Lebanese Cuisine

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Lebanese - Cooking and Food

Overview of Lebanese Cuisine History
Lebanese diet is comprised of starches, vegetables, fruits, fish and seafood. Although the Lebanese eat meat, they usually eat poultry rather than red meat, and they eat poultry sparingly. When the Lebanese eat meat, they only eat lamb. A distinctive feature of Lebanese food is that they are almost always cooked with more than generous amounts of garlic and olive oil. Butter or cream is rarely used for cooking and vegetables are usually eaten raw.

Lebanese foods are characteristically flavorful and spicy since most recipes are comprised of herbs and spices.

Bread is valuable in Lebanon, never discarded or thrown away. If bread has gone stale, it’s grilled so it can become a cracker and an ingredient in some Lebanese dishes.

Coffee is almost a “staple” drink in Lebanon. Not only is coffee served in the mornings, it’s constantly consumed throughout the day in Lebanon – strong, thick, heavily sweetened and flavored with cardamom, an East Indian herb of the ginger family.

In Lebanon, foods are served in the manner of mezze, Lebanon’s version of Italy’s antipasto. An array of dishes is placed in small plates and arranged on a table where anyone can pick from among the dishes and begin eating.

A typical Lebanese meal ends with servings of fresh fruits and coffee. Although desserts are not usually eaten after meals, occasionally the Lebanese enjoy their version of Baklava, a Greek dessert, which contains honey and walnuts. Lebanese baklava has pistachio nuts and rose water syrup instead.

Lebanese cuisine is healthy because it is heavily focused on vegetables and rarely on meat. In fact, chefs consider Mediterranean cuisine, of which Lebanese cuisine is part of, as one of the healthiest cuisine in general.

Lebanese cuisine is said to have been surviving since pre-biblical times, and Lebanon’s contributions to the culinary world are outstanding.

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Lebanese Food Glossary
Finding the ingredients for a Lebanese Recipe is not so easy when you do not know the names of the ingredients. Take time to make a list of ingredients and the name they may be found under at the Local Markets.


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Special Equipment for Lebanese Cooking
Most Lebanese dishes don’t require you to purchase any special tools. However, having a coffee grinder helps with roasting and grinding spices and maximizes their volatile oils, which, in turn, provides your food with more flavor.

However, here are a few kitchen utensils you might want to use:

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