This is a type of salted or sweetened fermented goats milk made by warming up whey residue and aging it in humid caves to harden for one to six months. It has a creamy texture with a slightly sour note. The locals of the Bekaa Valley call it
Ambarees whilst in Central Shouf it is called Sirdeleh.

Better known as Dibs el roummane, Lebanon’s pomegranates are harvested from the Roummane tree (Punica granatum).

The Molasses is a concentrated sour juice used to flavour stews and meat dishes like kibbeh, sambousik and sfiha. Malissi and Ras el baghl are the varieties of pomegranate found in Lebanon.

Orange Flower Distillate – Mazaher or orange blossom water, is a distillate of the flowers of bitter orange trees which are common to the coastal regions of Lebanon, and is used to flavour both food and drink. It’s a common ingredient in the sugar syrup that accompanies many Lebanese and Arabic pastries. It’s also used to flavour tea, coffee and water to aid digestion and improve sleep.

Dibs el ‘inab or grape molasses, is a thick syrup, usually derived from white grapes. It is common to the mountainous regions of Lebanon, and is a central component of the food stock that Lebanese households traditionally put up for winter, known as mouneh.

The grapes are juiced, pulverized howara (calcium carbonate clay) is added and left to rest for a few hours before filtering and boiling. The high sugar content and low acidity makes most local Lebanese white grapes suitable which include the obeidi, saraani, shamouti, mikseis, mirweih, magdousheh and salti varieties.