Food, Culture & Society

An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research

ISSN: 1552-8014 (Print) 1751-7443 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rffc20

Bountiful empire: a history of Ottoman cuisine

Rod Thomson

To cite this article: Rod Thomson (2018) Bountiful empire: a history of Ottoman cuisine, Food,
Culture & Society, 21:5, 722-723, DOI: 10.1080/15528014.2018.1516086

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2018.1516086

Published online: 17 Sep 2018.

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722 BOOK REVIEWS

Another issue confronting Bitar is her methodology itself, in that she takes the diet
books’ claims to be true on their own terms, and she does not cite evidence to illustrate
examples where these claims are erroneous—for example, the idea that paleolithic man
enjoyed an easy life with natural health and long life. While this decision makes sense on a
deeper and more philosophical level, those working in more reductive social science
paradigms will likely find it anachronistic to their work.
In summation, Diet and the Disease of Civilization is a book that offers a novel way of
reading diet books that challenges us to rethink our assumptions about dieting as something
revolving primarily around physical health and cultural standards of attractiveness; an
excellent choice for an undergraduate or graduate class both for its readability and for its
unique methodology in the modern humanities, and equally applicable in nutrition, cultural
studies, sociology, and history.

John Kainer
University of Texas, San Antonio, USA
john.kainer@utsa.edu
© 2018 John Kainer
https://doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2018.1516085

Bountiful empire: a history of Ottoman cuisine, by Priscilla Mary Işin, London:

Reaktion Books, 2018, ISBN 9781780239040

The title of Priscilla Mary Işin’s latest book, Bountiful empire: a history of Ottoman
cuisine, is somewhat misleading. While cuisine does lie at its heart, Işin has crafted a
work much broader in scope, one that frequently takes leave of the kitchen to roam the
breadth of the empire, from the thronged streets of Istanbul to remote rural commu-
nities, following in the footsteps of Turkish and European travelers and janissaries on
campaign. The author buttresses her work with hundreds of sources – the “Select
Bibliography” alone lists over 250 – that include numerous contemporary travel
accounts, from the ubiquitous Evliyâ Çelebi to a host of European observers of
Ottoman culture. Palace and court records, kitchen receipts, contemporary literature,
official correspondence, even folk tales, all find their place in the author’s analysis.
Overall, Işin succeeds in her goal of illuminating Ottoman life via its foodways, the
end product of which is a valuable and well-documented resource for those interested in
the empire and its culinary culture.
Physically, Bountiful empire is an attractive production, its pages illustrated by 115
thoughtfully selected images that range from Ottoman miniatures to photographs of
modern Turkish cooks preparing traditional dishes for which Işin traces their origins. As
promised in the introduction, the author does not offer an overarching narrative, but
instead largely tackles her subject thematically. Beginning with the “culinary roots” of
Ottoman cuisine, she identifies Central Asian, Persian, Abbasid, Seljuk, and Byzantine
influences before providing a brief history of the evolution of diet and cookery in the
empire in the second chapter. From that point, chronology takes a back seat to the
discussion of individual topics, clearly identified by succinct chapter headings: “Meals,”
“Etiquette, “Coffee and Coffee Houses,” “Alcoholic Drinks and Taverns,” and so on. While
this format has resulted in some repetition, it is quite sparse and does not distract the reader
from the overall experience. For instructors, Işin’s compartmentalization will prove useful,
 FOOD, CULTURE & SOCIETY 723

as each chapter forms a complete and distinct discussion appropriate for assigned readings
in courses on culinary, Ottoman, or Middle Eastern history. This reviewer’s only complaint
of any substance is that the two-page glossary of Turkish food names does not include all
those used in the book. Fortunately, a relatively thorough index goes a long way in over-
coming this rather trivial shortcoming.
One of the stronger aspects of Bountiful empire is its cross-cultural approach. The author
leans heavily on accounts by European visitors to shed light on various culinary and dining
practices in the empire. At times their observations reveal sincere appreciation for the
practices of their hosts, as when Austrian ambassador Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq expressed
his appreciation of an Ottoman army’s tranquil camp behavior, or the unmitigated praise
offered by Maria Eliza Rundell for dining etiquette in the empire. Of course, not all
European observers offered such positive reflection. The author cites two men who looked
down on a diet that to them seemed overly focused on vegetables, comparing it to fodder.
But combined, these outsider accounts provide information that native sources often lack,
such as descriptions of food and hospitality in rural areas. They also reveal the importance
of cuisine to Ottoman identity as perceived by those who did not take it for granted because
they were not born into the culture. In this regard they contribute significantly to the
author’s stated purpose.
Işin’s work is laced throughout with examples of how food, its preparation, consumption,
and related matters influenced the ways in which residents and visitors alike understood the
empire and their places in it. She also illustrates the social reciprocity that linked food and
hospitality. From the sultan, whose feasts were intentionally excessive in variety and volume
so as to feed guests and servants alike, to the self-sacrifice exhibited by rural villagers in
providing the best fare they could afford to visitors, Işin links cultural tradition and Islamic
teaching to Ottoman hospitality across all social classes, and its manifestation through
generosity in both quantity and quality.
Bountiful empire addresses a host of other topics: the social status of cooks, the role of
food in celebration, provisioning of the military, food regulations, imarets, the impact of the
Colombian exchange on Ottoman cuisine, and more. Taken holistically, Işin’s work is an
important addition to an expanding corpus of scholarly work on the history of Middle
Eastern cuisine that will be as welcome on the coffee tables of educated foodies as on the
bookshelves of specialists and educators.

Rod Thomson
Department of History, California State University, Chico, USA
rthomson2@csuchico.edu
© 2018 Rod Thomson
https://doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2018.1516086