The Oldest Recipe in History - Hammurabi's Kanasu Stew

TL;DR

A 3,750-year-old Babylonian lamb stew from King Hammurabi's era is reconstructed despite untranslatable ingredients and minimal cooking instructions.

Key Points

• 1.The kanasu stew recipe dates to no later than 1740 BC. It is one of 25 stews found on the Yale Babylonian culinary tablets and offers almost no cooking instruction — just a list of ingredients including leg of mutton, fat, coriander, cumin, garlic, and mint.
• 2.Three key ingredients have uncertain translations. 'Kanasu' is likely an edible plant or emmer wheat used as flour; 'samídu' is debated between a shallot-like allium and fine flour; 'šuhutinnu' means something pulled from the ground, possibly a leek, turnip, or carrot.
• 3.The host chose emmer flour, shallots, and leeks for their flavor contributions. He seared the lamb first — a technique not specified in the recipe — then simmered everything for 30 minutes, adding leeks and mint near the end for freshness and texture.
• 4.Hammurabi built Babylon's power through food infrastructure before military conquest. He constructed granaries and canals along the Euphrates to prevent crop flooding, feeding his population and generating surplus resources to fund an army that defeated Ilam, Larsa, Eshnuna, and Mari.
• 5.Hammurabi's Code contains 282 laws inscribed on a 7.5-foot diorite stele. Beyond 'eye for an eye' punishments, it established presumption of innocence, due process, burden of proof on accusers, and proportional sentencing — concepts still foundational to modern law.
• 6.Many of Hammurabi's laws directly governed food, agriculture, and taverns. Laws regulated beer payment (grain vs. silver), farm labor wages, animal injury liability (e.g., breaking an ox's horn costs one-fourth its value), and even included an 'act of God' clause for animals killed by lions.
• 7.The finished stew was described as thick as gravy with harmoniously blended flavors. The raw leek garnish added crunch, mint did not overpower, and the meat was tender — suggesting that despite ingredient uncertainty, the 3,750-year-old dish remains genuinely delicious.