Introduction

To Uncle Richie, who taught me to trust my sense of taste and travel the world through food.

How things change! Today, hummus is a lunchbox staple, and pomegranate molasses can be found on most supermarket shelves next to the balsamic vinegar. At Sahadi’s we’ve had a bird’s-eye view of—and perhaps more than a little hand in—the explosion in popularity of the foods and flavors of the Middle East. As New York City’s oldest continually operating specialty food store, we’ve been importing and selling Middle Eastern provisions and prepared foods for more than a hundred years. We take enormous pride in knowing that we have helped generations of cooks who immigrated from Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and beyond keep cherished family traditions alive, while at the same time introducing a new generation of chefs and home cooks to unfamiliar and exciting new flavors.