Fig-cake (fruit)

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Fig-cake
Amasando-bollo-higo-tradicional-valdepenero.jpg
Mechanically-produced fig-cake (often formed into a round or square loaf)
Type Fruit
Place of origin Near East
Main ingredients Fig paste

A fig-cake is a mass or lump of dried and compressed figs, [1] [2] [3] usually formed by a mold into a round or square block for storage, or for selling in the marketplace for human consumption. [4] [5] The fig-cake is not a literal cake made as a pastry with a dough batter, but rather a thick and often hardened paste of dried and pressed figs made into a loaf, sold by weight and eaten as a snack or dessert food in Mediterranean countries and throughout the Near East. It is named "cake" only for its compacted shape when several are pounded and pressed together in a mold.

Contents

Historical references

Fig-cakes have historically been used as food in ancient times. The Hebrew Bible mentions the food dveláh (Hebrew : דבילה) in several places:

Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves [of bread], and two bottles of wine... and an hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs (דבלים‎), etc. (1 Samuel 25:18) [6]

And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs (פלח דבלה‎), and two clusters of raisins, etc. (1 Samuel 30:12) [7]

Moreover, they that were nigh unto them... brought bread on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, even food made from flour, [and] cakes of figs (דבלים‎), and bunches of raisins, and wine, etc. (1 Chronicles 12:40) [8]

As early as the 1st-century CE, dried and pressed fig-cakes were being delivered to a place called Beit Qarnayim. [9] In the 2nd-century CE, fig-cakes prepared in southern Palestine, near Keilah, were widely held to be more succulent and sweeter than other known varieties of dried figs and were, therefore, given special status. [10] [11] [12] A field measuring 50 x 50 cubits with at least 3 fig trees or more could produce as much as 27.328 kilograms (60.25 lb) of fig-cakes. [13] Fig-cakes produced in Bosra were thought to be of inferior quality to those produced in Palestine. [11] The fig tree native to Syria (which in Roman times included Palestine's Judaea ), with its superb qualities, was eventually introduced into Italy, as attested by Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE). [14]

Manner of preparation

The old method of producing fig-cakes is to take selected ripe figs that are most succulent and to pound them in a large, wooden mortar with a long wooden pestle. [15] [16] After kneading the mush together, it is taken up and formed into either round or rectangular loaves within molds. [17] Once laid within the mold, the surface of the figs was smoothed off, either with liquids had from other fruits, or with smooth stones. [18] [19]

Another manner of preparation was to take figs that had already been dried and to open them up and put one on top of the other, producing cakes known as keziah (קציעה‎). [20] Straw was often spread on top of them to help in their preservation. [21] These, unlike the regular fig-cake, did not last long and usually became worm-infested after a short time. [22] They were made into round or square cakes. [22]

Strings of dried figs (Ar. qutten), as distinguished from a fig-cake Figue sec.JPG
Strings of dried figs (Ar. quṭṭēn), as distinguished from a fig-cake

Similar to the fig-cake, but still different from them, are the ordinary dried figs (et-tīn al-mujafaf; quṭṭēn; et-tīn al-yābis) that have not been compressed together. The Arabic speaking population in the Hebron area often prepared dried figs (quṭṭēn = قطين‎) by laying them out to dry upon a large stone slab that had been covered with crushed leaves and stems of thyme-leaved savory ( Micromeria fruticosa ) for flavoring. [23] [24] This is also thought to have been done because of the Thyme-leaved savory's anti-fungal properties. Often, the process of drying was done on a flat roof top. [25] In the drying, olive oil was sometimes added to the figs, to enrich and preserve them from mould or rot. [22] In some places, anise ( Pimpinella anisum ) (Arabic : yānsūn) is sprinkled on the dried figs (quṭṭēn) to refine the taste. [26] According to Maimonides, such figs were laid down upon mats to dry. [27] In late Roman times, dried figs were packed in sealed earthenware jars for prolonged storage. [28]

Figs intended for drying are left on the trees until they are fully matured and rich in sugar. They are collected in baskets and spread on the ground or on rocks to dry. Progressive farmers spread them on mats. All drying is done in direct sunlight for about 3 days, depending on the temperature. Once dry, they are placed into a heap. This operation equalises the moisture in the heap, otherwise some will be too moist while others may be too dry. After a day the figs are spread out again and dried for another day. They are then ready for the bin. This dried fig is known as Goutein[ sic ]. Sometimes the figs are split in half with the fingers and put on rocks to dry. ...In many villages the split figs are struck together to form a ball about the size of a coconut. This is known as Dibleh in Arabic and Dvelah in Hebrew. These cakes are pressed and are mainly sold to the Bedouins who cut off slices as required. [29]

In the Algarve region of Portugal, figs are dried over the platform roofs of traditional houses, while those that are kept for fresh consumption are laid over fig leaves or put into baskets made from cane. Those that are to be dried are placed upon cane mats and exposed to the sun. These are rolled up during the night to protect them from humidity. [30] They are sun-dried in this manner for days, with a thin net placed over them to prevent insect infestation. They are preserved with rice flour. [31]

