Wonderfully diverse and flavorful, Morocco food culture was perpetuated by generations of Moroccans for hundreds of years, tastefully evolving with influences from Berber, Arab, Jewish and French cuisines.

As a Morocco native, my childhood was in a traditional family where the preparation of every meal was like a ritual.

My late grandmother used to go to the souk (local supermarket) daily to buy her ingredients.

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Exploring Moroccan Culture Through its Cuisine

Cooking was done with great care. It could take hours from the moment the ingredients were purchased ultra-fresh from the souk to serving the dish in traditional clay pots.

I was always in the kitchen playing — but also witnessing the whole process as smells, tastes, and textures changed slowly.

Which is probably why I grew fond of Moroccan cooking.

It does not only taste delicious, but it’s also an expression of love.

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Morocco Food Culture & The Importance Of Fresh Ingredients

In Moroccan cuisine, fresh natural ingredients make a big difference.

I remember when I left Morocco for France and started cooking there, my tagines didn’t taste the same and it took me a moment to understand why.

Using frozen ingredients or random spices can dull the taste incredibly, and it made me miss the Moroccan kitchen.

You will say that’s just good sense; but in Morocco, the freshness of ingredients is at its maximum even if it adds hours to the cooking process.

Many ingredients that are sold frozen and pre-cut in western markets are prepared by Moroccan women from scratch.

The use of supermarket tomato puree is an aberration.

In #Morocco cooking, the use of supermarket tomato puree is an aberration. Fresh ingredients are a must. #MoroccanFood

Every Moroccan woman knows how to make her fresh tomato puree in 10 minutes. There will be no additives, no sugar, no preservatives; only the delicious natural tomato juice.

Potatoes are sold directly upon picking covered in their soil, and peas are shelled by Moroccan women every time they want to cook them.

Potatoes covered in their soil in a local Moroccan market – Moroccanzest

And there is more:

Most of the time, spices in Morocco are prepared from scratch by women or the local herbalist.

Cumin seeds and pepper seeds are thoroughly cleaned and dried — in the sun — before they are ground.

The process can take days.

But when you open a jar of freshly made Moroccan spices, believe me, it’s so worth it!

The smell fills the room and you can imagine what a difference it can make in a dish.

Winning Combinations In Moroccan Cooking

Many food enthusiasts love Moroccan cuisine and how it plays smartly with spices and herbs. It’s amazing how a slight variation in ingredients can completely change the taste of a dish.

Moroccans know what ingredients are best together:

Lemon and fish, ginger and chicken, cumin and chickpeas, and honey and butter are a few winning combinations that Moroccan cuisine loves using to make a dish go from basic to amazing.

YUM! These winning ingredient combinations dominate the #Morocco kitchen. #MoroccanCooking

Sometimes, a simple ingredient can taste incredibly delicious when combined with the right spices.

Have you tried chickpeas with cumin and salt?

This simple mix is a popular Moroccan street food called Hammas Kamou — delicious and healthy.

Here is how you can give it a try at home:

In a bowl, add rinsed canned chickpeas, a pinch of salt and a generous pinch of cumin. There you go!

Moroccan street food chickepas — A bowl of Moroccan chickpeas (Hammas Kamoun) in Asilah, Morocco – Moroccanzest

In A Moroccan Kitchen, Give It Time

When traveling to Morocco, you’ll quickly learn what the locals already know:

That the best dishes are those who were slowly cooked and spent hours simmering on a traditional brazier or overnight in hot ashes.

Slow cooking is as important as the ingredients as it allows the flavors to infuse deeply and impregnate every single bite.

Morocco’s most famous dish — the tagine — cooks best on low heat like on a brazier or barbecue pan.

The clay pot can even crack if put on hot temperatures.

moroccan tagines cooking — Moroccan tagines slowly cooking on a barbecue pan in Tangier, Morocco. Photo courtesy of ZackWoolWine0/Unsplash

Another Moroccan slow-cooked dish is the Tangia. It’s very popular in Morocco but lesser-known by non-locals.

Tangia is a meat-based dish prepared in a clay jar by mixing meat with specific herbs and spices.

Have you heard of Tangia? It's a delicious dish from #Morcco. Here is why #MoroccanFood is worth the visit in itself!

Once secured, the jar cooks in hot oven ashes for hours, sometimes overnight.

This results in a stew that is extremely fragrant and deeply infused with spices and herbs.

It’s a real explosion of flavors.

moroccan tangia — Moroccan Tangia jars straight from hot ashes, ready to be served. Moroccanzest

In Morocco a few decades ago, cooking in a pressure cooker was considered untasteful.

Back then, if a host welcomed you with a dish cooked in a pressure cooker, it was like an insult.

Things changed a bit and while extreme slow cooking is not done daily, the brazier and slow cooking techniques are still used on holidays, special occasions and to welcome dear guests.