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Barazek
Barazek or barazeq (in Arabic برازق ''barāzeq'') is a Syrian-Palestinian cookie whose main ingredient is sesame (سمسم ''sumsum'') and often also contain pieces of pistachio. It probably originated during Ottoman Syria, Ottoman rule in the Syrian capital, Damascus, particularly in the Al-Midan neighborhood, although today it is so popular that it can be found in most pastry shops throughout the Levant, Levantine area (Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Syria) and beyond. It is also one of the more traditional Palestinian desserts and it is easy to find stalls selling barazek on the streets of Jerusalem. It is considered one of the most famous Syrian desserts and has a multitude of variants. All include flour, butter, sugar, and sesame; some may also include egg, milk, pistachios, honey, mahleb, yeast, and vanilla, as well as clarified butter (''samneh'') instead of regular butter. It has a sweet, buttery and nutty flavor, and a crisp and brittle texture. Preparation The foll ...
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Cookie
A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, nuts, etc. Most English-speaking countries call crunchy cookies biscuits, except for the United States and Canada, where biscuit refers to a type of quick bread. Chewier biscuits are sometimes called ''cookies'' even in the United Kingdom. Some cookies may also be named by their shape, such as date squares or bars. Biscuit or cookie variants include sandwich biscuits, such as custard creams, Jammie Dodgers, Bourbons and Oreos, with marshmallow or jam filling and sometimes dipped in chocolate or another sweet coating. Cookies are often served with beverages such as milk, coffee or tea and sometimes "dunked", an approach which releases more flavour from confections by dissolving the sugars, while also softening their texture. Factory-m ...
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Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. is a city in Western Asia. Situated on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, it is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world and is considered to be a holy city for the three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem as their Capital city, capital, as Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Because of this dispute, Status of Jerusalem, neither claim is widely recognized internationally. Throughout History of Jerusalem, its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, Sie ...
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Levantine Cuisine
Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant. Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Levantine cuisine is ''meze'' including ''tabbouleh'', ''hummus'' and ''baba ghanoush''. Levantine dishes * Arabic coffee (قهوة عربية)—made from finely ground coffee beans with cardamom * ''Awameh'' (عوامة)—a fried-dough Levantine pastry similar to doughnut holes, made of deep-fried dough soaked in sugar syrup or honey and cinnamon, sometimes sprinkled with sesame seeds * ''Baba ghanoush'' (بابا غنوج)—a dip made from baked, mashed eggplant mixed with lemon, garlic, olive oil and various seasonings * ''Baklava'' (البقلاوة)—a dessert made of phyllo pastry filled with chopped nuts and soaked in syrup * ''Bamia'' (بامية)—a stew prepared with chunks of lamb meat with okra in a tomato-based sauce, served over rice * ''Basbousa'' (بسبوسة)—a Middle-Eastern small, sweet cake of cooked semolina soaked in rose water syrup, topped w ...
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Lebanese Cuisine
Lebanese cuisine is the culinary traditions and practices originating from Lebanon. It includes an abundance of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fresh fish and seafood. Poultry is eaten more often than red meat, and when red meat is eaten, it is usually lamb and goat meat. Dishes include copious amounts of garlic and olive oil, and dishes are often seasoned with lemon juice. Chickpeas and parsley are also staples of the Lebanese diet. Well-known dishes include '' baba ghanouj'', '' tabbouleh'', '' sfeeha'', ''falafel'' and '' shawarma''. An important component of many Lebanese meals is ''hummus'', a chickpea puree dish, and many dishes are eaten with flatbread. Well-known desserts include ''baklawa'', '' sfouf'' and '' ka'ak''. Some desserts are specifically prepared on special occasions; for example, '' meghli'' (rice pudding dessert, spiced with anise, caraway, and cinnamon) is served to celebrate a newborn baby in the family. '' Arak'' is an anise-flavoured liquor, and ...
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Biscuits
A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. Types of biscuit include sandwich biscuits, digestive biscuits, ginger biscuits, shortbread biscuits, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate-coated marshmallow treats, Anzac biscuits, '' biscotti'', and ''speculaas''. In most of North America, nearly all hard sweet biscuits are called " cookies", while the term " biscuit" is used for a soft, leavened quick bread similar to a less sweet version of a ''scone''. "Biscuit" may also refer to hard flour-based baked animal feed, as with dog biscuit. Variations in meaning * In most of the world outside North America, a biscuit is a small baked product that would be called either a " cookie" or a " cracker" in the United States and sometimes in Canada. Biscuits in ...
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Arab Desserts
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the western Indian Ocean islands (including the Comoros). An Arab diaspora is also present around the world in significant numbers, most notably in the Americas, Western Europe, Turkey, Indonesia, and Iran. In modern usage, the term "Arab" tends to refer to those who both carry that ethnic identity and speak Arabic as their native language. This contrasts with the narrower traditional definition, which refers to the descendants of the tribes of Arabia. The religion of Islam was developed in Arabia, and Classical Arabic serves as the language of Islamic literature. 93 percent of Arabs are Muslims (the remainder consisted mostly of Arab Christians), while Arab Muslims are only 20 percent of the global Musl ...
