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<pre>In a message dated 8/7/99 6:16:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
syrie@multimania.com writes:

> I will add that Arabic or Mediterranean food does not exist . The
> differences between Syrian/Lebanese , Egyptian, Greek, Turkish are
> important ; with French , Italian , Maghreb (Moroccan, Algerian,
> Tunisian, Israeli ) , they are huge.
> Let say that the Syrian/Lebanese cooking is by itself a cooking that
> present variety from one town to other nearly the same way French
> cooking does. I favour the Aleppo ( Syria's north ) for some of its
> very subtle recipes.
> Tea is also served with the meal.
> As always, "standardised" food in restaurant differs from home cooking
> .( refer to the fancy French chef recipes ) .
> I found that local restaurants in Syria are bending the recipes to suit
> the supposed 'Mac Do' taste of their guests. ( Syrian children are
> also affected by TV ).
>
> | For inspiration try Claudia Roden's "A new book of Middle Eastern
> Food'.Penguin,
>
> Unfortunately , the correct books are only in arabic for the usage of
> the local readers. May be good translation in english is overdue.(
> Unfortunately , my english is not good enough . )
>
> | go out to the nearest Arabic restaurant in your neighbourhood for a
> taste sensation.
>
> It will be only a small sample of the syrian/lebanese cooking .
>
> Sincerely,
> Souhair

Yes, Souhair, but cookbook authors such as Paula Wolfert and Claudia Roden
attempt to make this clear to their readers. Roden was born in Cairo and
Wolfert, has spent years traveling in the Mediterranean and Middle East,
visiting village and city women, to learn about the dishes. For American
readers, she translates recipes and ingredients into words they can
understand, and has even caused stores to carry those ingredients.

And she agrees with you on the cooking of Aleppo, she loves it.

Some of her traveling has been done under the auspices of the Oldways
Preservation & Exchange Trust (http://www.oldwayspt.org/html/meet.htm <A
HREF="http://www.oldwayspt.org/html/meet.htm">Click here: Meet Oldways</A> ),
an international food-issues think tank, which attempts to fend off the
inexorable globalization of fast food.

You will never eat Syrian food in New York (or Paris or London or Melbourne),
but Syrian-style food, even when prepared by a grandmother who just flew in
from Aleppo with some of the ingredients 3 hours ago. The other ingredients
and water are different. There is what the French call "gout de terroir," the
taste of the land, which makes produce from one village taste different from
that of another, let alone continents.

All any of can do when attempting to recreate a dish is attempt. But that
doesn't keep us from trying.

And I hope you try that cookbook translation. We need more translations from
Arabic.

By the way, Wolfert says of za'atar blends, "The taste of a za'atar mixture
can be herbal, nutty, or toasty. In the Middle East there are shops where
za'atar mix is the only item sold. There are secret blends, some of which are
quite wonderful. I purchased one in Aleppo but was never able to duplicate
it; you can buy blends in most Middle Eastern markets.

'Israeli' is a pale green blend of pungent herbs that includes the biblical
hyssop, along with toasted sesame seeds and sumac. The 'Syrian' blend, the
color of sand, has a decidedly toasty flavor. The 'Jordanian' blend is dark
green and very herbal, with some turmeric. All three blends can be purchased
by mail order."

Can you enlighten us as to what is in the Syrian blend you like best?

All best, Kaye
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