Egypt, with its majestic pyramids, is among the top travel destinations today.
But let's go back in time to see what Egyptians were fed to build these breaktaking pyramids.
Due to the geographical location of Egypt, the Nile River flowed through the ancient city
allowing for the farming of crops and livestock. Trade between countries also allowed Egyptians to
enjoy a multi ethnic cuisine. So, among all the ancient civilizations, Egypt ate better than most
did. But, this doesn't mean that all the food was finger-licking good. Today on Nutty History we'll
show you some pretty weird, or as some would say gross, food choices ancient Egyptians made.
The kind of food and the amount that people ate in ancient Egypt varied depending on their
wealth and social position. Because of that, peasants and enslaved people had a limited diet.
Usually, it consisted of fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, sometimes even exotic.
However, being rich or not, Egyptians would enjoy the delicacy of a rodent fillet!
Could you imagine catching a mouse in your attic to actually eat it? Mhmm..sounds delicious. Not
only did they eat the meat from the mouse, prepared in various ways, but there is also
evidence of using it for medicinal purposes too. To be precise, ancient Egyptians used mice as
a food treatment to cure, as it is believed to be called, excess salivation in children.
So, to conclude, a mouse a day keeps the saliva drool away! If your palate was not feeling the
rodents, next on the menu we have hedgehogs. No, not Sonic the Hedgehog.. We bet you are wondering,
just how could they do that?! Awh… People of ancient Egypt were familiar with two species of
hedgehogs, the desert hedgehog named Paraechinus aethiopicus, and the long-eared hedgehog named the
Hemiechius auritius. Their importance to ancient Egyptians is figured through the fact they made
hedgehog amulets and painted images of them in some Old Kingdom tombs. Speaking of images,
they were usually represented in hunting scenes or as an offering, even in the form of a ”hedgehog
ship“ with ships having an image of a hedgehog's face on their hulls. An example of this ship was
discovered at Tell Ibrahim Awad in 1993. All in all, there are interpretations that a hedgehog
was a symbol of rebirth or, in other words, rising from the dead. It is believed that it is because
they retreat into their dens that are underground when there is hardly any food, and reappear when
they sense food. But, this all didn't stop ancient Egyptians from eating them! They were considered a
wild game and were actively hunted. To be ready to consume, it is assumed they were coated with clay
and baked in the fire. The use of clay is also assumed because it would adhere to spikes and once
cracked open it would remove spikes with it too. Try to rise from the dead after that… We still
can't wrap our heads around how someone could do this to a hedgehog, I mean they're just so cute!
When we think of pigeons today, we imagine them leaving a present on our newly washed and polished
cars. Oh, the rage... Many of us today think of them as dirty urban pests, but could you imagine
eating one? Pigeon keeping itself is a tradition that is even older than Ancient Egypt. Evidence
of pigeon husbandry are references found in Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets and hieroglyphics
that are more than 5000 years old. So, back in ancient times, pigeons held an important role for
ancient Egyptians. They were used as messengers by the Egyptian army and as an announcement of
the arrival of incoming ships. To get to the point, not only did ancient Egyptians build
pigeon towers and breed them for domestication purposes in order to use them to carry messages,
but also to eat them as well. Some may say they lived a purposeful life back in the day.
The traditional dish, that is still eaten today, is called Hamaam Mahsi and it consists of a pigeon
stuffed with seasoned rice or cracked wheat and then fried in butter or grilled. Make mine lemon
pepper please. The saying “killing two birds with one stone” sounds kind of appropriate here.
Pelicans are large water birds that mainly eat fish. Now, Nigel the pelican from Nemo
would disagree on that one... But, rumors say they taste like oily fish. To be precise,
people say they taste like fish that's been left out too long. Hmm... A bird that tastes like fish…
Yucky fish... Ew? At least, one would assume such a thing, considering how much fish they eat.
