Samaritan Cookbook Review

I once unwittingly wondered why people still bought cookbooks when most recipes were available online. My aunt responded by saying that a good cookbook should be just as much a cultural experience as it is about preparing food because they belong together. To only get a recipe does not contribute to that. From that moment on I had the utmost respect and love for a cookbook that was also capable of drawing its reader into the experience of the people and place it is from.

For most of human history food and its preparation has been a thing of community that belongs to its land and knows it familiarly. Until the dawn of industrialized agriculture, commercial grocery, fast-food and tv-dinners (the real war on family and culture), everyone gathered to take part in growing food, food preparation, eating and even the lost art of conversation which all contributed to the fullness of its social dimension.

My point in opening a book review like this is that the “Samaritan Cookbook” captures this. The Samaritans have long been a people who remained close to their food, land and each other. Most people only know them from the Biblical instance when Jesus responds to the question of “Who is my neighbor?” with the parable of the “Good Samaritan.” To call them “good” was actually scandalizing to its original hearers as the Samaritans at that time were the hated/ostracized remnants out of the northern kingdom of Israel.

However, as this cookbook shows the Samaritans never ceased to be in that place nor did their Jewish way of life ever come to an end: religiously, culturally or dietarily. That they never left the land is very significant toward the heritage of these recipes as their hand has a long history in Middle Eastern cuisine. These recipes have been collected and handed down over many generations, but this is the first time that this specific collection has been translated into English.

As I have been making my way through these recipes, I have noticed familiar Mediterranean flavors, but I am finding a unique fluidity and simplicity in their ingredients and preparation that does not always exist in other cookbooks from these regions. Yet, their simple combinations never lack for taste or nourishment and to me this simplicity tells of their way of life and community. So, I recommend Samaritan Cookbook: A Culinary Odyssey from the Ancient Israelites to the Modern Mediterranean as a learning experience about the Samaritan people through their stories and food.

(I received this book for free from Speakeasy in exchange for an honest review.)