The common cooking fats are semen, olive-oil and serej, the latter being a rich cooking oil made from simsim seeds.
An out-of-door luxury is the new parched wheat,[[92]] called frîḳy, when immature heads are roasted, and kalîyeh, when ripe grain is roasted. The peculiar milk of a fresh goat or sheep, curdled a little, by being placed over the fire, and sweetened, is considered a dainty. Cooked sheep’s brains are a delicacy and very nourishing.
The fruits of Palestine are many. The better known varieties are the grape, orange, lemon, apricot, plum, pomegranate, quince, citron, watermelon, cantaloup, date, mulberry and medlar. This last mentioned fruit is known by the Turkish name akydunya, literally, the next world. The cherry and peach find a congenial climate in the country. The apple and pear do not thrive so well in Palestine as in the neighborhood of Damascus. Of apricots there are several varieties. A large sweet kind, of which the seed pit has a taste similar to the almond nut, is called for that reason lôzeh. Another kind is called klâby, and yet another mestkâwy. Apricot leather is displayed in large sheets in the markets. From pomegranates, of which there are at least three flavors, sweet, medium and sour, and from lemons, drinks are prepared. Distilled orange-flower water is esteemed as a flavoring extract. A little of it in water is good for a sour stomach.
Of nuts there are the almond, pistachio and walnut. The almond is frequently eaten green, when the kernel is in a milky state and the whole nut with its shell is tender. Chestnuts and peanuts are imported. Melon and pumpkin seeds are eaten. Sesame, or simsim, seeds are sprinkled over cakes. Partially ripened chick-peas, roasted on the stems, are very much liked. Mulabbas, which simply means covered, generally refers to sugar-coated, roasted chick-peas. These roasted peas without the sugar are called iḳḍâmeh, or ḳâḍâmeh.
Jellies are called ṭoṭleh. They are often served to guests, in such cases being offered before the coffee, which must always be the last of any number of refreshments. A dish of jelly or jam, with several spoons and a tumbler of water, is passed around. Each guest takes a spoon and helps himself to a taste of jelly, then puts the soiled spoon into the vessel of water.
The people are very fond of honey. Many kinds of pastes, cakes and confections have honey as a prominent ingredient. Some of them seem very cloying to the unaccustomed Western taste. Ḥelâweh and mulabbas are the very common confections in the villages. The first looks like light-colored molasses candy and comes in bulk. It is used as a food with bread. It is made from the root of the simsim plant, the oil of which imparts to it its peculiar flavor. There is a local hit to the effect that “the people of Nâblus eat their sweets first.” The word used to express satisfaction with a flavor is zâky, which is equal to our colloquialism, “it tastes fine,” or the German, “grossartig.” A rebuke of an inordinate appetite is apparent in the proverb, “Let a dog take a taste, but not a son of Adam [i. e., a man].”
The list of foods should include some of the many varieties of edible wild growths.[[93]]
Khurfaysh is a plant with a little notched leaf having milk-white veins. The edible stalk that grows up from the center is very delicious and refreshing when tender.
Murrâr, a bitter herb, looks, during its early growth, a little like the dandelion. Later it develops a thorn.
Ḳurṣ‛anneh bears a small leaf suitable for salad.