Egypt has a unique and deeply rooted culinary tradition that goes back thousands of years. Sharing dishes is common courtesy; festivities are an excuse to celebrate food, and hosts don’t take no for an answer. But food culture is not static. Years ago, for instance, the coastal city of Alexandria was known to be cosmopolitan, providing a backdrop for the mingling of Greek, Italian, French, Armenian and British culture. Today, Egyptian cuisine is shaped by many different factors. Egyptians travel abroad and take their cooking skills to the corners of the Earth, while returning expatriates bring foreign flavours into traditional Egyptian dishes. But what are Egyptian traditional dishes? Fuul, molokheya, and koshary – to name but a few. Yet while each of them remains a significant part of Egyptian culture, many new culinary trends have emerged over the past decades. David Blanks, food critic and former AUC history professor, said that even the most typical Egyptian foods are not cooked in the same way in two different households. Regional and class differences come into play, even in dishes that are popular all across Egypt. Food in Egypt Blanks, who now…
