9781422277478

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Introduction

certainmeals.Althoughavarietyof countries make up the Middle East, most have favorite foods and flavors incommon, including sesame seeds, figs and dates, yogurt, honey, olives and olive oil, chickpeas (also known asgarbanzobeans intheWest),mint, andpitabread.Certaincooking tech- niques(likeplacingmeatsonskewers tobegrilled) arepopular throughout the entire region, too. Thanks to Middle Eastern im- migrants, some of those foods and flavors have become mainstays in American cuisine in recent years.

For example, you’ve probably seena wholesectionof your supermarket’s refrigerator casedevoted to contain- ersof hummus, aMiddleEasterndip madeof chickpeas.Maybe thebread aisle features packages of pita for making sandwiches or individual pizzas. Middle Easterners don’t just in- troducedeliciousnewfoodstoforeign markets. They help make the coun- tries where theymovemore diverse and interesting places.