You are what you eat, right? Perhaps ancient Egyptians' taste buds were slightly different
than ours, or shall we say limited, because that does not sound tasty, at all!
Evidence says it didn't stop them and they indeed enjoyed pelican meat and their eggs,
which also tasted... rather... fishy! How they prepared it, though, is unfortunately not exactly
documented. Although, it is suggested to cook them longer in order to diminish their peculiar taste.
If you are not a fan of the smell of fish, imagine the smell of rotten fish. Pretty traumatic if you
ask us. Well... Ancient Egyptians ate fish. Plenty of fish. Lots of fish. Obviously, because they had
the Nile river right under their nose. As you can tell, these guys really liked fish. And they
ate it in any way possible. One of those ways is called Fesikh. It is a traditional Egyptian dish
that originates back to ancient Egypt where it was found sealed in jars in Egyptian tombs. Fesikh
consists of fermented dried and salted fish. As if dried fish doesn't sound bad enough... In short,
fermentation is a process of chemical change that happens with the help of microorganisms.
Because of the process of fermentation, Fesikh has horrific, and for some even life-threatening
equation. Now, tell us, who gagged on this one? Or better, who didn't?! Now just to be clear,
beware of Fesikh today. There have been cases of poisoning reported every year because of an
incorrectly prepared dish and its symptoms include abdominal cramps, constipation,
nausea, vomiting or... pay attention! Even death. Life-threatening indeed, and not just
the smell! So, you adventurous, opportunistic foodies watching this, yes you, we suggest you
think twice before implementing that yolo attitude with this one. Unless you have a death wish.
Imagine being force fed in order for your liver to get plumpier and juicier for someone to consume.
Did that make you uncomfortable? Well… For thousands of years there has been
the practice of fattening geese or ducks. Its origin can be traced back more than 4500 years.
It was the fresco painting discovered in an ancient Egyptian tomb that proves the history
of this procedure. Ancient Egyptians noticed that there was something delicious about the
liver they ate from geese and ducks at the time of them preparing for migration. Poor things,
it seems like the joke is on them! Instead of a long journey through the sky, they traveled
through the intestines! At least their liver did. Anyway, they achieve that by gorging themselves at
that time of the year, the time before migration, which creates a big surplus of fat on their liver.
Quite interestingly enough, it was a natural instinct. They know they need that energy stored
so they can live off of it during their journey. Because hey, who goes on a trip hungry? Unlike us,
they don't have backpacks with snacks in them to take for their flight! So, by observing that
phenomenon, ancient Egyptians tried to replicate the process. According to the history books,
Egyptian slaves were the first who force fed figs to the geese. And there goes the freedom
of choice… Today, as a huge part of French culture, a method is called gavage. It is a
process of feeding the duck with a tube and then massaging its neck to assist with swallowing.
Inhumane or not, that is the question. Well, we just hope they did, and still do it, gently.
Egypt is located on the African continent. During ancient times, the climate pretty much resembled
that of today. It was only the area close to the Nile River that was inhabited because the country
was filled with sand deserts and the climate was dry and hot with minimal rainfall. Whew,
we got thirsty just reading that! No due to weather conditions, people of ancient Egypt had
difficulties keeping meat fresh and, eh, edible for extended periods. You see, once the animal was
slaughtered, they had to either consume the meat immediately or somehow preserve it for later use,
usually with lots of salt. But because of the lack of refrigerators and hot climate, they had a
harder time doing it. Especially the poor. So, if they happened to be late in eating or preserving
the meat but decided to eat it anyway, despite it being not so fresh... oooh imagine the smell!
It is believed they used lots of different spices, and even more salt, because they had
to cover the smell and taste. The moral of this little history lesson is to be thankful
for Oliver Evans because he was the inventor of the first refrigerator in 1805. Now tell us,
have you tried any of the food mentioned? Or, are you willing to try any? Tell us in the comments
and don’t forget to like and share the video! And as always thanks for watching Nutty History.