Food is a 4 lettered word responsible for the existence of the human race. And food is what bound the ancient Egyptian civilization. As they were hard workers they required food products that gave them the energy to sustain work throughout the day.
Now what ancient Egyptians ate is a complex question but one surety is this, whatever they ate was good food as Egypt’s soil was fertile and rich with minerals. And Egyptians flourished because of the endowments they got from their river Nile. The Nile was the reason for the Egyptian civilization’s no dearth of food.
It has been well depicted in the pictograms too that Egyptians were a healthy race.
Ancient Egyptian Food Menu
1. Bread and puffed rice food
What ancient Egyptians ate were a lot of cereals thus making it a staple food of theirs. Bread was also very common and that too was a staple food. It was easy to grow cereals and make bread as agriculture flourished in Egypt.
Making bread had a simple procedure that counted in the following steps. It started with kneading the flour, after that the eggs, yeast, milk, and various condiments were added. Then it was baked into numerous shapes, and sizes.
Other kinds of bread included cakes, beans filled bread, egg bread, dessert bread, pastries, flavored bread etc.
Gradually the bread making procedure became sophisticated and sanitized.
1. Vegetables in ancient Egyptian eating
In vegetables what ancient Egyptian ate were chickpeas, green peas, lentils, leeks, beans, and lettuce.
Garlic and onion were also popular as they held the popular notion that they were immunity boosters.
2. Fruits in Ancient Egyptian Food
Fruits were used as sources for wines, and natural sweeteners. The most common and general fruit is Ancient Egyptians Eat by ancient Egyptians was the date. Dates were high in protein and glucose. Other than dates honey also did the work of sweetener. The difference in their usage as a sweetener was dependent on the background of their users.
Dates also made way for date wines after the fermentation process.
Other popular fruits that were eaten were figs, raisins, pomegranates, watermelons, peaches, plums, walnuts, and grapes.
3. Meat, Poultry, and fishes are Eaten in Ancient Egypt
Fishes were the food for the rich and poor feasted on ducks, cranes, and geese. There were religious beliefs that too were a part of eating which forbade Ancient Egyptians Eat asparagus like fishes. The god named Osiris was the part of this myth.
Meat eating came from, pigs, antelopes, cattle, goats, ibex etc.
4. Dairy Produce in Egypt
There are references to the use of dairy products by ancient Egyptians. Some included cheese, cream, and butter.
5. Fats and Oil in ancient Egyptian eating habits
Fats and oil also were a part of ancient Egyptians diets. Fats came in form of some of the meats of cow, and goats. Apart from fats, there was the use of oil derived from horseradish, flax seeds, butter, safflower, milk, and sesame.
6. Seasonings and Sweeteners used in ancient Egypt diet
Seasonings had a variety of condiments which ranged from cumin, fennel seeds, mustard, aniseed, cinnamon to fenugreek and pepper.
Honey and dates were used as sweeteners.
So the answer to ‘What did Ancient Egyptians Eat? Is – a broad range of food items. That is why they were a healthy and happy society, surely an ‘endowment of Nile’.
