50 Fun Facts About Lebanese Food

Arak, the Lebanese national drink, is flavoured with what?

It is distilled from grapes with aniseed and usually served alongside a traditional meal rather than on its own.

Meghli, a spiced rice pudding, is traditionally served to celebrate what?

It is spiced with caraway and cinnamon and topped with coconut and nuts; it also doubles as a Christmas dessert for Lebanese Christians.

Who ruled Lebanon from 1516 to 1918 and introduced cooking with lamb?

The French took over until 1943 and left flan, eclairs, croissants and french fries behind.

Khalil Sarkis's influential 1885 Beirut cookbook is known by which title?

One of the first widely read Arabic cookbooks of the 19th century, it holds the earliest documented recipe for cheese-filled knafeh and 15 kibbeh recipes.

Which part of the country is famous for its kibbe?

The Beqaa is known for meat pastries and the north and Sidon for sweets; Beit Mery has a pumpkin kibbe and Ehden an oven-baked one.

In Lebanese kitchens, what does mouneh refer to?

Late summer and early autumn are spent making bulgur, olive oil, labneh, pickles, jams and tomato paste, once stored in earthenware jars in cool cellars.

Awarma, a staple of the preserving season, is what?

Qawarma comes from an old custom of fattening a fat-tailed lamb all spring, then chopping, salting and keeping the meat in its own fat.

Paper-thin marquq bread is cooked on what?

Taboon bread, by contrast, is baked in a taboon oven or tannur, like the tandoor breads of Asia.

Ka'ak, often sprinkled with sesame or stuffed with cheese and za'atar, is what kind of food?

It is usually eaten as a snack, and ka'ak also appears on the list of the country's best-known desserts.

Manaeesh dough folded into a triangular pie filled with spinach and onions is called what?

The same dough topped with minced meat and onions is lahm bi 'ajin, and its mini version is sfeeha.

Ejjeh, made with egg, chopped herbs and scallions, is the traditional Lebanese what?

Villages vary it with whatever herbs they grow locally.

Baladi, made by shepherds at altitude, carries which nickname?

It has a mild but rich flavour and should not be confused with darfiyeh, the seasonal goat cheese of Ehden and Bcharre.

Darfiyeh, a seasonal cheese from northern Lebanon, is matured inside what?

The 'darf' gives it its name. It is seasonal and native to the mountain villages of Ehden and Bcharre.

Shanklish cheese balls are traditionally coated in what?

The fermented cow's-milk cheese is seasoned with thyme and pepper; a 2008 Guinness record for the heaviest piece topped 200 kilograms.

Bamieh bi-zeit, one of Lebanon's most popular stews, combines tomato with which vegetable?

Add sautéed lamb and it becomes bamya bel lahmeh. It is served with rice, a lemon-dressed salad and warm bread.

Makhlouta, a stew of mixed beans, wheat and legumes, is a speciality of which town?

Other stews have hometowns too: mjadrat fasoulya in Rashaya, laban immo in Douma and stuffed lamb ribs in Broummana.

Daoud bacha meatballs, cooked in tomato sauce with cinnamon, are stuffed with what?

Pine nuts and almonds are the cuisine's signature nuts, showing up everywhere from shish taouk to hummus bi lahmeh.

Fattoush, the dish of torn pita with cucumber, tomato and mint, is also known as what?

Its name comes from the Arabic fatt, 'crush', and sumac gives it its sour edge. A 10th-century cookbook has a bread salad much like it.

Tabbouleh is built mainly around which finely chopped herb?

Levantine tabbouleh is mostly herb with a little bulgur; Western versions flip the ratio. A chef once described a Palestinian version as '80 percent parsley'.

Lebanese National Tabbouleh Day falls on the first Saturday of which month?

It has been celebrated since 2001. The salamouni wheat of the Beqaa Valley was prized in the 1800s for making its bulgur.

Kousa mahshi is a dish of stuffed what?

It is filled with rice and sometimes meat and cooked on the stovetop or in the oven; the Levantine version is flavoured with mint and garlic.

Balila is a simple, popular dish of what, boiled with lemon, garlic and spices?

Chickpeas and parsley are staples of the Lebanese diet; fateh b'hummus layers them with flatbread and spiced yogurt.

Mutabbel, the mashed aubergine and tahini dip, is traditionally topped with what?

Anar is pomegranate. Mutabbel is often confused with baba ghanouj, which is char-grilled and does not always contain tahini.

Mujaddara, the lentil and rice dish, is garnished with what?

The first recorded recipe is in a 1226 Baghdad cookbook; a saying held that a hungry man would sell his soul for a plate of it.

What does the Arabic word mujaddara literally mean?

