particular bone fragmentation patterns that mirror those found among fish remains in archaeological sites, suggesting that ancient humans were using the same three methods that are still in use today.

“This study provides a powerful model for identifying fish butchering and preservation methods at archaeological sites around the world, and at many time periods,” Zohar said. “It also vouches for the universality of human behavior for the long-term preservation of fishes of different kinds and sizes, ensuring a range of nutritious and healthful dietary resources for communities located far from the bounties of the oceans.”

Lastly, their results reveal the antiquity of traditional butchering methods practiced in coastal sites, which resemble those observed in Egyptian reliefs from over 4,000 years ago.

“Studying modern ethnographic examples contributes to our understanding of fish preservation techniques used by ancient humans for long-term storage,” Cooke said. “Our findings demonstrate the need to further document traditional fishing methods and fish procurement, before these methods disappear.”

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Story Source:

Materials provided by Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

 

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Rice, Origin and History

On this day ten years ago…
via Rice, Origin and History

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Ancient bread

On this day ten years ago…
via Ancient bread

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