Marching rations — sweet provisions for the Nile journey (boat and caravan snacks)
Date, honey and sesame balls (the traveler's sweet)
TravelReconstruction🍯facile20 min
Small soft balls of crushed dates, bound with honey and rolled in sesame or toasted flour. Sweet, dense, easy to carry and keep — the energy bar of Antiquity.
Marching rations — sweet provisions for the Nile journey (boat and caravan snacks)
Small soft balls of crushed dates, bound with honey and rolled in sesame or toasted flour. Sweet, dense, easy to carry and keep — the energy bar of Antiquity.
Each day I cross the sky in my barque, without ever resting, from the first ray to the threshold of night. For such a journey, one needs a food that fits in the hand and does not spoil: crush the ripe dates, bind them with honey, roll them in toasted sesame seed. Slip them into your linen bag before pushing your boat onto the river. A single one, and you will find the strength to go as far as the horizon, like me.
Ingredients
- •Ripe dates — a good measure (sweet base)
- •Honey — a little (binder)
- •Sesame seeds — for rolling (coating)
- •Nuts or almonds (optional) — a few (crunch)
- •Cinnamon or coriander (optional) — a pinch (flavor)
How it was made : Dates, honey, sesame and figs were the great sweets of Egypt, since sugar did not exist. Fruit and honey confections were already made — some tomb paintings show conical pastries and sweet preparations. Dense and not very perishable, this type of confection was perfect for long river and desert journeys.
Sources : Pierre Tallet, La cuisine des pharaons (Actes Sud) · Hilary Wilson, Egyptian Food and Drink (Shire Egyptology)