The Middle East – Food of the Fertile Crescent

For our last country of the year, I decided to not just visit and focus on one country but on an area of the world with a common culinary background. The Middle East! The Middle East is comprised of several countries situated on the Arabian peninsula. Namely, the countries of Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Yemen and Lebanon though there are a few more countries included.

This area of the world has an incredibly long and complicated history. As the name suggests, these countries are located west of the Far East and east of Europe and the Mediterranean countries. They sit in the middle and this caused them to become major areas of trade, commerce and conquest.

Also known geographically as the “Fertile Crescent”, these countries had a lot of their own produce, products and culture to offer to those you moved across their lands whether with the trade routes or seeking to conquer. Many foods such as wheat, dates, sesame, grapes, olives, almonds and many other products were first cultivated in this vast fertile land.

But how does this affect the culinary history of these countries? Many of these countries have an amazing diversity of people groups, religious traditions, history and backgrounds. But many of them share the same food stuffs and produce with each other. How they incorporate these foods into their own unique heritages is what makes Middle Eastern cooking so fascinating! From hummus to kebabs, to dolmas, kanafeh, shakshuka, falafel, couscous, shawarma, saffron rice, Israeli salad, musakhan, tabbouleh, lavash and baklava, the incredible spices, flavors and textures of Middle Eastern food is the definition of welcoming!