Holy Thursday, Batman! This supper looks like it could be the last!
Holy Thursday, Batman! Here it is, springtime in Gotham, and the crazy Christians are worshiping peeps, bunnies, colored eggs, and silly hats. It makes as much sense as a rich guy calling himself a superhero seeking vigilante justice. And, his side kick is a Robin? How scary is that? I’ve seen robins fight over a worm. It’s not that impressive. So, what do batman and Robin have to do with Easter? Absolutely nothing! And that’s the point.
Holy Thursday is the observance of the day Jesus’s closest companion dropped a dime on him. It’s like wearing a wire before there was a wire. And, the circumstances were pretty low. According to historians, the last supper would have been a Passover celebration based on the time of year, the location, scriptures in the bible, and historical records at the time. Recent re-visitations of historians and scholars will beg to differ based on questions of whether or not Passover was celebrated at the time, and semantics over whether it was on the night of the Seder or before. Others, basically, don’t trust the sources that verify it was a Passover related celebration (thanks, fake news conspiracists).
Whether it was the day before, or, on the actual celebration of the Seder is immaterial. The point is that Jesus was invited to a celebration. It wasn’t a casual meal. Although, it would have been in a more casual setting than what Davinci depicted. At the time, formal dining tables like this were not common. Chances are, they would have been propped up on pillows in more casual poses. But, the celebration would have been for real.
Judas Drops a Dime
What a way to end a party: Get everybody drunk to the point they pass out then turn the guest of honor over to the cops. James Cagney would have had something to say about that. That’s right, “you yellow bellied rat”.
But, all the drama isn’t of interest to us in the culinary world. We have to know: What were they eating?
The Meal
The Gospels say, “On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed”, they gathered at a room provided by the local patron of water to pilgrims (sounds like a guy selling bottled water at a tourist trap). So, the meal would have consisted of Lamb and matzo. As mentioned before, they had no refrigeration at that time, so meat spoiled quickly. It would have to be eaten shortly after slaughter. And, of course, “the first day of unleavened bread would mean matzo or flat bread.
The traditional meal made with lamb at that time would have been a bean stew with braised lamb known as cholent. This is a one pot meal featuring a trio of beans, barley, lamb, potatoes, and spices. It is a heavy meal.
Alongside the stew would be flat breads served with a fish sauce known as garum. Since the disciples were fishermen this would make a lot of sense. They would have plenty of fish to make the sauce with. And, it was a staple at that time.
The meal would be rounded out with olives, dates, and of course: the wine.
The wine
Chances are, the wine would have been akin to what Italians call Amarone today. It is a sweet wine derived from dried grapes (aka raisins). Chances are the wine would have also been spiced, as was the custom at the time. Tree resin was a common ingredient, as well as pomegranate, frankincense, and Myrrh which would have served as preservatives.
No wonder everybody passed out. You drink enough wine laced with tree resin and your going to be down for the count. Between that, day old stew, and rancid fish water, it’s surprising that more people didn’t die that weekend.
So, those of you who think this is a holy day and ascribe mystical meanings to the occurrence, it was not a nefarious plot where Judas set up this secret meeting. It was a pre-planned celebration with a real dickish ending. Thanks Judas!