Disfrutar
in the Alhambra

Ms Dolores Álvarez Almoguera
Introduction: what Al-Andalus was like.
Food used in the kitchen:  
– Cereals, fundamental for bread, rolls, cakes, desserts, couscous
– Meats and ways of preparing them: lamb, cow, hens; game such as partridges, pigeons, pheasants. 
– Fish: conservation and preparation techniques: almadraba tuna fishing, marinades.
– Pulses, vegetables
– High quality fruit because of the good soil and plentiful supply of water from irrigation channels
– Tropical crops on the coast 
– Olive oil from the large plantations in Jaén, Córdoba and Granada
Spices: imported from the Orient on two important trade routes. Very expensive.
Desserts: very varied, based on honey, almonds and fried pastry
Drinks: aromatized waters, fruit syrups, tiger-nut horchatas, sorbets.
Retail: this took place in markets, souks, alcaicerías (silk-markets), market-stalls and grain-stores; the best surviving example in Granada is the Corral del Carbón, which was a very important grain-store. 
         
House, kitchen, larder, central courtyard
Cooking utensils, for storing food: in tinajas (large earthenware jars), metal pots, larders
The table: Special mention of a great character "Alí ibn Nafí known as Ziryab", who brought to al-Andalus the art of living with the refinement of the East: tablecloths, silks and carpets
Recipes
Last of all: What remains of all this in today’s culture?
Time:  2^nd and 3^rd Sundays, March at 12:00
Place: Museum of the Alhambra, Palace of Charles V