Persian Food

Do we really know the breadth and variety of Persian food? If people in the community are asked questions about this, only a few limited and common options will be mentioned. However, the range of traditional Persian food is much wider than this.

Here, we introduce some special Persian food that may be less cooked but has a very high nutritional value and, more importantly, is incredibly delicious.

Although Iranian cooking has been influenced by the cooking methods of the Arab world and the subcontinent, it is largely a product of geography and food products in Iran. 

Its other name is Persian cuisine, which has been spread in the West according to the historical name of Iran.

Iranian food can be easily divided according to the type of cooking or consumption. 

Among the famous and delicious Iranian dishes with many fans, we can mention all kinds of kebabs, vegetable soup, and broth. 

Usually, the three mentioned dishes are at the top of the most popular Iranian dishes inside and outside the country. This is because of the very good taste of these foods.

One of the Iranians’ hobbies is trying all kinds of delicious Iranian food. Hence, there are many restaurants to try various Iranian dishes, some of which are rated the best.

Food is one of the categories that we should always pay attention to because of its connection with health. 

The reason for the popularity of Iranian food among locals is its positive effect on health. 

In terms of traditional medicine, the climates and weather of each region play a crucial role in choosing the type of food.

Iranian food, recipes, and ingredients are rooted in Islam, Halal, and Haram.

Considering the diversity of climate and weather in different regions of Iran, in each region of our country, the desire for different foods and the raw materials available in that region determine the type of food in that region. 

Therefore, the people of each region prepare their desired food according to their raw materials and preferences. 

In this way, meeting the basic human need, i.e. the need for food, guarantees people’s health in this way.

What are the reasons for the high diversity in Iranian food?

The beautiful country of Iran is a four-season country with various fruits and vegetables in its heart. In different seasons, you can prepare suitable foods according to the fruits of the seasons.

Iranians are good-tasting people, and food quality and taste are very important to them. This reason has increased the diversity in Iranian cuisine.

In Iran, like other countries, different ethnic groups live, each of which has its own traditional and local foods. Such as northern or Shirazi cuisine, each of which differs from the other. 

Also, southern cuisine is famous for its many spices and has a global reputation. But generally, the main Iranian dishes combine rice with meat, vegetables, and nuts.

Rice is a main ingredient in the Iranian diet, and meat (mostly sheep) plays a role in almost every Iranian meal. Vegetables are important for the Iranian diet, and onions are used in almost every dish. 

Animal husbandry has long been an old part of this country’s economy, and dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and especially yogurt, are usually found on the table of Iranians. 

Authentic Iranian cooking tends to create subtle flavors and prepare dishes with relatively simple preparations, such as stews and kebabs. 

The most prominent spice used in Iran is saffron. Still, many other flavorings, including lemon, mint, turmeric, and rose water, are used as much as pomegranate and walnut in Persian food.

Benefits of Persian food

Another advantage of Iranian food compared to the food of foreign countries is its appearance.

Usually, Iranian foods are in very good condition in terms of appearance, and every person will feel more desire to eat them after seeing them.

This is despite the fact that most foreign foods do not have this feature. Because in the preparation of Iranian food, high-quality and healthy ingredients are used, while in most countries, food ingredients are neither ideologically nor healthily acceptable in Iran.

The reasons for the popularity of traditional Iranian foods

Use of healthy and natural ingredients

The raw materials of most traditional and local dishes include various types of meats, nuts, vegetables, and spices.
Most of these ingredients are domestically produced and are prepared or grown by farmers and local people.

novelty

Many local people who are engaged in agriculture harvest their raw materials every year, completely fresh from the agricultural land.
Many people, especially restaurateurs and chefs, travel to the countryside on the same day when they have special guests and big parties and buy their food from gardens and farmers at a lower price than the markets.

The way of cooking food

They use the proper cooking method to prepare most of the traditional foods.

In this way, the effort is to act according to the recommendations of traditional medicine, taking into account the hot and cold temperaments of the ingredients.

For example, when cooking rice, raisins or dates are added to it in some recipes Because rice has a cold nature.

Using side dishes with food

In Iran, they enjoy a lot of side dishes with every meal. Among these side dishes, we can mention pickles, different salads, eating vegetables, yogurt, olives, and drinks like buttermilk.
In addition to improving the taste of food, these ingredients make the table look very attractive and increase people’s appetite.

Free from chemical preservatives

As you know, most ready-made and industrial foods contain preservatives to increase their shelf life.

These preservatives can often endanger people’s health if consumed excessively.

On the other hand, traditional foods are always used fresh, and poisoning due to their consumption has not been reported.

The cheapness of traditional food

Traditional foods are more reasonably priced than factory products Because they are prepared from local and available raw materials.

Adjusting the amount of salt and fat in traditional foods

Traditional foods are healthier than prepared foods in terms of oil and fat content (fast food).

It is said that fast food energy is 5 to 7 times that of traditional foods.

In this regard, it can be said with certainty that this amount of calories comes from fat and salt more than ready meals (fast foods).

Common traditional drinks in Iran

Tea, as the main drink, was often consumed with dried fruit, cookies, and sweets on a daily basis in most Iranian homes. 

In addition to black tea, other types of tea such as cherry tea, cinnamon tea, and ginger tea, were also very common.

Doogh (Persian yogurt drink), a drink made from yogurt, was also popular among the public. In addition, in the past, the consumption of herbal teas and syrups that were prepared naturally from plants had a special place.

Common eating cultures in Iran

No water is consumed in the middle of the meal.

And washing hands is also necessary.

The table prayer is recited, and everyone listens.

Yogurt is not eaten with fish, melon with honey, samano with milk, or pickles with yogurt.

No one gets up as long as everyone at the table has not finished their meal.

The foods we eat are not strange like in other countries. We do not use insects at all; we think they are terrible.

Conclusion

Due to the vastness of its land, Iran has a variety of food, languages, accents, and ethnicities.

For this reason, Iranian food has been popular. In addition to the people of Iran, the people of the world are also interested in tasting the taste of Iranian food.

Therefore, good Iranian restaurants in Iran and abroad seek to raise their quality and attract international customers to introduce them to Iranian food culture.