Levantine cuisine
Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Jordan: a meze kitchen built on tahini, chickpeas, bulgur, sumac and lemon.
Where it comes from
The Fertile Crescent is among the places where wheat, barley, lentils and chickpeas were first domesticated; archaeological evidence dates this to roughly ten thousand years ago. Aleppo and Damascus were trading cities on the spice and silk routes, and their kitchens carry the mark of that trade. Ottoman rule from 1516 to 1918 drew the Levant close to the Anatolian kitchen: kebabs, stuffed vegetables, baklava and the order of the meze table are shared by both. The Levant’s own signature is the heavy use of bulgur and tahini — kibbeh, tabbouleh, hummus and moutabal. Who “really” owns hummus or falafel remains a political argument today; this page does not answer it and says only that the dishes are shared across the region.
At the table
A Levantine meal opens with a run of mezze and often ends there without a main course at all. Hummus, moutabal, tabbouleh, fattoush, olives, pickles and plates of fresh herbs are laid out in small portions. Thin flatbread is both bread and spoon; the food is eaten by hand, with the bread. Grilled meat comes last.
Fat, aromatics and acid
Figures are approximate; apart from those that are a definition or a regulation, they vary by product, recipe and source. Where we have no measured value the line reads “—”.
- pH ≈2.0–2.6 (limon / lemon) Tahini and lemon — Lemon first makes tahini seize as if it had split, then it loosens and turns smooth as water goes in. It is an emulsion: too little water makes a paste, more makes a sauce.
- — Sumac — Its sourness comes from the organic acids of the dried fruit rather than citrus; it is sprinkled raw at the end.
- ≈65–70 °Bx Pomegranate molasses — Pomegranate juice boiled down: sour and sweet in the same spoonful. It goes into muhammara and salads. The Brix figure varies by producer.
- ≈1 : 4 sarımsak : yağ / garlic : oil Toum (garlic sauce) — An egg-free emulsion in which the garlic itself does the emulsifying. Add the oil too fast and the sauce breaks.
- — Za’atar — A blend of dried thyme-like herb, sesame and sumac, eaten on bread with olive oil.
How this kitchen cooks
- Emulsifying Hummus, tahini sauce and toum.
- Meze The mezze table is the region’s table.
- Cold Tabbouleh: the bulgur softens in lemon and tomato juice, not heat.
- Grill & BBQ Shish and kofta.
- Pickling Pink turnip and pepper pickles.
- Straining Labneh.
- Toasting spices Seven-spice blends.
What is in the pantry
Dishes cooked on this site
The historical claims rest on these books. Contested origins are written as contested.
- Claudia Roden, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.
- Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press, 1999.