WHAT DISTINGUISHES THE MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE

Middle Eastern cuisine is a broad term that encompasses Arab, Iranian, Israeli, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Armenian, Georgian, Kurdish, Cypriot, and Turkish foods. Vegetables, spices, herbs, and grains comprise much Middle Eastern cuisine. There is meat in many of the region’s recipes, but pork is not one of them due to halal and kosher laws. The Middle East cuisine leans toward warm, earthy spices, heavily accentuated by Mediterranean and Indian cuisine. While dishes vary between regions, they almost all share standard features like bright vegetables, colorful fruit, varieties of nuts, dairy products, and rice.