Behind a dish like the stuffed balls there are not only top-quality ingredients, cooking times and lots of love, but also history, such as their relationship with Sephardic Jews. Regional cuisine is largely made up of recipes that are the consequence and result of the civilizations that once populated this Mediterranean land: Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Jews and Christians, who immortalized its rich culinary art. Added to this crossroads is the echo of the discovery of America and the industrialization of the 19th century, whose imprints still remain in homes and restaurants.
The third meeting of the cycle ‘The territory on the plate. Historical influences on the eating habits of Murcians: a trip around the world ‘, organized by the newspaper LA VERDAD and the Ministry of the Presidency, Tourism and Sports, was held yesterday in Murcia, at the Santa Clara Museum, to address this range of influences that over thousands of years have been deciding the way Murcians relate to food and everything that surrounds it today. The event, presented by the communicator Lydia Martín and moderated by the journalist Pachi Larrosa, brought together a large group of national and regional experts to address the foundation of the gastronomic heritage.
The Romans displaced chickpeas from their diet as it is a deeply rooted product among the Carthaginians
“Our gastronomic culture is our history summarized in our dishes,” stressed Juan Antonio Lorca Sánchez, secretary general of the Ministry of the Presidency, Tourism and Sports, showing that “this identity has been forged over the centuries.” He opened the forum by highlighting indigenous products and local chefs, two important weapons to compete in gastronomic tourism. Precisely, he pointed out that 80% of the travelers who come to the Region highlight the cuisine as one of the main reasons for choosing it as the destination of their trip, and of these, “all of them would recommend it to their acquaintances.” These data also strengthen the title of Spanish Capital of Gastronomy 2021 that the Region holds.
SO THEY SEE IT
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Juan Antonio Lorca Sánchez Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism
«Our gastronomic culture is our history summarized in our dishes» -
Luis Álvarez Munárriz Professor of Social Anthropology at the UMU
“The cuisine of the Visigoth people had little impact on the diet of Murcians” -
Juan Ángel Spain Member of the Murcia Academy of Gastronomy
“The mojí casserole was the dish that redeemed the eggplant, so that Christian society would not see it as a poison” -
Jorge Eiroa Director of the San Esteban archaeological site
“The Arabs brought a radical change to the Peninsula: irrigation, which was known, but not technologically developed” -
Andrés Martínez Director of the Archaeological Museum of Lorca
“We owe the Phoenicians the basis of the kitchen, with products such as olive trees, oil, wheat and barley” -
Alberto Requena Pte. Of the Academy of Gastronomy of the Region of Murcia
“The Indians soaked corn with water and lime overnight, generating a chemical process rich in niacin.” -
Rosa Tovar Chef Advisor
“We did not copy the techniques of the Americans, but we imposed ours on them” -
Pedro Nuño de la Rosa Food critic
“As the palate is educated, the diner looks for a better meal” -
José Palacios Coordinator of the Degree in Humanities and Anthropology UCAM
“The industrial revolution of the 19th century brought about an abrupt and very rapid change in food production”
Immediately afterwards, the first round table discussed the heritage left by the different peoples that settled in the southeast of Spain, from the classical world to the Muslims. To the Phoenicians, said the archaeologist Andrés Martínez, director of the Archaeological Museum of Lorca, “we owe the basis of the kitchen, with products such as olive trees, oil, wheat and barley”, along with salted fish and legumes ( lentils and chickpeas), added the biologist Juan Ángel España, member of the Academy of Gastronomy of the Region of Murcia.
He said, as a curiosity, that in Roman times (known for industrializing salted fish), chickpeas almost disappeared as they were a deeply rooted food in the cuisine of the Carthaginians, their great enemies. In addition, he attributed to Ancient Rome the use of cabbages, lettuces, chard, nettles, thistles, turnips and parsnips, without forgetting wines.
NACHO GARCÍA / AGM
The contribution of the Visigoth kingdom, summed up Luis Álvarez Munárriz, professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Murcia (he intervened via videoconference), “had little impact on the diet of Murcians.” A vision shared by the biologist Spain: “It was an austere cuisine, mainly of porridge with legumes, dried meat or vegetables … It was not particularly exotic.” Along the way, the expert hinted at the possible relationship of this dish with the popular migas, whose preparation abounds on rainy days.
