Blossary – The World of Moroccan Cuisine

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Moroccan cuisine is the culinary star of North Africa. Imperial and trade influence has been filtered and blended into Morocco's culture. Being at the crossroads of many civilizations, the cuisine of Morocco is a mélange of Arab, Berber, Moorish, French, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean African, Iberian, and Jewish influences. Moroccan cooking is enhanced with fruits, dried and fresh -- apricots, dates, figs, and raisins, to name a few. Lemons preserved in a salt-lemon juice mixture bring a unique face to many Moroccan chicken and pigeon dishes. Nuts are prominent; pine nuts, almonds, and pistachios show up in all sorts of unexpected places. Moroccan sweets are rich and dense confections of cinnamon, almond, and fruit perfumes that are rolled in filo dough, soaked in honey, and stirred into puddings. The cooks in the royal kitchens of Fes, Meknes, Marrakech, Rabat and Tetouan refined Moroccan cuisine over the centuries and created the basis for what is known as Moroccan cuisine today. Spices are used extensively in Moroccan food. While spices have been imported to Morocco for thousands of years, many ingredients, like saffron from Taliouine, mint and olives from Meknes, and oranges and lemons from Fes, are home-grown. Common spices include karfa (cinnamon), kamoun (cumin), kharkoum (turmeric), skingbir (ginger), libzar (pepper) , tahmira (paprika), anis seed, sesame seed, kasbour (coriander), maadnous (parsley), zaafrane beldi (saffron) and mint.

Category: Food

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Created by: Marouane937

Number of Blossarys: 58

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Moroccan Spices

Upon a visit to any souk, you will notice stall after stall of the most brilliantly colored bins of spices. Spices are the defining point to any authentic Moroccan meal and are also known to be used ...

Moroccan Mint Tea

Some travel across the world just to sample authentic Moroccan tea in the land where its masterful preparation has become almost as much of an art-form as the Japanese tea ceremony. Watching the ...

Arabic Coffee

Morocco has a coffee culture reminiscent to that of the Europe. Friends (mostly male) sit outside for hours sipping their Arabic coffee as they exchange stories and engage in a friendly batter over ...

Moroccan Fruits & Nuts

Morocco has an infinite variety of fig, almond, walnut and date trees. However, it is in the oasis of the south where date palms are king. Best grown in the South, Moroccan dates can be found ...

Moroccan Wine & Beer

Morocco has been a leading wine producer for several years and its bold red and white grapes have become popular among the French, Americans and within Modern Moroccan households. When the French ...

Deserts & Pastries

Morocco is a country that is passionate about sweet things, both Moroccan in origin as well as French. To satisfy their daily sweet tooth cravings, Moroccans resort to yogourts or fruits such as ...

Morocco's Bread

Akin to Spain, bread in Morocco is a key component of any Moroccan diet. There is an ancient proverb, "manage with bread and butter until God sends honey". This ancient saying affirms that there is ...