Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the kileri-ba , also known as sar-kilārī-i
āa, or the Head of the Imperial Lar-
der. He was the chief of the third of the
Imperial Chambers which were in direct
contact with the Sultan. The staff under
the kileri-ba grew considerably over
the course of time, from 20 in the early
16th century to 134 in 1090/1679. The
cooks, ā s or abbā s, were organised
in an oa (corps), which was divided into
bölük s, in the same way as other military
corps at the Porte. The corps was headed
by the sar-abbāīn-i āa, also known as
ba-ā-ba with the rank of āā. As
in other corps, the āā was assisted by a
katudā (lieutenant) and a kātib, secretary.
As professionals, the cooks were subjected
to a hierarchy as in any craft, which con-
sisted of usta or ustād , alfa or alīfa, and
āgird (master, foreman and novice). As
a rule, a āgird joined the corps from the
corps of aemī-olan s. He learned the
profession while working under an usta or
ā-ba , later becoming an ā , then
being promoted to ā-ba .
Servants under the kileri-ba in the
storerooms in the Bīrūn formed a sepa-
rate corps in ten bölük s. Under him were
the following: abbāzān (bakers), aābān
(butchers), alwāiyān ( elvā -makers),
yourtiyān (yourt-makers), sebzeiyān
(keepers of vegetables), simidiyān (mak-
ers of ring bread), buziyān and ariyān
(keepers of ice and snow), aābān
(keepers of herbs), tavuiyān (keepers of
poultry), alayiyān (tinners of the copper
utensils), mūmiyān (makers of candles),
saāyān (water-carriers), gandum-kūbān
(wheat-pounders). Čanīgīrān (waiters),
made a completely independent group
under a čanīgīr-ba in the Bīrūn section.
The Sultan was served by the kileri-ba
and his staff in the Enderūn.
The Sultan's cooks competed to please
the Sultan by preparing special dishes of
their own cooking. The Sultan showed his
pleasure by giving a reward ( inām) . Thus
the Ottoman palace was considered as a
centre where Ottoman Turkish cooking
excelled and where creative chefs were
trained. Detailed records on the ingredi-
ents used are to be found in the kitchen
expenditure topics.
Provisions were to be supplied regularly
to the imperial kitchens under the super-
vision of a maba emīni , who organised
their delivery. Also responsible for topic
keeping and accounts, he was assisted by
a katudā , two kātib s (scribes) and a lar-
der attendant ( kileri ). A bureaucrat of the
rank of w āe , the emīn was nevertheless
a dependent of the kileri-ba . Provisions
were bought either from the market or as
irsāliyye or oal procured regularly from
the resources under the control of the
finance department.
The tremendous amount of meat con-
sumed at the imperial palaces give rise
to a vast organisation under a aāb-
ba , who was financially dependent on
the maba emīni . For the kitchens of the
Topkapı Palace alone, the annual con-
sumption of lamb was about 1,270 tons,
costing 12 million ača s. The other three
palaces consumed 458 tons annually.
The organisation of the kitchen in the
houses of the élite was a miniature rep-
lica of the Sultan's one. It included two
separate kitchens, one for the lord and the
other for the servants. Both had master
cooks ( usta ) and apprentices or assistants
( āgird ). In 1082/1671 a vizier-governor,
Umar (Ömer) Paa's kitchen personnel
consisted of one maba emīni , also known
as wakīl-ar , six cooks, six pantrymen
( kilārī ), two shopping boys and one but-
ler. Expenditure for provisions through
the wakīl-ar amounted to about 8,600
gold pieces or 16.7% of the Paa's total
expenditure. Members of the élite spent
an unusual amount of money for kitchen
expenses, not only because they had large
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