Customer Reviews

A Taste of Syria

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"A Taste of Syria" is a wonderful collection of Middle Eastern recipes and a special treasure for those of us who are third and fourth generation descendants of Middle Eastern families. I grew up in Brooklyn and remember fondly the wonderful Syrian cooking of my paternal grandmother and the many wonderful meals eaten at her home. As a teenager and young adult I tried to cook my favorites among these meals but my grandmother's instructions were basically - "a little bit of this or that; you need to see how it tastes or feels." After several unsuccessful efforts, I gave up trying to cook most of these meals and truly missed these wonderful, healthy foods of my childhood. This book has given me back those wonderful recipes and memories. The recipes are clear and provide step by step instructions with many pictures and lots of useful information. The names in Arabic and English and the information on where to get the ingredients are particularly useful. I have tried several of the recipes and they are terrific and taste just the way my Grandmother made them. I have also shared this book with many of my relatives and non-Middle Eastern friends and family who also enjoy this food and are excited that they now can try these recipes. The authors have done a truly outstanding job and I thank them for keeping alive a very special part of our heritage and capturing the essence and quality of Middle Eastern cooking for all.

"A Taste of Syria" is must reading for any one who enjoys terrific Middle East cuisine. Not only is it the first truly authentic, homespun Syrian cook book published in decades, this outstanding book impressively captures the texture and the life of the Syrian American community as it pertains to its culinary traditions.The authors present delicious Syrian specialities, capitalizing especially on the internationally acclaimed cuisine of Aleppo.And there are two helpful indexes -- dishes are listed by both their Arabic names and their English names. This yummy cook book has it all--how to conveniently prepare tasty lamb, seasoned vegetables, yogurt, as well as favorite staples like Hummus, Baba Ghanouj and Tabouli.What I especially like about this book, which spans two cultures, are the easy-to-follow cooking instructions. This innovative cook book is such a delight I'm seriously considering changing professions and becoming a chef!

Finally a cook book that reads like a family album. Not only authentically Syrian American foods, but stories of the authors childhood memories and loves. I have tried many of the recipes and the results are spectacular. Easy to follow instruction, I feel sometimes like 'grandma' is in the kitchen teaching me. Thanks for this wonderful slice of your life, and for a book I will use for many years to come. Now I can enjoy my favorite Syrian foods at home without going to Paterson!!

Overall, recipes are easy to follow; only exception are the cheese recipes. The recipes for cheese lack sufficient detail (I.e. Temperatures of milk). I've attempted to make cheese following the instructions with no success. The other recipes have pleased the palette of my Syrian Allepian husband.

Very easy-to-follow Syrian cookbook. Brings back memories of my grandmother "Sita" making all of these things.

This is one of the few books I have returned to Amazon. The recipes are astonishingly bad. I have a large collection (at least 40) Middle eastern cook books, we regularly cook Middle Eastern food, but this book, while obviously a sincere effort, does not do Middle Eastern food credit. Look elsewhere.