The Ancient Hangover Cure Found in a 1,000-Year-Old Cookbook

Written nearly a thousand years ago, the Kitab al-tabikh (book of cookery) written by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq, is the most comprehensive work of its kind. It includes more than 600 recipes for culinary and medicinal dishes, including a well-known ancient Middle Eastern hangover cure, ingredients for enhancing sexual performance, and dishes for curing a range of health problems. The ancient text has been translated by Nawal Nasrallah, a former professor of English and comparative literature at the University of Baghdad, into the ‘Annals of the Caliph’s Kitchen’, making these fascinating recipes accessible to the English-speaking world.

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The Enigma of Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq: A Glimpse into the Author’s Life

Very little is known about Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq, the author of the text, except that he died in 961 AD, and that he was commissioned to write a cookbook on the dishes of Caliphs, Lords and dignitaries of the time. Some scholars suggest that Al-Warraq might have compiled the manuscript at the request of his patron, the Hamdanid prince Sayf al-Dawla. Many of the recipes are thought to have been acquired from much earlier writers and may be much older than 1,000 years.