Lebanese Kitchen Essentials

 
05-Aug-2011 by emilyvyomahallaway

Lebanese Kitchen Essentials

A Lebanese kitchen must be stocked with a set of some basic as well as advanced tools. Lebanese kitchen tools are greatly influenced by Arabic culture since there are a lot of similarities in the cuisines as well. Here is a guide for reference to get an insight about Lebanese kitchen tools that one must have in the kitchen.

A few Lebanese kitchen essentials are as follows:

  1. Grater

Lebanese food comprises of some common herbs and vegetables used in almost all dishes like garlic. You could prefer to use the traditional four-sided tower shaped grater or go for a flat, handheld type. To prevent any accidents like avoiding cuts on fingers, one could use the rotary version of the grater instead of the handheld tool. A good grater can help puree garlic quickly and the job is a lot less messy.

  1. Rice cooker

When you have to whip up quick healthy side dishes to go with curries and vegetables like roasted potatoes, fish, goulasch etc, the best choice is to come up with steamed rice with veggies or any other combination. Hence a rice cooker is a quintessential tool for a Lebanese kitchen. This absorbs the water completely and you don’t need to worry about the rice being overheated once it is put in a rice cooker. It can also be used for making bread and cake too since the steam can render some really good flavor to the food.

  1. Couscousiere

Couscous is a staple dish in Lebanon.To cook a couscous dish, the tool used is called the quadra wa alkaskas or the couscousiere. It consists of two compartments. The lower compartment called the Burma is used to cook meat and vegetables and the upper compartment called the kesskess is used for cooking couscous. The vapors from the perforated lower compartment are allowed to rise to the upper part. This enables the steaming of couscous.

  1. Whisk

Like any other kitchen across the globe, a whisk is a very important tool in a Lebanese kitchen. You could just whisk out batter for a quick omelet in a couple of minutes using a whisk. Avoid buying one with bends or not sturdy enough.Lebanese Kitchen Essentials

  1. Maamoul mold

This is a special wooden mold used to make maamoul cookies. These are the Middle Eastern cookies usually made on special occasions and holidays. Each cookie is formed in a specific designed wooden mold. The filling determines the mold in which it has to be made and hence the design of the cookie can help you identify the filling inside. Each mold is wooden and hand-turned on a lathe. These do not have refined shapes and textures and turn out to be crude in built.

  1. Coffee grinder

A good quality coffee grinder can be used to roast and grind spices and to extract the oil and aroma from them. This could add more flavors to the dishes and release the best effect of the spices used.

  1. Food processors

Nowadays an essential gadget in all kitchens across the globe, a food processor is one such equipment that can be a boon to cooking in a Lebanese kitchen. This can help in chopping, mixing, whipping, slicing and many other tasks in the kitchen.

  1. Ladles

It is essential to use ladles that have sufficient capacity to be used for sauces and soups. Also, since a lot of dishes amongst Lebanese cuisine require stirring, make sure that you have a lot of ladles stacked in your kitchen.

Since a Lebanese kitchen should be set up with a perspective of cooking the specialties of Lebanon in a manner that is not much time-consuming yet fruitful, make sure to stock your Lebanese kitchen with the above mentioned tools.

Image Credits :phoneaciangourmet.blogspot.com, chefpaulblog.blogspot.com

 

Comments

shantihhh says :

I quote "2. Rice cooker When you have to whip up quick healthy side dishes to go with curries and vegetables like roasted potatoes, fish, goulasch etc " Curries are not part of the Lebanese cuisine nor is Gouloush, which is Hungarian. I believe the couscous of Lebanon is more like Israeli Couscous, the grains are quite large, more like small peas than the tiny fluffy grains of Tunisian or Moroccan couscous. Also a quadra wa alkaskas is a Moroccan couscousiere not Lebanese. The pearl shape couscous is indigenous to Lebanon and Jordan. The small (about 0.14 inch / 3.5 mm), called "maftoul" are made in Jordan. The larger (about 0.22 inch / 5.5 mm), called "moghrabieh" are made in Lebanon. These forms are boiled or used in soups and stews like regular pasta rather than steamed. Therefore a couscousiere is not used in Lebanese preparation of oouscous.
Posted on: 8 August 2011 - 2:35pm

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