Arab American Heritage Month: Cuisine

Bahrain’s cuisine is a mixture of influences that draw from neighboring regions and the country’s historic status as an important trading port. These influences include Arabic, Persian (Iranian), Indian, African, Far East, and European. Rice is widely used and accompanies many meat dishes, either plain or seasoned. Preferred meats include chicken, lamb or mutton, and fish and other seafood. Dates are another traditional ingredient that appears in many dishes.

Cypriot cuisine is a fusion of influences, most notably Greek and Turkish, with local variations on popular dishes. Middle Eastern food traits are also typical, and various European occupiers—including France, Venice, and the United Kingdom—also left their mark on the country’s food. Meat is perhaps the most popular food choice, with lamb and goat the traditional favorites. Fresh fish and seafood are plentiful in Cyprus and important to the country’s diet. A wide range of root vegetables, legumes, and fruits are eaten as well.

Egyptian food relies on the bounty provided by the fertile land surrounding the Nile River and its delta. Vegetables are a big part of the cuisine, as are legumes and fruits. Many foods reflect the preferences of the eastern Mediterranean region, with grape leaves, rice-stuffed vegetables, kebabs, and kofta popular in Egypt as well. Coastal regions enjoy fish and other seafood. However, much Egyptian cuisine is vegetarian due to both the high cost of meat as well as the influence of the region’s Coptic Christian community, which adhere to a vegan diet for much of the year. Meat is, however, steadily becoming more popular within Egyptian cuisine.

Modern Iranians trace their roots to an ancient Persian civilization that once spanned from the Aegean Sea to the Indus River. It absorbed centuries of incursions from rival imperial powers of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, facilitating the connection of a vast intercontinental trade network from its central place on the famous Silk Road. Traditional Persian cuisine draws from a dizzyingly vast historical taxonomy of food cultures. Classical Turkish, Levantine, Caucasian, Greek, and Central Asian cuisines have all shaped Persian foodways.

Iraqi cuisine shares many similarities with the food of its neighboring countries. As with most countries in the Middle East, Islamic law governs food preparation and dietary customs. Pork is forbidden to Muslims, but other meats are common, especially lamb. Beef and chicken are less common but still eaten in some areas. Wheat, barley, lentils, and rice are staple crops that have sustained the region’s people for thousands of years.

Israeli culinary traditions are a blend of popular Middle Eastern specialties and dishes brought from eastern Europe by Ashkenazi immigrants. The country's cuisine stands out as a vibrant mix of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences, reflecting the diverse cultural mosaic of the Jewish diaspora and the region's Arab inhabitants. Israeli cuisine is characterized by its emphasis on freshness, seasonality, and a diverse palate of flavors, ranging from the lemony tartness of hummus to the sweetness of baklava.

Jordanian cuisine is rooted in traditional Bedouin foodways, and these nomadic Arab traits combine with a heavy Turkish influence. Common ingredients, cooking techniques, and Islamic food preparation and dietary customs connect Jordan’s food culture with those of its Middle Eastern neighbors.

The food of Kuwait has many of the typically Middle Eastern elements one would expect in an Arabian Peninsula country—lamb, rice dishes, yogurt, and pita-like flatbread are all common staples. What sets Kuwaiti cuisine apart, however, is its use of a greater variety of spices, a heavy Persian influence, and the abundant seafood from the Persian Gulf. Along with these is the presence of a large international workforce that brings an appetite for foods from across the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia.

Lebanese cuisine is similar to that of many countries of the eastern Mediterranean including Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Israel, Palestine, Greece, and Cyprus. Fresh ingredients do most of the work when it comes to flavor. Instead of relying on butter and heavy sauces, the Lebanese like to keep it light. Yogurt sauce with mint, parsley, and cucumber add a cool zing of flavor to many Lebanese dishes. Herbs, spices, lemon, and olive oil take a prominent place on the palate. Oregano, garlic, nutmeg, thyme, allspice, sumac, and cinnamon also are commonly used spices.

The cuisine of Oman reflects the country’s location at a historical intersection of spice trade routes, as it shows a variety of influences from Arab, Asian, Indian, African, Iranian, and Eastern Mediterranean cuisines. The main daily meal is usually eaten at midday, while the evening meal is lighter. The mainstay of Omani tables is rice with grilled or stewed meat, often fish.

The cuisine of the Palestinian Territories is similar to that of many countries of the eastern Mediterranean region, particularly Lebanon and Syria. Some dishes have origins in these or other countries, though they have been changed or enhanced through regional ingredients or techniques that are particular to the Palestinian Territories.

The cuisine of Qatar follows traditional Arab foodways, while also reflecting Iranian, north African, and Indian influences. Qataris eat a light breakfast and their main meal is either at midday or in the evening. The midday meal served on Friday after prayers is the main family gathering of the week. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and have elaborate meals at night. Muslim dietary conventions require that meat must come from animals slaughtered according to Muslim law, and pork may not be eaten.

The cuisine of Saudi Arabia is typical of Arab cuisine, and Islamic dietary codes are a primary influence. Pork is proscribed and not available, and alcohol also is forbidden. Religious proscriptions and fasts must be strictly observed, even by foreigners. Most dishes are not spicy, but instead are gently seasoned for fragrance and subtle flavor. Flat, yeasted wheat bread called kimaje is a staple, served with nearly every meal. It is traditionally used to scoop up other foods such as dips, stews, sauces, and salads.

Syrian cuisine is similar to its Middle Eastern neighbors, with an emphasis on olive oil, garlic, and lemon. These flavors give Syrian food a noticeably Mediterranean flavor palate. Parsley and mint often pair with cucumber and yogurt to lend a refreshing quality to many dishes. Special attention is paid to a dish’s visual attractiveness, and the prevailing theory is to balance pleasing colors and textures.

Turkey’s cuisine reflects its Ottoman heritage as well as the influence of Greek, Arab, and Persian ingredients and cooking techniques. Straddling both Europe and the Middle East, in the eastern Mediterranean region, the country is at the center of major historical trade routes, so Turkish cuisine combines some of the best elements of both East and West.

The cuisine of the United Arab Emirates is primarily Arab with noticeable influence from the neighboring countries of Oman and Saudi Arabia. It also reflects Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines as well as Indian elements, especially in the variety and amount of spices used. Most of the UAE’s traditional dishes are based on meat, grains, camel dairy, rice, fish, and spices.

Yemeni cuisine is typically Middle Eastern with traditional dishes similar to those in neighboring countries, although generally made with more spices. Meals are most often enjoyed while sitting on the floor, and lunch is the main meal of the day.