Inflection point
To describe the Arab period, Professor Jorge Eiroa, director of the San Esteban archaeological site, quoted historian Andrew M. Watson, who in the 70s highlighted the agricultural revolution of medieval Islam, referring to the transformation that agriculture underwent in the century. VIII to XIII. «They brought a radical change to the Iberian Peninsula, not in food, which was a derivative, but with a new technique: irrigation, which was known, but not used as a priority. This motivates the increase of existing varieties, such as watermelon; Muslims use it as catalysts, acclimatize it and cultivate it, ”he exemplified.
Together with the classical world, the Arab occupation and the encounter with America marked the habits of the population.
Another influence of Arab culture is eggplant, which even came to be viewed with suspicion if it was eaten by converted Jews and Muslims. However, the mojí casserole was the dish that “redeemed the eggplant so that Christian society would not see it as something bad,” stressed Juan Ángel España, while rescuing the work ‘Fudala’, by the Andalusian scholar Ibn Razin al- Tuyibi, born in Murcia in the 13th century. He is the author of one of the only two cookbooks (it consists of 428 elaborations) that are preserved from the medieval Islamic West.
America and industrialization
The second round table of this gastronomic forum addressed how the discovery of America and industrialization influenced the Murcian recipe book. The writer Rosa Tovar (intervened by videoconference) acknowledged that the arrival of American products to the Peninsula did not have the same effect that it did on the other side of the pond. Dairy products and their derivatives, oil, bread cereals, more meats, sugar and rice, and cooking methods such as the oven were introduced there. He also said that Andalusian cuisine is used by Cordovan chef Paco Morales, whom Tovar advises, in his cuisine inspired by southern Spain between 711 and 1492, although in recent times he has been introducing the flavors of the 16th century.
In Europe, the specialist confessed, “only the varieties more in line with our tastes have entered”, such as yellow corn and preferably large potatoes of the same tone, neglecting other colors, shapes, flavors and times of the year. “It has happened with many American foods,” he lamented.
In this sense, Alberto Requena, emeritus professor at the University of Murcia and president of the Academy of Gastronomy of the Region of Murcia, justified why corn is not a prophet in Spain, alluding to biochemical reasons (wheat is richer in niacin ), the texture it gives to the flour and the cultural traits. On the latter, he explained that in the eighteenth century it was discovered that its intake in Europe caused the disease of pellagra (when a person does not get enough niacin), but this situation did not affect the Indians. Why? “It was due to instrumental aspects,” he revealed, since the natives soaked corn with water and lime overnight, as is done with chickpeas, which generated a chemical process from which niacin was obtained.
The journalist and professor of History of Gastronomy at the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM), Pedro Nuño de la Rosa, stopped at the Señora and the Pimentón, two essentials of Murcian cuisine. He indicated that the implantation of the Señora in the Region was due to the climatic similarities with its habitat in America and that, once here, the drying process used to take place on the beaches and their surroundings, “because it was said that the sun roasted them better “, while paprika said it became a” very cheap “alternative to pepper and saffron, and that today it is” difficult to understand a paella without its color. ”
Finally, José Palacios, coordinator of the Degree in Humanities and Anthropology at UCAM, asserted that the industrial revolution of the 19th century meant “an abrupt and very rapid change” in food production, since the homogenization of taste and democratization of certain products.
The Arabs introduced the dishes to the center and the order of the meals
Placing starters, salads, main dishes and desserts in the center of the table is a custom that Muslims introduced to the Peninsula in the times of Al-Andalus. “Individual dishes do not appear in Islamic archeology until the 13th century, and the work ‘Fudala’ confirms this,” said Jorge Eiroa, director of the San Esteban archaeological site, who linked the custom of sharing dishes with a “clearly Andalusian heritage ». The journalist Pachi Larrosa also attributed to the Arabs the order in which each meal is served: first the soups, cereals or hors d’oeuvres, then the fish and meats, to finish with the desserts, drinks and nuts.
For his part, Andrés Martínez, director of the Archaeological Museum of Lorca, mentioned that in the 80s exceptional pieces were discovered in a chalcolithic burial in the City of the Sun. Among them, an oak wood plate (no organic matter already), « which indicates that in this area there were oaks and they worked them »; an «incredible» numismatic collection with «many coins in which fruits and other foods appear», and even reference pieces such as pots, mortars and an egg cup.
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