عيدان الفرة

Ingredients

عيدان الفرة, الشب اليماني, ماء البيض

Preparation Steps

Original Recipe Text

Take sticks of 'Farrah' (عيدان الفرة), grind them into a very fine powder. Add approximately one-quarter part of Yemeni alum (الشب اليماني). Drop onto the mixture the water found between the egg white and the yolk (ماء البيض), which is specifically described as being distinct from the yolk itself. Stir and squeeze through a cloth until it produces a 'pleasant color' (p. 220).

Evidence

"أن تأخذ عيدان الفرة فتسحقها سحقا ناعما وتضيف إليها قدر الربع من الشب اليماني... وقطر عليها من ماء البيض"

Remarks

The use of local vegetable dyes for red ink is characteristic of the Saharan manuscript tradition described by al-Tanlay. This specific recipe uses alum as a mordant to fix the organic dye from the sticks. The resulting red ink was noted to be susceptible to humidity/wetness, which could cause it to bleed into the paper (p. 220).