The lentils among the rice look like pockmarks. In Lebanon the name refers to a puréed version; the chunkier one is mudardara.

Kibbeh nayyeh is kibbeh prepared in which way?

Minced lamb or beef with fine bulgur, scooped up with pita. It is served at Lebanese weddings to hundreds of guests, which takes care to avoid poisoning.

Kebbe lakteen, popular in Beit Mery, is kibbeh flavoured with what?

Fish kibbeh is another variant, common on the coast and during Lent when red meat is off the menu.

Shish barak, meat dumplings in yogurt sauce, is often called Lebanese what?

Lebanese meat was traditionally precious and served at weekends, sometimes stretched with bulgur to make it last.

Sfiha, the open-faced minced-meat pastry, is most associated with which Lebanese town?

Sfiha Baalbakiya has folded sides and is served at weddings; the 2019 liquidity crisis spawned cheaper meatless versions.

The qawarma custom involved force-feeding a fat-tailed lamb with what?

The lamb was bought in spring and fed day and night until it could be chopped, salted and preserved in its own grease.

Which city declared itself the 'shawarma capital of Canada' in 2024?

The city council passed the motion thanks to its large Lebanese community. Shawarma also gave Mexico tacos al pastor.

Sayadieh, fish on saffron rice with a tahini sauce, originated in which Lebanese city?

Akhtabout, grilled octopus, is the Beirut partner to spicy samkeh harra; an 1890 cookbook even had an octopus sayadieh.

The name sayadieh comes from the Arabic word for what?

It began as a fisherman's meal along the Mediterranean coast, its sauce ranging from light brown to near-black depending on how far the onions are caramelised.

Samkeh harra is grilled fish marinated with chili, citrus and which herb?

Its name means 'spicy fish'. It is usually served with grilled octopus in Beirut.

Znoud el-sit, a syrup-soaked rolled pastry dating to the 19th century, is filled with what?

The name means 'ladies' upper arms'. It is garnished with nuts and orange peel.

Sfouf, the yellow semolina cake eaten at birthdays and holidays, gets its colour from what?

Its name means 'rows'. Unlike basbousa it is not drenched in syrup; aniseed, tahini and pine nuts go into the batter.

Booza, the stretchy 'Arabic ice cream', is traditionally made by what process?

It is worked in a freezer drum rather than churned. Amar al-din, made from dried apricot paste, is a favourite flavour.

Lebanese seven-spice mixes allspice, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and what?

Equal parts of each. Sumac, the tangy red berry powder, does the sour work in salads instead.

Jallab, the sweet drink, is made from carob, dates, rose water and what?

It is sold over crushed ice with pine nuts and raisins on top, and is especially popular during Ramadan.

Maté, drunk widely in the Shouf and Aley, is thought to have reached Lebanon from where?

Returning members of the diaspora brought the caffeine-rich infusion home.

Which of these is one of Lebanon's most popular beer brands?

Almaza and Beirut Beer lead the market, which runs from classic pilsners to craft brews.

The tunnel cellars at Château Ksara, Lebanon's oldest winery, were originally built by whom?

The network runs about two miles. Lebanon claims a 5,000-year winemaking history; the Beqaa Valley has over 30 vineyards including Kefraya and Musar.

Arak turns a translucent milky white when what is added?

The usual ratio is one part arak to two parts water, poured from a vessel called an ibrik into small ice-filled cups.

What alcohol by volume is considered typical for arak?

It runs from at least 50% up to 70% ABV. The word comes from the Arabic for 'sweat' or 'distillate'.

Knafeh Nabulseyeh, the best-known cheese knafeh, takes its name from which city?

The earliest documented cheese-filled knafeh recipe, though, is in an 1885 Beirut cookbook; earlier versions used nuts.

How does labneh differ from ordinary Greek-style yogurt?

Dry labneh balls kept in olive oil can last more than a year, turning more sour as they age.

Besides dried herbs, sesame and salt, which spice defines the za'atar blend?

Lebanese versions lean into sumac's tartness; Palestinian ones may add caraway. Mixed with olive oil it becomes the dip za'atar-wu-zayt.

In which year was manakish inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage lists for Lebanon?

The name comes from a verb meaning 'to engrave': fingertips press little dips into the rolled dough for the topping to sit in.

The earliest known hummus-like recipe is in a 13th-century cookbook from which city?

Attributed to Ibn al-Adim, the 'chickpea garment' recipe had chickpeas, lemon, sesame and olive oil but no garlic.

Ma'amoul cookies are pressed into special wooden moulds called what?

Different moulds can signal different fillings: dates, pistachios or walnuts. They are baked for Easter and in the days before Eid.