The Scent of Pomegranates and Rose Water

The traditions of Syrian cooking, which go back hundreds of years, are notable for their sensory components, in which aroma and texture are as important as taste and nutrition. Over the centuries, the unique dishes of Greater Syria (bilaad al-shaam) were preserved by those who cooked them. For cooks in imperial households, family homes, or on simple peasant farms, recipes were handed down from generation to generation. Despite centuries of occupation, economic hardships, and political strife, the people of Greater Syria continued to cook their bulgur, lentil, chickpea, kishk, and yogurt dishes as if life around them never changed.

Syrian-born Habeeb Salloum and his daughters, Leila and Muna, have researched and explored the far reaches of Syrian cuisine for many years (and in Habeeb's case, decades). Their resulting cookbook, The Scent of Pomegranates and Rose Water, provides a succinct window into the dining tables of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Syria, when the region was influenced by the Ottoman Empire's reach into Persia and the Arab world. The book includes delectable, heart-healthy recipes—some familiar, some never before published in English—many of which have been updated and simplified for modern sensibilities. The book also provides a poignant window into Syrian culture and everyday life then and now—framed by ageless and truly beautiful food traditions.