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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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 ...

Couscous

Couscous, or more affectionately known as seksu or sikuk, is the national dish of Morocco. The origins of the dish's name is still a mystery, but many attribute it to the hissing sound as its steam ...

tajine

Tajines in Moroccan cuisine are slow-cooked stews braised at low temperatures, resulting in tender meat with aromatic vegetables and sauce. They are traditionally cooked in the tajine pot, whose ...