The Shouf Mountains offer a sustainable place to live and work. Producers are able to set up small enterprises and supply traditional Lebanese food.

Abla Majed

Andre Bechara

Abla Majed

Abla Majed has been a dairy farmer in the village of Niha on the Shouf Cedar Reserve for over 20 years using the milk of the goats from her husband’s family. She produce goats’ cheese in clay jars, which is a by-product of yogurt straining, and is highly appreciated by villagers and Lebanese food connoisseurs.

Photo credit: Lamis Hakim

Photo credit: Mohamed Ali Haimor

Hima Hammana Community

Andre Bechara is the manager of Hammana Hima farm, a model for sustainable farming, nature gastronomy, ecotourism, bird watching, and education. For six years they’ve produced cherries, apples, coins, kaki and different varieties of vegetables using environmentally friendly pesticides to preserve biodiversity.

The Hima Kitchen has created local jobs and uses local produce to offer diners a ‘nature-gastronomy’ experience where people can reconnect to the area’s natural bounty.

Sirdeleh or Ambarees

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.

Pomegranate Molasses

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.

Rose Water

For the last 300 years mawared or rose water has been made from the petals of the Damascus Rose in Lebanon when the flower blooms in May and June. It is often used to flavour sherbets and Arabic desserts such as baklawa and ma’amoul. The distillated first thick oil is used to make rose fragrances.

Orange Blossom Water

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.

Grape Molasses

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.

What You Put on Your Plate Can Change the World

Share A Dish Night
25-27 June 2020

#MedFoodHeroes

Let’s celebrate sustainable food

rootedveryday.org/medfoodheroes

What You Put on Your Plate Can Change the World

Share A Dish Night
25-27 June 2020

#MedFoodHeroes

Let’s celebrate sustainable food

rootedveryday.org/medfoodheroes