Cherry kebab facts for kids
Cherry Kebab is a super tasty dish that mixes meat and fruit! It's a special kind of kebab made with finely ground lamb and delicious cherries. In Arabic, it's called Kebab B’il Karaz. You might also hear it called cherry kabab, cherry meatballs, or even fishnah kabab in Armenian areas.
Where Does Cherry Kebab Come From?
Cherry Kebab is a famous dish from Aleppo, which is a big city in Syria. It's very popular with Armenian and Syrian Jewish communities there.
This dish is part of what's called Levantine cuisine. This type of food is found in many countries around the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. These include places like Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and parts of southern Turkey. So, you can find Cherry Kebab in all these regions too!
In the Jerusalem area, Cherry Kebab is also quite common. It was brought there by Jewish people from Aleppo a long time ago. The version found in Jerusalem is sometimes called kabab dubdeban. It often uses a spice called sumac, which makes it taste a bit more sour.
What Makes Cherry Kebab Special?
Cherry Kebab is like a yummy stew. What makes it truly special is the type of cherries used. The best Cherry Kebab is made with a specific kind of cherry called St. Lucie cherries.
St. Lucie cherries (Prunus cerasus) are small, round, and a bit bitter. They are a beautiful crimson (dark red) color. These cherries are smaller than the sweet cherries you might usually eat. They come in different types, like Aleppo, Montmorency, and Morello cherries.
These cherries are both sweet and sour at the same time. This mix of flavors goes perfectly with the rich taste of the lamb meat. The cherries also give the dish a lovely bright purplish-pink color, making it look as good as it tastes!
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