Ancient Egyptians relied heavily on emmer wheat for making bread and other grains like barley for brewing beer, which were central to their diet. These basics have lasted into the current era; bread is still an essential component of Egyptian meals.
Additionally, the ancient Egyptians grew a wide range of products, such as fruits, vegetables, and legumes, thanks to the rich banks of the Nile River. Egypt's agricultural heritage endures since the Nile remains an essential resource for farming. Furthermore, The cuisine of the ancient Egyptians was varied and comprised a large variety of plant-based foods, dairy products, and meat. This diversity is reflected in the wide range of dishes seen in modern Egyptian cuisine, which uses both domestic and foreign components.
The Egyptians have known ducks for thousands of years in ancient Egypt, as recorded on inscriptions and walls on how to clean them and roast them over a fire, which confirms that the Egyptians loved to eat ducks, and with the passage of time ducks turned into a category of luxury food, which Egyptians were happy with. Holidays and seasons, and the Egyptians are creative in making it, whether boiled, in the oven or stuffed with different fillings such as rice and others.
One of the most famous foods dating back to the ancient Egyptians is salted fish, known as fesikh, which was famous on Eid al-Sham or what we now call Sham El Nessim. Dried fish also became a symbol of the city of Latinos. The story of fesikh began in the Fifth Dynasty, and the reason for calling it this name is that Fishing was very less in the spring, and because salt preserved the fish for a longer period, the ancient Egyptians were able to store fish with salt and they used to remove the flesh from the skin.
The food historian and chair of Coptic Studies at the American University in Cairo (AUC) Mennat-Allah Al-Dorry said “We know that the ancient Egyptians had salted fish, and we know that there were sauces used to ferment fish in Graeco-Roman times, but the oldest mention of the word feseekh as such comes from the 17th century,” in her statements to Al-Ahram Weekly
At that time, feseekh was associated with rural areas, and the references made can be rather condescending. However, “we know that the ancient Egyptians had a lot of fish, essentially Nilotic fish,” she added.
Despite the popularity of Fesikh, some foods have made their mark in history, such as okra casserole. Many sources indicate that okra began to be cultivated in ancient Egypt 2,000 years ago, and a very large number of Pharaonic inscriptions were found on the walls of temples about okra and its cultivation in ancient Egypt. Okra had a very special status because it was Queen Cleopatra's favorite food.
In the winter, the demand for lentil soup was unusual, and it was served specifically to technicians, workers, and pyramid builders, believing that lentils provided them with energy, in addition to the ancient Egyptians’ love for insight, due to the Pharaohs’ interest in legumes. Al-Dorry said that there is no evidence “at all” for the association between the introduction of bissara, a fava-bean creamy dip that is widely consumed during Coptic Lent, and the introduction of Christianity in Egypt.
In the winter, the demand for lentil soup was unusual, and it was served specifically to technicians, workers, and pyramid builders, believing that lentils provided them with energy, in addition to the ancient Egyptians’ love for insight, due to the Pharaohs’ interest in legumes. Al-Dorry said that there is no evidence “at all” for the association between the introduction of bissara, a fava-bean creamy dip that is widely consumed during Coptic Lent, and the introduction of Christianity in Egypt.
She added that there is an understanding that bissara is a Coptic word that means cooked beans, but there is not enough knowledge as to whether this recipe was present in Egypt under a different name before Coptic times.
The ancient Egyptians ate all vegetables and fruits except for the types Certain fruits, such as coconuts, were only for the rich class and kings. The ancient Egyptians were the first to dry figs and grapes.
The ancient Egyptians did not miss the magical touches in every food, which were spices or food additives, anise, and cumin, in addition to oils, the most important of which were castor oil and sesame oil.
Contemporary Egyptian cuisine is nothing but Pharaonic cuisine, but it is new, and because the ancient Egyptian was famous for his ingenuity, inventions, and building civilization, he did not neglect food and its health, to continue making history.