Sumac: Recipes and Stories from Syria

This is not your typical recipe book - the cover states that there will be stories and there are many. The author explains the dishes, he explains the seasons they are typically eaten in, he explains family traditions, he explains where certain foods are found, he explains the Syrian family picnic, he said explains Syrian table cloths, he explains the importance of presentation in Syrian dishes, he gives various family members credit for dishes, he inserts beautiful photos of Syria - from all over the country. The food pictures just make your mouth water.To the author -From a fellow Syrian, this book made my heart smile - you did a wonderful job at putting this together. From the raw pistachios (fustuq al-halabi) to the family photos - Your book had me at first glance. Shukran Jazeelan. I had been having a very sad Syrian weekend because I was reminded that it was 11 years ago today that I was last in Halab with my family before heading back to Damascus to work before heading to Jordan and never being able to return. So discovering this book was a timely and pleasant surprise.

I’m a half-Syrian American and this book has been so delightful to cook through and feel connected to my great grandparents. Thank you for writing this book!

Love this book. The recipes are spectacular. But also the design of the book is beautiful too. Must have for anyone who likes middle eastern cuisine.

Lovely pictures, heavy pages, i look forward to using

Anas, this book has truly touched my heart and soul. I love it so much. Not only do I love cooking, but just reading about the Syrian ingredients and the love you have for the food and culture brings tears to my eyes. I was born in Los Angeles, CA but both my parents are born and raised in Homs, Syria like you. We used to go to visit Syria every year before the war. Thankfully almost all our family is in LA with us so we keep our culture very much alive. But we miss it there very much. Thank you for making it feel closer through this cookbook.

This is an entertaining cookbook to browse through with some beautiful photographs. I was intrigued with some of the variations of Syrian dishes from the Homs region.

First off- the graphics are MAGNIFICENT! From nostalgic photos of Syrian places and foods to the author’s childhood, the camerawork is stunning. Second, turning page to page our family was like ‘omg yes they gave this one! No way and this too?’ Thank you for writing this cookbook, it is our new go-to.

I bought this book because of all the rave 5-star reviews. I love the spirit of it, and the photos, and about half of the 12 or so recipes I've tried have been really good. But...many of the measurements are off. The red lentil soup recipe calls for 4 onions and 1 tablespoon of cayenne. I used one onion and 1 tsp of cayenne, and it was still very (way too) hot. The hummus is almost good, but watery because it calls for 7 T of the chickpea-cooking liquid. The meatball stew with spinach calls for 3 Tbsp of allspice...it was awful! (I was not familiar with allspice, so I put all of it in!) The sfeeha filling was watery and the recipe said to broil for 3 minutes...at 3 minutes the meat wasn't cooked at all, so I left it in for 10. Trust is key for a cookbook, so I suggest that you keep searching for a different Syrian cookbook!