Varieties of fig

Modern-day dried figs are often procured from Turkish or Calimyrna figs (Turkish: Kuru incir). Fifty-four varieties of figs are known to exist in Palestine. [32] In Modern times , the varieties of figs grown for eating and drying, mostly by Palestinian Fellahin, are such types known in Arabic as Moazi (Mwazi), which is also known as Hurtemani. [33] Other varieties used for eating and drying include the Hedari fig (also spelt Khdari), the Sbai, and the Shatawi. [33] Those varieties used exclusively for drying are the Haroubi fig, the Sfari (a yellowish fig found in the Safed sub-district and in Nazareth) the Biadi and the Himari. [33]

Etymology

The Hebrew word for fig-cake is dveláh (דבילה‎). [34] In contrast, the Hebrew word used for a "dried fig" is grogereth (גְּרוֹגֶּרֶת‎), pronounced ğǝroğereṯ, or "dried figs" in the plural, grogeroth (גְּרוֹגְּרוֹת‎), pronounced ğǝroğǝroṯ. [35]

Words related to dveláh appear in other Semitic languages. In Aramaic-Syriac: (ܕܒܶܠܬܳܐ) diblatua, dǝvelta means "dried fig; fig cake.". [36] In Arabic D'bala (Arabic : ذبلة) means 'to press into a ball'.

