Berber Food Myriel

Berber Food

Berbers have their own special kind of food, this food is passed down from mother to daughter and it is a very important part of the Berber culture. The Berber Women cooks every day for their family with help of their daughters. They have Tajine mainly and sometimes also couscous, they mainly drink mint tea and they eat fresh fruit for their desert. For their afternoon coffee the adults drink mostly mint tea or coffee, and the children water or mint tea with dried dates and nuts.

Their main dishes are Tajine and couscous. Tajine is made out of meat, mostly chicken or lamb; it is cooked in a Tajine pot which is triangular with a round bottom. Couscous is also cooked in a Tajine pot, it is cooked with vegetables, sometimes there is also meat in the couscous. The Berbers eat Tajine everyday expect Fridays when they have Couscous. Couscous is also cooked in a Tajine pot, with a lot of Couscous and Vegetables, sometimes it also includes meat. They eat these two meals with bread which they beak on stone or clay ovens made by hand. They have a fire in the bottom of it and put the bread on top to beak it.

For Desert, Berbers usually eat fresh fruit and dried fruit, they grow their own fruit in their fields, and they always eat the fruits that are just in season. They eat grapes, apples, bananas, oranges, strawberries, kiwis and other fruit that grow in their environment. They also have figs and dates, these they dry for the seasons where no fresh fruit grow in their environment. For their afternoon coffee, hey drink tea, coffee or water and eat dried figs, dates, apricots and nuts that grow in their valleys.

They have many spices; they include them in every meal they cook. Some examples of their spices are Cinnamon, Sesame, Cumin, Coriander, Saffron and cloves. There is an adage says “Spices are the heart of a Berber meal”. Here are also some herbs such as Rose-marine that are used in their dishes, but it depends if they grow or if they are in season. Many spices are selled or traded on the markets; they are put into big bags with a kind of spoon and plastic bags to sell.

They drink the well known Moroccan tea which is very sweet and flavorful. It includes boiling water, fresh mint leaves, dried tea leaves or other herbs and a lot of sugar. It is ceremoniously prepared in front of the guests, or at least it was, not everyone is doing that anymore. While making tea, they have two tea pots, then they add tea leaves to each pot and rinse it with a little boiling water, then sugar is added to each pot and boiling water is added. Then they let the tea steep for a couple f minutes before they stir it. When they pour it into the glasses, they hold the pot about 12 inches over the tea glass. Tea drinking is a Social ritual; they drink tea for 5 times a day. It is prepared with the family or a group of people, on coal glow with plenty of leisure. When there is no time to cook or no food available, they drink tea instead of eating food. During Caravans, the desert Berbers make tea on top of the Camel. The tea distributes tiredness and gives energy. When a guest comes, tea is made and served, during abundant times; a bowl of camel milk is added.
In conclusion, the Berbers have their own food that they pass down by generations from mother to daughter, their cooking also influences the incoming Arabs a lot, but it is still considered their own specific food. Also very known is their Berber Tea that they cook and drink a lot.