Babylonian Lamb Stew with Beets (1750–1730 BCE)

2026-09-03 | original

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Why This Matters

This is a food/history piece, not a tech story: it presents a recreated Babylonian lamb-and-beet stew from cuneiform tablets dated roughly 1750–1730 BCE, along with a barley-bread-based dish. Its relevance lies in how scholars decode and reconstruct the world's oldest known written recipes for modern kitchens.

Key Takeaways

The recipes derive from Babylonian texts dated about 1750–1730 BCE, among the earliest written recipes known.
The lamb stew uses beets, beer, sheep fat, cumin, cilantro, leek and Persian shallots, finished with a kurrat-cilantro paste.
A second recipe, 'Unwinding,' starts from barley seeds soaked, toasted, and ground to make bappiru 'beer-bread.'

Worth a Look

Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven — This ancient Babylonian stew needs a wide, heavy pot that can sear lamb hard and then simmer low with beer and beets e without scorching e and an enameled cast iron Dutch oven does both. The enamel interior won't react with acidic beets, and the heavy lid keeps everything tender through the long braise.

See Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.

Watch modern recreations of Babylonian cooking:

Try a Babylonian recipe at home:

Babylonian lamb stew with beets

Recipes are for 2 full portions or 15 bite-size servings

Ingredients:

1 pound of diced leg of mutton or lamb

1/2 cup of rendered sheep fat

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of beer

1/2 cup of water

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Explore topics: babylonian cuisine lamb stew ancient recipes persian shallots kurrat