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Shortbread
Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Unlike many other biscuits and baked goods, shortbread does not contain any leavening, such as baking powder or baking soda. Shortbread is widely associated with Christmas and Hogmanay festivities in Scotland, and some Scottish brands are exported around the world. History Shortbread originated in Scotland. Although it was prepared during much of the 12th century, and probably benefited from cultural exchange with French pastry chefs during the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland, the refinement of shortbread is popularly credited to Mary, Queen of Scots in the 16th century. This type of shortbread was baked, cut into triangular wedges, and flavoured with caraway seeds. The triangular wedges became known as "petticoat tails" in Scots and this form of shortbread has become particularly associated with Mary, Queen ...
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Vanilla Extract
Vanilla extract is a Solution (chemistry), solution made by maceration (food), macerating and percolation, percolating vanilla, vanilla pods in a solution of ethanol and water. It is considered an essential ingredient in many Western desserts, especially baked goods like cakes, cookies, brownies, and cupcakes, as well as custards, ice creams, and puddings. Although its primary Flavoring, flavor compound is vanillin, pure vanilla extract contains several hundred additional flavor compounds, which are responsible for its complex, deep flavor. By contrast, artificial vanilla flavor is solely made up of artificially-derived vanillin, which is frequently made from a by-product of the wood pulp industry. Because of the way that vanilla extract is made (i.e. by macerating naturally brown vanilla beans in alcohol), there is no possible way for it to be colorless or clear. Therefore, any clear vanilla flavoring is artificial. Vanilla extract is the most common form of vanilla used today. M ...
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Samneh
''Smen'' (from ar, سمن or سمنة also called ''sman'', ''semn'', ''semneh'', or ''sminn'') is a salted, fermented butter, and a traditional Yemeni dish. In Yemen, Yemenis prepare a special version of ''semneh'' (سمنة) which is smoked with aromatic herbs inside of a gourd in order to impart deeper flavour and aid in preservation. However, smen is also an important ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine and North African cuisine, North African cooking. It is produced using the butter made from the milk of sheep, goats or a combination of the two. The butter is brought to its boiling point for about 15 minutes, then skimmed, strained into a ceramic jar called a ''khabia'', and salted before it curdles. Some have it as a practice to add roasted fenugreek seeds to the boiling butter, after which it is strained from the fenugreek seeds. Thyme is often added to it to provide a yeast and enzyme starter. Other plants or fruits can be used. The result is then aged, often in sealed co ...
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Clarified Butter
Clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to separate by density. The water evaporates, some solids (i.e. whey proteins) float to the surface and are skimmed off, and the remainder of the milk solids (casein) sink to the bottom and are left behind when the butterfat (which would then be on top) is poured off or separated with a separatory funnel or a gravy fat separator. This butterfat is the clarified butter. Commercial methods of production also include direct evaporation, but may also be accomplished by decantation and centrifugation followed by vacuum drying; or direct from cream by breaking the emulsion followed by centrifugation. Properties Clarified butter has a higher smoke point () than regular butter (), and is therefore preferred in some cooking applications, such as sautéing. Clarified butter also has a much longer shelf life th ...
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Mahleb
Mahleb or Mahlepi is an aromatic spice made from the seeds of a species of cherry, ''Prunus mahaleb'' (the Mahaleb or St Lucie cherry). The cherry stones are cracked to extract the seed kernel, which is about 5 mm diameter, soft and chewy on extraction. The seed kernel is ground to a powder before use. Its flavour is similar to a combination of bitter almond and cherry, and similar also to marzipan. Mahleb is used in small quantities to sharpen sweet foods and cakes, and is used in production of tresse cheese. It has been used for centuries in the Middle East and the surrounding areas as a flavoring for baked goods. Recipes calling for the fruit or seed of the "ḫalub" date back to ancient Sumer. In recent decades, it has been slowly entering mainstream cookbooks in English. In Greek cuisine, ''mahlep'' is sometimes added to different types of holiday ''tsoureki'' breads, including Christmas bread, the New Year's ''vasilopita'' and the braided Easter bread called ''cheor ...
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Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south of the Taurus Mountains. Ottoman Syria became organized by the Ottomans upon conquest from the Mamluk Sultanate in the early 16th century as a single eyalet (province) of Damascus Eyalet. In 1534, the Aleppo Eyalet was split into a separate administration. The Tripoli Eyalet was formed out of Damascus province in 1579 and later the Adana Eyalet was split from Aleppo. In 1660, the Eyalet of Safed was established and shortly afterwards renamed Sidon Eyalet; in 1667, the Mount Lebanon Emirate was given special autonomous status within the Sidon province, but was abolished in 1841 and reconfigured in 1861 as the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate. The Syrian eyalets were later transformed into the Syria Vilayet, the Aleppo Vilayet and the Beirut ...
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