The Scent of Pomegranates and Rose Water: Reviving the Beautiful Food Traditions of Syria

by Habeeb Salloum, Leila Salloum Elias, Muna Salloum

The traditions of Syrian cooking go back hundreds of years, and is notable for its 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, unrest, economic hardships, and political strife, the people of Greater Syria continued to cook their burghul, lentil, chickpeas, kishk, and yogurt dishes as if life around them never changed. Syrian-born Habeeb Salloum and his daughters Leila Salloum Elias and Muna Salloum have researched and explored the far reaches of Syrian cuisine for many years (and in Habeeb’s case, decades). Their resulting cookbook, Pomegranate and Rose Water, provides a succinct window into the dining tables of eighteenth and nineteenth-century Syria, featuring many delectable, heart-healthy recipes that have never before been published in English. The book also provides a poignant window into Syrian culture and everyday life then and now―bound together by ageless and truly beautiful food traditions. Partial proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the Syrian Cultural Centre, a Montreal-based non-profit organization dedicated to help alleviate the plight of the displaced and those who have been impacted by the current situation in Syria. Includes 144 recipes; full-color throughout.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Food

288 pages, Hardcover

Published October 30, 2018

About the author

Habeeb Salloum is a Canadian author who grew up in Saskatchewan, joined the RCAF during the Second World War, and then worked for the Canadian Department of National Revenue for 36 years. For the last 36 years, he has been a full-time Author and Freelance Writer specializing in food, history and travel. Besides 15 books and 20 chapters in books, he has had refereed articles appear in academic journals such as Canadian Ethnic Studies (University of Calgary); Saskatchewan History (University of Saskatchewan), and The Muslim World (Hartford Seminary). In addition, he has had hundreds of articles about culture, food, travel, history and homesteading in western Canada appear in such publications as the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, the Western Producer, Contemporary Review, Forever Young Information Magazine, Countryside & Small Stock Journal Magazine, Vitality Magazine and Saveur.
He is author of: From the Lands of Figs and Olives (Interlink Publishing, 1996); Journeys Back to Arab Spain (The Middle East Studies Center, 1994); Arabic Contributions to the English Vocabulary (Librairie du Liban, 1996); Classic Vegetarian Cooking From the Middle East and North Africa (Interlink Publishing, 2000); Arab Cooking on a Saskatchewan Homestead: Recipes And Recollections (CPRC, University of Regina, 2005), Bison Delights (CPRC, University of Regina, 2010), The Arabian Nights Cookbook (Tuttle Publishing, 2010); Asian Cooking Made Simple (Sweet Grass Books/Far Country Press, 2014); Arab Cooking on a Prairie Homestead – Recipes and Recollections from a Syrian Pioneer (University of Regina Press, 2017); co-author of two major research studies on medieval Arab cookery: Scheherazade’s Feasts: Foods of the Medieval Arab World (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013), Sweet Delights from A Thousand and One Nights: The Story of Traditional Arab Sweets (I.B. Tauris, 2013); and The Scent of Pomegranates and Rose Water (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2018).
Habeeb’s cookbooks have won international awards: Winner of the Cuisine Canada and The University of Guelph's Silver Canadian Culinary Book Awards in 2006 for Arab Cooking on a Saskatchewan Homestead: Recipes and Recollections (CPRC, University of Regina, 2005); Winner for Canada: Category "Canada-English for Best Arab Cuisine Cookbook" for Bison Delights: Middle Eastern Cuisine, Western Style (Regina: CPRC, University of Regina, 2010), Gourmand Best in the World Competition, Gourmand Awards, Paris, 2010; and Winner for U.S.A.: Category "Best Arab Cuisine Cookbook" for The Arabian Nights: From Lamb Kebabs to Baba Ghannouj (North Clarendon, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing, 2010), Gourmand Best in the World Competition, Paris, 2010.
Habeeb was awarded the 2013 Saskatchewan Tourism Travel Media Award by Saskatchewan Tourism (Provincial Government of Saskatchewan) on April 10, 2014 for his literary work on travel, tourism and the culinary arts of that province. In September 2018, Habeeb was awarded the Governor General of Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal for his ground-breaking research and publications about the early Syrian immigrants to Canada, adding a new area of study in Canadiana studies.

Reviews

[Stephanie Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never tried Syrian food but was drawn to the different flavours discussed. There are a lot of recipes I want to try, although I probably won't try the fried foods (due to my fear of frying foods at home). I also really enjoyed the essays from the authors, especially the stories of Habeeb and his mum and growing up as immigrants in early 1900s Saskatchewan.

In terms of the recipes, the book is well organized. It really builds up from basic recipes (like the key spice mixes, bread recipes, and savoury doughs) to far more elaborate meals. There are a really good mix of veggie and meat mains (not to mention sides) and good ideas about how to substitute hard-to-find ingredients.

[Ariel Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this from the library, but now I'm going to buy it! Easy-to-follow recipes and excellent introduction.

[HadiDee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful books, gorgeous photos. I'm looking forward to cooking from this book.