Lebanese cuisine has been influenced by its Mediterranean coastline and traders from ancient civilizations like the Phoenicians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, French and Ottomans. Common ingredients include wheat, rice, meat, seafood, vegetables, dairy, nuts, and fresh herbs. Popular dishes include flatbread, mezze, baba ghanoush, shish taouk, falafel, and kibbeh. Recent food trends in Lebanon include the rise of Asian and Brazilian restaurants and increased awareness of reducing food waste.
2. Influences on Food
• Mountainous with a long
coastline on the
Mediterranean, which
provides fish and seafood.
• The Phoenicians, were
traders who reached this
land around 3000 BC.
• Egyptian, Persian, Greek,
Roman, Crusader, French
and Ottoman influence.
3. Facts and Figures
NAME: Lebanon
LOCATION: Africa & The Middle East
GOVERNMENT: Republic
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Arabic (official), French, English, and Armenian
are also spoken.
MAJOR RELIGION(S): Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite,
Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite
Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic,
Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian
Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic,
Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other
1.3%.
MAJOR ETHNIC GROUPS: Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%. Many
Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as
Arab but rather as descendents of the ancient
Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians.
4.
5. Ingredients
• Wheat, rice, burghul (cracked wheat), wheat
bread, pita, filo dough, rice dishes.
• Chicken, goat, lamb and mutton, beef, pork, fish
and shell fish, eggs.
• Chickpeas, fava (broad) beans, lentils, black, navy,
and red beans.
• Potatoes, tomatoes, olives, eggplant, cucumbers,
onions, green peppers, lettuce, chicory, garlic.
• Oranges, grapes, apples, dates, figs, melons,
pomegranates, apricots, cherries, quince, raisins,
sumac.
6. • Milk (goat, sheep, camel, cow), yogurt, feta cheese
• Olive oil, clarified butter, sesame oil, vegetable oil,
sheep’s tail fat. Lebanese use animal fat sparingly.
• Almonds, pine nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios,
sesame seeds.
• Tahini , onions, garlic, fresh herbs (parsley, mint,
basil), spices (allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper,
oregano), lemon juice, rosewater, orange blossom
water.
• Pickles, jam- cracked wheat fermented in yogurt,
dried, and ground to produce kishk (used in soups,
pastry fillings, and bread toppings).
7. Food Culture
• Lebanese flat bread is a staple food
• Arak, an anise-flavored liqueur, is the
Lebanese national alcoholic drink. Another
drink is Lebanese wine.
• Although simple fresh fruits are often served
towards the end of a Lebanese meal, there is
also dessert, such as baklava and coffee.
• Mezze is an array of small dishes placed
before the guests creating an array of colors,
flavors, textures and aromas. It usually
consists of 30 hot and cold dishes
8.
9. Dishes:
• Fattoush-salad of parsley, mint, tomatoes,
cucumbers, onions, and pieces of pita bread.
• Burghul bi d’feeneh- cracked wheat,
chickpeas, and meat
• Hindbeh bil-zeyt- boiled wild chicory
sautéed in olive oil and garnished with
caramelized onion.
• Sanbusak-crescent-shaped fried meat- or
cheese-filled pie
10. • Baba ghanoush – char-grilled aubergine ,
tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic puree
• Shish Taouk – grilled chicken marinated with
garlic lemon and various oriental spices
(cinnamon, cumin.)
• Falafel – small deep-fried patties made of
highly spiced ground chickpeas.
• Fuul (vicia faba)- slow cooked mash of brown
beans and red lentils dressed with lemon, olive
oil and cumin.
11. • Kunafi – choux pastry dessert stuffed with sweet white
cheese, nuts and syrup, or the more common version
with semolina pastry served on a sesame seed bun with
vermicelli cooked in sugar syrup (very popular for
breakfast)
• Kibbeh – mainly stuffed, can be made in different forms
including fried, uncooked, and cooked with yogurt.
• Tabbouleh – a vegetarian dish traditionally made of
tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, and onion, and
seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.
• Hummus - dip or spread made of blended chickpeas,
sesame tahini, lemon juice, and garlic, and typically
eaten with pita bread.
12. Latest food trends
• 1.Asian Restaurants: The first Asian restaurant saw the
light this year with the opening of Le Hanoy in Achrafieh.
• 2.Brazilian Cuisine: They say Lebanon has 18 million
expats in Brazil and still their cuisine hasn’t landed in here.This
year’s World Cup helped spread the word and open up to
international cultures.
• 3.Food Waste Awareness: Thousands of restaurants are
opening and with that thousands of tons of waste are being
thrown away while millions of refugees and poor people are
starving. This year, restaurants owners are waking up to this
issue helped by local NGOs to provide all the left overs to the
refuge camps and the needy people.
