Instructions were found on an ancient Babylonian tablet from the Mesopotamian region (what is today known as the regions of Iraq, Syria, and Turkey) that detailed how to make a type of lamb stew. But those instructions read more like a list of ingredients than an actual recipe. After Yale University scholars were able to translate the instructions, they found that it said this: “Meat is used. You prepare water. You add fine-grained salt, dried barley cakes, onion, Persian shallot, and milk. You crush and add leek and garlic.”
Photo by Historia/Shutterstock / Historia/Shutterstock / Dean Drobot / WAYHOME studio / Dean Drobot
Sounds pretty simple, right? But there are definitely missing pieces. The only thing is, you can’t ask the chef to reveal the missing pieces because the recipe writer has been dead for over 4,000 years. Lamb stew is just one example of an ancient dish that’s been around for thousands of years. As it turns out, many dishes have been around for just as long, maybe even longer. If you’re curious as to which meals are the oldest in the world, then you’re in for a treat!