Middle Eastern Cuisine
MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE The term Middle Eastern cuisine refers to the various cuisines of the Middle East. Despite their similarities, there are considerable differences in climate and culture, so that the term is not particularly useful. Commonly used ingredients include pitas, honey, sesame seeds, sumac, chickpeas, mint and parsley. The Middle Eastern cuisines include: Arab cuisine Armenian cuisine Cuisine of Azerbaijan Assyrian cuisine Cypriot cuisine Egyptian cuisine Israeli cuisine Iraqi cuisine Iranian (Persian) cuisine Lebanese cuisine Palestinian cuisine Somali cuisine Syrian cuisine Turkish cuisine Yemeni cuisine ARAB CUISINE Arab cuisine is defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab World from Iraq to Morocco to Somalia to Yemen, and incorporating Levantine, Egyptian and others. It has also been influenced to a degree by the cuisines of Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, India, the Berbers and other cultures of the peoples of the region before the cultural Arabization brought by genealogical Arabians during the Arabian Muslim conquests. HISTORY Originally, the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula relied heavily on a diet of dates, wheat, barley, rice and meat, with little variety, with a heavy emphasis on yogurt products, such as labneh (yoghurt without butterfat). As the indigenous Semitic people of the peninsula wandered, so did their tastes and favored ingredients. There is a strong emphasis on the following items in Arabian cuisine: 1. Meat: lamb and chicken are the most used, beef and camel are also used to a lesser degree, other poultry is used in some regions, and, in coastal areas, fish. Pork is not commonly eaten--for Muslim Arabs, it is both a cultural taboo as well as being prohibited under Islamic law; many Christian Arabs also avoid pork as they have never acquired a taste for it.
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