Berber cuisine

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The Berber cuisine is considered as a traditional cuisine which evolved little in the course of time.

In general Berber cuisine differs from one area to another within North Africa. Thus it is not easy to speak about a typically Berber cuisine. A classification is essential, in order to emphasize the specificities of each Berber group. Zayanes of the region of Khénifra around the Middle Atlas have a cuisine of a remarkable but tasty simplicity. It is based primarily on corn, barley, ewe's milk, goat cheese, butter, honey, meat, and game.

The principal Berber food is:

bread made with traditional yeast
"Bouchiar" (fine wafer without yeast soaked with butter and natural honey)
"Bourjeje" (pancake made containing flour, of eggs, yeast and salt)
"Tahricht" (containing offal: brain, tripe, lung, heart: these ingredients are rolled up with the intestines on a stick of oak and cooked on embers.)

oven]]s, designed especially for this use. The sheep is coated with natural butter, which makes it tastier. This dish is mainly designed to be served at festivities.

Although they are the original inhabitants of North Africa, Berbers lived in very contained communities and in spite of various incursions by Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottomans and French. Having been subject to limited external influences, these populations lived free from factors making for acculturation.

Couscous and Tagine are the principal dishes for special feasts, celebrations, etc... Couscous was invented in the Kabylie region of Algeria. At the time it was an economical dish, within the means of everyone.