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References

  1. ↑ Maimonides (1963). Mishnah, with Maimonides' Commentary (in Hebrew). Vol. 1. Translated by Yosef Qafih. Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook. p. 76 (Peah 8:5). OCLC   233308346., s.v. ודבילה‎
  2. ↑ Translated from the Hebrew word דבלה‎, and which Syriac equivalent is ܕܒܠܬܐ‎, explained in J. Payne-Smith's A Compendious Syriac Dictionary, p. 82, as "a cake or mass of dried figs."
  3. ↑ Obadiah of Bertinoro (2011), "Commentary of Rabbi Obadiah of Bertinoro", Mishnayoth Zekher Chanokh, vol. 1, Jerusalem: Vagshal Publishing, p. 171 (Peah 8:5), OCLC   1140888800, Dveláh, dried figs after they are pressed in a circular-shape are called dveláh, and they are no longer sold by the measure, by rather by weight
  4. ↑ Goor, Asaph (1965). "The History of the Fig in the Holy Land from Ancient Times to the Present Day". Economic Botany. 19 (2): 125 (The Biblical Period). doi:10.1007/BF02862824. JSTOR   4252586. S2CID   34606339.
  5. ↑ Babylonian Talmud ( Zevahim 73a)
  6. ↑ 1 Samuel 25:18
  7. ↑ 1 Samuel 30:12
  8. ↑ 1 Chronicles 12:40
  9. ↑ Yardeni, Ada (1990). "New Jewish Aramaic Ostraca". Israel Exploration Journal. 40 (2/3): 130–152. JSTOR   27926179.
  10. ↑ Jerusalem Talmud ( Bikkurim 3:3), Solomon Sirilio's commentary there.
  11. 1 2 Ben Melchizedek, Isaac (1975). Nissan Sachs (ed.). The Commentary of Rabbi Isaac ben Melchizedek to Mishnah Zera'im (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Mekhon ha-Talmud ha-Yiśre'eli ha-shalem. p. 50 (note 7). OCLC   19160627., s.v. Demai 2:1
  12. ↑ Grasovsky, Asaph; Weitz, Joseph (1932), "Fig Growing in Palestine (1930)", Government of Palestine, Department of Agriculture and Forests (Agricultural Leaflets) - Series IV Horticulture, vol. 28, Jerusalem: Government of Palestine, p. 2, OCLC   234128890, The dried figs of Palestine were praised as being quite distinct from all others on the market, and as plump and attractive compared to the poor dried fruits produced in other countries.
  13. ↑ Jerusalem Talmud (Shevi'it 1:2, Sirilio's commentary)
  14. ↑ Goor, Asaph (1965). "The History of the Fig in the Holy Land from Ancient Times to the Present Day". Economic Botany. 19 (2): 127. doi:10.1007/BF02862824. JSTOR   4252586. S2CID   34606339.
  15. ↑ Nathan ben Abraham (1955), "Perush Shishah Sidrei Mishnah - A Commentary on the Six Orders of the Mishnah", in Sachs, Mordecai Yehudah Leib (ed.), The Six Orders of the Mishnah: with the Commentaries of the Rishonim (in Hebrew), Jerusalem: El ha-Meqorot, OCLC   233403923 , s.v. Ta'anit 4:5, citing the Arukh: תאננו הברורות הללו אנו הולכים לכתוש אותן במכתש שלפנינו ובעלי שעל כתפינו לעשות קציעה של דבילה ע"י המכתש‎.
  16. ↑ Tosefta (1970). M.S. Zuckermandel (ed.). Tosephta - Based on the Erfut and Vienna Codices (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Wahrmann Books. p. 220. OCLC   13717538., s.v. Ta'anit 4:7, which relates the story of a person carrying a pestle and going to another person's mortar to stamp his figs into fig-cakes.
  17. ↑ Nathan ben Abraham (1955), "Perush Shishah Sidrei Mishnah - A Commentary on the Six Orders of the Mishnah", in Sachs, Mordecai Yehudah Leib (ed.), The Six Orders of the Mishnah: with the Commentaries of the Rishonim (in Hebrew), Jerusalem: El ha-Meqorot, OCLC   233403923, Round and rectangular molds: Be apprised that there are three kinds of dried figs. There are those who dry out each one individually and, afterwards, press them together in a vessel, just as they do for dates [of the palm tree], and these are called 'grogeroth' (= dried figs). There is [another kind consisting of] the most succulent figs whose sweet, viscous substance is abundant, [which are] kneaded like dough and are then formed into what resembles round or rectangular loaves, and these are called 'dveláh' (= fig-cake). And those who make them are called 'qoṣǝʻei qǝṣīʻot' (= the preparers of dried figs). The third kind is the worst of them all, which are figs whose seeds are large and brittle, and when they are left for an extended time they become sour and are called the 'vinegar of winter fruits'., s.v. Terumot , chapter 3
  18. ↑ Mishnah, Maaseroth 1:8 (Commentary of Nathan ben Abraham, and commentary of Obadiah of Bertinoro, and Commentary of Isaac ben Melchizedek)
  19. ↑ Solomon Adeni, Commentary Melekhet Shelomoh in Mishnayot Zekher Chanokh (משניות זכר חנוך) (in Hebrew). Vol. 2 (Zera'im). Jerusalem: Vagshal Publishing Ltd. 2011. p. 126 (Maaserot 1:8). OCLC   1140888800.
  20. ↑ Tosefta (Baba Mezia 9:20)
  21. ↑ Danby, H., ed. (1977), The Mishnah, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.  209 (Moed Katan 2:5), ISBN   0-19-815402-X
  22. 1 2 3 Goor, Asaph (1965). "The History of the Fig in the Holy Land from Ancient Times to the Present Day". Economic Botany. 19 (2): 131. doi:10.1007/BF02862824. JSTOR   4252586. S2CID   34606339.
  23. ↑ Shmida, Avi (2005). MAPA's Dictionary of Plants and Flowers in Israel (in Hebrew). Tel-Aviv: MAPA. p. 48. OCLC   716569354.
  24. ↑ Daphne, Amos (1983), "Micromeria fruticosa", in Heller, David; Livneh, Micah (eds.), Plants and Animals of the Land of Israel (in Hebrew), vol. 11, Tel Aviv: Israel Ministry of Defence, in affiliation with the Nature Protection Society, pp. 78–79, ISBN   965-05-0078-2
  25. ↑ Tosefta (Yom Tov 4:1)
  26. ↑ Dalman, Gustaf (2020). Nadia Abdulhadi-Sukhtian (ed.). Work and Customs in Palestine, volume II. Vol. 2 (Agriculture). Translated by Robert Schick. Ramallah: Dar Al Nasher. p. 343. ISBN   978-9950-385-84-9.
  27. ↑ Maimonides, Mishnah Commentary (Nedarim 8:3)
  28. ↑ Jerusalem Talmud (Shabbat 7:2)
  29. ↑ Grasovsky, Asaph; Weitz, Joseph (1932), "Fig Growing in Palestine (1930)", Government of Palestine, Department of Agriculture and Forests (Agricultural Leaflets) - Series IV Horticulture, vol. 28, Jerusalem: Government of Palestine, p. 11, OCLC   234128890
  30. ↑ The Argarve and the Fig
  31. ↑ Use of Rice flour for preservation of dried fruits
  32. ↑ Grasovsky, Asaph; Weitz, Joseph (1932), "Fig Growing in Palestine (1930)", Government of Palestine, Department of Agriculture and Forests (Agricultural Leaflets) - Series IV Horticulture, vol. 28, Jerusalem: Government of Palestine, pp. 13–15, OCLC   234128890
  33. 1 2 3 Goor, Asaph (1965). "The History of the Fig in the Holy Land from Ancient Times to the Present Day". Economic Botany. 19 (2): 134–135. doi:10.1007/BF02862824. JSTOR   4252586. S2CID   34606339.
  34. ↑ דבילה (Wiktionary)
  35. ↑ Mishnah ( Peah 8:5)
  36. ↑ Payne Smith, J. (1903). A compendious Syriac Dictionary: founded upon the Thesaurus Syriacus of R. Payne Smith (in Syriac and English). Oxford: Clarendon Press. p.  82. (J.P. Margoliouth's supplement)
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